As our country prepares to vote for a new president this
year, I am reflecting on what makes a great leader and am hoping that the
majority of the people of the United States also give this some serious thought
before they vote for our new president. Here are some thoughts I would like to
share.
WHAT IS A GREAT LEADER?
A Great Leader …
· … is someone who puts the interest of the people
they are leading over their own personal interests.
Selfless.
·
… is well-acquainted with the lessons of history
both modern and ancient.
Knowledgeable.
·
… is humble and willing to seek advice and
counsel from others and from God
Humble.
·
… is wise in all of his decisions and dealings
with others.
Wise.
·
… maintains freedom and liberty for the citizens
of the nation.
Patriotic.
·
… has a high level of integrity and moral
character.
Honest.
·
… understands that when we as a people respect
God and his commandments that we will have the blessings of heaven poured out
upon us.
Reverent.
Some great leaders in our come to mind as I ponder these
qualities of a great leader. I have
found that by reading the original writings of these great leaders we can gain
much insight into their character that we cannot always find in a textbook.
GEORGE WASHINGTON
George Washington had all of these attributes. He was a strong leader and yet very humble as
he sought guidance and direction for our country. I’ve included a few excerpts of George
Washington’s original writings here. I
have also included links to the full documents at the end of this article.
George Washington’s
Circular to the States 1783
This is a document that George Washington wrote to every
leader of every state upon his retirement as General of the Revolutionary Army
in 1783. Of course, his retirement was
short lived as he was coaxed out of retirement to become the first president of
the United States and served two terms from 1789 to 1797. In this letter, Washington makes it clear
that he has all of the above qualities of a great leader. A link to the full document may be found at
the end of this article
In the excerpt below, George Washington in humility
acknowledges that we as citizens are very fortunate to live in this country and
that we don’t “own” this land, but are stewards of it.
“They are, from this
period, to be considered as the Actors on a most conspicuous Theatre, which
seems to be peculiarly designated by Providence for the display of human
greatness and felicity; Here, they are not only surrounded with every thing
which can contribute to the completion of private and domestic enjoyment, but
Heaven has crowned all its other blessings, by giving a fairer oppertunity for
political happiness, than any other Nation has ever been favored with.”
~George
Washington, Circular to the States 1783
George Washington also acknowledges in this excerpt the
blessings of the divine in both obtaining and maintaining the freedoms and
happiness that come with living in this free country.
“It remains then to be
my final and only request, that your Excellency will communicate these
sentiments to your Legislature at their next meeting, and that they may be
considered as the Legacy of One, who has ardently wished, on all occasions, to
be useful to his Country, and who, even in the shade of Retirement, will not
fail to implore the divine benediction upon it.
I now make it my
earnest prayer, that God would have you, and the State over which you preside,
in his holy protection, that he would incline the hearts of the Citizens to
cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government, to entertain a
brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow Citizens of the
United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in
the Field, and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us
all, to do Justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity,
humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristicks of the
Divine Author of our blessed Religion, and without an humble imitation of whose
example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation.”
~George
Washington, Circular to the States 1783
George Washington’s
First Inaugural Address 1789
In his first inaugural address in 1789, George Washington,
again demonstrates many of these characteristics of a great leader. The link to his full speech can be found at
the end of this article.
One of my favorite excerpts from this speech below
demonstrates George Washington’s humility in acknowledging both the divine
blessings that led to this country as well as the sacred responsibility of those
who live in it to maintain its liberty.
“I dwell on this
prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my Country can
inspire: since there is no truth more thoroughly established, than that there
exists in the oeconomy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between
virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of
an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity
and felicity: Since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles
of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules
of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained: And since the
preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican
model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked,
on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”
~George
Washington First Inaugural Address 1789
George Washington’s
Thanksgiving Proclamation 1789
The link to this full document may be found at the end of
this article.
“and also that we may
then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great
Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other
transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to
perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our
national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a
Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully
executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations
(especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good
government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true
religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and
generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he
alone knows to be best.”
~George
Washington Thanksgiving Proclamation 1789
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Another great leader in our history is Abraham Lincoln. He also reflected all of these
characteristics of a great leader.
The following are a few of my favorite excerpts from Abraham
Lincoln’s original writings, speeches, and transcripts that you generally won’t
find in textbooks.
As Abraham Lincoln sought for guidance in his decisions on
the civil war, he became very humble:
“I am glad of this
interview, and glad to know that I have your sympathy and prayers. We are
indeed going through a great trial -- a fiery trial. In the very responsible
position in which I happen to be placed, being a humble instrument in the hands
of our Heavenly Father, as I am, and as we all are, to work out his great
purposes, I have desired that all my works and acts may be according to his
will, and that it might be so, I have sought his aid -- but if after
endeavoring to do my best in the light which he affords me, I find my efforts
fail, I must believe that for some purpose unknown to me, He wills it
otherwise. If I had had my way, this war would never have been commenced; If I
had been allowed my way this war would have been ended before this, but we find
it still continues; and we must believe that He permits it for some wise
purpose of his own, mysterious and unknown to us; and though with our limited
understandings we may not be able to comprehend it, yet we cannot but believe,
that he who made the world still governs it.”
~Abraham Lincoln’s reply to Eliza Gurney on
October 26, 1862
Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation
for National Day of Prayer and Fasting 1863
“Now, therefore, in
compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I
do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of
April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do
hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary
secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and
their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the
humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.
All this being done,
in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the
Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and
answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the
restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy
condition of unity and peace.”
