Friday, June 3, 2016

Prophetic (In)fallibility in the LDS Church

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (known colloquially as the "LDS" or "Mormon" Church), I believe that God calls modern-day prophets and apostles to lead His work on the earth. The brethren—the prophet, his two counselors, and the twelve apostles—receive revelation directly from God and impart that revelation to the world. Each member is taught to follow the prophet, for the prophet is called of God to give inspired counsel and direction to God's children. However, members are also taught that the brethren can make mistakes. They are fallible. They are imperfect, and therefore can be wrong. The question is what members should do when they strongly believe that the brethren are wrong.

The Doctrine of Prophetic Fallibility

Do members of the Church truly believe that their prophets are fallible? If you ask members about following the prophet, they will be quick to claim that they are not taught to follow the prophet blindly. The Church does not teach prophetic infallibility. However, those who consider themselves to be steadfast members of the Church are often quick to judge other members (or even non-members) who suggest that the brethren may be wrong. I have heard several active members of the Church complain about those who question the teachings of the prophets: "They don't have to be members of the Church. If they don't like the doctrine of the Church, then they should just leave." But if the doctrine teaches that prophets are fallible, then it is entirely possible for a member to both have a strong testimony of the doctrine and disagree with what prophets are teaching. So are prophets fallible, or aren't they?

Prophets Acknowledge Their Own Fallibility

The most potent argument for prophetic fallibility is that prophets themselves claim fallibility:

  • "And, to be perfectly frank, there have been times when members or leaders in the Church have simply made mistakes. There may have been things said or done that were not in harmony with our values, principles, or doctrine. I suppose the Church would be perfect only if it were run by perfect beings. God is perfect, and His doctrine is pure. But He works through us—His imperfect children—and imperfect people make mistakes." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, First Presidency, 2013
  • "Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham Young or President George Q. Cannon or whomsoever has said in days past that is contrary to the present revelation. We spoke with a limited understanding and without the light and knowledge that now has come into the world. We get our truth and our light line upon line and precept upon precept. We have now had added a new flood of intelligence and light on this particular subject, and it erases all the darkness and all the views and all the thoughts of the past. They don't matter any more." - Bruce R. McKonkie, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 1979
  • "There is no special virtue in blind faith. ... Just as the truths of science must be tested and verified by reason and factual investigation, so the moral and spiritual truths which the world is seeking from its prophets must be proved and validated in the experience of men. In his search for truth, every man must be true to himself. He must answer to his own reason and to his own moral conscience. Anything less than this would betray his dignity as a human being and a child of God." - Hugh B. Brown, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 1970
  • "[The saints] were depending on the Prophet, hence were darkened in their minds, in consequence of neglecting the duties devolving upon themselves." - Joseph Smith, Prophet, 1842

A Simple Proof

These claims alone should be enough to convince anyone that the Church embraces the doctrine of prophetic fallibility. The fact that prophets claim fallibility is enough to prove prophetic fallibility using a proof by contradiction:

  1. Assume that prophets are infallible
  2. Prophets teach that they are fallible
  3. Thus, prophets are fallible, a contradiction

An assumption of prophetic infallibility leads to a logical contradiction, thereby proving the assumption is false. Ergo, prophets must not be infallible.

Examples of Prophetic Fallibility

Because relatively few members of the Church truly believe and act as if prophets are fallible, most members cannot even think of an instance when the brethren have ever been wrong. Edward Kimball, son of former LDS prophet Spencer W. Kimball, said, "We pay lip service to the prophet's fallibility, but when you come down to specifics, we can't think of any incidents where a prophet was wrong." Here are some examples that demonstrate that prophets can be wrong:

