August 30 2023: Prigozhin, CES Honor Code, Trauma in the church, GOP Presidential Debate, The value of leadership

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We gotta start with Prigozhin. Sam, last week you suggested that he was the biggest threat to Putin, now he is no more. US officials say that a bomb is likely the cause of explosion that downed Wagner leader Prigozhin's plane, His death may help Ukraine in the short-term, but it removes Putin’s greatest internal threat. Besides the United States, who could stop Putin?

The Thought Provoker:

This week we will start with Sam: The Church Educational System announced changes to the honor code and dress and grooming standards at the BYUs. Since this is something Matt suggested, are church leaders listening to our podcast? Dallin H. Oaks in September 1971. His first talk as BYU President. Ff to the 32:00 mark.

Next up Shawn:
There are some people who've left the church because they suffered what can accurately be described as trauma. That doesn't mean it's not God's church, of course. Just that it's run by people. But before we can explain that to ex-Mormons it's important to listen to their personal pain. And sit with them in those dark, lonely places. And tell them they did not deserve that treatment.” What kind of obligation do we have as Saints to those who have chosen to leave the church? Is there something we should be doing to help those who experience trauma to heal?

Finally, Matt: GOP Presidential Primary debates are about one thing… branding. The first debate is when candidates define who they are and try to sell their brand to the Republican primary voters. The moderators obviously have a different goal, they want to generate highlights that will keep people talking about their network. The two goals don’t often align and it can make it hard for some candidates to define themselves. Based on what you’ve heard or seen from the first GOP debate, how are the GOP candidates branding themselves? Do any of them fit the Latter Day Lens standard of honest, good, or wise people?

Big Question (from a listener):

In a recent episode, Sam recently talked about "leadership" which gets a lot of emphasis in the church and in the country. But the kind of business leadership we discuss seems very different from the leadership Jesus demonstrated. Or Paul. Don't you think? When you take off your MBA goggles, do you see Jesus performing the behaviors we teach in leadership classes?

Is there evidence to suggest that better leaders increase productivity? By how much? Which leadership behaviors correlate with high productivity? When we run these stats it's important to watch out for survivorship bias. That is, companies that fail generally go broke and can fall out of our counts if we're not careful.

Or, is there a scriptural basis for the compensation of "leaders" compared with the rest of an organization?