In the April 2023 General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson pleaded with members of the church for more civility and decency. He states that vulgar language, fault-finding, and evil speaking of others are too common these days. This is wise counseling from the church leader. Does the prophet follow his own council? Should he or is he exempt from heeding his own advice? Is he just gaslighting members about the things he himself does?
It seems that Russell M. Nelson ignored these concerns and council from his own lips in the past as well as immediately afterward. His talk from two years earlier insults and vilifies those who don’t agree with his faith as “lazy learners and lax disciples”. His talk just six months later also vilifies those who don’t agree with him and he councils believers to “never take council from those who do not believe”.
Civility and decency seem to have disappeared during this era of polarization and passionate disagreements.
Vulgarity, faultfinding, and evil speaking of others are all too common. Too many pundits, politicians, entertainers, and other influencers throw insults constantly. I am greatly concerned that so many people seem to believe that it is completely acceptable to condemn, malign, and vilify anyone who does not agree with them. Many seem eager to damage another’s reputation with pathetic and pithy barbs!
Peacemakers Needed, President Russell M. Nelson, General Conference, April 2023
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/04/47nelson
He states that “people seem to believe that it is completely acceptable to condemn, malign, and vilify anyone who does not agree with them. Many seem eager to damage another’s reputation with pathetic and pithy barbs!” Thus, we’d expect the church President to walk the walk and show us how to talk about others. He should not vilify those who do not agree with him. He shouldn’t condemn or malign those who think differently than he does. He should not seek to damage the reputations of others – especially with barbs of his own.
The only problem is, this is the same church president and even the same stage that just 2 years earlier, in April 2021 General Conference he referred to those who give into their doubts as “lazy learners and lax disciples“.
Lazy learners and lax disciples will always struggle to muster even a particle of faith.
Christ Is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains, President Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/49nelson
Then, only six months after his plea for more civility and decency and his assertion that too many “vilify anyone who does not agree with them”. He states in the October 2023 General Conference prerecorded address, quoting Paul that “some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils”.
When someone you love attacks truth, think celestial, and don’t question your testimony. The Apostle Paul prophesied that “in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”
President Russell M Nelson, Think Celestial, October 2023 General Conference
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/10/51nelson
Is this vilifying those who do not agree with him? He also tells members to “never take counsel from those who do not believe” effectively driving a wedge between believers and everyone else.
Never take counsel from those who do not believe.
President Russell M Nelson, Think Celestial, October 2023 General Conference
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/10/51nelson
This sentiment is not uniquely called out here. Others are pointing to the fact that Russell Nelson ignores his own words and feels justified in throwing insults at those who don’t agree with him. After all, he speaks for the Lord!
More reading:
- Never Take Council From Those Who Do Not Believe – Says Russell M Nelson
- Demonizing Doubt: Nelson’s Talk on Lazy Learners and Lax Disciples
- https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cy4HndaN1e9/
- https://www.instagram.com/reel/CymCNUOM2U7/
- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/49nelson
- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/04/47nelson
- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/10/51nelson
So your entire article is about you finding fault with men of God.
It’s easy to point fingers. And see the faults and flaws of others.
Never once did he say or even suggest that as members of the church we ourselves have mastered these principles while the world remains largely at fault.
Infact he says in his talk and I quote
“Regrettably, we sometimes see contentious behavior even within our own ranks. We hear of those who belittle their spouses and children, of those who use angry outbursts to control others”
He never once claimed perfection in mastering this principle himself. He is simply sharing the teachings of Jesus Christ who is the only perfect being to have ever lived on the earth. We are all a work in progress. We are all trying to grow and Improve in our ability to better apply and Implement the teachings of Jesus Christ Including the leaders of our church. When they give us counsel and tell us things we can improve on they are not excluding themselves.
So if the point you are trying to make is that we are a bunch of hypocrites. Because that’s all we do is find fault in others.
Than perhaps you should first examine yourself. Because is that not what you yourself are engaged in fault-finding!
You guys are so quick to point out any imperfect member of the church. Atleast we are trying, atleast we are attempting to improve ourselves. But apparently it’s ok for you guys who have left the church to break every commandment known to man. And than complain when we as members of the church ever get out of line. And struggle to perfectly keep every commandment.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts — I genuinely appreciate the opportunity to clarify something that often gets misunderstood in conversations like this.
This article, like many here, is not about pointing fingers at ordinary members who are sincerely trying to live their faith. Contributors to wasmormon.org were once such members ourselves. We know what it’s like to strive, fall short, and keep trying — and we agree that nobody, including church members, should be expected to be perfect. Did you see yourself in the article?
What we are doing, however, is holding accountable the senior leaders who claim to speak for God, who insist they hold priesthood keys, prophetic authority, and divine discernment, and who expect millions to obey their words as if they were God’s own. That is an entirely different standard than the one we apply to everyday people. When someone claims to be a prophet, seer, and revelator — and when they claim that their church is “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth” — it is not only fair but necessary to examine their words and actions critically. In fact, scripture itself encourages discernment and warns against false prophets.
When the late President Nelson spoke in April 2021 and chose to demean and belittle those who leave the church or struggle with their faith, and then just two years later condemned the world for how “so many” condemn, malign, and vilify anyone who doesn’t agree with them — is he living his own standard? Do you see the hypocrisy? The contradiction between his words then and now is stark, and it undermines the very message he claims to teach. Yet he offered no acknowledgment, no clarification, and certainly no apology.
We do not claim to be perfect, nor do we claim to receive revelation for anyone else’s life. But church leaders do make those claims. And if their behavior consistently shows them acting contrary to the principles they preach — if they demonstrate the very flaws they condemn, or worse — then we must ask ourselves some hard questions. Why should anyone follow men who behave no better, and often worse, than the rest of humanity simply because they say God speaks through them? Blind obedience to men who demand trust without accountability is not faith — it is a dangerous path toward manipulation, control, and cult-like dependence.
This isn’t about fault-finding for its own sake. It’s about holding to the same standard the church itself teaches: “by their fruits ye shall know them.” If the fruits are hypocrisy, control, and harm, then it is wise — not sinful — to step back and reconsider whether these are truly God’s messengers.