Journal of Discourses 4:81 “I do not consider that one of my wives, or one of my children, has a right to partake of these emblems, until they make a full and proper restitution to me, if they have offended me. Why is this? Because I am their head, I am their governor, their dictator, their revelator, their prophet, and their priest, and if they rebel against me they at once raise a mutiny in my family.” – Heber C. Kimball, Salt Lake City, December 9, 1856
Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”
While our Lord does tell us to be reconciled with each other before giving alms, or in this case taking communion/sacrament, there’s nothing in the Bible telling us it’s okay to be a dictator.
Mr. Kimball’s ego had the better of him, and has never had a place in the life of a true Christian. We don’t lord over people, nor do we lead with demands. The sign of a good leader is to command, not demand.
Unfortunately, this is still enacted in the Church today when their leaders tell them they have to follow the prophet.
With Love in Christ;
Michelle
Heber also missed the point that it goes both ways. He needs to reconcile if he is the offender.
[…] a blatant disregard of whom Jesus is, and His love for us. Ironically (or maybe not), their apostle Heber C. Kimball referred to himself as a dictator to his wives. Oh, what a tangled web we […]