By Jerald and Sandra Tanner

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Carl Gustav Jung, one of the world’s greatest psychiatrists, made these very interesting observations:

All mass movements, as one might expect, slip with the greatest ease down an inclined plane represented by large numbers. Where the many are, there is security; what the many believe must of course be true; what the many want must be worth striving for, and necessary, and therefore good. In the clamor of the many there lies the power to snatch wish-fulfillments by force; sweetest of all, however, is that gentle and painless slipping back into the kingdom of childhood, into the paradise of parental care, into happy-go-luckiness and irresponsibility. All the thinking and looking after are done from the top; to all questions there is an answer; and for all needs the necessary provision is made. The infantile dream state of the mass man is so unrealistic that he never thinks to ask who is paying for this paradise. The balancing of accounts is left to a higher political or social authority, which welcomes the task, for its power is thereby increased; and the more power it has, the weaker and more helpless the individual becomes. (The Undiscovered Self, pages 70-71)

Very few organizations would want to admit that “all the thinking and looking after are done from the top.” The Mormon Church, however, is an exception. In fact, the ward teacher’s message for June 1945 contained these statements:

Any Latter-day Saint who denounces or opposes, whether actively or otherwise, any plan or doctrine advocated by the “prophets, seers, and revelators” of the Church is cultivating the spirit of apostasy . . . Lucifer . . . wins a great victory when he can get members of the Church to speak against their leaders and to “do their own thinking.” . . .

When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they purpose a plan—it is God’s plan. When they point the way, there is no other which is safe. When they give direction, it should mark the end of controversy. (Improvement Era, June 1945, page 354)

Brigham Young, the second President of the Mormon Church, once stated:

The Lord Almighty leads this Church, and he will never suffer you to be led astray if you are found doing your duty. You may go home and sleep as sweetly as a babe in its mother’s arms, as to any danger of your leaders leading you astray, . . . (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, page 289)

Heber C. Kimball, First Counsellor to Brigham Young, made these statements:

. . . learn to do as you are told, . . . if you are told by your leader to do a thing, do it, none of your business whether it is right or wrong. (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, page 32)

If you do things according to counsel and they are wrong, the consequences will fall on the heads of those who counseled you, so don’t be troubled. (William Clayton’s Journal, page 334)

Joseph Fielding Smith, who recently became the tenth President of the Church, made this statement:

Therefore it behooves us, as Latter-day Saints, to put our trust in the presiding authorities of the Church, . . .

Saints safe in following Church authorities. No man ever went astray by following the counsel of the authorities of the Church. (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, page 243)

Those of us who grew up in the Mormon Church were taught that the revelations of Joseph Smith should be received as if from God’s “own mouth” (Doctrine and Covenants 21:5), and that the present-day leader is supposed to be God’s mouthpiece on earth. A careful study of Mormon history and doctrine, however, led us the conclusion that it is wrong to allow others to do our thinking or to put trust in man.

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