You Must Be Confusing Me With My Brother...

I grew a beard in May as part of my "vacation scruff." It seemed to fit my face surprising well, so I've kept it. No one in Guam has questioned it beyond the typical "why did you grow it" question. Mostly, people have been telling me that it looks good, helps me look distinguished and ages me up some. All things I can do with.

I have had some people (all from the mainland U.S.) ask if someone with my church calling, Stake Presidency, is allowed to have a beard. After the first prophet of the restoration, Joseph Smith, every LDS prophet until David O. McKay had facial hair. After that time, there seemed to be an unofficial policy change that Church leaders no longer were to have facial hair. Indeed, many Church leaders have received council in certain circumstances to shave. Employees of the Church and students of Church-owned universities are restricted from facial hair (with the exception of a finely trimmed mustache, oddly). I do not know for certain, but I suspect the General Authorities (a more select group of leaders over larger geographical areas) would be asked to shave when called into those positions.

So, I understand why some people ask, "Are you allowed to have a beard?" There is no official Church policy that I could identify in the current handbooks that say one way or the other. I'm not completely devoted to my beard, but I do plan to keep it for a while. Most members in church have even told me privately that I look better with the beard than without. If my leader tells me it has to go, I won't get offended, I can get rid of it. But, for now, I like it. In fact, it's had a mostly positive effect in church.

A couple of weeks ago, a member of my church came up to me and told me about his son. At the beginning of church, the son looked up at the stand where I was sitting, pointed to me and said to his dad excitedly, "Jesus!"

I like to think that it my countenance and not just the beard that led him to that conclusion...

I don't have a better picture of the beard yet, but you get the idea.