[2] After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in the spring of 1943.

[3] They married in the Logan Temple in 1947 and had ten children, including emeritus LDS general authority Allan F.

[5] In 2014, BYU's Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum installed an exhibit featuring many of Packer's paintings and sculptures.

[8] In 1961, Packer was called by LDS Church president David O. McKay to serve as a general authority as an Assistant to the Twelve (a position that no longer exists).

"[11] In 1993, Packer read the dedicatory prayer in the Spanish language at the dedication of the San Diego California Temple.

[20] Packer also taught the importance of following the rule before the exception[21] and of hymn-centered prelude music for worship services.

Items he cited as immoral included “unmarried couples, abortion, the elimination of prayer from public life, addictive drugs, and the placing of the collective rights of the majority in subjugation to any citizen’s individual rights.”[23] Packer served as an advisor to the Genesis Group,[24] a social organization of the LDS Church for African-American members and their families, and was also active in obtaining genealogical records on microfilm for the church through its Genealogical Society of Utah.

[25] He was involved in negotiations that same year with archivists and scholars at Jerusalem to microfilm Jewish records.

[26] In a General Conference Priesthood Session in October 1976, Packer gave a sermon entitled "To Young Men Only", in which he discouraged boys of the Young Men organization in the Aaronic priesthood from pursuing activities which the LDS Church defines as immoral, including masturbation, the use of pornography, and homosexual activities.

The church responded to this petition by reaffirming its doctrinal position on marriage while reiterating the universal need to follow "Jesus Christ's second great commandment—to love one another.

"[33][34][35] Following the conference, Packer altered the published text of the sermon to "clarif[y] his intent.

In 1981, Packer advocated that Latter-day Saint historians and educators should use discretion in discussing history that does not promote faith.

[43] Quinn also discussed what he viewed as a Mormon tradition of portraying LDS leaders as infallible people.

"[45] In May 2013, Weber State University, where Packer received an associate degree in 1948 and where he met his wife, designated a public service center for families the "Boyd K. and Donna Smith Packer Family and Community Education Center".