Sustaining Leaders Takes Unshakable Faith

Henry B. Eyring had a moment of vulnerable honesty. He states that in sustaining the church leaders, church members promise God that you will sustain the leaders no matter what they do. He might know something of the future after all, because he says that keeping the promise will take unshakable faith that the Lord called them. This sounds like he wants members to have faith in the leaders calling above all else.

"By raising your hand to sustain, you make a promise. You make a promise with God, whose servants these are, that you will sustain them.These are imperfect human beings, as are you. Keeping your promises will take unshakable faith that the Lord called them. Keeping those promises will also bring eternal happiness. Not keeping them will bring sorrow to you and to those you love—and even losses beyond your power to imagine." - LDS Apostle, Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, The Power of Sustaining Faith, April 2019 General Conference | wasmormon.org — “By raising your hand to sustain, you make a promise. You make a promise with God, whose servants these are, that you will sustain them. These are imperfect human beings, as are you. Keeping your promises will take unshakable faith that the Lord called them. Keeping those promises will also bring eternal happiness. Not keeping them will bring sorrow to you and to those you love—and even losses beyond your power to imagine.” – LDS Apostle, Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, The Power of Sustaining Faith, April 2019 General Conference

You can withhold your sustaining vote, or you can pledge your sustaining faith. By raising your hand to sustain, you make a promise. You make a promise with God, whose servants these are, that you will sustain them.
These are imperfect human beings, as are you. Keeping your promises will take unshakable faith that the Lord called them. Keeping those promises will also bring eternal happiness. Not keeping them will bring sorrow to you and to those you love—and even losses beyond your power to imagine.
President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency
The Power of Sustaining Faith, April 2019 General Conference
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/34eyring

What about our faith in Christ? Do leaders say that faith should be unshakable? Why would our faith in church leaders require faith that is unshakable? Will the leaders do things (or are they already doing things) that are not what men called of God ought to be doing? Why is Eyring, a member of the First Presidency telling members that they must have unshakable faith that the Lord called him and his fellow quorum members? He reminds us that they are imperfect human beings, as we all are, but he also ties eternal happiness to keeping our promise of sustaining the leaders. Is that all that’s required today? All Mormons need to do to achieve eternal happiness, according to Henry B. Eyring, is sustain the leaders. Don’t question them, don’t hold them accountable – as they are imperfect, they should get a free pass. Members should expect to see these leaders doing things that they cannot reconcile. It will be hard to reconcile the behaviour and statements of these church leaders and we’ll want to doubt that they are actually called of God!

But, if we want the carrot they dangle, that of eternal happiness, we shouldn’t, no, we cannot doubt their calling. We cannot doubt that they are ordained by God to lead His One True and Living Church, yea, the only real church on the face of the earth in these latter days. Eyring brings in eternal promises and claims that the only way to achieve eternal happiness is by unshakable sustaining our church leaders, and that if we don’t, we’ll face sorrow and loss to ourselves and those we love, beyond our imaginations. He’s really trying to scare members from questioning their leaders.

Church leaders are more concerned with our faith in them and their authority over us than they are with our faith in God, our behavior, or the love we show others. This faith they want to be “unshakable.” They want absolute allegiance, no matter what they may be caught doing or the harmful messages they peddle. They want obedience. They want tithing. They want adoration. Church leaders want the membership to stay in line and if there are any problems in the church, we’re to sit and patiently wait for them to notice the problems, and fix them. God is directing the church and all the press releases and policy adjustments after all.

We should never be tempted to criticize the leaders, we should simply give them a break. They have finally confessed that they are not perfect, even if they can’t bring themselves to apologize for their wrongs or even name them. They use fear to keep members in line and to retain hold of the authority they think is more important than anything. They use empty promises to reward members for their obedience and servitude.

Jesus wisely stated the famous advice that we can know if someone truly follows God or if they are a false prophet. He states “wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:20). What are the fruits of the current leaders? We see multiple counts of alleged international tax evasion, and misleading and hiding money from members and the world, fear-mongering, exhibiting all the dangerous signs of a cult, and more. How did or do you reconcile these fruits with men who also claim to be special witnesses of Christ? Share your story at wasmormon.org.

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