Authoritarianism and Church leaders

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Contents

Criticism

  • Critics charge that the Church teaches that we should not exercise independent thought.
  • "When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done."

Source(s) of the criticism

Response

See also: Brigham Young on the vital need to know for ourselves

When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done?

Critics use a statement made in the Ward Teachers' Message published in the Improvement Era in June 1945 to claim that members must do whatever Church leaders say without question. The statement is presented by the critics as follows:

Any Latter-day Saint who denounces or opposes, whether actively or otherwise, any plan or doctrine advocated by the "prophets, seers, and revelators" of the Church is cultivating the spirit of apostasy.... Lucifer ... wins a great victory when he can get members of the Church to speak against their leaders and to "do their own thinking."...
When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan—it is God's plan. When they point the way, there is no other which is safe. When they give direction, it should mark the end of controversy.[1]

In order to provide complete context, the unedited version of the statement is shown below, with the phrases emphasized by the critics in bold type:

Any Latter-day Saint who denounces or opposes, whether actively or otherwise, any plan or doctrine advocated by the "prophets, seers, and revelators" of the Church is cultivating the spirit of apostasy. One cannot speak evil of the Lord's anointed and retain the Holy Spirit in his heart.
It should be remembered that Lucifer has a very cunning way of convincing unsuspecting souls that the General Authorities of the Church are as likely to be wrong as they are to be right. This sort of game is Satan's favorite pastime, and he has practiced it on believing souls since Adam. He wins a great victory when he can get members of the Church to speak against their leaders and to "do their own thinking." He specializes in suggesting that our leaders are in error while he plays the blinding rays of apostasy in the eyes of those whom he thus beguiles. What cunning! And to think that some of our members are deceived by this trickery.
The following words of the Prophet Joseph Smith should be memorized by every Latter-day Saint and repeated often enough to insure their never being forgotten:
I will give you one of the Keys of the mysteries of the Kingdom. It is an eternal principle, that has existed with God from all eternity: That man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying that they are out of the way, while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly, that that man is in the high road to apostasy; and if he does not repent, will apostatize, as God lives. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 156-157.)
When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan--it is God's plan. When they point the way, there is no other which is safe. When they give direction, it should mark the end of controversy. God works in no other way. To think otherwise, without immediate repentance, may cost one his faith, may destroy his testimony, and leave him a stranger to the kingdom of God.

Response from President George Albert Smith regarding the statement

When the ward teaching message was published, concerns were raised regarding how this statement would be interpreted. President George Albert Smith responded to a concern expressed by Dr. Raymond A. Cope of the First Unitarian Society:

The leaflet to which you refer, and from which you quote in your letter, was not "prepared" by "one of our leaders." However, one or more of them inadvertently permitted the paragraph to pass uncensored. By their so doing, not a few members of the Church have been upset in their feelings, and General Authorities have been embarrassed.
I am pleased to assure you that you are right in your attitude that the passage quoted does not express the true position of the Church. Even to imply that members of the Church are not to do their own thinking is grossly to misrepresent the true ideal of the Church, which is that every individual must obtain for himself a testimony of the truth of the Gospel, must, through the redemption of Jesus Christ, work out his own salvation, and is personally responsible to His Maker for his individual acts. The Lord Himself does not attempt coercion in His desire and effort to give peace and salvation to His children. He gives the principles of life and true progress, but leaves every person free to choose or to reject His teachings. This plan the Authorities of the Church try to follow.[2](emphasis added)

Statements by other Church leaders

Brigham Young made the following statements:

Ladies and gentlemen, I exhort you to think for yourselves, and read your Bibles for yourselves, get the Holy Spirit for yourselves, and pray for yourselves.[3]
The great masses of the people neither think nor act for themselves. . . . I see too much of this gross ignorance among this chosen people of God.[4]

Joseph Smith said the following:

All have the privilege of thinking for themselves upon all matters relative to conscience. . . . We are not disposed, had we the power, to deprive anyone of exercising that free independence of mind which heaven has so graciously bestowed upon the human family as one of its choicest gifts.[5]

Dallin H. Oaks shared the following in the April 2008 conference:

Members who have a testimony and who act upon it under the direction of their Church leaders are sometimes accused of blind obedience.
Of course, we have leaders, and of course, we are subject to their decisions and directions in the operation of the Church and in the performance of needed priesthood ordinances. But when it comes to learning and knowing the truth of the gospel—our personal testimonies—we each have a direct relationship with God, our Eternal Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, through the powerful witness of the Holy Ghost. This is what our critics fail to understand. It puzzles them that we can be united in following our leaders and yet independent in knowing for ourselves.
Perhaps the puzzle some feel can be explained by the reality that each of us has two different channels to God. We have a channel of governance through our prophet and other leaders. This channel, which has to do with doctrine, ordinances, and commandments, results in obedience. We also have a channel of personal testimony, which is direct to God. This has to do with His existence, our relationship to Him, and the truth of His restored gospel. This channel results in knowledge. These two channels are mutually reinforcing: knowledge encourages obedience (see Deuteronomy 5:27; Moses 5:11), and obedience enhances knowledge (see John 7:17; D&C 93:1).


Additional quotes from both early and modern Church leaders may be found here.

