--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 5 number: 6 published: 1902-04 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "How to Treat Secret Offense," *Improvement Era* 5, no. 6 (April 1902): 476.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0506unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera0506unse start_page: 476 end_page: 476 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1902-04) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0506unse publication_year: 1902 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1902, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # How to Treat Secret Offense How to Treat Secret Offense. If a person is offended by the words of another in secret, would it be right for the person so offended to make the offense public before first trying to settle it privately? For an answer, see the Doctrine and Covenants, sec. 42, pages 176-177, which completely answers this question. Please read paragraphs 88-93. The 92nd paragraph contains a full answer to the inquiry: If any shall offend in secret, he or she shall be rebuked in secret, that he or she may have opportunity to confess in secret to him or her whom he or she has offended, and to God, that the Church may not speak reproachfully of him or her.