Danger of Putting Leaders on Pedestal


Snow
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I'm reviewing 1 Corinthians for SS tomorrow and in the first few chapters, Paul talks about one of the problems facing the saints in Corinth. Among other things, divisions and factions had occurred with certain folks siding with Paul, or Apollos, etc. Chapters 3 and 4 talk about the dangers of putting leaders on a pedestal.

The Oxford Bible commentary talks about it this way:

To align oneself with one leader or another is, for Paul, to commit three cardinal errors:

1 - to place leaders on a pedestal where they do not belong

2 - to play them off inappropriately against one another

3 - to reward them with human praise rather than leaving to God the assessment of their work.

That sounds like reasonable commentary and good counsel... but then I got to thinking, how does that reconcile with what we do in the Church?

We build large expensive buildings and name them after LDS dignitaries. We build statues of them. We name libraries and school after them. We sing praises to them in song.

Thoughts

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I'm reviewing 1 Corinthians for SS tomorrow and in the first few chapters, Paul talks about one of the problems facing the saints in Corinth. Among other things, divisions and factions had occurred with certain folks siding with Paul, or Apollos, etc. Chapters 3 and 4 talk about the dangers of putting leaders on a pedestal.

The Oxford Bible commentary talks about it this way:

To align oneself with one leader or another is, for Paul, to commit three cardinal errors:

1 - to place leaders on a pedestal where they do not belong

2 - to play them off inappropriately against one another

3 - to reward them with human praise rather than leaving to God the assessment of their work.

That sounds like reasonable commentary and good counsel... but then I got to thinking, how does that reconcile with what we do in the Church?

We build large expensive buildings and name them after LDS dignitaries. We build statues of them. We name libraries and school after them. We sing praises to them in song.

Thoughts

Thats prett broad to say the least.. In regards to using ye olde dictionary-

1. What qualifies a person to belong or not belong on a pedastal?

2. Dont think the church does much "playing leaders against each other" so dont have to worry too much about that, tho id imagine it might happen on the ward or branch level occasionally.

3. Wheres the definition for doing both praising and leaving to god an assessment?

In regards to theverses mentioned if i recall right various leaders had espoused different doctrines, which was causing problems

And is also why it is necessary to have god leading the church, otherwise it falls to these sort of things just as the ancient church did.

Edited by Blackmarch
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You're right, Snow. It is our culture, which actually pits us against the Gospel in many ways. We cannot live outside a culture (and get anything done in the world), thus it is a necessary factor in life.

Kinda like the "us against them" mentality. Totally contrary to God's will. But there it is, even in many scriptures. <sigh>

HiJolly

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Guest mormonmusic

Yes, and its hard not to put them on a pedestal because our culture tends to put them on pedestals with reminders they are inspired, the Lord's annointed, etcetera.

At the same time, as a former priesthood leader, I also experienced the lack of respect some members would show for their leaders, and that also needs to be mitigated -- for the sake of the priesthood leader. But it's the kind of respect you show to anyone on an interpersonal level, not because being set apart elevates the person to some kind of superman status.

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3 - to reward them with human praise rather than leaving to God the assessment of their work.

We build large expensive buildings and name them after LDS dignitaries. We build statues of them. We name libraries and school after them. We sing praises to them in song.

Thoughts

To find pleasure in the spiritual success of others is the root of charity. Also stemming from the admonition of Paul, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." We should use the successes, praiseworthy and "good report" acts of our leaders as standards for our lives. I don't think we give praise to the person as much as we do their successes in this life as an example and standard for our lives.

Also, how we treat a representative of Christ who has authority to do so, is a reflection of how we would treat Christ himself. This is why, for example, we treat missionaries with honor and respect, for who they represent while they are doing the Lord's work.

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I think it is clear that we, or the Church, put's leaders on a pedestal, as evidenced by those things mentioned above (We build large expensive buildings and name them after LDS dignitaries. We build statues of them. We name libraries and school after them. We sing praises to them in song.)

For that matter, despite what Paul wrote about not putting leaders on a pedestal (or the interpretation that that is what he said), it seems like Paul sometimes put himself on a pedestal. See * below for examples.

Whether you think it is good or not so good, to the extent that the Church does praise and honor the leaders, name buildings after them, put them on a pedestal...

...WHY do they do it?

*in 1 Cor he calls Christ the foundation, the saints the builing/temple and himself the master builder

*Elsewhere he wheres the repeated injuries he suffered while preaching the gospel as a badge of honor.

*He makes a big deal that he didn't receive his knowledge of the gospel from the apostles, he got it directly from God

*He angrily argued with other Church leaders and insulted Peter and called him names and then makes sure that everyone knows about it

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...WHY do they do it?

I suppose for the same reason the Lord had His Priesthood named after a men.

If a man is truly seeking eternal life, and doing all things in his power to follow Christ's example in any area, like the General Authorities of today who dedicate the remainder of their lives to serving the Lord, then it's good for us to have those among who are doing so held in remembrance. It means a lot to me that I used to sit in one-on-one interviews with my Stake President, Elder Bednar, that he is now an Apostle. The example he set among us is validated. The things he taught about the Plan of Salvation out of the scriptures now sink deeper.

He was the most vocal in this area of the world for us to follow and pattern our lives after Christ. Seeing him do it gives me increased hope, and just that bit more of a personal example of how it's done. We all have had people in our lives who have influenced us for good, whom we hold in high regard. To people who do this same thing for thousands or more, those people may choose to erect a statue or name a building after him in his memory.