  • In Bruce R. McKonkie's aforementioned quote, he refers to his own previous teachings regarding blacks and the priesthood as "limited understanding" and "the darkness of the past." Prior to the sermon from which this quote is taken, McKonkie had taught that blacks would never receive the priesthood because they were descendants of Cain and had been less valiant in the pre-existence. The Church has since officially rejected this doctrine.
  • As president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1961, Joseph Fielding Smith taught that man would never travel into space or land on the moon: "We will never get a man into space. This earth is man's sphere and it was never intended that he should get away from it. The moon is a superior planet to the earth and it was never intended that man should go there. You can write it down in your books that this will never happen." After Apollo XI, Smith admitted that he had been wrong.
  • Brigham Young explicitly taught that the sun of our solar system is a world much like ours that has reached its Celestial form: "So it is with regard to the inhabitants of the sun. Do you think it is inhabited? I rather think it is. Do you think there is any life there? No question of it; it was not made in vain. It was made to give light to those who dwell upon it, and to other planets; and so will this earth when it is celestialized." President Young was acting as a prophet in giving this sermon, since he had recently said in a previous sermon that every sermon he gives should be called scripture. However, this teaching is no longer considered Church doctrine.
  • Brigham Young also taught that all physical pain is caused by evil spirits: "You never felt a pain and ache, or felt disagreeable, or uncomfortable in your bodies and minds, but what an evil spirit was present causing it. Do you realize that the ague, the fever, the chills, the severe pain in the head, the pleurisy or any pain in the system, from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, is put there by the devil? You do not realize this, do you? ... When you have the rheumatism, do you realize that the devil put that upon you? No, but you say, 'I got wet, caught cold, and thereby got the rheumatism.' The spirits that afflict us and plant disease in our bodies, pain in the system, and finally death, have control over us so far as the flesh is concerned." This teaching implies that if anything (such as modern medicine) heals or alleviates pain, it is only because it is effective in driving evil spirits away. I imagine most medical professionals in the Church no longer consider this teaching to be official doctrine.
  • Eliza R. Snow, one of the wives of the prophet Joseph Smith, claimed that Joseph had taught that the lost ten tribes were on a different planet that had separated from earth, and that the tribes could not be found until the planet collided with the earth. This doctrine is the central theme of hymn #322 of the 1905 hymn book, "Thou, Earth, Wast Once a Glorious Sphere."

The above list is not completely exhaustive, but it illustrates that there are concrete instances in which leaders of the Church have been wrong.

Prophets are fallible, and prophets have been wrong. So, shouldn't it be acceptable (even expected) for members to disagree with the brethren from time to time? That can be a difficult question to answer considering that the doctrine of following the prophet is a major tenet of the LDS faith.

The Doctrine of Following the Prophet

The doctrine of modern-day prophets and apostles is a core belief in the Church. The first lesson that Mormon missionaries typically teach to students of the gospel focuses on what prophets are, how God has used them in the past, how God called Joseph Smith as a latter-day prophet, and how to get confirmation from God that Joseph Smith was a prophet. There are sacred hymns and children's songs that teach members of the Church to follow the prophet without straying. Twice a year, all the members of the Church spend ten hours of a weekend to listen to the prophets, apostles, and other leaders of the Church. The concept of getting continuous revelation from a living prophet of God is what makes the Church a "true and living" church.

Although leaders of the Church admit that they are fallible, the Church expects its members to trust and to follow counsel from leaders. The Church advises members against assuming that leaders might be wrong about significant topics and warns members of the dangers of holding strongly to opinions that are contrary to the teachings of the prophets:

  • "As an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ and as one who has seen firsthand the councils and workings of this Church, I bear solemn witness that no decision of significance affecting this Church or its members is ever made without earnestly seeking the inspiration, guidance, and approbation of our Eternal Father. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. God will not allow His Church to drift from its appointed course or fail to fulfill its divine destiny." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, First Presidency, 2013
  • "Some members or former members of our church fail to recognize the importance of the priesthood line. They underestimate the importance of the Church and its leaders and its programs. Relying entirely on the personal line, they go their own way, purporting to define doctrine and to direct competing organizations contrary to the teachings of prophet-leaders. In this they mirror the modern hostility to what is disparagingly called 'organized religion.' Those who reject the need for organized religion reject the work of the Master, who established His Church and its officers in the meridian of time and who reestablished them in modern times." - Dallin H. Oaks, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 2010
  • "There are some of our members who practice selective obedience. A prophet is not one who displays a smorgasbord of truth from which we are free to pick and choose. However, some members become critical and suggest the prophet should change the menu. A prophet doesn't take a poll to see which way the wind of public opinion is blowing. He reveals the will of the Lord to us." - Glenn L Pace, Presiding Bishopric, 1989
  • "The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so He will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty." - Wilford Woodruff, Prophet, 1893

Some of these quotes may seem to imply prophetic infallibility, particularly President Woodruff's quote about the president of the Church not being able to lead the Church astray. If the quote was intended to imply infallibility, then it can reasonably be concluded that the quote is simply another example of a leader being wrong. However, these quotes can be interpreted so that they don't imply prophetic infallibility. The meaning of President Woodruff's quote, for example, depends on what it means to "lead [the Church] astray." Brigham Young's teaching regarding the nature of the sun is a good example of how a leader of the Church can be wrong without leading the Church astray. Brigham Young may have been wrong, but the misinformation was fairly harmless, and likely didn't lead to members acting against God's will. In any case, there are important takeaways from these quotes:

  • The brethren sincerely seek the will of the Lord in all decisions they make, especially decisions that affect the Church or its members.
  • This is the Lord's Church, and any wrongs will eventually be righted so that the Church can fulfill its divine destiny.
  • The Savior instituted organized religion (and thus there is nothing inherently wrong with organized religion).
  • The leaders of the Church do not change their teachings just to match changes in public opinion.

