My morsel for today is the concept of loneliness in leadership, in which I will be using excerpts from the book by Gordon B. Hinckley "Standing For Something". He starts off the epilogue by stating "In leadership, in standing for principle, there is loneliness . But men and women of integrity must live with their convictions. Unless they do so, they are miserable."
In today's day and age of moral unrest, we are in ever need of leaders. And I am not simply stating leaders of nations or of corporate organizations, but that we are in need of leaders that stand for virtue within themselves and their own families. Leadership does not come easily though, it comes with a price and a determination to not be moved. As Gordon B. Hinckley stated in his book "There is great loneliness in leadership. This is so because we have to live with ourselves even if it means abandoning other relationships and pursuits." One example of this in today's day and age is of the former President Bush. Now I do not want to get too wrapped in the politics of his agenda, but I do want to say that President Bush was a man that was true to his convictions if nothing else. You do not need to necessarily agree with his political agenda to agree that even though he was mocked nearly every hour of everyday day by the media, especially near the end of his term as president, that he did not move in his convictions. I feel we need more men and women like that, who do not sway in their personal convictions in order to satisfy others.
The ultimate example of leadership and loneliness is that of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is stated in the aforementioned book by President Hinckley that "I do not know of any statement more underlined with the pathos of His loneliness than this one:"The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head"(Matthew 8:20)" Gordon B. Hinckley also stated that " There is no lonelier picture in history than that of the Savior upon the cross , alone, the redeemer of mankind, the Savior of the world , the son of god suffering for the sins of us all." I echo the words of Elder Holland as stated in the attached video "Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said, “I will not leave you comfortless. My Father and I will come to you and abide with you."
With this said I would like to leave you with this final quote from Gordon B. Hinckley " No nation can rise above the strength of it's homes or the virtue of its people. The time has come for good people everywhere to demonstrate that they stand for something-Something that is virtuous and clean and worthwhile. To that end, may we move forward with faith in the Almighty, and with a determination to live virtuous lives and to return to our society the element of goodness on which it was founded." In these times of uncertainty, I find comfort in knowing that our father in heaven has sent his comforter the Holy ghost to comfort us, and all of this because of the infinite sacrifice of his only son, a true leader within the wolves...and in this I find hope for a better day!
