It’s not talked about a lot at church, not out in the open or over the pulpit, but Latter-day Saints have prophets they prefer, church presidents they favor. And they have prophets/presidents they don’t particularly prefer or favor.
It’s just part of being human.
If a guy is selected to lead The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as Dallin Oaks is expected to be in the coming days, some members will celebrate it. Some simply roll with it. Since they are believers, they figure it’s God’s call, not theirs, or rather they see it as the organization’s routine way of establishing the next man up. So let it be written, so let it be done.
Russell Nelson, who died Saturday at the remarkable age of 101, was no exception. He spoke straight to the hearts of many, resonating loudly, and others just kind of respected him, according to their faith, as leader of the flock, as heaven’s mouthpiece on Earth.
As such, did they give heed to what he said and follow him?
Good question. Sometimes, maybe.
His ideology, his preachings spanned from emphasizing Jesus, his Atonement, the importance of following his example, the consequences in this life and in the great beyond for doing so and for not doing so, to building a zillion temples to rather publicly getting vaccinated during the pandemic to, at least under his purview, encouraging members to avoid straight-ticket voting, making a concerted effort to consider the character of political candidates, to bemoaning gun violence, hinting at some measure of gun control. Beyond that, the church during his administration urged the U.S. government to make space for and protect immigrants whose undocumented parents brought them to this country as children. He changed the “For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet, the faith’s guide for young people that formerly dictated specifics for righteous behavior, encouraging instead general principles for them to ponder and act on themselves. And on and on.
A real moment of victory for Nelson, as I see it, was when he sanctioned the shortening of standard Sunday church services from three hours to two. Praise the Lord. That alone was good enough for me to hold the man in high regard.
Thus saith Dr. Nelson
When I heard Nelson talk, even at General Conference, I could see in my mind’s eye a medical mask strapped over his nose and mouth, the kind a heart surgeon wears, since that’s how he spent his professional years, literally peering into and repairing the hearts of patients in need of his expert care. Heart surgeons reside at or near the top of the medical world. When they make decisions, when they speak, it’s like that old EF Hutton television ad, people listen.
Think about it — if your heart surgeon told you that you needed to do something or not do something, you’d probably pay close attention to his words.
Just like people want to hear good news from their physician, they also like to hear it from their prophet. When Nelson wrapped his arms around his followers from the pulpit, encouraging them with God’s good word, that’s when he shined the brightest, at least to me. His gentle commands were his most effective.
For example, his recent emphasis on treating others with compassion and respect and dignity, even those you disagree with, on being peacemakers in a sometimes warlike world, was offered in a loving, caring tone. I couldn’t get enough of that side of Nelson. That’s exactly what I figure God’s mouthpiece would say in times like these.
Remember when he said to curb the bickering and backbiting and insulting of others, to do away with “pathetic and pithy barbs”? He said to “lay aside bitterness” and to “bury your weapons of war.”
Were faithful folks hearing and heeding? Can he get a postmortem “amen” on that?
Nelson’s goodness abounds
I’m not sure Nelson was my favorite Latter-day Saint prophet, but perhaps that doesn’t matter. Anyone who preaches the love of Jesus, the goodness of God, the need for human understanding and decency, and who gets rid of the extra hour of church every Sunday is good by me.
One last thing: Gordon Hinckley was a popular church president. A few years ago, I visited his grave. There was nobody around, just me and the physical remains of a man who, by my way of thinking, had long vacated that buried body. There were bits of grass and dirt on the marker, leaves there, too.
And I thought as I stood observing the site, that this prominent former church leader had done his divine business in this terrestrial realm, and he was gone now, his spirit was gone, gone to what is believed to be a better place. All that’s left to see and feel here is that memorial, surrounded by other graves with markers covered in grass and dirt and leaves, and also the lasting memory of the positive effect he had in this life.
It will be the same with Russell Nelson. The former surgeon, the leader of a worldwide church, has left the building. And most of what is left behind is the great amount of good he preached and the great amount of good he did.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Tribune columnist Gordon Monson.