~Excerpts from
Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of a National Day of Prayer 1863
The following are words spoken by Abraham Lincoln to
Congressman James Wilson who recorded Lincoln’s statement. This statement was in reply to a visit to
President Lincoln by a congressional delegation during the civil war who
pressed him to make sure slavery would be cast away forever. Wilson noted that as the president spoke
these words with his right arm outstretched, “his face [was] aglow like the face of a prophet.”
“My faith is greater
than yours. I not only believe that
Providence is not unmindful of the struggle in which this nation is engaged;
that if we do not do right, God will let us go our own way to ruin; and that if
we do right, He will lead us safely out of this wilderness, crown our arms with
victory, and restore our dissevered union, as you expressed your belief; but I
also believe that He will compel us to do right in order that He may do these
things, no so much because we desire them as that they accord with His plans of
dealing with this nation, in the midst of which He means to establish
justice. I think He means that we shall
do more than we have yet done in furtherance of His plans, and He will open the
way for our doing it. I have felt His
hand upon me in great trials and submitted to His guidance, and I trust that as
He shall further open the way I will be ready to walk therein, relying on His
help and trusting in Hiss goodness and wisdom.”
~Abraham Lincoln
to Congressman James Wilson
Abraham Lincoln’s
Second Inaugural Speech 1865
In Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Speech he was
particularly humble after several years of the civil war without an end in
sight. This entire speech is engraved in
one of the walls surrounding the Lincoln Monument in Washington, D.C. The full text can be found in a link at the
end of this article.
“Fondly do we
hope---fervently do we pray---that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass
away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the
bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk,
and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another
drawn with the sword, as was said three [3] thousand years ago, so still it
must be said ``the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.''
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness
in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the
work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have
borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan---to do all which may
achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all
nations.”
~April 10, 1865 Abraham Lincoln’s Second
Inauguration Speech.
MORONI
Another great leader in the history of this land is
Moroni. We learn about the prophet and
leader Moroni in the Book of Mormon where he was a leader of the Nephite people
on the American continent in the approximate years 70-60 B.C. He also possessed these attributes of a great
leader – Selfless, Knowledgeable, Humble, Wise, Patriotic, Honest, and Reverent. He thought more about the liberty and
happiness of his people than his own comforts.
He taught them to be industrious and self-reliant and prepared them to
defend themselves from the onslaught of their enemies. Links to more of Moroni’s teachings and
leadership can be found at the end of this article. Here are a few of my
favorite excerpts of Moroni’s original words:
Alma 36:1-2, 27-30
1 My son, give ear to
my words; for I swear unto you, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments
of God ye shall prosper in the land.
2 I would that ye should do as I have done, in
remembering the captivity of our fathers; for they were in bondage, and none
could deliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in their afflictions.
27 And I have been
supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of
afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from
death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.
28 And I know that he will raise me up at the
last day, to dwell with him in glory; yea, and I will praise him forever, for
he has brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has swallowed up the Egyptians
in the Red Sea; and he led them by his power into the promised land; yea, and
he has delivered them out of bondage and captivity from time to time.
29 Yea, and he has also brought our fathers
out of the land of Jerusalem; and he has also, by his everlasting power,
delivered them out of bondage and captivity, from time to time even down to the
present day; and I have always retained in remembrance their captivity; yea,
and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I have done, their captivity.
30 But behold, my son, this is not all; for ye
ought to know as I do know, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of
God ye shall prosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, that inasmuch as
ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence.
Now this is according to his word.
Alma 43: 45-47
45 Nevertheless, the
Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for
monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties,
their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship
and their church.
46 And they were doing that which they felt
was the duty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and
also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first
offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the
hands of your enemies.
47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall
defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the
Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their
families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion.
Alma 46:16-22
16 And therefore, at
this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of
the land might be favored.
17 And it came to pass that when he had poured
out his soul to God, he named all the land which was south of the land
Desolation, yea, and in fine, all the land, both on the north and on the
south—A chosen land, and the land of liberty.
18 And he said: Surely God shall not suffer
that we, who are despised because we take upon us the name of Christ, shall be
trodden down and destroyed, until we bring it upon us by our own
transgressions.
19 And when Moroni had said these words, he
went forth among the people, waving the rent part of his garment in the air,
that all might see the writing which he had written upon the rent part, and
crying with a loud voice, saying:
20 Behold, whosoever will maintain this title
upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into
a covenant that they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the
Lord God may bless them.
21 And it came to pass that when Moroni had
proclaimed these words, behold, the people came running together with their
armor girded about their loins, rending their garments in token, or as a
covenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their God; or, in other words,
if they should transgress the commandments of God, or fall into transgression,
and be ashamed to take upon them the name of Christ, the Lord should rend them
even as they had rent their garments.
22 Now this was the covenant which they made,
and they cast their garments at the feet of Moroni, saying: We covenant with
our God, that we shall be destroyed, even as our brethren in the land
northward, if we shall fall into transgression; yea, he may cast us at the feet
of our enemies, even as we have cast our garments at thy feet to be trodden
under foot, if we shall fall into transgression.
It is my hope that each of us as citizens of the United
States take this upcoming election very seriously and consider what we are
looking for in the next great leader of our country.
Below are links to the full text of the documents referred
to above. They are full of inspiring
words and hope you are uplifted and inspired by them.
The Lincoln Hypothesis by Timothy Ballard published in
2014 copyright Rockwell Group Inc. was also referred to in the writing of this
article.
