The Leadership of Elder Joseph F. Merrill | An Interview with Casey Paul Griffiths

Casey Paul Griffiths is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University. He served a mission in Fort Lauderdale, Florida before returning home to complete a B.A. degree in History at BYU, an M.A. in Religious Education, and a PhD in Educational Leadership and Foundations. Casey served in Seminaries and Institutes for eleven years as a teacher and a curriculum writer. Casey’s research focuses on the history of religious education among Latter-day Saints, the history of the Church in the Pacific, and diverse movements associated with the Restoration. He is the author of numerous books and articles on Latter-day Saint history, including Truth Seeker: The Life of Joseph F. Merrill, Scientist, Educator, and Apostle. He is married to Elizabeth Ottley Griffiths and they live in Saratoga Springs with their three children. Highlights 2:00 Introduction to Casey and his new book 5:10 The background of Joseph Merrill 8:50 Joseph Merrill’s faith journey 19:00 Joseph’s wife had very progressive and feminist views. They had a very powerful partnership together. They were both leaders and innovators. 21:20 The Church then and now 22:55 Different political views within the leaders of the church. They were all able to get along. We shouldn’t be afraid of different views. 26:15 The setbacks in Joseph Merrill’s life led him to what he was really supposed to do. He was called by the church to be the church commissioner of education. He created an institute program to help students reconcile their faith with science and other things they were learning at school. 32:15 Joseph’s life didn’t go as he expected but just as God planned it to be. Casey talks about Joseph’s marriages. 37:00 Joseph Merrill was the founding father of the Institute and Seminary programs that we have today. However, in the beginning there were a lot of obstacles and push back to get it started. 48:00 As a leader you have a dynamic vision for something but there’s so much pushback from others. It can feel like maybe it’s not meant to be but keep going! Small changes can bring about big results in the end. 50:45 Education is a spiritual activity. Learning and growing are consecrated activities in the church. 52:15 When Joseph was an apostle he was also called as a mission president in Europe. He was very innovative in his church service. 54:20 Joseph Merrill was Gordon B. Hinckley’s mission president. Joseph mentored Gordon. Because of them, the Church started creating new media. 57:00 It’s important to be innovative in the church. How can we use technology to our advantage? Push the possibilities. 59:55 Revelation comes at all levels. Joseph wasn’t an apostle when we came up with the idea for Seminary and Institute. Revelation doesn’t always come from the top down. 1:01:20 The truths of the gospel don’t change but we can go about doing things or teaching things in different ways. President Nelson is a great example of this. He changed up the way we do home teaching and women can now be witnesses. 1:02:30 We are so lucky to have the journals of Joseph Merrill. His writings show his frustrations and inner feelings that really humanize him. 1:04:20 Joseph tried his whole life to find solutions. He always tried to mix science and religion. In the end, after he lost his 2 wives and daughter, he learned that sometimes things are in God’s hands. Faith is vital and reason cannot fix everything. 1:07:30 Faith is the first principle of the gospel because there are so many things that are beyond our control. 1:08:30 The story of Richard Lyman. He was the last apostle to get excommunicated in our dispensation. Joseph was a great friend of Richard. 1:18:30 The messiness of our history makes it genuine instead of manufactured. Sincerity is more important than eloquence. Links Truth Seeker: The Life of Joseph F. Merrill, Scientist, Educator, and Apostle TRANSCRIPT coming soonWatch on YouTubeGet 14-day access to the Core Leader Library The Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints’ mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, Lynn G. Robbins, J. Devn Cornish, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair Hodges, Whitney Johnson, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, DeAnna Murphy, Michael Goodman, Richard Ostler, Ganel-Lyn Condie, and many more in over 500 episodes. Discover podcasts, articles, virtual conferences, and live events related to callings such as the bishopric, Relief Society, elders quorum, Primary, youth leadership, stake leadership, ward mission, ward council, young adults, ministering, and teaching.