I used to think people wanted money so they could have big houses, enjoy nice vacations, drive nice cars, get laid a lot by good looking people they can buy, eat the best food and all that good stuff. I guess some people are content with that but there is another type of person.

The power junkie.

Power junkies are driven by control and power. They might want the nice perks but they aren't happy unless they have power over people period. I never could figure out why wealthy people would waste so much effort and time trying to climb a religious ladder. If you are rich why do you even care about being a general authority. I had a rich mission president that obsessed about the mission being a spring board to being a GA. Then I got it, he was a power junkie. A more saner person would feel grateful that they had the resources to spend time on the best golf courses. Not a power junkie, they want political or religious power.

I think a HUGE problem with the church is there are too many power junkies in control of it. They get their fix from bossing people around and then having those same surfs fall over them when they come to visit. You know they get off on it and if you stop and think about what is going on, it's some sick and twisted stuff.

Agreed.

Saw this over and over as a member, particularly 'priesthood holders'. Some of them could be so arrogant and pompous. But the worst case of it was my last bishop. The 'power' of his calling turned him from a reasonably decent person into an absolute bastard. He belittled and mocked the 'lesser' members - you know, part-member families, blue collar workers - bullied anyone he could, particularly women and persecuted those from families he felt were a threat to his position, including their kids. However he kissed up to anyone from GA families or high up AF officers.

His appalling conduct was complained about a good number of times by different people but the SP always came back with 'Sustain your Bishop', 'No evil speaking of the lord's anointed' crap. So he was free to carry on his abuse.

When he was released he sat on the stand looking bereaved.

After our family left the SP called me to talk about why. I told him that one of the factors which had caused me to question everything was this bishop's abusive, cruel power-mad behaviour. To give the SP credit he did apologise. He also offered to come meet with us, anywhere, including our own home but I told him not to waste his time.

The SP had a good opinion of me, despite the fact I'm a mere woman. When I said that the behaviour of some P.hood holders had been a deciding factor in my decision to leave, particularly the bishop and my son's mission presidents, he had no answer. He knew what bastards they'd been too. An honest silence fell between us, before he apologised again.

"They get their fix from bossing people around and then having those same surfs fall over them when they come to visit."


It is a strange phenomenon: every power junkie requires a dozen surfs to get his high. He gets to feel in charge - they get to feel warm & fuzzy because they are "protected" from chaos.


As Marv Fransen noted a while back, mormons suffer from existential terror ...

Most of the active members are natural born followers. Mormonism is all about following the leaders, obeying, submitting.

A minority of the church aspire to lead -- not in the "Let's make it to the promised land" sense, but in the "I need to boss people around" sense. And oh look -- a whole bunch of people waiting to be bossed around.

The power junkie types would have a much harder time out in the real world.

Haha! "Oh look, a whole bunch of people waiting to be bossed around." For some reason I find that very funny.