😇 Infallibility¶
Estimated time to read: 6 minutes
“Be ye therefore perfect.”¶
“Nah, we don’t ever claim to be perfect! The Gospel is perfect, our church structure / leadership / members / teachings are not perfect.”
Ok.
Imperfect individuals¶
Can you tell me about something that, for example, Russel Nelson has done that you find problematic or disagreeable? Or, more generously, can you list anything he’s said or done that indicates imperfection? I’m not trying to catch you, hypothetical conversation partner, in your words— I’m observing that the inability to scrutinize any behavior doesn’t sit well with the idea that leaders are infallible.
If your answer is ‘no’, that’s an acceptable answer, as long as you don’t perpetuate the idea that the leaders are imperfect. I think one should be able to point to examples of imperfection, if we stand by the idea that those imperfections exist.
Is the church led by God, or not? Are the church leaders (Q15) inspired of God? To what extent should we equate their behavior with divinity?
What's the standard?¶
I don't know of anyone who expects, requires, or demands prophets of the LDS church to be perfect or infallible.
Speaking to my own experience, I do expect them to be honest. I expect them to not be deceptive. I expect them to not hide the uncomfortable bits of history, but to own up to them. I expect that when they speak for God and proclaim something as doctrine that they get it right, and it isn't necessary to retract it a few years later. Or any number of years later.
Does that equate to perfection? I'm not sure that it does. If I misrepresent things in my career, I run the risk of getting removed from my employment.
Thought exercise¶
I’m about to make up a few dumb, hyperbolic examples for illustration purposes:
If Elder Rasband, being an imperfect mortal, wants a Whopper from Burger King, is his spoken order for fast food to be counted as divine or scriptural? No, that would be nonsense.
If Elder Uchtdorf has a granddaughter who is about to get married, and he shares some advice and wisdom from life experience, should that be counted as divine or scriptural? Not necessarily, even though those words may be valid having been borne of life experience. Grandparents, seniors, etc have life experience, and can share wisdom from it. Incidentally, LDS church leadership is made up largely of nonagenarians.
Contrast that to someone like Dallin H Oaks defending Mark Hoffman’s documents, before they are found to be forgeries. He’s an apostle, directly confronting a theological matter. Was he inspired of God to do that?
Observing that the context of a church leaders' words is important and impactful, but please don't think that only works in defending them. If they proclaim something while acting under their calling, I'm going to use that to compare against their claim to divine influence.
Representatives of a Perfect God¶
If prophets are sustained as being representatives, mouthpieces, spokesmen, emissaries, etc of God, and God is perfect... To what extent should we expect perfection of mortals?
I don't think its reasonable for someone who believes they were voluntold called by God to be held to that standard. On paper, the responsibility is voluntary ("do you accept this calling?") but culturally it is compulsory. I don't want to defend church leadership in this way, instead, I do think its fair to have their actions under greater scrutiny. Hold leaders to accountability, to a high standard, which would manifest as emphasizing mistakes until they make restitution.
The Old Testament has some passages about those purporting to be prophets:
21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?
22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
"If they make a prophecy and it doesn't happen, that means it wasn't from God, and this prophet is being a jackwagon."
The point I'm trying to arrive at is that no, church leaders are not perfect, but because they represent a perfect being, those leaders should be held to account for shortcomings. That's a lot of pressure and a lot of scrutiny. That would not make it an enviable position to be in.
Attend any given General Conference session, and count how many times the speakers (representing God) offer verbal praises to specific individuals. Count how many times Jesus is quoted, Joseph Smith is quoted, or [current standing President of the church] is quoted. I find it notorious that during President Nelson's leadership, so many speakers quote Nelson, "our beloved prophet." Prayers thank God for "our beloved prophet, even president Russell Marion Nelson." We regularly use the hymn, We Thank Thee O God, for a Prophet. It's not really explicitly praising the church presidency, but think of it from an outsider's perspective. Would it look like hero worship to a non-Mormon? No one in conference is explicitly saying that Nelson is perfection, but "by their fruits ye shall know them." Oh, does that only apply to heathens? Nevermind, then.
So what do we do when they make mistakes? We're told that God removes a prophet if they are unworthy of the position. If we see a church leader make an egregious mistake, or catch them deliberately lying, what do we do? God hasn't removed Dallin Oaks from his position in church leadership. So who holds church leadership to account?
The saga around one Nemo the Mormon revolves around this issue. Nemo documents and outlines apostles doing things unbecoming of a representative of Christ. If a bishop warrants complaint, go one level higher to the stake authority. If a stake authority warrants complaint, escalate to area authority. Area, then to apostle. Apostle, first presidency. But what if the first presidency does something egregious? Who holds them to account for their actions?
I'm not trying to make the case that an imperfect human should accurately reflect God's perfection. I am, however, trying to make the case that when someone falls short, we don't brush it off as "they're imperfect, deal with it," rather, "they are misrepresenting God." What would be the consequences for misrepresenting God?