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

One of the great Macedonian kings was Philip II of Macedon. He fathered the boy who would become Alexander the Great, and he hired a tutor to teach this now-famous son. The tutor was another famous person that you've probably heard of, incidentally, because it was none other than Aristotle, the Greek philosopher. Our church is among a number of those whose leaders have quoted from Aristotle, incidentally, as I will show below.

Aristotle

King Philip II of Macedon, who hired Aristotle to tutor his son

Howard W. Hunter, for example, mentioned how Aristotle was the tutor of Alexander the Great. Specifically, he said that “Alexander the Great, king of Macedon, pupil of Aristotle, conqueror of most of the known world in his time, was one of the world’s great young leaders.” (Source: April 1986 General Conference)

Howard W. Hunter

Alexander the Great, Aristotle's famous pupil

Russell M. Nelson is another prophet that had earlier referenced Aristotle. He noted how Jesus had said: “ ‘Love your enemies, [and] bless them that curse you.’ … He taught the Golden Rule: ‘All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.’ This principle is found in nearly every major religion. Others such as Confucius and Aristotle have also taught it. After all, the gospel did not begin with the birth of the Babe in Bethlehem. It is everlasting.” (Source: October 2002 General Conference)

Russell M. Nelson

James E. Faust was once telling a story about four young adults who were helping out at a hospital. Quoting the story, he said that “ ‘After the nurse picked herself up from the floor, she said, ‘Are you kidding?’ ’ … During a morning of helping to scrub and of visiting patients, these four Young Adults had an unforgettable experience. They seek, as Aristotle said, to be those ‘who have at heart the best interests of the state and of its citizens.’” (Source: October 1974 General Conference)

James E. Faust

Ted E. Brewerton of the Seventy also quoted Aristotle. In the words of his talk, “Aristotle said that wicked men obey because of fear and that good men obey because of love. (See Useful Quotations, ed. Tyron Edwards, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1933, p. 428.)” (Source: April 1981 General Conference)

Ted E. Brewerton

James E. Faust quoted from Aristotle again in a later talk. He said that “Until recently, ethics and moral philosophy were the foundation of higher education. They were a legacy passed from generation to generation. Those values are as relevant today as when they were taught by Aristotle. Said he, ‘Man perfected by society is the best of all animals; he is the most terrible of all when he lives without law, and without justice’ (Politics, 1.1253a, 31–34). Therefore, public and private morality need much greater emphasis everywhere.” (Source: April 1987 General Conference)

James E. Faust

These are all of the references to Aristotle in the online general conference archives, and this archives goes back to 1971. (I know, because I did a search of it.) These references show that Aristotle's wisdom is still valued today, and that some of our church's leaders are among its admirers.

A YouTube video with all

of these General Conference clips

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