Confidence amid Change (ePub)

Charismatic and a polished public speaker, LDSPresident David O. McKay instilled devotion in churchmembers around the globe. An avowed optimist, hemaintained a lifelong "e;faith in mankind; they are God'schildren."e; His desire to share the Mormon gospelcoincided with a deep need to protect the churchfrom outside social pressures, leading him to adopt anuanced yet politically conservative public image.Though his genial personality aided him in unifyingchurch leadership, McKay's dislike of interpersonalconflict allowed strong-willed colleagues to sometimesovershadow him. He personally disagreed with apostleEzra Taft Benson's advocacy for the right-wing JohnBirch Society, while allowing Benson and others topromote an extremely conservative political agenda inreligious settings.Similar hesitancy existed in McKay's failure to liftthe priesthood and temple ban against black Mormons.Governing during the height of the Civil Rights movement,he never fully reconciled his belief in humanspiritual equality with the racial tensions of his era.The voice of his dedicated secretary Clare Middlemissoften guides the diary's narratives, revealing notonly the personal musings of the church prophet buttracking the birth and development of the modernLDS Church as a social, political, and economic entity.