Stewardship and Accountability


Jack
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I am obviously new and have enjoyed reading through some of the discussions that have been held in the past. I recently gave a talk on leadership and and a few questions came up in the preparation. I have since been thinking about it but haven't been able to find a prior discussion. 

How do people understand stewardship and the responsibility as leaders that we have for the choices of others. To me it is something that needs to be judged on a case by case basis and requires a perfect judge to understand the complexities of each situation. Regardless it is interesting to ponder on it and I feel it would be beneficial to have a better understanding.

Overall my thoughts are: I feel it is just when we learn that the sins of the Lamanites will be answered by their parents who chose darkness for them. I wonder about suggestion by Jacob that part of the motivation for his efforts to teach the Gospel is so that there is no chance that he will be responsible for the sins of his people. I'm not asking at what point have I done enough, more is this something we should be regularly considering? Also where is the balance between letting people make their own mistakes and influencing them to choose the right?

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I think that when we get into leadership positions we can sometimes start looking at this a bit upside down (the same goes for parenting and our stewardship there).

We will ALL screw up our children raising them. We will ALL mess up as leaders. We will all fail and fail and fail and fail.

But nothing changes in these instances from when we are not leaders or parents. Our accountability is the same. It still comes down to faith, humility, obedience and repentance. That is what has been asked of us. A broken heart and a contrite spirit. We are accountable to that.

The Atonement takes care of the rest.

 

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55 minutes ago, Jack said:

I am obviously new and have enjoyed reading through some of the discussions that have been held in the past. I recently gave a talk on leadership and and a few questions came up in the preparation. I have since been thinking about it but haven't been able to find a prior discussion. 

How do people understand stewardship and the responsibility as leaders that we have for the choices of others. To me it is something that needs to be judged on a case by case basis and requires a perfect judge to understand the complexities of each situation. Regardless it is interesting to ponder on it and I feel it would be beneficial to have a better understanding.

Overall my thoughts are: I feel it is just when we learn that the sins of the Lamanites will be answered by their parents who chose darkness for them. I wonder about suggestion by Jacob that part of the motivation for his efforts to teach the Gospel is so that there is no chance that he will be responsible for the sins of his people. I'm not asking at what point have I done enough, more is this something we should be regularly considering? Also where is the balance between letting people make their own mistakes and influencing them to choose the right?

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1971/04/love-of-the-right?lang=eng

The greatest stewardship of all is a parent's and I think the same principle holds for all other forms of stewardship:

" Following one of our recent general conference sessions, a troubled mother approached me and said, “I need to know what is meant by the statement, ‘No success can compensate for failure in the home.’” Knowing a little of the burdens this friend of mine carries in her mind and heart because of a rebellious, wayward daughter, I shared this meaning with her: I believe we start to fail in the home when we give up on each other. We have not failed until we have quit trying. As long as we are working diligently with love, patience, and long-suffering, despite the odds or the apparent lack of progress, we are not classified as failures in the home. We only start to fail when we give up on a son, daughter, mother, or father. "

I think Jacob's motivation acknowledges this principle: "And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day." As long as we do so with charity, I think the concern over others' blood coming upon our garments has more to do with Mosiah 18:9, and so we will be found spotless.

I don't think there is a particular or fixed balancing point between preventing someone from making a mistake and inviting them to choose the right -- it is very situational in my opinion and is part of the sacred relationship between the steward and the stewarded, and the individual relationship between each of them and God.

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1 hour ago, Jack said:

I am obviously new and have enjoyed reading through some of the discussions that have been held in the past. I recently gave a talk on leadership and and a few questions came up in the preparation. I have since been thinking about it but haven't been able to find a prior discussion. 

How do people understand stewardship and the responsibility as leaders that we have for the choices of others. To me it is something that needs to be judged on a case by case basis and requires a perfect judge to understand the complexities of each situation. Regardless it is interesting to ponder on it and I feel it would be beneficial to have a better understanding.

Overall my thoughts are: I feel it is just when we learn that the sins of the Lamanites will be answered by their parents who chose darkness for them. I wonder about suggestion by Jacob that part of the motivation for his efforts to teach the Gospel is so that there is no chance that he will be responsible for the sins of his people. I'm not asking at what point have I done enough, more is this something we should be regularly considering? Also where is the balance between letting people make their own mistakes and influencing them to choose the right?

 

I believe that stewardship requires that we teach correct principles and let people govern themselves.  Note that there can be a difference between principles and doctrine.

