Wrong to Criticize

[_Pokatator]

*Eeyore voice* "thanks for noticin'......"

[_moksha]

Thanks for the Hugh B. Brown quote, Moksha. Its hard to believe he and Dallin are even members of the same club. Out of curiosity, do you have a date for that? Also from whence the quotation came?

Sorry Blixa, I am rather bad with dates. Sometimes I just have to go stag. To bad there isn't a Book of Mormon Golden Quotations. Unfortunately publishers insist on a minimum page number.

[_Blixa]

That's ok, Moksha. I'll just try to remember to read up a bit on Hugh B. Brown. Its useful to have a historical sense of LDS commentary on intellectual matters.

[_dilettante]

Even my young daughter likes to point out when I am wrong, and I would not want to ever stifle her right to speak.

Let's not forget that right to speak.

[_dilettante]

I am commanded not to criticize my Church Leaders and God has reiterated that command to me directly.

Now that's new to me.

[_harmony]

I am commanded not to criticize my Church Leaders and God has reiterated that command to me directly.

Now that's new to me.

Ya gotta be paying attention, Dil. Sneaking in comments like that one is how we got the shopping mall. Kinda under the table and in the back door. You notice Oaks didn't say that in general conference, didn't you?

[_dilettante]

I am commanded not to criticize my Church Leaders and God has reiterated that command to me directly.

Now that's new to me.

Ya gotta be paying attention, Dil. Sneaking in comments like that one is how we got the shopping mall. Kinda under the table and in the back door. You notice Oaks didn't say that in general conference, didn't you?

It's still news to me. I've been watching the malls get torn down, but I still don't get it. Is it now alright to criticize by smoking a joint?


by the way, my name is not Dil, Ho.

[_simply_disappear]

"It's wrong to criticize leaders of the Mormon Church even if the criticism is true."

This would certainly be true for the military, but this type of thinking is seldom seen outside either the military or the corporate board room.


***This is certainly true for the military and other entities as well. One doesn't openly criticize leaders and expect to remain in good standing for long if at all if the criticism continues. Why should one expect to? They shouldn't. Criticism breeds insubordination in the individual as well as among the "ranks" or membership, as it were.

It really does not jell to well with the rest of the American experience, so to speak. Even my young daughter likes to point out when I am wrong, and I would not want to ever stifle her right to speak.

****It does gel well.....to those who enjoy order and consistency in life. Sure your daughter should be allowed to have her thoughts but I'll tell you as a mother of teens as well as children on down to toddlers....if you continue to allow her to "speak her voice" as she pleases (which is what you make it sound like you allow) you will have insubordination or willful disobedience sooner or later as a rule....she may very well turn out to be the exception. The more appropriate way for her to speak her mind is to come to you respectfully and talk to you about the disagreement she has with you, don't you think? Pointing out that you, as her parent, is flat out wrong can lead to problems in any number of areas in the relationship. She is not your peer. Which leads me to say that we are not the "peers" of the Apostles and the Prophet in certain aspects. We are on the vast majority of things in life but on one plane we are not and that is that they are called of God as special witnesses for Christ. It would behoove us to move in the traditional avenues to manage our disagreements and complaints with tact and finesse instead of sitting around criticizing our leadership...whether that be the Prophet, the Apostles or our Sunday School teachers. Criticism by the general public only breeds contention which is not of God. Most people don't have the understanding of how to be "critical" without also gossiping and waging contempt for the matter they disagree with.

It would seem to preclude ever getting honest feedback from the membership if they had to be eternal yes-men.

*****This is a point I don't understand. We are not asked to be eternal yes-men. We are asked to pray on everything which is presented us regardless of the leader who presents it. Be that the Prophet or our Sunday School teachers. Use the Spirit to guide. When we have difficulties, we need to go down the avenues which have been taught to find the truth.

So what gives? Maybe a response from more orthodox LDS could help put this in perspective, as to why this is a good rather than a bad thing.


*****I think it was taken out of context. Perhaps a complete transcript of the entire interview of Elder Oaks is warranted. I don't know. I had no problem with his comment. I agree with it as I understood him to be stating it as you can view in the words I've posted to you.