How Teaching the Words of Prophets Brought Clyde J. Williams to the Correlation Department

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By Joel Randall, Church News

After being diagnosed in 2013 with cancer that quickly spread, and even after receiving months of treatment, Clyde J. Williams was given only six months to live. Yet he trusted whatever God’s plan had in store, declaring to his family, “I also have the faith that if I’m not healed, that it’s the Lord’s will, and we can deal with that.”

He remembered the Lord added 15 years to Hezekiah’s life in 2 Kings 20, and Williams prayed saying he would accept His will, but that if He also gave him a reprieve, “I promise You that I’ll use my time well, and I’ll try to use it wisely.”

Listen to this related podcast from the Church News Church News podcast: The unifying power of Church Correlation with Clyde J. Williams

By May of 2015, his cancer was declared in remission and has been ever since. Williams continued his work in the Correlation Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the next decade.

Williams retired May 31, 2017, but when his department needed to hire another staff member, he returned to work the next day and has been volunteering to this day, keeping his promise to spend his time and talents for a good cause.

“I enjoyed this work, and I thought, ‘What am I going to do that’s better and that could be more of a contribution?’” he said on the Church News podcast that aired Tuesday, July 23. “And so I did that.”

What Is Correlation?

In the Correlation Evaluation division of the Correlation Department, Williams assists the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to “ensure that the Church remains one in Christ, aligned in doctrine, policy and practice, to further God’s work to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

This correlation of doctrine includes a review of Church messages shared worldwide, from publications and curriculum to the Book of Mormon Videos series. Williams explained: “Our responsibility is to make sure that the doctrine that’s being taught and printed and used by the resources of the Church is correct and that it’s all in harmony.”

In his role, Williams hasn’t had a day where he dreaded coming to work, he said. “I’m grateful to be a part of the onward movement of this Church and kingdom here upon the earth.”

By working closely with Church leaders, Williams has come to love and appreciate them and their efforts. His job has instilled in him a greater witness that they are divinely called servants of the Lord.

“When I see the dedication and the commitment and the time that they put in, I just stand in awe of them,” said Williams, “and it just makes me want to do more myself to try to help build the kingdom and to lift and bless others.”

This Role ‘Continues to Bless my Life Immensely’

Before joining the Correlation Department in 2010, Williams taught seminary for seven years, started writing curriculum for the Church Educational System in 1981, then started teaching at BYU in 1986. He gained a rich knowledge of the scriptures in these roles and taught classes about each of the four standard works.

“I wanted to become a generalist and not just fixated on one subject,” said Williams. “And I also found as I did this, that I saw a lot more associations and connections between these subjects.”

He asked students to apply what they read from the scriptures and ask themselves: “Why did the Lord include this? What did He want us to learn?”

A similar application came as he wrote curriculum and emphasized personal connection to the material. Williams said: “It’s not just knowing what’s in the text, it’s knowing why it’s there and why the Lord had it included for us.”

His studying the words of ancient prophets and apostles extended into compiling books of the teachings of latter-day prophets. He worked to put together the “Teachings of Presidents of the Church” books for Presidents Lorenzo Snow, Harold B. Lee and Howard W. Hunter. He also assembled a book of teachings from President Boyd K. Packer, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, published seven years before his death.

In his current efforts in the Correlation Department to ensure correct doctrine, “I continue to have the opportunity to be asked, ‘What have the prophets said about this? What have they said about that?’ Well, I’ve spent my life trying to compile and to learn those kinds of things and have resources available to do that.”

All this has prepared Williams to apply and teach doctrine accurately, and more than anything, it’s a blessing to use his experience to that end — a role he doesn’t have to be paid for to enjoy.

“I love doing it, and I’m grateful to do it as a volunteer,” he said, “and it’s blessed and continues to bless my life immensely.”

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