In Matthew 23 and Luke 11, Jesus lambasted the religious leaders of his day for blatant hypocrisy and a style of spiritual leadership that took away “the key of knowledge” and “shut up the kingdom of heaven against men.” According to Jesus, not only did this prevent the leaders themselves from entering the kingdom but it also “hindered” those who were close to entering! Although I don’t believe the modern LDS Church is guilty of the egregious hypocrisy detailed by Jesus, I am concerned it has established a similar system of status and worthiness along with external religious practices that can impede Latter-day Saints from the spiritual understandings and disciplines that lead to spiritual rebirth and open the kingdom of heaven. This presentation explores whether modern LDS culture and religious practices reflect the spiritual leadership that Jesus embodied or the leadership of those he criticized for hindering.

PHILIP G. MCLEMORE