Addressing his Saturday evening priesthood session remarks to a far-away friend, whom he called Ben, and all the "Bens" in the Church attempting to measure up as men, Bishop Richard C. Edgley said, "True manhood . . . comes only if and when we earn it."

He contrasted Satan, whose religion, philosophy and work is based on "deception and lies" to Jesus, who voluntarily submitted Himself to the will of His Father.

"His ways, not Satan's, lead to manhood," declared Bishop Edgley, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric. "Anyone who believes otherwise is already tangling himself up in the everlasting chains of Satan's deception." (See 2 Ne. 28:19.)

With that background, Bishop Edgley gave two criteria, "of what could be many," for true manhood: (1) A true man is strong enough to withstand the wiles of Satan. (2) A true man is humble enough to submit himself to the redemptive powers of the Savior."

The attributes of manhood are not necessarily physical, said Bishop Edgley, explaining: "Real courage includes standing against the evil one, even when we stand alone, often feeling the disdain and ridicule of others. This is courage. This is strength. This is manhood, and it can be tough."

He told of a young man selected to play for an all-star basketball tournament in another state. Instead of staying in the hotel room, where his roommates had elected to watch pornographic movies, the boy left and walked the city by himself well into the night until the movies were over.

"And I say, Behold a man, an 18-year-old boy turned man," Bishop Edgley said.

Some burdens, he explained, are so heavy that one can only conquer them through humility, submissiveness and contrition.

"That sounds like a contradiction, doesn't it?" he asked. "But that is one of the great ironies of life — we can receive power beyond our natural ability by submitting our will to the Father. . . . Those who have committed serious transgression must follow the carefully planned path of repentance provided by the Savior and often directed by a bishop or stake president. This becomes the true test of manhood, and not all are man enough to meet this challenge."

In summation, he said: "Ben, you can describe a man in inches, pounds, complexion or physique. But you measure a man by character, compassion, integrity, tenderness and principle. Simply stated, the measures of a man are embedded in his heart and soul, not his physical attributes." (See 1 Sam. 16:7.)