Sparks Commentary: Socrates and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Socrates and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is among a number of churches that value the wisdom of Socrates. Church leaders have even quoted from him over the years at times. I have given some of these quotes in another post about Plato, so I will try to minimize the redundancy here. Suffice it to say that Socrates is important to us, and that I will try to show this with some relevant quotes.

Socrates

For example, Ted E. Brewerton of the Seventy once said that “Socrates said to a young man who was introduced to him, ‘Talk in order that I may see you.’ (Communication of Ideas, p. 72.) … We reveal ourselves with our speech.” (Source: April 1983 General Conference)

Ted E. Brewerton

Church apostle Marvin J. Ashton once said that “God has given each of us one or more special talents. Socrates made the famous statement, ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’ (‘Apology,’ The Dialogues of Plato, trans. Benjamin Jowett, Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1952, p. 210). It is up to each of us to search for and build upon the gifts which God has given. We must remember that each of us is made in the image of God, that there are no unimportant persons. Everyone matters to God and to his fellowmen.” (Source: October 1987 General Conference)

Marvin J. Ashton

Paul H. Dunn of the Council of the Seventy once quoted Socrates as well. He said that “Socrates said many years ago, ‘Know thyself,’ Cicero said, ‘Control thyself,’ and the Savior said, ‘Give thyself.’” (Source: April 1972 General Conference)

Paul H. Dunn

Sterling W. Sill of the Seventy also quoted from Socrates. He said that “Socrates was a very homely man, and he prayed to the Lord and said, ‘Make me beautiful within.’ We have all seen plain people who have been made beautiful by the working of a radiant spirituality. A godly spirit will make the plainest body beautiful. Great mental and spiritual qualities transform our bodies into their likeness.” (Source: October 1976 General Conference)

Sterling W. Sill

Thomas S. Monson quoted from Socrates as well. He said that “When the pathway of life takes a cruel turn, there is the temptation to think or speak the phrase, ‘Why me?’ Self-incrimination is a common practice, even when we may have had no control over our difficulty. Socrates is quoted as saying: ‘If we were all to bring our misfortunes into a common store, so that each person should receive an equal share in the distribution, the majority would be glad to take up their own and depart.’ ” (Source: October 1993 General Conference)

Thomas S. Monson

Sterling W. Sill quoted Socrates again when he was an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This is a much longer story, but I will quote it in its entirety below:

Sterling W. Sill

“A young man once came to Socrates and said, ‘Mr. Socrates, I have come sixteen hundred miles to talk to you about wisdom and learning.’ He said, ‘You are a man of wisdom and learning and I would like to be a man of wisdom and learning. Would you teach me how to be a man of wisdom and learning?’

Socrates said, ‘Come, follow me.’ And he led the way down to the seashore.

Then they waded out into the water up to their waists. Then Socrates seized his friend and held his head under the water. His friend struggled and kicked and bucked and tried to get away but Socrates held him down. Now if you hold somebody’s head under the water long enough he will eventually become fairly peaceable, and when this man had quit kicking, Socrates carried him out on the bank and laid him out to dry, and he went back to the marketplace.

Socrates

After this man had thawed out a little bit he came back to Socrates to find the reason for this rather unusual behavior, and Socrates said to him, ‘When your head was under the water, what was the one thing you wanted more than anything else?’

And he said, ‘More than anything else I wanted air.’

Then Socrates said, ‘When you want wisdom and learning like you wanted air, you won’t need to ask anybody to give it to you.’

When we really want to be disciples of Christ, in capital letters, when we really want to be servants of the Master, then everything else will be easy.”

(Source: April 1973 General Conference)

There was also an alternative telling of this story by Royden G. Derrick of the Seventy. (Source: April 1989 General Conference) I will not quote it here, but interested readers can read it here if they so choose.

Royden G. Derrick

There are also two other references to Socrates in the online general conference archives, which I have reserved for my blog post about Plato and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Along with the references I have given in this post, these are all the mentions to Socrates, in an online archives that goes back to 1971.