(LDS leaders.)
1) The claim to "modern revelation" by church leaders has struck me as crushingly ironic (on questions of ultra-importance, particularly for an organization claiming moral authority to dictate or guide lives, they have seemingly been the last to know the answer), but the irony seems to be lost on them.
2) They have been extremely old for a long time. This may to a large degree explain 1) above. Remember what happened to the Soviet Union when it deviated from a gerontocracy and called a 51-year old as General Secretary.
3) I wonder if they are still so deified, and if they have lost some of their swagger. When I was active in the LDS Church nearly 3 decades ago, LDS leaders' confidence in themselves, and mainstream members' willingness to accept their every word as verity, even regarding dissent as a form of sin or transgression, was itself an institution. I can't tell if this has changed, because it seems any active LDS I have much contact with anymore is quite a lot like me. I may not be exposed to a cross-section, however. I think LDS leaders' desire to maintain their aura of deity explains the last clause of 1) above.
4) I think Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were fascinating, brilliant characters, ideal for building a founding myth around. Smith's foibles in a way add to his mystique. Young's are not out of the norm for a prophet leading a people in the wilderness. In a sense, Smith and Young really were prophets, depending on what the word means to you. LDS leaders since them have been less interesting, and today's leaders seem to have little in common with Smith and Young. They seem to be most like leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention.
1) The claim to "modern revelation" by church leaders has struck me as crushingly ironic (on questions of ultra-importance, particularly for an organization claiming moral authority to dictate or guide lives, they have seemingly been the last to know the answer), but the irony seems to be lost on them.
2) They have been extremely old for a long time. This may to a large degree explain 1) above. Remember what happened to the Soviet Union when it deviated from a gerontocracy and called a 51-year old as General Secretary.
3) I wonder if they are still so deified, and if they have lost some of their swagger. When I was active in the LDS Church nearly 3 decades ago, LDS leaders' confidence in themselves, and mainstream members' willingness to accept their every word as verity, even regarding dissent as a form of sin or transgression, was itself an institution. I can't tell if this has changed, because it seems any active LDS I have much contact with anymore is quite a lot like me. I may not be exposed to a cross-section, however. I think LDS leaders' desire to maintain their aura of deity explains the last clause of 1) above.
4) I think Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were fascinating, brilliant characters, ideal for building a founding myth around. Smith's foibles in a way add to his mystique. Young's are not out of the norm for a prophet leading a people in the wilderness. In a sense, Smith and Young really were prophets, depending on what the word means to you. LDS leaders since them have been less interesting, and today's leaders seem to have little in common with Smith and Young. They seem to be most like leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention.
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