Conduct of Church Membership Councils
Doctrine and Covenants 42:80–83
80 And if any man or woman shall commit adultery, he or she shall be tried before two elders of the church, or more, and every word shall be established against him or her by two witnesses of the church, and not of the enemy; but if there are more than two witnesses it is better.
81 But he or she shall be condemned by the mouth of two witnesses; and the elders shall lay the case before the church, and the church shall lift up their hands against him or her, that they may be dealt with according to the law of God.
82 And if it can be, it is necessary that the bishop be present also.
83 And thus ye shall do in all cases which shall come before you.
Elder Theodore M. Burton said:
“The word discipline has the same root as the word disciple. A disciple is a student or follower—one who is learning. Church discipline, then, must become a teaching process.”
(“To Forgive Is Divine,” Ensign, May 1983, 71.)
