Random Thought #38

Do we sometimes fall into the trap of sustaining our leaders so well, that we believe them to be infallible? Every word they speak is prophetic and revealed to them? If we challenge them, that we are somehow not worthy of the temple because we aren't sustaining our leaders? In my last post, I mentioned that Joseph Smith and Brigham  Young disagreed on the topic of how father Adam came to be. As I read the footnotes of the article in which this was mentioned, it says that just because Brigham Young was President of the Church and prophet at that time doesn't mean that everything he said was prophetic and revealed. He was a fallible human just like any of us are and is entitled to his own opinions. The scriptures clearly teach us that if we are to understand truth, we must do so by the spirit. The Holy Ghost will make manifest all things unto us which are true. If President Young were simply expressing an opinion and not necessarily teaching by way of the Holy Ghost, then its very possible that something he says is incorrect. It is always healthy to question, not for the sake of questioning, but to find truth. If something is taught by the spirit and understood by that same spirit, then both are edified and uplifted. Like any truth we seek, the Lord has told us that we must study it out in our minds and come up with our own answer and then ask God if it is right. The Brother of Jared is a great example. He asked the Lord, how are we supposed to breathe in our ships? There aren't any holes. He thought about this for a long time and then finally asked the Lord, at which point the Lord told him to make stopper plugs. Then he came to another issue. What should they do for light? The Lord said, good question, what do you think you should do? You can't use windows and you can't have fire. Guess you got a bit of a kanundrum on your hands. So the brother of Jared thought about it and came up with an idea to make 16 stones and propose the idea of the Lord touching them to light them. Talk about some faith. The Lord must have thought it was a good idea, and supplied the light. The point is that we need to think about anything that is said, analyze it, pray about it and ask for the Holy Ghost to confirm our initial thoughts, and the truth will be manifested unto us via personal revelation. We shouldn't just take every single word from the general authorities' mouths as doctrine. We are here to choose, not be blind followers.