A Thought Experiment…
Posted on February 21st, 2007 by Kevin Burtt (The Baron)
(Inspired by a number of web threads, including this one)
Meet “Bob”…
Bob is a normal working-class white guy in his early 30’s. He works for a construction company during the day, and comes home to his wife and three-year-old daughter at night. He and his family lead an average, but comfortable, lower-middle-class existence.
Bob is a decent guy who cares about his family, although he does tend to lose his temper on occasion when things don’t go his way. He’s not particularly intelligent or educated, but tries to impart basic ideas of right and wrong to his children. He gets along with his wife just fine, although she complains every once in a while about him not helping around the house enough.
From a racial standpoint, Bob does not have a problem with blacks–he gets along fine with his black co-workers–although to be honest he’d be a little uncomfortable if his daughter brought home a black fiancé one day.
Bob does have a ‘problem’ with Hispanics–he thinks illegal immigration is one of the biggest problems facing the country today, and can’t completely shake the deep-rooted fear that the “Mexicans” are going to take his job one day. He understands (in his head) that Hispanics are ‘people’ too, but right now would just as soon not associate with any of them, thank you very much.
One night, while Bob is sleeping, a very strange and marvelous thing happens: A bright light appears in his room and Bob awakens to find a glorious angel standing beside his bed.
The angel calls him by name and says that he (Bob) has been chosen to be a special servant of the Lord–a genuine right-out-of-the-Bible prophet of God. Laying his hands upon Bob’s head, the angel gives him certain keys of authority, and informs that that he will be receiving ‘revelation’ about certain doctrinal concepts at various future intervals. He will then be tasked to share such knowledge with those around him. Having completed his mission, the angel departs and Bob is left to ponder the wondrous things that just came to pass in his bedroom.
Let’s discuss: Assume, following the angel’s visit, that Bob is now a legitimate “prophet” of God–according to any ancient or modern definition we wish to apply. Whether Bob is a person that God would really call to be prophet is irrelevant–God calls whomever He wants, and for whatever the reason Bob is now a prophet.
As he sits in his bed, how is Bob different now as a result of his new ‘calling’, than he was 24 hours ago?
Is he more intelligent than he was before? More educated? Does he even know anything more about eternal truths and God’s plan for man (other than the existence of angels) than he did before?
Is Bob less likely to lose his temper now, than he was 24 hours ago? Why or why not?
Is Bob more likely to help with chores around the house than he was 24 hours ago? Why or why not?
Has Bob’s attitude towards race changed? Is Bob now more comfortable potentially having a black son-in-law, or more comfortable associating with Hispanics at all, than he was 24 hours ago? Why or why not?
How has Bob’s quest for perfection–his path to becoming a better person–different now than it was 24 hours ago? Is Bob any more ‘perfect’ now than he was yesterday? Bob’s calling and responsibilities in life have changed…has his character? Could it be said that Bob is, for all intensive purposes, exactly the same person as he was a day ago (and will be tomorrow, and the day after that)? If something ‘changes’ due to his prophetic calling, how and when does this change occur, and what form does it take?
If prophets are ‘more perfect’ than everyone else, when does this ‘perfection’ occur, and how is it different than how non-prophets become ‘more perfect’? What exactly IS the difference between a mortal man called to be a prophet and all other mortal men? Discuss…
» Filed Under Any
Comments
16 Responses to “A Thought Experiment…”
Leave a Reply
Kevin, this is an interesting experiment because of course we know that somebody like Bob but younger and more innocent was called in a similar way. And if we study that example, I think we will find that the pressure is primarily on Bob to grow in knowledge and obedience. And as he does, he will gain greater intelligence, etc. In the case of Joseph Smith, he went from being nearly illiterate to having some knowledge of several languages. We know his knowledge of the scriptures was incredible. We know he had greater wisdom as he grew older. All of these things were due to behavior that allowed him to be guided by the Holy Ghost.
Bob is not perfect, nor is any prophet. He has been given an opportunity to learn and grow at a faster pace than others based on his behavior and his obedience. If he does well, he can be like Joseph Smith. If he does poorly, he can be like Balaam (or Oliver Cowdery).
Isn’t Bob’s faith in angels transferred to a knowledge of angels, and thus in one sense, he is “more perfect” having a more perfect knowledge of the existance of angels and God than normal mortal men.