The leaders of the Church sincerely strive to know and convey the will of the Lord in all that they do. They fall short and make mistakes sometimes, but their hearts are in the right place.

Even though their hearts are in the right place, leaders of the Church still can make mistakes, and those mistakes can potentially harm or offend a lot of people. Are members of the Church expected to follow blindly anyway? The Church has taught that members are never expected to follow the prophet blindly, but they are expected to gain a personal testimony of the brethren's teachings for themselves.

The Doctrine of Personal Revelation

Each member of the Church has both the right and the responsibility to confirm the truth of any gospel principle by communicating with the source of all truth, our Heavenly Father. God uses prophets to communicate His will to the masses, but it is up to each individual to confirm truth with God through prayer:

  • "In this Church that honors personal agency so strongly, that was restored by a young man who asked questions and sought answers, we respect those who honestly search for truth. It may break our hearts when their journey takes them away from the Church we love and the truth we have found, but we honor their right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience, just as we claim that privilege for ourselves." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, First Presidency, 2013
  • "We all need a personal testimony of truth. As our faith develops, we necessarily rely on the words and faith of others, like our parents, teachers, or priesthood leaders (see D&C 46:14). But if we are solely dependent on one particular priesthood leader or teacher for our personal testimony of the truth instead of getting that testimony through the personal line, we will be forever vulnerable to disillusionment by the action of that person. When it comes to a mature knowledge or testimony of the truth, we should not be dependent on a mortal mediator between us and our Heavenly Father." - Dallin H. Oaks, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 2010
  • "Faith is the ground of all religion, but there is no special virtue in blind faith. Only faith that is grounded in a courageous search for truth is worthy of the student. We should reject every temptation to irrationality, overcome every inclination to disregard or distort the facts, avoid the extremes of fanaticism, and above all else, demand the truth. Here is the firm foundation for our religion—a religion that describes the glory of God as intelligence (D&C 93:36) and proclaims that man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge." - Hugh B. Brown, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 1970
  • "Just as the truths of science must be tested and verified by reason and factual investigation, so the moral and spiritual truths which the world is seeking from its prophets must be proved and validated in the experience of men. In his search for truth, every man must be true to himself. He must answer to his own reason and to his own moral conscience. Anything less than this would betray his dignity as a human being and a child of God. True dignity is never won by place, and it is never lost when honors are withdrawn." - Hugh B. Brown, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 1970
  • "We talk of obedience, but do we require any man or woman to ignorantly obey the counsels that are given? Do the First Presidency require it? No, never." - Joseph F. Smith, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 1873
  • "I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by Him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken that influence they could give to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the revelations of Jesus, that they are led in the right way. Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not." - Brigham Young, Prophet, 1862
  • "[The saints] were depending on the Prophet, hence were darkened in their minds, in consequence of neglecting the duties devolving upon themselves." - Joseph Smith, Prophet, 1842

Members are taught to seek truth from God for themselves. The Church was founded by a boy who was unwilling to blindly follow the ecclesiastical leaders of his day. He had questions, and he was not satisfied with the answers he got from various preachers and ministers. By refusing to accept the teachings of others, Joseph Smith was able to find truth for himself. It is no wonder that Joseph was later concerned when members of the Church depended too much on him and his teachings instead of seeking truth and understanding for themselves.

Does this doctrine of discovering truth for oneself "trump" the doctrine of following counsel from those whom the Lord has called to be prophets? I argue that it can, at least in some cases. The above quotes seem to teach as much. Each member is responsible for verifying the words of the prophets through sincere study and prayer, and each member is responsible for acting on personal revelation from God. All members are exhorted to find truth for themselves and to act on that truth. However, as previously stated, the doctrine of following the prophet should not be ignored altogether. Members should pay close attention to what the Lord's servants say. God works through His prophets, and one must be familiar with the words of the prophets in order to be fully tuned to God's will. Then members must take the words of the prophets to the Lord to receive personal revelation.

When a member of the Church sincerely strives to verify the teachings of the prophets, there are three possible outcomes:

  1. The member feels a strong spiritual witness that the doctrine in question is true.
  2. The member feels a strong spiritual witness that the doctrine in question is not true.
  3. The member feels no strong spiritual witness at all.