It doesn't mean that they ignore the Savior, but that they hope to be able to better follow the Savior by having more vivid and physical examples in their lives about how to follow the Savior. The Lord gives us Apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth, for our benefit. I see no harm in remembering their examples of how to be more Christ-like.

Can there be danger in doing so? Certainly.

Someone may actually think that it's Aaron's or Melchezidek's priesthood and not the Lord's.

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Putting leaders on a pedestal is like what the Nephites did to Nephi after they split from their Brethren. Jacob says they looked unto Nephi as "a king or a protector, and on whom [they] depend for safety." If you read 2 Nephi 6-10, you'll see Jacob is exhorting them not to look at his brother that way, but to Christ to be their king and protector. This reflects the tone of 1 Cor. 3-4 where Paul is pleading to the saints to worship Christ. Numerous time he says that he is nothing, but through Christ he wise/strong, etc.

The definition of putting on a pedestal is to lift someone above us as if they were perfect, more important than others. Yes, putting leaders on pedestals is dangerous, because we assume they are perfect and if they err, or fall in some way, people will either think that error is right, or it'll lead to feelings of betrayal.

As for naming buildings after people, that's simply a sign of honor and acknowledgement for things they did in their life. Traditionally, it is done in hope that whatever occurs in that building leads one to try and mimic those laudable actions. If the result is getting people to act like men who lived Christ-like lives devoted to bringing souls back to our Heavenly Father, then more power to them. It would be bad if we treated them like perfect men who never once sinned in their life and deserve to have a building named after them because they are in every way better than us.

And Justice, kudos for the Melchezidek example. Are we putting him or Aaron on a pedestal because the priesthoods are named after them? Were they perfect men or better than us in any way? No. Were they good, righteous, God fearing men who magnified their calling? Yes.

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Aren't those all secular buildings?

The only non-secular building I can think of is the Joseph Smith memorial building, but even that is an office building that happens to have a chapel in it. Temples and chapels are not named after anyone. And you won't even see things like "Donated by..." plaques in any churches.

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I'm not a fan of naming buildings after people. Or idolizing people who tell me they're just doing what they're supposed to.

I am sort of a fan of the notion of having heroes. Heroes help us raise kids, help us decide what to do. But it's easy to put too much faith in a hero. Then you get all let down and stuff when it turns out they are human. Except for Mr. Rogers - he's a good hero.

I am a fan of "Praise to the man", but because I see it more as a cultural expression of mourning, and I don't begrudge cultures their expressions of mourning.

Not sure where I stand on statues. I understand that's sort of where the phrase "put on a pedestal" comes from, but at the same time, they help us see our heroes.

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A couple people here seriously deserve a laugh button.

So often people outside the church are confused on exactly who we worship. While I think a little careful examination with do wonders, it does make me consider how we appear.

Yes, I think it is wrong to put leaders on pedestals as if they were better than us, worthy of, well, worship.

No, I don't think it's wrong to admire their qualities. I don't have trouble naming secular buildings after them, either.

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I'm posting before I've read everything, but this is my initial reaction to the OP:

Praising someone and remembering them for their successes, accomplishments, and contributions to the world is something very different from putting them on a pedestal. When you put someone on a pedestal, you start thinking that they are incapable of doing wrong- that they are a perfect being that will always do things right and will always make things work out. You create this imaginary image of the person that is far from correct. Then, when said person does not live up to your expectations, everything starts falling apart in your mind.

This was actually something brought up in a book on dangerous relationships that I read last year. Sometimes, people who become abusive do so because they've put their partner on a pedestal. They have an image in their mind of this perfect person who will do everything exactly right and make them happy. Then, when their partner does something "out of character" or unexpected based on the created image, the abuser tries to make it fit back together through manipulation and/or other techniques to get their partner back in line with this image. Instead of facing reality and learning to get along with a real person, the abuser tries to make things the way (s)he imagines them to be.

It is dangerous to put anyone on a pedestal. Doing so is little more than convincing yourself of a lie, and eventually that lie is going to be torn apart. The truth is always revealed eventually, and if we are too convinced that our imagined reality is the way things should be we will not be capable of facing that truth. Putting this in the context of our leaders- it is especially dangerous to put them on a pedestal. When we realize that our leaders are not perfect and cannot live up to the pedestal we've placed them on, our faith in everything could end up faltering. Instead of recognizing that our pedestal is what is false, we may start thinking that everything we've "followed" is false.

I don't really think that building statues and naming buildings after a person falls into the same scope as putting them on a pedestal. Granted, it is possible we are giving them more praise and more attention than we should, but it is not at all the same as putting them on a pedestal. I've never been much of one for public recognition, so my ideas of how much "praise" is due a person is probably off... but I do think that memorials to important people are a good way of preserving our history and recognizing the good things in it over the bad. I'd feel very awkward if someone ever built a statue of me, wrote a song praising me, or named a building after me, and I imagine our leaders feel the same awkwardness. But they allow it, I think, because it helps us in remembering our history and the good qualities our leaders had that we should strive to develop in ourselves.

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I think some members may see the Church as a popularity contest (who knows some trauma from high school?) They either want to be popular or hang out with the popular folks. GA tend to be in the popular bunch so some feel they need to rush, put their best smile and of course ask for a picture or shake their hands. Admiring the good qualities of another brother/sister is great, acting like a fan that meets Matt Damon for first time is another.

Now about the question....I don't think is good to put ANYONE on a pedestal (including leaders). The higher you put them, the stronger the fall.

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