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212: Rethinking Stewardship

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Today’s episode deals with Stewardship.  This word is very strictly defined in Mormonism and it is used to draw lots of lines in the sand separating the faithful from the unfaithful, the righteous from the unrighteous.  Yet While leaders have drawn very direct lines, we look today to see if scripture upholds such definitive lines.   I hope you enjoy!

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8 thoughts on “212: Rethinking Stewardship”

  1. Bill
    Once again I have to completely disagree with your assessment. To say that Nephi a Prophet stepped outside his stewardship when receiving revelation to build a ship and how to build it is ridiculous.
    You shared to Book of Mormon examples. The first one is when Nephi ask Lehi were he should go to find food. My take on this is. From one prophet to another Nephi was calling Lehi to repentance for murmuring against God without directly calling Lehi to repentance.
    Your second example you state that Nephi is outside his stewardship by being commanded by God to go up to the mountain to receive revelation about a ship that is to be built, is nonsensical. Lehi is a prophet but so is Nephi. It was Nephi who saw to the building of the ship and it was Nephi who guided the ship to the promise land. He was fulfilling the responsibility given to him by God.
    Trying to use scripture to try and contradict the talks given by Elder Oaks and the late Elder Perry is a fruitless endeavor. It’s a bad idea and troublesome at the same time.

  2. Lehi obviously has more seniority than Nephi and Lehi also is the patriarch of the family Nephi was accountable to the authority of Lehi. But your assessment is reckless

    Lehi and Nephi were both prophets I think it’s obvious that Lehi and Nephi responsibilities were different. Nephi was a leader over his brethren so said by the angel when Laman and Lemuel were beating Nephi and Sam. Nephi also being tasked by God to build and guide the ship to the promise land.

    Just because Lehi has the most authority and is the patriarch of the family does not mean he has to do everything or is responsible for everything and every revelation. As you shared Nephi also received the same dream of the tree of life. In the LDS church and among the 12 apostles they each have delegated responsibilities and assignments and authority. The twelve as a whole hold the same authority and keys as the prophet.

    When you were bishop did you do everything yourself or did you delegate some of your responsibilities assignments to your counselors. Did your counselors in your presidency meetings receive inspiration that was beneficial for the ward?

    Your assessment about Nephi being outside his stewardship is dangerous. You leave the door open for anybody to guide the church when that responsibility lies solely with the first presidency and a unanimous vote from the 12 apostles. I don’t know if this is what you meant but to me this is how it came across.

  3. The BOM also leaves open that lehi might just have called nephi to build the ship knowing lehi was old aged by this time.

    There is so much not in the BOM that to use it to find exceptions rather than to support the presiding authorities puts you on shaky ground.

    1. Ron

      I’m not sure what your trying to say but if you say the BOM does not say to support the leaders of the church or the prophet you could not be more wrong. The Book of Mormon to include all the scriptures all say to follow the prophet.

  4. Not sure if this will be seen, but whatever. I was listening to this episode again while going for a jog, when a thought stopped me in my tracks. In the BOM (Helaman), where does Samuel the Lamanite come from? .. seemingly he comes out of nowhere. And Would he be considered a prophet too? Because it seems that Nephi is the prophet at the time, yet god chose Samuel to prophesy something of utmost importance, rather than Nephi (who again seems to be the leader/prophet). Would this actually be outside of samuels stewardship as far as an organization goes? I wouldn’t think so, since he got direct revelation from god… but that’s kind of the crux too, right? Who’s to say Samuel was just making it up?Perhaps I should have read the story again before posting, but just curious.

    1. Would anyone in the Church today welcome a prophet outside the group? One difference of course is that we have spelled out that in this dispensation such would be unacceptable.

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