Conflicting Statements from Elder Ballard

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_consiglieri
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Conflicting Statements from Elder Ballard

Post by _consiglieri »

It is one thing to find statements between different general authorities, and even apostles, that seem to contradict each other.

It is another thing to find statements from the same general authority that seem to contradict each other.

Especially when those statements are given within weeks of each other.

Here are four public statements by Elder Ballard that I am having difficulty reconciling.

Elder Ballard CES Address, February 29, 2016

Gone are the days when a student asked an honest question and a teacher responded, ‘Don’t worry about it!’ Gone are the days when a student raised a sincere concern and a teacher bore his or her testimony as a response intended to avoid the issue. Gone are the days when students were protected from people who attacked the Church.


Elder Ballard October 2017 General Conference

Be aware of organizations, groups, or individuals claiming secret answers to doctrinal questions that they say today’s apostles and prophets do not have or understand.


Young Single Adult Face-to-Face Promotional Video (early November, 2017)

Elder Ballard says that, to be honest, the apostles do not have answers to all the questions being asked by young single adults. Those are the questions they avoid.



Elder Ballard 11-14-17 BYU Devotional Address

I am a general authority but that doesn’t make me an authority in general,” he then quipped. “I worry that members expect too much from their leaders and teachers, expecting them to be experts [in areas and topics] well beyond their expertise. If you have a question that requires an expert, please take the time to find an expert to help you.


Especially strange to me is the October 2017 General Conference warning to be aware of people who claim to have answers to doctrinal questions that the apostles do not have, when juxtaposed with the 11-14-17 BYU Devotional Address in which Elder Ballard admits the leaders are not experts in various areas and advocating people consult an expert.

This last actually appears to be in the context of doctrinal questions, as he goes on to answer some of them in the 11-14-17 talk.

Thoughts?
You prove yourself of the devil and anti-mormon every word you utter, because only the devil perverts facts to make their case.--ldsfaqs (6-24-13)
_Fence Sitter
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Re: Conflicting Statements from Elder Ballard

Post by _Fence Sitter »

Why should apostles be any different from scriptures?

One can pretty much defend any position based on what either the scriptures or apostles and prophets say/have said.

There is no requirement for an apostle to be consistent anymore than there is for scriptures.

I would be willing to bet that were you able to place this same OP on MAD, several posters would argue that these sayings are not contradictory and that you just lack the faith to actually see what Ballard was trying to say.
"Any over-ritualized religion since the dawn of time can make its priests say yes, we know, it is rotten, and hard luck, but just do as we say, keep at the ritual, stick it out, give us your money and you'll end up with the angels in heaven for evermore."
_Maksutov
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Re: Conflicting Statements from Elder Ballard

Post by _Maksutov »

Fence Sitter wrote:Why should apostles be any different from scriptures?

One can pretty much defend any position based on what either the scriptures or apostles and prophets say/have said.

There is no requirement for an apostle to be consistent anymore than there is for scriptures.

I would be willing to bet that were you able to place this same OP on MAD, several posters would argue that these sayings are not contradictory and that you just lack the faith to actually see what Ballard was trying to say.


Prayerful ponderization will resolve all difficulties.
"God" is the original deus ex machina. --Maksutov
_Stem
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Re: Conflicting Statements from Elder Ballard

Post by _Stem »

Yeah...yeah..other than to agree, his statements leave us with nothing more than a mess of conflicting ideas, I wanted to comment on that last quoted again:

Elder Ballard 11-14-17 BYU Devotional Address

I am a general authority but that doesn’t make me an authority in general,” he then quipped. “I worry that members expect too much from their leaders and teachers, expecting them to be experts [in areas and topics] well beyond their expertise. If you have a question that requires an expert, please take the time to find an expert to help you.


I don't think I've ever seen an General Authority when asked a question defer to someone else. They usually feel they have something to say on anything asked. Granted most questions put to them are softballs. But if the above is true, then it's time they step aside in areas where they are not experts and give a reference to an expert to speak on the matter.
_GameOver
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Re: Conflicting Statements from Elder Ballard

Post by _GameOver »

The difficult questions aren't beyond their expertise. They're beyond their desire to know the answers.

They won't encourage the members to research and study for the answers except from Church-approved sources, and to only discuss the issues with totally faithful followers who live on the baloney themselves.
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