Perhaps his racial attitudes change when the angel instructs him that “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.”
My point is that seeing the angel per se might not change him signficantly, but once he starts receiving the promised revelations, one would expect his behavior and attitudes to change accordingly.
Testing … (had a few comments come up with error messages)
Bob kind of reminds me of Paul and Peter as well. For a while Paul didn’t really like Christians. And Peter wasn’t sure of what he should eat…
I was going to say that in the example you use, Bob could very well be a prophet and hold to some undesirable attitudes towards blacks.
Regarding the racial thoughts, I think the Spirit would help him begin to see that God see all people the same regardless of their skin color. And this might help him to overcome the natural and normal biases he and all of us have. But he still might believe that he doesn’t want his daughter marrying somebody with whom she may not be compatible, regardless of skin color.
Great topic, Kevin.
I remember watching the video about President Hinckley when he was called to be prophet one of his daughters talked about his initial call to be an apostle. She said something like: “Why call my dad. He’s so normal and imperfect.”
I think it safe to say that whom the Lord calls, he qualifies.
He would have all the same tendencies. The biggest change would be that he knows that God exists and as a result he would be very hard on himself when making mistakes.
When I was younger and in a student ward, I was going through a self-indulgent patch and was prone to sit in my room feeling miserable and lonely and mulling over my hard life. Then I was called to be in the RS presidency, which seemed like a big deal to me at the time. I was almost immediately changed. Suddenly I felt a huge responsibility to the sisters in our ward; it mattered deeply to me that each felt loved and included, and I felt inclined to reach out to each one. It was a very short calling - it was a BYU spring-term ward, so it only lasted a few months, but I can honestly say it was the closest I’ve felt to the spirit for a sustained period of time, and primarily due to that calling. I’ve had the same calling since and it, unfortunately, has not had a similar elevating effect on me. It is clearly not the calling but the way I allowed it to change me.
My guess is that Bob will be changed inasmuch as he allows the calling to be a prophet to touch his heart and draw him towards the spirit. He now has an overwhelming responsibility to all humanity. As that responsibility settles on him he will be filled with more love; he can actually be changed by the spirit as fast as he allows himself to.
I first thought of this as a joke, but upon reflection I find it interesting:
The experience could immediately affect Bob’s feelings (or at least get him thinking) if the angel himself were hispanic or black…
Kind of casts and interesting light on the situation when the Lord tells Bob “your sins are forgiven you,” and Bob has a completely wrong idea of what the Lord’s talking about.
Bob hasn’t changed per se, but now called of God, he has to begin considering what God thinks about that Hispanic down the street, not what Bob thinks about that Hispanic down the street. Even if Bob doesn’t do this, he would still be a prophet of the Lord. But by attempting to look at individuals through God’s eyes rather than his own, he comes to a greater and richer understanding, and as such can relay God’s word far clearer to the people around him.
To me, the bigger question is, what happens when Bob, due to his previously held bias, decides that Mexicans cannot be baptized into the church God instructs him to start? And before Bob lives long enough to come to a better understanding, he dies, leaving the church to continue practicing something that is wrong. How is this different than, say the Catholic church?
CEF,
The answer to that it simple, God can resoundingly affirm that the policy is out of line to the leadership through revelation when they get their heads straight enough to ask.
Simple, Bob does not change immediately, unless he views this experience like Alma and the 4 Sons of Mosiah, or Paul for that matter, or others! Perhaps Bob does not even change any of his attitudes at the outset, but he does change through performing the duties of his calling. I never changed in any aspect of my life when given a calling, and I have been in a Bishopric, a High Councilman, and YMs president various times, but I did start to change — although I still worry about who is going to take my job — when I started to perform the duties of my callings as I realized the need for change to be able to perform my duties! No effort, no change, a lot of effort, a lot of change! Perhaps another way to say this is that perfection/progression does not come through ordination, it comes from faith and enduring — hence many are called, but few are chosen (D&C 121:34) — I just taught that in Early Morning Sem this past week! However, in order to be called, I really believe that this is a combination of both foreordination and preparedness which if Bob was called legit as a prophet, he must have been prepared! Perhaps that is why it is better to just sustain someone when called and let the person’s track record judge how he was chosen and not simply called — in most cases this process seems to prove itself out anyways! I learned something here, just sustain, the chosen-ness comes by the person’s choices throughout the course of their calling!