Mormonism as a tribe, Part 4: The structure

There are many aspects that Mormonism does correctly as a tribe; however, one important aspect that will ultimately hurt the tribe is where the burden of action lies. In Mormonism, the burden of action lies on the subjects. In nearly every meeting, the leaders get up to remind the subjects that they aren't following the chief strictly enough. But this is wrong. The burden of action should be placed on the Leaders, not the subjects. Every Sunday you should have meetings about how true the actions of the leaders have been, how it benefits the tribe, and what these new actions will do for the tribe.

But it's not that way. The leaders turn the action onto the individual because the leaders don't know how to lead, or they are unable to make decisions within the current structure of the church. I'll go into this more later, but ultimately, the church does not allow for innovation and true leadership, this is the way those in power want it so they do not have to be challenged in their authority.

Can you imagine if you had a bishop that was able to do extraordinary things? People would start to follow him, the number of his subjects would grow and grow as they saw how right his actions were, and then, because of the size of his followers, he would become a threat to the current leaders.

Those in power understand this very well, so they set up a system that will prevent any real leadership at all. They simply form the whole structure of their organization around how well the subject follows, and this will eliminate anyone that has true ability to lead as a chief, because he will do so outside the rules that have already been set by those in power. And that's why every Sunday you hear talk, after talk, after talk, after talk about obedience and rarely, if ever, a talk about greatness. The leaders don't want you to be great, they want you to follow.

Greatness threatens the current leader

The leaders are afraid of greatness because they are not great. By greatness I mean the ability to think outside of the box, and then to act on those thoughts, which, if correct, will lead to a better form of life. Innovation is not just for the business world, it can also be for the spiritual world. What works best in the ever changing system of life? If the structure allows for innovation, those with innate understanding will be allowed to act on their hunches, which will ultimately benefit the group.

Do you like not having to wash your clothes out by the river? Of course you do. In a very real way, there are all kinds of spiritual innovations that can be had, but because the current church does not allow for innovation, you will never find these better ways of life.

The leaders do not want this. They do not want to see greatness in their subjects, because that would take away their power. They want to keep you constantly looking to them for answers, constantly checking yourself to make sure you're strictly obedient, constantly checking your neighbor to make sure they are obedient, and now, they have created a culture that is against innovation, against the great rising up and taking the lead because the subjects are so focused on obedience they will tear down anyone that rises outside of the standard that has been created by the current leader.

How do you know they are not great?

If they were truly great, the words of obedience would never pass their lips. They wouldn't care about obedience, they will show the way simply because they will be there first. They will blaze the trail because that is what they do, and that is what they know how to do. You can follow or not, that's not their concern; their specilization is to lead because they intuitively know the right way.