David A Bednar Recommends We Don’t Write Down What He Says

David A. Bednar gave a Missionary Devotional in August 2021, asking listeners not to write down what he said. This echoes other Apostolic Firesides and Devotionals, where members in attendance are specifically requested not to record or share the message. The leaders presumably want to keep the meeting intimate and casual. They want to be able to let their guard down and speak as friends, but these statements raise important questions about leadership accountability, transparency, and personal revelation.

I don’t want to try to tell you how to do this, but I would recommend you don’t try to write down things that any of us say. I would suggest to you that that totally misses the mark. - David A. Bednar, LDS Apostle, Missionary Devotional, 2021 | wasmormon.org — I don’t want to try to tell you how to do this, but I would recommend you don’t try to write down things that any of us say. I would suggest to you that that totally misses the mark. – David A. Bednar, LDS Apostle, Missionary Devotional, 2021

I’d like to suggest to you that nothing tonight you need to hear will come from my voice, it will come by the power of the Holy Ghost, to your mind and to your heart. It will be individual and it will be personal and it will be private.
I don’t want to try to tell you how to do this, but I would recommend you don’t try to write down things that any of us say. I would suggest to you that that totally misses the mark. What you should write down are the things that only you hear that are being delivered to you very specifically by the power of the Holy Ghost. Sometimes in gatherings like this we want to furiously take notes about what a speaker is saying.
The time when this makes me laugh is in General Conference. I sit on the stand and I watch people writing as fast as they can go. And I want to, at some point, just get up and go, “Hey, it’s gonna be online in 40 seconds.” (Laughter) And the reason I would like to get up and do that some time in General Conference is because if you’re so focused and so engaged in writing down what someone is speaking, you likely will miss what the Holy Ghost is trying to deliver to you individually and personally.
Missionary Devotional – Elder David A. Bednar and Sister Susan Bednar – August 26, 2021
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/video/missionary-devotionals-2021/2021-08-0260-elder-david-a-bednar-august-26-2021-1080p

David A. Bednar is essentally saying, ‘Don’t write down what I said, write down what I should have said.’ On the surface, they do this so members will pay attention to the spirit and enjoy the intimate meeting they have an opportunity to have with an Apostle.

Bednar suggests that the Holy Ghost, not his voice, will provide the “real” message to each individual. While this could be interpreted as promoting personal revelation, it can also create confusion about the role of church leaders. If the Holy Ghost is the primary teacher, what purpose does his talk serve? This reasoning conveniently places the onus of understanding on the listener, shielding leaders from being questioned if the “spiritually received” message is unclear or contradictory to doctrine. This blurs the boundaries between personal revelation and leadership guidance.

Saying he doesn’t want followers to pay close attention to what he says, but how it makes them feel, Bednar emphasizes how people “feel” over what they “hear,” subtly discouraging critical thinking. While emotional impressions can be powerful, they are also subjective and prone to bias. By prioritizing emotional responses, he undermines the value of direct communication and fact-based learning. This focus on feelings can discourage members from analyzing or questioning the content of his speech and instead trains them to trust their own emotional reactions, which can be easily influenced. This strategy allows leaders to maintain plausible deniability. If someone misinterprets his message, Bednar can easily claim, “That wasn’t what I said—that was your own impression.” It creates an environment where the leader is free from critique while the follower bears the full responsibility for any misunderstandings or lack of spiritual insight. This is control through ambiguity.

By discouraging followers from writing down his words, Bednar appears to absolve himself of responsibility for what he actually says in an evasion of accountability. Instead, he directs members to focus on their own interpretations of his message, which makes it impossible to hold him accountable for inaccuracies, contradictions, or problematic statements. This approach shifts the emphasis from his authority as a speaker to the subjective feelings of the listener, allowing his words to escape scrutiny.

The irony of this statement is that church leaders emphasize the importance of scriptures, conference talks, and church publications, all of which require careful documentation and dissemination. They place the senior leadership of the church on a pedestal and call them Special Witnesses, but then they don’t want us to write down what they say? Do they want us to find our own witness? Why should Bednar’s spoken words be treated differently? If his calling and statements are divinely inspired, why discourage their preservation for deeper study or later reflection? Is that not the point of a Prophet?

Further, telling members not to write down his words fosters a culture of oral tradition rather than documented evidence. It implicitly discourages people from reflecting on or analyzing what was said after the fact. This discouragement of note-taking in General Conference, where talks are prepared and delivered as formal addresses, further undermines the importance of clarity and precision in church leadership’s messaging.

The church has even discouraged its own leadership from writing journals so that there is never an incriminating record available for criticism. It seems that in the past, the journals of some leaders have caused trouble for the church, so now they are either owned or controlled by the church. When journals are available, the church does not give access to scholars. While the church is pushing transparency with the documents from the 1800s with projects like the Joseph Smith Papers Project, they are continually tight with more modern records.

If you want to know about Mormon seer stones, secret polygamous wives, divine visions, personal revelations, bank failures and baptisms, callings and excommunications, jail terms and healing miracles, debates over prophetic succession and disagreements about the nature of Zion — they’re all there, in documents, journals, correspondence and histories published by the LDS Church itself.
Materials from the first decades of Mormonism in the early 1800s through the end of the 19th century have been scrutinized, analyzed and criticized from every possible angle and in public.
The modern church? Not so much.
Why top Mormon leaders’ private writings may never become public. LDS Church • Policy dictates they belong to the church, and some historians fear that may keep full story from emerging. Peggy Fletcher Stack, The Salt Lake Tribune, January 30, 2016
https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=3386750&itype=CMSID

Bednar’s statement appears to place undue emphasis on subjective impressions, which can make it harder for members to critically engage with or question his teachings. By discouraging written records of his words, he effectively shields himself from accountability while elevating personal feelings as the ultimate measure of truth. For a church that claims to be led by divine authority and guided by clear doctrine, this approach seems both inconsistent and manipulative, creating an environment where the power of leadership is strengthened while the ability of followers to question is diminished.

David A. Bednar’s statement raises critical concerns about accountability, the promotion of subjective impressions over concrete guidance, and the undermining of critical thinking within the church. By shifting responsibility for spiritual understanding entirely onto the listener and discouraging the documentation of his words, Bednar fosters an environment where leaders evade scrutiny and members are left to navigate faith through ambiguous emotional impressions. This dynamic can be harmful, especially for those who struggle with doubts or seek clarity and accountability from their leaders.

For those who have experienced the weight of such teachings and have chosen to step away, sharing your story can bring light and understanding to others on similar paths. Your voice matters, and your experiences can inspire others to think critically and seek truth. If you’ve deconstructed your faith or navigated a faith crisis, consider sharing your story at wasmormon.org. Together, we can foster a community of honesty, reflection, and support.

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