True Leaders

I was impressed by this article yesterday that described how the mayor of Salt Lake County decided to spend two nights on the streets of Salt Lake City in order to better understand the homeless problem that is faced in the city.  He spent one night sleeping on the street and one night sleeping in the shelter, and his experience was in his words "shocking" as he saw how bad the situation really was.  He wanted more than just statistics about the problem; he wanted to experience firsthand what it was like to be homeless and to be forced to sleep outside or in a shelter.  And he took a real risk in doing it, not knowing how safe he would be, especially being unfamiliar with the dangers that might be there.  To me this is the sign of a true leader—one who will sacrifice and take risks for the people he or she is called to lead.  It reminds me of the difference between leaders and managers as Hugh Nibley described it.  He said: “The leader, for example, has a passion for equality. We think of great generals from David and Alexander on down, sharing their beans or maza with their men, calling them by their first names, marching along with them in the heat, sleeping on the ground, and first over the wall….  For the manager, on the other hand, the idea of equality is repugnant and indeed counterproductive. Where promotion, perks, privilege, and power are the name of the game, awe and reverence for rank is everything, the inspiration and motivation of all good men.”  I’m grateful to learn that there are still leaders left among the many managers we call politicians.          

               In the scriptures I think we see powerful examples of these kinds of leaders that Brother Nibley described.  For example, Alma was the prophet and yet he led the righteous Nephites in battle against Amlici and his followers.  “Alma, being the chief judge and the governor of the people of Nephi, therefore he went up with his people, yea, with his captains, and chief captains, yea, at the head of his armies, against the Amlicites to battle….  And it came to pass that Alma fought with Amlici with the sword, face to face; and they did contend mightily” (Alma 2:16, 29).  Alma didn’t sit back in the safety of his home while the common people fought; rather, he risked his life to fight with them and indeed did get injured (see Alma 3:22).  Mormon was another leader like Alma who led his people in difficult times at great sacrifice for himself.  He wrote, “In my sixteenth year I did go forth at the head of an army of the Nephites” (Mormon 2:2).  He led them again and again during the subsequent decades, and like Alma was wounded in fighting for the Nephites (see Mormon 6:10).  Captain Moroni was perhaps the most famous Nephite leader who gave up his own comforts in order to serve and be with and fight for his people.  He started leading them at the age of 25 and led the people through a time spent preparing for and fighting a terrible war for more than a dozen years.  And it’s telling that like Alma and Mormon, Moroni too was injured in battle for his people (Alma 52:35).  When the war was over, Moroni returned home and died a few years later, having given his all for his people. 

                 Christ of course was the greatest leader, and He taught us that “the greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matt. 23:11).  He showed his desire to understand and know and be able to succor us by descending from His throne divine to live among men and take upon Him all our sins and weaknesses: “And he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities” (Alma 7:12).  He chose to walk the mile in our shoes so He could really understand us, and that’s the kind of thing we must do if we want to be true leaders to those we serve.