Gordon Monson: Clark Gilbert has been called as an LDS apostle. Now, we’ll see if he’s chosen.

“Is this some kind of a joke?”

That was my first thought, my first sentence, when I heard that Clark Gilbert had been selected as the newest apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

My second thought: “He’s 55 years old, a relative youngling among a group of older men who serve in that major leadership role until they die. That could be over a span of four decades, 40 years of influence regarding the decisions made and the direction taken by a faith I care deeply about, affecting the lives of people I care about.

Of all the wonderful candidates from whom to choose, Dallin Oaks called this guy?

OK, let’s stop and take a breath here.

I don’t know Gilbert; never met him. But I know some of what he’s said, what he’s done in previous roles, the effect he’s had on Brigham Young University and in the church’s education system as its commissioner. I know that he’s drawn a divisive line with his own orthodoxy among and straight through those he has presided over. I know the concern he’s stirred in faithful people I know and trust. And I know some of the many good journalists he fired when he ran the church-owned Deseret News.

His oversight of BYU

I’ve written columns about Gilbert and the impact he’s had on students and faculty at BYU. And also about his infamous quote about Cougar sports, declaring, “We can never become a ‘pay for play’ culture. We would undermine everything at BYU if that comes out. It is tempting to buy one player at a time. If they don’t fit the mission, it would unravel everything.”

When he said that, the Cougars, boosters and others were shoveling out mountains of cash to football and basketball players, including more than $5 million for a single season of play from AJ Dybantsa.

On the whole, let’s say it like this: Gilbert had a chilling effect. Some smart and spiritual professors liked him, some told me that under Gilbert and his stern version of Christianity, their faith had been stricken with fear.

Among other measures, Gilbert had a formula by which he judged individuals who either taught at BYU or applied to teach there. He herded believers into four classifications of devoutness, classifications meant to label and cull them, to accept or reject them.

Gilbert’s gauges could easily be considered by reasonable followers as harsh and not a true representation of real faith, real spirituality. They seemed more a barometer of ardent compliance.

Some professors said they were afraid to say what they honestly felt or to even ask religious questions in public or private settings for fear of losing their jobs. One professor, a gifted educator who cared about his students and his church, said he wished Gilbert would take a kinder, more charitable approach. He felt so unnerved by Gilbert’s manner that he retired.

“At BYU now,” said another faithful instructor, “there’s a level of mistrust. There are faculty who are angry, frustrated and discouraged at what they’re witnessing.”

The ‘sustaining’ vote

Enough, already. Maybe that was then, this is now. Maybe Gilbert will minister to his greater flock with more love, understanding and compassion.

The larger overall point here is this: In a mostly lay church, in which leaders at almost every level are said to be called to their positions by divine inspiration or even heavenly revelation received by other church leaders, positions from bishops to women’s Relief Society presidents to Sunday school teachers to area leaders to general authorities to apostles to prophets, and everything in between, what are Latter-day Saints supposed to do when someone they don’t like or agree with or get along with in their congregation or region or the entire church is put into a position of power and stewardship over them? They can raise their hand to “sustain” the person or to object (though the latter seldom makes any real difference).

Members usually are just stuck with whoever is called to lead them for however long they are called. If it’s, say, a bishop, who generally serves for about five years, that follower might be faced with something ranging from spiritual inconvenience to a full-on faith crisis. Members typically have no control regarding who leads them, they just go along to get along. And if they don’t, they risk being accused of lacking proper faith.

One upset congregant, who disapproved of a certain new bishop, said he simply focused on others with whom he could relate. He was able to preserve his testimony and remains faithful some 20 years later. He even said he came to love the man to whom he initially objected.

Nobody’s perfect, not regular members, not bishops, not apostles. It will be interesting to see how the latest apostle goes about his lifetime apostleship, whether he’ll do it with inclusive charity and empathy or with strict, divisive orthodoxy, with a gentle open palm or with a fierce clenched fist. Give the man a chance, I guess.

Clark Gilbert has been called. Now Latter-day Saints will discover if he is chosen.

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