Mormons’ New President Issues a Call for Harmony : Religion: Howard W. Hunter, 86, succeeds the late Ezra Taft Benson. He asks disaffected to rejoin church.

With a plea to disaffected Mormons to return to the fold, Howard W. Hunter assumed the mantle of leadership Monday as the 14th president and prophet of the 8.8-million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Believed by the faithful to be God’s prophet on earth with the power of divine revelation, Hunter was unanimously selected with a ritual laying-on of hands during a closed ceremony Sunday in the Mormon Temple by the Council of the 12 Apostles, the church’s highest governing authority.

Hunter, 86, who practiced law in Los Angeles for 30 years and is the first president-prophet to be born in the 20th Century, succeeds Ezra Taft Benson, 94, who died May 30. Benson was buried here Saturday.

Hunter’s selection was not unexpected even though he has suffered from serious health problems. The church has always conferred the office of president and prophet on its most senior apostle. Church presidents serve for life.

Hunter’s tone of reconciliation comes at a time when Mormons have been excommunicated for publicly calling for the admission of women to the all-male priesthood, and for the right to intellectual freedom in pursuing Mormon studies. Two prominent dissidents, including Steve Benson, oldest grandchild of Ezra Taft Benson, have called the church’s actions an “inquisition” and a “purge.”

Writing in the May 22 issue of The Arizona Republic, Steve Benson and his wife, Mary Ann, said, “The purge has intimidated many Mormons into silence, who fear being expelled from the church. . . . “

But on Monday, Hunter called for harmony in the church, which has 700,000 members in Southern California.

“I pray that we might treat each other with more kindness, more courtesy, more humility and patience and forgiveness,” Hunter told reporters, reading from a prepared statement. “To those who have transgressed or been offended, we say come back. To those who are hurt and struggling and afraid, we say let us stand with you and dry your tears.”

Hunter also struck an unmistakably orthodox theme. He spoke of the need for disciplined living following the commandments of God. Without mentioning any specific doctrine, he added, “To those who are confused and assailed by error on every side, we say come to the God of all truth and the church of continuing revelation. Come back. Stand with us. Carry on. Be believing.”

Don LeFevre, a spokesman for the church, said he believed that Hunter’s remarks were directed not only to the disaffected, but to encourage faithful, active members to continue to follow the church’s teachings.

Elbert Peck, editor and publisher of the independent Mormon magazine Sunstone, which has published stories and articles about dissent within the church, said Monday that he was encouraged by Hunter’s remarks.

“I’m very stirred by those words. I think that people in the liberal intellectual community, though a small part of the church, would find hope. Their particular pain in the last year was that they didn’t feel that some church leaders dealt with them according to the principles” of kindness and courtesy Hunter espoused, Peck said.

Despite the conciliatory tone of Hunter’s remarks, church leaders and others said they expected no dramatic changes in official church policy. They noted that major decisions are made by the Council of the 12 Apostles in association with the First Presidency, a three-man office headed by Hunter as president-prophet and his two advisers, First Counselor Gordon B. Hinckley and Second Counselor Thomas S. Monson, whose reappointments were also announced Monday.

“He’s (Hunter) very consensual,” said one church leader who asked to remain anonymous. “I don’t think we will see any great changes immediately. One of the hallmarks of this church is stability in times of transitions.”

Although Mormons see their president and prophet as having direct access to God’s thoughts, in practice a living Mormon prophet cannot proclaim a new doctrine without the approval of the Council of the 12 Apostles.

In 1978, for example, when the late President and Prophet Spencer W. Kimball said that he had had a revelation from God that the church should strike down its prohibition against African Americans becoming Mormon priests, several months of prayer and deliberations passed before Kimball’s advisers and the Council of the 12 Apostles concurred. Only then was Kimball’s revelation made public.

Also announced Monday was the appointment of church Elder Boyd K. Packer as acting president of the Council of the 12 Apostles. It was Packer who reportedly told a Mormon conference last year that feminists posed a serious threat to the church, along with homosexuals and “so-called intellectuals and scholars.”

Asked Hunter’s position on women in the priesthood, LeFevre said he could not speak for Hunter. But he noted, “Others have been asked and indicated that we follow the pattern of the Savior’s example. I’d expect that would continue.” The Mormon view is similar to that of the Roman Catholic Church, which bars women from the priesthood, citing the example of Jesus who chose only men as his disciples.

Mormon feminist Maxine Hanks of Salt Lake City, who was excommunicated in September, said that while Hunter struck a chord of reconciliation, his main point was that believers should rely on the church’s authority rather than their consciences in making decisions involving church teaching.

Hanks said she was excommunicated because she published a feminist book, “Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism,” that called for women to exercise more authority in the church and said they should be allowed to serve as priests. The church does not comment on excommunications. But it acknowledged that seven members have made their excommunications public in the last year.

“That doesn’t sound like much of a purge out of 8.8 million members,” said LeFevre.

After a career in Southern California as a corporate attorney and businessman, Hunter was named to the Council of the 12 Apostles in October, 1959, and had been president of the council since June, 1988. His selection ended speculation that the church might face a crisis of succession if Hunter chose not to accept the position.

At Benson’s funeral, Hunter required assistance walking. He underwent heart surgery in 1986, was afflicted with a nervous disorder in 1987 that makes it difficult for him to walk, came down with pneumonia in 1990, and had a gall bladder operation last year.

Hunter replied to a shouted question about his health Monday as aides were escorting him from the news conference.

“I’m much improved in strength,” he said. “I had a bout with my health, from which I’m much improved, and grateful.”

Profile: Howard W. Hunter

* Born: Nov. 14, 1907

* Residence: Salt Lake City.

* Education: Attended University of Washington; obtained law degree from Southwestern University Law School, 1939.

* Career highlights: Practiced corporate law in Los Angeles for 30 years. Appointed to Mormon Church’s highest governing body, the Council of the 12 Apostles, in 1959. Served as acting council president from 1985 to 1988, and as president since June, 1988.

* Family: Twice married, with two sons, 18 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

* Quote: “To those who have transgressed or been offended, we say come back. To those who are hurt and struggling and afraid, we say let us stand with you and dry your tears. To those who are confused and assailed by error on every side, we say come to the God of all truth and the church of continuing revelation. Come back. Stand with us. Carry on. Be believing.”