 

The Traveler

Edited by Traveler
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2 hours ago, Traveler said:

 

I believe that stewardship requires that we teach correct principles and let people govern themselves.  Note that there can be a difference between principles and doctrine.

 

The Traveler

and @Jack In the case of Jacob, it was all about teaching the word of God that was associated with his particular motivation, not so much how the teachings were accepted and applied.

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https://www.lds.org/ensign/1972/04/the-five-as-of-stewardship?lang=eng

An abbreviated version:

  1. The first principle of stewardship is for us to acknowledge that God lives, that he is our creator and provider of all that sustains life. We must understand as did Alma that “whatsoever is good cometh from God.” (Alma 5:40.)
  2. The second “A” of stewardship comes from our recognition of the Lord as author of this principle. He dignified the steward in his role of service as he declared: “… he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matt. 23:11.) To those led by a proper steward, dignity is accorded. This is clearly illustrated by the statement of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who declared, “I teach the people correct principles and they govern themselves.”

  3. Third, accomplishment of effective stewardship may be done in the Lord’s own way through our study of the scriptures. He has stressed preparation before embarkation: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:28.)

  4. The fourth aspect of stewardship is that of accountability. We read: “… for it is required of the Lord, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his stewardship, both in time and in eternity.” (D&C 72:3.) 

  5. The fifth “A” is for approbation or reward for faithful stewardship. The Lord taught this as the parable of the ten talents, as recorded in Luke 19:12–27, in which the effective steward received a greater reward and the ineffective steward was asked to yield his stewardship.

 

If part of your stewardship is some sort of leadership or mentoring, then it becomes your job to coach 1-3, and provide 4-5.

 

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1 minute ago, mordorbund said:

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1972/04/the-five-as-of-stewardship?lang=eng

An abbreviated version:

  1. The first principle of stewardship is for us to acknowledge that God lives, that he is our creator and provider of all that sustains life. We must understand as did Alma that “whatsoever is good cometh from God.” (Alma 5:40.)
  2. The second “A” of stewardship comes from our recognition of the Lord as author of this principle. He dignified the steward in his role of service as he declared: “… he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matt. 23:11.) To those led by a proper steward, dignity is accorded. This is clearly illustrated by the statement of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who declared, “I teach the people correct principles and they govern themselves.”

  3. Third, accomplishment of effective stewardship may be done in the Lord’s own way through our study of the scriptures. He has stressed preparation before embarkation: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:28.)

  4. The fourth aspect of stewardship is that of accountability. We read: “… for it is required of the Lord, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his stewardship, both in time and in eternity.” (D&C 72:3.) 

  5. The fifth “A” is for approbation or reward for faithful stewardship. The Lord taught this as the parable of the ten talents, as recorded in Luke 19:12–27, in which the effective steward received a greater reward and the ineffective steward was asked to yield his stewardship.

 

If part of your stewardship is some sort of leadership or mentoring, then it becomes your job to coach 1-3, and provide 4-5.

 

It may not be in the article, specifically, but I'd add:

6. The sixth is repentance for failure(s).

 

I feel this is important to point out in that we sometimes treat stewardship as if it's outside the laws of agency, accountability and the Atonement -- as if we can earn the reward for good stewardship on our own without relying wholly upon the merits of He who is mighty to [reward].

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32 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

It may not be in the article, specifically, but I'd add:

6. The sixth is repentance for failure(s).

 

I feel this is important to point out in that we sometimes treat stewardship as if it's outside the laws of agency, accountability and the Atonement -- as if we can earn the reward for good stewardship on our own without relying wholly upon the merits of He who is mighty to [reward].

It got cut because it doesn't have an a-word in in.

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On 3/19/2018 at 8:21 AM, Jack said:

I'm not asking at what point have I done enough, more is this something we should be regularly considering? Also where is the balance between letting people make their own mistakes and influencing them to choose the right?

Yes, this is something we should ponder and meditate upon.

I like Jacob, use boldness but not overbearance, and I am becoming less fond of the balance and more fond of the word "harmony" with gospel interactions. This is a great question though, and one I don't know. I would have thought the bishop mentioned in General Conference regarding the surfing priest, and the bishop waste deep in the ocean telling him to come would have been overbearing.

Then again, the boy never said to the bishop, "Leave me alone." When someone tells us to leave them alone, then we leave them alone. If we have never been told, then follow your heart. Needless to say, we have been commanded to be diligent but not to run faster than we have strength.

 

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