In his address this past weekend, it was interesting that Elder Hales taught from the scriptures almost exclusively for several minutes at a time. In a different context, this would be similar to someone parsing different court rulings into a legal opinion, or using sections of the accounting codifications to prescribe a proper accounting treatment. Any of the aforementioned approaches could seem odd, unless a clear link between each reference was made. I was interested to see if this style was a common thread in his addresses, but when I listened to Elder Hales talk from 1981, I noticed that it was not. I did, however, find a common theme, that of the testimony of prophets. In '81, the testimony was of a living prophet, and was shared through experiences, while this past sunday it was the written testimony prophets of old. It was enlightening to see the common theme delivered with different approaches by the same speaker, a third of a century apart.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
A Contrast in the Context of Speeches by Elder Robert D. Hales
When Elder Hales got up and began to his talk "Eternal Life-to Know Our Heavenly and His Son Jesus Christ" (October 2014) I was excited because I knew his health has been poor the last several conferences. The general conferences of the LDS church are given in an auditorium that seats thousands of people, and are televised internationally, so it isn't always apparent, but sometimes speakers who are in poor health will sit while they give their address. Elder Hales sat while he spoke, rather than standing, and his voice was feeble, but he did seem to be in better shape than I remembered and he still spoke with conviction. It was quite a contrast to see him standing erect 33 years prior, when he powerfully and directly delivered his address "Examples from the Life of a Prophet" (October 1981).
He was not a member of the quorum of the twelve apostles when he gave his first address, and now he is: this changed his delivery approach. In 1981, his address "Examples from the Life of a Prophet" used stories from the current prophet's life (President Kimball). Elder Hales leaned on President Kimball's established ethos, while building his own by illustrating the times he had worked in concert with this leader of the church. He had clearly served in the church extensively by this time, in fact he had been a mission president, bishop, high counselor, branch president, and a member of the stake presidency, along with having served in the seventy for 6 years. Despite this, his audience was likely unaware of his background. This contrasts sharply with his approach 33 years later, now a seasoned member of the twelve, and much older than most of his audience. In his address on sunday, he told a story of looking up to into the starts, pondering on the depths of the universe. This helped him relate to his audience, as they have often considered the existence and/or role of God in their lives, and many may not have realized that a member of the twelve would share these common experiences with them.
In his address this past weekend, it was interesting that Elder Hales taught from the scriptures almost exclusively for several minutes at a time. In a different context, this would be similar to someone parsing different court rulings into a legal opinion, or using sections of the accounting codifications to prescribe a proper accounting treatment. Any of the aforementioned approaches could seem odd, unless a clear link between each reference was made. I was interested to see if this style was a common thread in his addresses, but when I listened to Elder Hales talk from 1981, I noticed that it was not. I did, however, find a common theme, that of the testimony of prophets. In '81, the testimony was of a living prophet, and was shared through experiences, while this past sunday it was the written testimony prophets of old. It was enlightening to see the common theme delivered with different approaches by the same speaker, a third of a century apart.
In his address this past weekend, it was interesting that Elder Hales taught from the scriptures almost exclusively for several minutes at a time. In a different context, this would be similar to someone parsing different court rulings into a legal opinion, or using sections of the accounting codifications to prescribe a proper accounting treatment. Any of the aforementioned approaches could seem odd, unless a clear link between each reference was made. I was interested to see if this style was a common thread in his addresses, but when I listened to Elder Hales talk from 1981, I noticed that it was not. I did, however, find a common theme, that of the testimony of prophets. In '81, the testimony was of a living prophet, and was shared through experiences, while this past sunday it was the written testimony prophets of old. It was enlightening to see the common theme delivered with different approaches by the same speaker, a third of a century apart.
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It is very interesting to see how life changes a person's perspective. His methods may have changed but he still has that same testimony of the prophet, probably even stronger now. He relies on someone else' ethos when young and then by the time he is older he has no need anymore.
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