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Mormon General Authorities Are Human

Well, yes I know they're human you will say. The reason I posted this title is because in all my years in the Church, I find a lot of members (I won't dare to say "most" but is pretty close) who almost "worship" General Authorities. What do I mean by that? It is almost like they see them as LDS celebrities, they want a picture with them, shake their hand, an autograph or just being physically close to them. I am aware General Authorities are told not to take pictures with members but I guess they do it because they do not want to "offend" and being labeled as "unfriendly". Few seem to forget that General Authorities are humans just like we are, they commit mistakes, have weakness, and may not always discern others very well.

Recently, Elder Eyring and Elder Bednar were in Jamaica where a Conference for the whole Caribbean region was transmitted to different countries. I thought it was interesting that Elder Eyring would share such personal stories with the Saints, this is one of the things he said as related by LDS news:

Source 8

It is not common (at least for me) that a General Authority would share such personal experiences of overcoming something of these characteristics. I thought it was very courageous of him of doing so, maybe also trying to show as well that General Authorities have the same challenges and maybe the same weaknesses that the general members of the Church who are not in that position.

I am interested in your thoughts, why is it that some members almost "worship" General Authorities? In my sacrament meetings, I hear more what Elder such and such said than what Christ said. I hear testimonies of what Elder such and such shared than a testimony of the Savior. Jesus seemed to be completely forgotten in some of our meetings and replaced by the "wisdom" of men. Even in the Church classrooms in my branch there are huge pictures of the First Presidency on top of the wall, and a small picture of the Savior all the way down.

It has a lot of significance for me and I see these good men for what they are: Men. No better than me, no worst than me but with similar challenges or worst challenges I also deal with on a daily basis. Why is it that a lot of members just can't see it?

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From the Glen Beck's thread:

Wes (referring to General Authorities):

I would like to discuss these points. So are you suggesting the higher the calling in the Church the more knowledge someone possess? So in this case, General Authorities have more knowledge than a regular member? What about spirituality? Are they (in your opinion) more spiritual than a regular member? And most of all, what are the parameters you use to determine all these things?

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I believe in the axiom "where much is given much is required".

I believe that the more authority one receives and the more they are required to lead others, the more they are responsible for the actions that they do. Someone who commits a sexual sin in youth who does not hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, is held to a different standard and will face different consequences than the Bishop who commits adultery or embezzles money. The young women who becomes pregnant when a teenager, will not face the same consequences a woman who has been in the Temple and is unfaithful to her spouse. Also, I believe that someone who has received a testimony of the truth, and rejects it, is condemned more then the person who never receives the testimony.

I do not hold the GA's to be celebrities, I believe they have temptations and we have seen, especially in the infancy of the church that they fall to these temptations. But I admit that I have more expectations for these men, then I do for men of lesser authority, or whose callings are not over as many individuals.

Human Authorities General Mormon

Thanks LDS, I didn't pay attention to this.

But basically, yes. I agree with the posts here.
GA's are at a higher level. They are not any more special to Heavenly Father than any other of His children. It's just like in a family, parents don't expect the same from an 8 year-old than from a 17 year-old. That doesn't make either one better or more special than the other. But there is more expected of the older, than it is from the younger one. Not because he is older, but because of his experience.

Edited: Wes on 6th Aug, 2009 - 12:50am

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What do you exactly mean by "higher level"? Would you mind to expand? Also would you mind answering the questions I put for you in my second post within this thread? Thanks.

Mormon General Authorities Are Human

Just that, they are at a higher level. Like I mentioned before on Glenn's thread, Elder is higher than Deacon. It's not more important, just higher. In Boy Scouts, Eagle is higher than Tenderfoot . . . same thing, a GA is in a higher level than a regular member (like myself).

It depends what you are defining as "knowledge". If you say that a regular member who has a master's degree in physics knows more than a GA about physics, . . . Then maybe no, it probably wouldn't apply. But the way I used the word "knowledge" in Glenn's thread, was that they would have a more conservative mindset, due to their experience in church matter in general.

Not necessarily, we all have the same potential.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no set parameters to determine these things. So, I would just refer you to my own personal opinion expressed above.

Mormon General Authorities Human

Interesting because I have the impression you meant something completely different when you said:

It seemed to me at that time, that you was putting General Authorities above a regular member in levels of spirituality, etc and NOT simple in a hierarchy "high" level so to speak that you just explained.

You even went further when you said:

How do you know that? Because they were called as General Authorities? I know you stated it is your personal opinion but I am curious to know how you personally determined all these things. You know, your position is a very common one within the membership and I am always puzzled about the reasoning that General Authorities are more knowledgeable on spiritual matters, "higher" than regular members, if they say something is automatically scripture and they're never wrong. It is almost like the members never heard of General Authorities who have fallen and even committed serious crimes. They're MEN, just like us...no different.

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OK LDS, you need to decide what you want to discuss here. If it's Glenn's comment, we need to go back to his thread. If it's my opinion on GA's and regular memebers, then we need to break off from Glenn's comments. I know Glenn is a member like me or anyone else, but my post on Glenn's thread may not completely apply here because we are not talking about Glenn's comment here and many posts will not properly fit here. That is why you moved it here right? Not all comments will fit all threads, because they are different topics.

How do you know that? Because they were called as General Authorities? I know you stated it is your personal opinion but I am curious to know how you personally determined all these things. You know, your position is a very common one within the membership and I am always puzzled about the reasoning that General Authorities are more knowledgeable on spiritual matters, "higher" than regular members, if they say something is automatically scripture and they're never wrong. It is almost like the members never heard of General Authorities who have fallen and even committed serious crimes. They're MEN, just like us...no different.

What are you assuming here? I have never said such things(like GA's are never wrong or whatever they say is automatically scripture). All I said is that (and that was on Glenn's thread) GA's are at a higher level of understanding. What's wrong with that? They are. They guide the church! they have a higher level of understanding than Glenn. (That was on Glenn's thread) That is why I said that we couln't compare Glenn's comment with that of a GA.
Or do you feel that you have the same level of understanding, knowledge etc than a GA? I certainly don't, and I doubt very strongly that you do, because I'm almost sure that you haven't been guiding the church. That alone, is higher understanding to me.
Please don't mix things up here.