In the past, church leaders have made some significant mistakes. How much should I rely on pronouncements and teachings of our leaders today?

Part of the Big Questions Project

It’s difficult to think of another religious organization that holds its leaders in higher esteem and trust. For millions of church members, the witness and ministry of prophets and apostles are living waters. They are experienced as a source of frequent inspiration in good times and a light of hope to the soul in dark times.

But when a generation that has grown up singing “Follow the Prophet” encounters church history and comes face to face with real mistakes past prophets and apostles have made, issues of trust can arise.

To address this question, we invited historian and author Patrick Mason, author of a number of exceptional books, including Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt, and Restoration: God’s Call to the 21st Century World. Patrick is the Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University.

First, Patrick offers a short, deeply insightful essay titled Searching for Infallible Prophets? It’s a must-read, and it ends by challenging us to face some very probing questions.

Then, Patrick sits down with a couple of very bright millennials for a very candid conversation on the topic. You can watch that conversation here:

We also recorded a great conversation on this topic between Patrick and his good friend Spencer Fluhman, Executive Director of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute at BYU:

Tim Chaves from Faith Matters offers his really insightful perspective in this post on the subject:

You can watch a conversation we recorded between Terryl Givens & Matthew Bowman on the subject of prophets at The Compass Gallery here:

And you can read Matt’s Wayfare essay on the topic here:

The Prophet and the Priest