“Picture me as your grandfather who believes in you and is cheering for you,” Ballard counseled thousands of students and faculty attending the speech at the Marriott Center in Provo.
“I am a general authority but that doesn’t make me an authority in general,” he then quipped. “I worry that members expect too much from their leaders and teachers, expecting them to be experts [in areas and topics] well beyond their expertise. If you have a question that requires an expert, please take the time to find an expert to help you.”
Ballard neglected to clarify exactly what members should expect from their leaders though and, of course, he still went on to give advice to members about areas where he has no expertise.
“When we are confronted with evidence that challenges our deeply held beliefs we are more likely to reframe the evidence than we are to alter our beliefs. We simply invent new reasons, new justifications, new explanations. Sometimes we ignore the evidence altogether.” (Mathew Syed 'Black Box Thinking')
“I am a general authority but that doesn’t make me an authority in general,” he then quipped. “I worry that members expect too much from their leaders and teachers, expecting them to be experts [in areas and topics] well beyond their expertise. If you have a question that requires an expert, please take the time to find an expert to help you.”
I don't get this. At all. What are members asking their leaders and teachers about that is beyond their expertise? Are they asking them questions about the essays, expecting them to know them like the back of their hand? Are they pestering Russ with questions about running a money-making business? Is Dieter flooded with questions about the latest hostage negotiation techniques? Has Jeff been plastered with inquiries about reading good books? Have the Q15 been asked to prophesy, see, and reveal?
Obviously there's some backstory I'm not aware of.
Trimble, you ignorant sack of rhinoceros puss. The only thing more obvious than your lack of education is the foul stench that surrounds you.
That's good honesty right there. Where has that been in the last 50 years? It is exactly why I go to evolutionists for reality about evolution not church leaders. It's why I go to astronomers and their vast knowledge of the cosmos instead of to prophets imagining they see truth and reality in visions and dreams. It's why I go to doctors for my health not priesthood leaders faking their healings with the laying on of hands. It's why I go to Google for answers to questions and not Russ. It's why I go to actual historians for what happened in the past, not LDS prophets who whitewash it and leave so much important context out. It appears to me they ain't authorities on spit except saying they are general authorities, and that carries no weight worthy to get much worked over anymore.
Dr CamNC4Me
"Dr. Peterson and his Callithumpian cabal of BYU idiots have been marginalized by their own inevitable irrelevancy defending a fraud."
I forgot about this, but someone on reddit pointed it out.
ETB wrote:Fifth: The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or diplomas to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.
Sometimes there are those who feel their earthly knowledge on a certain subject is superior to the heavenly knowledge which God gives to his prophet on the same subject. They feel the prophet must have the same earthly credentials or training which they have had before they will accept anything the prophet has to say that might contradict their earthly schooling. How much earthly schooling did Joseph Smith have? Yet he gave revelations on all kinds of subjects. We haven’t yet had a prophet who earned a doctorate degree in any subject. We encourage earthly knowledge in many areas, but remember if there is ever a conflict between earthly knowledge and the words of the prophet, you stand with the prophet and you’ll be blessed and time will show you have done the right thing.
Elder Ballard's advice makes sense. Mankind's accumulated knowledge base is voluminous and the Church Authorities only grasp a tiny sliver of that knowledge. Look toward the accumulated sciences, arts, and philosophies of the human species for a better understanding.
You can assist in this process by helping these Authorities climb down from their pedestals onto terra firma. If you seek spiritual guidance from them fine but quit asking for blessings to find your car keys or a recitation of such nonsense as a 7000-year-old earth.
They just need to go a little further and say that they don't have expertise in anything other than perhaps their vocations. Oh, and in religious nonsense, too.
"Religion is about providing human community in the guise of solving problems that don’t exist or failing to solve problems that do and seeking to reconcile these contradictions and conceal the failures in bogus explanations otherwise known as theology." - Kishkumen
Ballard: I really don't know a damn thing, I'm really a worldly executive type pretending to be holy, but I talk about Jesus a lot as part of my job. So pay, pray, obey and make lots more little Mormons. We're worried about our revenue projections.
I think they largely see themselves as strategic business minds, running the bestest corporation in the world. The top tier certainly don't want to deal with the gnatty things that seem to cause a few to stumble. Kind of like in the Oaks and Ballard vid from last week, or the week before, when Oaks was all giggly, seemed way out of character--they don't have all the answers. Maybe they are getting tired of pretending they do have answers. They seem to want to shrug off the difficult and focus on that which encourages them--members applauding them, standing when they see them, and getting star struck.
“Picture me as your grandfather who believes in you and is cheering for you,” Ballard counseled thousands of students and faculty attending the speech at the Marriott Center in Provo.
“I am a general authority but that doesn’t make me an authority in general,” he then quipped. “I worry that members expect too much from their leaders and teachers, expecting them to be experts [in areas and topics] well beyond their expertise. If you have a question that requires an expert, please take the time to find an expert to help you.”
This is the kind of off-the-cuff nonsense that gets the LDS Church into trouble. No systematic thinking. Some GA says something well intentioned and that is supposed to address serious problems. It doesn't work.
These guys are burghers operating like cardinal/CEOS. Decent guys, but kind of clueless when it comes to anything outside of managerial thinking.
"Petition wasn’t meant to start a witch hunt as I’ve said 6000 times." ~ Hanna Seariac, LDS apologist
Russell Ballard wrote:I am a general authority but that doesn’t make me an authority in general
You're not an authority in anything, Russell, baby. Nothing but smoke and mirrors comes out of your lying mouth. You're just an old fart in the twilight of life having spent your days lying to people making them think you're a prophet, seer, and revelator when in fact you are not. You pat yourself on the back thinking you're extra special with your supernatural gifts but what have you done with those gifts? Have you prophesied? Have you seen? Have you revealed the unknown?