William James

William James
We must get by on what truth we have today, and be willing to call it error tomorrow.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

What If Boyd K Packer Became The Next President Of The LDS Church?

A poll gave the following choices:

How many here could accept BKP as the next prophet?
If the Lord calls him I will sustain him (27 votes [79.41%] - View)
Percentage of vote: 79.41%
I would be very uncomfortable with him (3 votes [8.82%] - View)
Percentage of vote: 8.82%
I would go inactive until the next prophet (0 votes [0.00%])
Percentage of vote: 0.00%
I would apostatize and leave the church (0 votes [0.00%])
Percentage of vote: 0.00%
Other (please explain) (4 votes [11.76%] - View)

And the pollster commented:

"I have noticed recently that Elder Boyd K Packer (the president of the council of the Twelve) has become the new punching bag for the critics (LDS) on this board. He seems to have replaced Elder McConkie and President Joseph Fielding Smith as the most vilified and hated of the modern apostles. I am frankly shocked at the disrespect and open hostility exhibited by some "LDS" board members. Since he is the President of the Council of the Twelve, it is within the realm of possibility that he could one day become the President of the Church if President Monson passes away before he does. So I was curious to see how the vote would go with some here."

To which I responded:

In my own opinion, it would be a disaster for the LDS Church and generally if BKP would become the president of the church. But to be clear, although that is my opinion, I still believe that BKP is a man of God, and I sustain him as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Nevertheless, one's status as a man of God, or even a prophet, in no way insulates his purported revelations from scrutiny, and a great many errors have been perpetuated by believers mistaking a leader's personal opinion for authentic revelation (even when the purported revelation is cloaked in officiality). So at this point, while I would "sustain" BKP in his official capacity, I would not swallow everything he says just because of his position. Though I believe BKP is sincere, I also strongly believe that he lacks critical thinking skills and is very closed minded and autocratic in his theological approach. Though I bear no ill-will to BKP personally, I honestly believe the LDS Church would be much better off if BKP never becomes president. I therefore selected the second choice in the poll.

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