Posted by:
Book of Mordor
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Date: August 22, 2015 05:21PM
Slight problem here. SWK had had most of his vocal cords removed many years before, and could not speak in anything resembling a "commanding voice." This episode almost certainly did not happen, and BKP was in all probability lying. Again.
Eugene England, "A Small and Piercing Voice: The Sermons of Spencer W. Kimball," BYU Studies Vol. 25, No. 4 (Fall 1985), p. 81:
"In 1957 [SWK] had an operation to try to stem the cancer in his throat. He pleaded with the New York specialist to remove as little tissue as possible because of the unique importance of his voice to his responsibility in the Church. Though this involved some risk of not getting all the cancer, the doctor left the larynx and part of one vocal cord… The voice was forever changed, becoming small and raspy, full of the effort of breach required to sustain it – but emotionally piercing in a new way because it now constantly symbolized to his hearers what he had paid in courage and humility for that voice."
Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 2, KIMBALL, SPENCER W.:
"Elder Kimball suffered a heart attack in 1948 and throat cancer a few years later. Removal of most of his vocal cords left him with a distinctive weak, raspy voice."
A "small, weak, raspy" voice, not a "commanding" one. You can't have both. I remember hearing him talk, as do many of you. No way could he have spoken in 1976 as Packer claimed.
ETA: Found another account of Kimball's visit to Denmark. He spoke at the Copenhagen Area conference on August 5, 1976, at which he emphasized that you can't repent until you SUFFER. A LOT. God will not be pleased unless you SUFFER.
"One is not repentant until he bares his soul and admits his actions without excuses or rationalizations, until he has really and truly suffered. Suffering is a very important part of repentance. One has not begun to repent until he has suffered intensely for his sins." (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 88.)
After encouraging all that SUFFERING, he and his buds went to visit the cathedral. The account is described as follows:
Dell Van Orden and J Melan Heslop, with Lance E. Larsen, "A Prophet for All the World: Glimpses into the Life of President Spencer W. Kimball," BYU Studies, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Fall 1985), p. 52:
"In Denmark, President Kimball expressed a desire to visit the Cathedral of Copenhagen to see the original of Thorvaldsen's famous statue of Christ, a copy of which stands in the visitors' center in Salt Lake City. The cathedral was closed for repairs, but a knock on the front door brought the caretaker. After the visitors explained who they were, he graciously let them in…
"As the group prepared to depart, President Kimball could have merely thanked the gracious caretaker and said good-bye, but he didn't. Instead he said, 'I've certainly enjoyed this tour. But you know these statues are of dead Apostles.' The caretaker, who had spent much of his life involved with the statues, was taken aback and a little offended. But President Kimball went on to say, 'Do you know that in the world today there are living Apostles, and four of them are in this room right now?' First he introduced himself, then President N. Eldon Tanner and Elder Thomas S. Monson and Elder Boyd K. Packer. 'We are Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Would you like to know more about a church that has living Apostles?'"
And that's it. The story ends there. No commanding voice, no "I hold the keys!" crapola. Not even the answer from the caretaker, although it's probably fair to say that a positive response would have been reported. Does it count as a BKP lie? I'd still say yes; he fabricated the part that Packer took as a witness of SWK's prophetability.
But the failed missionary opportunity wasn't a total loss. Kimball managed to offend an old man who had graciously allowed him entry into a closed cathedral.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2015 12:41AM by Book of Mordor.