“Priestcraft”

Priestcraft is the sin committed by the combination of a good act—such as preaching or teaching the gospel—and a bad motive. The act may be good and visible, but the sin is in the motive. On earth, the wrong motive may be known only to the actor, but in heaven it is always known to God… . The sin of priestcraft is a grievous one. Time after time the Lord has condemned those who appear to men to be his servants, but who, though they draw near to him with their lips, have removed their hearts far from him. This description of those who have no true motive to serve the Lord appears in Isaiah (29:13), in Matthew (15:8), in 2 Nephi (27:25), and in Joseph Smith’s History (JS—H 1:19). In modern as in ancient times, those who appear to be servants of the Lord and present themselves to labor in his vineyard are subject to the prophetic principle: “The laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish” (2 Nephi 26:31).

The prototype of those who appear to serve God but actually have other motives is King Amaziah, who “did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart” (2 Chronicles 25:2).

During my lifetime, I have seen more than a few persons in positions of responsibility in various churches whose activities in the “work of the Lord” seemed to be motivated predominantly by personal interest. The commandment to avoid priestcraft is a vital challenge to religious persons in every age of time. (Dallin H. Oaks, Pure in Heart [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], 16–17)