3 Nephi 8

(November 24, 2015)

                Why is it that we continue to expect infallibility from our leaders (or even from our scriptures)?  There is no doctrinal basis for it, and it drives us to idolize men rather than focus on the Lord.  For example, in this chapter we have Mormon’s description of the writer he is redacting.  This man was a righteous man, he performed miracles, and yet Mormon acknowledged that he could still have been wrong as to the date of the upheaval that took place.

                It is as though Satan has created a Scylla and Charybdis for members of the Church.  On the one hand is the Scylla of infallible leadership – one mistake, and those who hold to this position are ready to turn their backs on the Lord.  On the other hand is the Charybdis of focusing on the leaders faults (real or imagined) and failing to acknowledge that these leaders are called of God and chosen by Him to perform their functions.

                Yes, leaders are imperfect.  No, that does not excuse us from the obligation to follow them (and they are put in place by the Lord).  We do not follow our mortal leaders, but rather we follow the Lord, including when His instructions reach us through these fallible leaders.