Those whose experiences fall into the first category should obviously follow the prophet and live according to the doctrine in question. But what does the Church expect of members whose experiences fall into the other categories? What if a member receives no divine guidance or continues to feel strongly against the teachings of the brethren?

Richard G. Scott teaches that "when [God] withholds an answer, it is to have us grow through faith in Him, obedience to His commandments, and a willingness to act on truth. ... We are not to sit passively waiting or to murmur because the Lord has not spoken. We are to act." Those who feel no strong spiritual witness should exercise faith and follow the prophet. They should continue to search for divine guidance as they act in faith, for "if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether [the prophet speaks of himself]" (John 7:17).

Disagreeing with Church Leaders

What if a member feels strongly against the teachings of the brethren? The Church does not really address the issue, which is part of the problem. The Church tends to ignore that this is a real possibility, so when members feel torn between the teachings of the brethren and their own consciences for the first time, they do not know how to respond. Some who have this feeling for the first time mistakenly believe that the only rational course of action is to protest against the Church or to leave it altogether, but neither of these solutions is the appropriate response. The Church needs to provide more guidance on what to do in this situation. There is some guidance on the subject, but it is incomplete. Existing guidance, for the most part, ignores the possibility that the brethren are wrong, despite the Church's belief in prophetic fallibility. Here are some examples of existing guidance on the subject:

  • Be humble. Acknowledge that you might be in the wrong and that certain prejudices or biases might cloud your judgment. Yes, Church leaders are fallible—but so are you. Continue to study, pray, and seek for understanding.
  • As you seek for understanding, talk with your local leaders. Your bishop or branch president may be able to help you to better understand the doctrine. Ordain Women leader Kate Kelly received this advice from her stake president: "It is important that you understand that you are not required to change your thinking or the questions you may have in your own mind regarding the ordination of women, but you need to make it a private matter and work through this issue with your bishop or branch president."
  • Do not publicly protest against or antagonize the Church. Public protests may be effective in getting attention from Church leaders, but it puts them in a difficult situation. It takes the sacred process of receiving revelation and adds elements of publicity and social pressure that disrupt the process of honestly seeking for truth. George Q. Cannon taught that "while a man might honestly differ in opinion from the authorities ... he must be exceedingly careful how he acts in relation to such differences." Any action that could be interpreted as aggressive or contentious should be avoided.
  • Consider the significance of the issue. Perhaps the issue does not really require a global change, and you should just quietly live according to the dictates of your conscience without pushing for a change Church-wide.
  • Realize that you do not have keys to receive revelation for the whole Church. (However, I would argue that communicating honest concerns about the prophets' teachings is very different from claiming to receive revelation for the whole Church.)
  • If you really want to, oppose the sustaining of Church leaders during General Conference. In all fairness, they do give opportunity for those who oppose to be heard. However, communicating general opposition does not help anybody. The leaders of the Church are left not knowing exactly why they were not sustained, and those opposing are left feeling like they did not really get to be heard.

All of this advice is good. Be humble. Talk to your local leaders. Do not make the issue public. Do not make a mountain out of a molehill. Understand your stewardship. Though this is all good advice, it is incomplete. There is no way to humbly, civilly, and privately communicate legitimate concerns to the brethren. Even if there was a protocol for such communication, the brethren would not have time to consider petitions from every individual member of the Church. Even if all communications had to be screened by a stake or district president first, there are still over 3,700 stakes and districts in the Church. But in a true and living Church where leaders are mortal and make mistakes, it is imperative that members can voice their opinions concerning teachings that they are unsure about.

Something needs to change. The Church needs to allow the voice of the members to be heard, somehow. As a software engineer and technology enthusiast, I think there must be a good technological solution. Allow members to log in to lds.org and fill out a form to submit their thoughts and feelings. Provide certain labels that members can use to identify the topics and issues discussed in their communications. Allow bishops and stake presidents to access data submitted by those in their stewardship so that they can understand (and possibly work to resolve) the concerns of their members. Use advanced data mining techniques to create meaningful summaries of what members are communicating about each topic so that the brethren can have a general idea of members' concerns without having to read thousands or millions of letters. Members will be able to communicate concerns humbly and privately instead of feeling the need to protest or leave the Church. Then the brethren can take the honest concerns of the members to the Lord without feeling public pressure from protests.

Whether or not a solution is implemented to fix this perceived problem, I know that the Church is true. I will always have doubts, questions, and concerns, but the personal witness from the Spirit that I have felt on multiple occasions leads me to continue to put my trust in Heavenly Father and in His servants. Though I do not necessarily agree with everything the prophets say and do, I do believe that they have been called of God to lead His Church on the earth today.

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