The "Good Neighbor" policy is a collective term used to describe a variety of reforms adopted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1927. The reforms were primarily intended to remove from church literature, sermons, and ceremonies any explicit or implicit suggestion that Latter-day Saints should seek vengeance on the citizens or government of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 for past persecutions of the church and its members, and in particular for the assassinations

Death of Joseph Smith, Jr.

The death of Joseph Smith, Jr. on June 27, 1844 marked a turning point for the Latter Day Saint movement, of which Smith was the founder and leader. When he was attacked and killed by a mob, Smith was the mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois, and running for President of the United States...

 of church founder Joseph Smith, Jr. and his brother Hyrum

Hyrum Smith

Hyrum Smith was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....

. The name of the policy is borrowed from U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

's Good Neighbor foreign policy

Good Neighbor policy

The Good Neighbor policy was the foreign policy of the administration of United States President Franklin Roosevelt toward the countries of Latin America. Its main principle was that of non-intervention and non-interference in the domestic affairs of Latin America...

, which was first articulated in 1933.

Changes in temple ordinances

In 1919, shortly after he became the president of the LDS Church, Heber J. Grant

Heber J. Grant

Heber Jeddy Grant was the seventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . He was ordained an apostle on October 16, 1882, on the same day as George Teasdale...

 appointed a committee to review the content of ordinances performed in LDS Church temples

Temple (LDS Church)

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time...

. The committee completed its work in 1927 and recommended to Grant that the oath of vengeance

Oath of vengeance

In Mormonism, the oath of vengeance was an oath that was made by participants in the Endowment ritual of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between about 1845 and the 1920s, in which participants vowed to pray that God would avenge the blood of the prophets Joseph Smith, Jr...

 be removed from the temple Endowment

Endowment (Latter Day Saints)

In the theology of the Latter Day Saint movement, an endowment refers to a gift of "power from on high", typically associated with Latter Day Saint temples. The purpose and meaning of the endowment varied during the life of movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr...

 ceremony. The oath of vengeance required participants to agree to be bound by the following oath:

"You and each of you do covenant and promise that you will pray and never cease to pray to Almighty God to avenge the blood of the prophets upon this nation, and that you will teach the same to your children and to your children's children unto the third and fourth generation."

On February 15, 1927, Apostle George F. Richards

George F. Richards

George Franklin Richards was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from April 9, 1906 until his death...

, acting on behalf of the First Presidency

First Presidency (LDS Church)

The First Presidency is the presiding or governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is composed of the President of the Church and his counselors. The First Presidency currently consists of President Thomas S. Monson and his two counselors, Henry B...

 and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, notified the presidents

Temple President

Temple president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A temple president's primary responsibility is to supervise the affairs of an LDS temple in both an administrative and spiritual capacity....

 of the church's six temples that "all reference to retribution" was to be removed from the Endowment ceremony and that the oath of vengeance was to no longer be administered. He also added that "all reference to avenging the blood of the Prophets" should be omitted from the prayer given in the temple's prayer circle

Prayer circle (Mormonism)

In Mormonism, a prayer circle, also known as the True Order of Prayer is a ritual established by Joseph Smith, Jr. that some Mormons believe is a more potent means of receiving blessings and revelation from God...

.

Changes in church literature

In 1927, the church also moved to change similar references in church literature. For example, since 1844, Latter-day Saints had sung the hymn "Praise to the Man

Praise to the Man

"Praise to the Man" is a poem written as a tribute to Joseph Smith, Jr. by Latter Day Saint leader and hymn writer William W. Phelps. The poem was composed soon after Smith's death, and was later set to music and adopted as a hymn of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

" as a tribute to Joseph Smith. Part of the second verse read, "Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins, / Stain Illinois, while the earth lauds his fame". In its 1927 hymnal, the church substituted "Stain Illinois" with "Plead unto heav'n".

Name

While it was being implemented, the LDS Church did not describe its changes as part of an overall plan or shift in policy. Therefore, the church gave no official name to the policy. However, after the policy changes were implemented, some commentators began referring to the changes as the LDS Church's "Good Neighbor" policy.