Would you want to be a leader in the celestial kingdom?

[Anonymous]

Old Timer wrote:

They are worth it to me for reasons that deal both with this life and my hope for the next life – but mostly for this life.

My heritage is Mormon. I really don’t want to create a totally new heritage solely for myself and my descendants by leaving (and have to deal with all the accompanying issues) when I can influence a new one for them by staying. I also don’t believe any other theology more than my interpretation of LDS theology, so I have zero motivation to leave and join another religion. I am heterodox in many ways, but I am a religionist at heart.

Unlike you, I’m a 1st Generation Mormon, and my path has involved changing the mainstream Christian heritage in which I was raised. It has been an uphill battle, believe me, and for decades led to a kind of isolation from my biological family. Who, I learned, is the only stable set of “friends” you have in this life.

Plus I have 2 other people in my 3 other person immediate family I/we created who are not firing on all Church cylinders. Taken with the sheer misery I experienced due to the repeated patterns of behavior of members and leaders alike, I’m at the point I’d like greater assurance that it’s actually worth all the suffering. The depression, time invested in basic laborious tasks that don’t match my interests and strengths, leadership service that counts for nothing in my career, general unhappiness, and the time consuming FRUSTRATING I have experienced so much of the time.

But I understand how your background and family history would influence your perspective much differently.

[Anonymous]

SilentDawning wrote:

OK, teaching courses in leadership and management, and leading projects regularly now.

I have a question about leadership in the celestial Kingdom — the temple ceremony, and church culture clearly subscribes to a command method of leadership. It is rather autocratic, where people at the top make decisions and then assign specific tasks to people under them. There is an expectation of obedience and that instructions will be followed with ‘exactness’. Anyone who has served at the Ward level know this model breaks down at the Ward level, where people act more like volunteers. And autocratic methods are not well received. But decrees from higher ups are expected to be followed with obedience.

(Maybe this point was made already.) This style of leadership that you describe seems to be the plan presented by Satan in the pre-existence.

Also, I was raised in the 1950’s and all Father’s seems to raise their children (especially the boys) this way. My brother & I talk about this often.

The conclusion we came up with is:

1. Our parents were raised this way & followed the example they were given,

2. Our Fathers served in WWII & followed a lot of orders from a lot of different people.

My generation seems to have gone out of our way to reject this style of leadership.

[Author]

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