Conclusion

It is clear the Church leaders counsel us to follow the guidance of the prophet. It is also clear that the prophets themselves have counseled us to think for ourselves. James E. Talmage summarized it well when he said that "God has not established His Church to make of its members irresponsible automatons, nor to exact from them blind obedience. Albeit, blessed is the man who, while unable to fathom or comprehend in full the Divine purpose underlying commandment and law, has such faith as to obey. So did Adam in offering sacrifice, yet, when questioned as to the significance of his service, he answered with faith and assurance worthy the patriarch of the race: "I know not, save the Lord commanded me." [6] Each one of us will ultimately be responsible for the decisions that we ourselves have made—not those that the prophet have made. As the Prophet Joseph Smith once said, "I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves."[7]

See also: Will Bagley's Blood of the Prophets on "total submission" to Brigham Young?

Endnotes

  1. [back] Ward Teachers' Message for June, 1945, "SUSTAINING THE GENERAL AUTHORITIES OF THE CHURCH" Improvement Era, June 1945, p.354
  2. [back] Letter from President George Albert Smith to Dr. J. Raymond Cope, Dec. 7, 1945.
  3. [back]  Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 11:107. off-site wiki
  4. [back]  Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 9:295. off-site wiki
  5. [back]  Joseph Smith, Jr., Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, edited by Joseph Fielding Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1976), 49. ISBN 087579243X. off-site
  6. [back]  James E. Talmage, The Vitality of Mormonism, p. 42.
  7. [back] Life of Joseph Smith the Prophet, p. 529.

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

Political issues in Church history wiki articles

FAIR web site

Political issues in Church history FAIR articles
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Political Issues FAIR link

External links

Political issues in Church history on-line articles

Authoritarianism?

  • Eric A. Eliason, "Review of: Forgotten Kingdom: The Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847–1896," FARMS Review of Books 12/1 (2000): 95–112. off-site PDF link

Council of Fifty

  • Michael D. Quinn, "The Council of Fifty and Its Members, 1844 to 1945," Brigham Young University Studies 20:2 (Winter 1980): 163–97. off-site
  • Andrew F. Ehat, "'It Seems Like Heaven Began on Earth': Joseph Smith and the Constitution of the Kingdom of God," Brigham Young University Studies 20:3 (Spring 1980): 253–79. off-site
  • J. Stapley, "Theodemocracy," ByCommonConsent.com (accessed 20 August 2006) off-site
  • Edward G. Thompson, "A Study of the Political Involvements in the Career of Joseph Smith," Master's thesis, Brigham Young University, 1966). off-site

Joseph Smith and politics

  • James B. Allen, "I Have A Question: Was Joseph Smith a Serious Candidate for the Presidency of the United States, or Was He Only Attempting to Publicize Gospel Views on Public Issues," Ensign (September 1973): 21–22. off-site
  • Martin B. Hickman, "The Political Legacy of Joseph Smith," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 3:3 (Autumn 1968): 22–27. off-site
  • Richard D. Poll, "Joseph Smith and the Presidency, 1844," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 3:3 (Autumn 1968): 17–21. off-site
  • Margaret C. Robertson, "The Campaign and the Kingdom: The Activities of the Electioneers in Joseph Smith's Presidential Campaign," Brigham Young University Studies 39:3 (2000): 147–180. off-site (Key source)
  • Joseph Smith, General Smith's Views of the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States (Nauvoo, Illinois: John Taylor, 1844). Republished in Dialogue 3/3 (Autumn 1968): 29–34. off-site

Printed material

Political issues in Church history printed materials

Council of Fifty

  • James R. Clark, "The Kingdom of God, the Council of Fifty, and the Star of Deseret," Utah Historical Quarterly 26 (April 1958): 130–48.
  • G. Homer Durham, Joseph Smith: Prophet-Statesman (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1944).
  • Klaus J. Hansen, Quest for Empire (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1967).

Joseph Smith and politics

  • James B. Allen, Trials of Discipleship: The Story of William Clayton, a Mormon (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987), 101–103.
  • James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard, Story of the Latter-day Saints, 2nd edition revised and enlarged, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1992[1976]), 189–190. ISBN 087579565X. GospeLink
  • Ivan J. Barrett, Joseph Smith and the Restoration, revised edition, (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1973), 572–579.
  • G. Homer Durham, Joseph Smith: Prophet-Statesman (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1944).  (Key source)
  • Arnold K. Garr, "Joseph Smith: Candidate for President of the United States," in Regional Studies in the Latter-day Saint Church History: Illinois, edited by H. Dean Garret (Provo, Utah: Department of Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University, 1995), 151–168. GospeLink GL direct link
  • Francis M. Gibbons, Joseph Smith, Martyr, Prophet of God (Salt Lake City: Desert Book, 1977), 315–318.
  • Clark V. Johnson, "Government Responses to Mormon Appeals, 1840–1846," in Regional Studies in the Latter-day Saint Church History: Illinois, edited by H. Dean Garret (Provo, Utah: Department of Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University, 1995), 183–198. GospeLink GL direct link
  • Brigham H. (B.H.) Roberts, The Rise and Fall of Nauvoo (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1900), 250–254. GospeLink
  • John A. Widtsoe, Joseph Smith: Seeker after Truth, Prophet of God (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1951), 217–219. GospeLink
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