Principles of Priesthood Leadership

by Stephen D. Nadauld

Book by Nadauld, Stephen D.

Genres: Religion, Lds

124 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Lincoln · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some things are a little bit dated, but I found the pieces about vision and focus for leaders excellent. Very relevant for leaders in the church today.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is EXCELLENT! There is no way for me to recommend this book in a way that will do justice to the book. It is a must read for anyone in Church leadership at any level. I read this book three times in one month (this was last month). I have asked that my Ward Council read it. I have encouraged just about everyone I know that has or is serving on a Ward Council to get a copy of it and read. It will change the way you minister (and administer). It was published by Deseret Book in 1999. I wish I had read it ten years ago. DB recently reprinted it in softback. I have had the book on my shelf for several years and never read it. When I was at the store last month I saw that it was now in softback. I figured that since DB doesn't reprint a book unless it is very good (at least that is my impression), and is in high demand, I should move it to the top of my list. I read it in one night. Then I read it two more times in the next couple of weeks. More slowly and took lots of notes. The only thing I can compare this book to is attending a really good Priesthood Leadership Training Meeting. I really really recommend this book.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brief book about priesthood leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many readers may not be familiar with the author, Stephen D. Nadauld, but he is knowledgeable, experienced, and well qualified to address the topic. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Ph.D. in Finance from UC Berkeley. Professionally, he was at various times a university professor of business management, CEO of a dairy cooperative, CFO of an energy company, and the president of two colleges. He served in the Church as a general authority seventy, a counselor in the young men's general presidency, and as a mission president. His wife was the young women's general president.

The book is short, a bit repetitive (on purpose), and focused on a few key principles the author wanted to emphasize as being most important without distracting from them by mentioning a lot of other less important things. The writing style is clear and straightforward. There were some interesting insights into several specific challenges unique to priesthood leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that I thought were spot on.

The book has five chapters. Chapter 1 is about the leader's responsibility to teach the Plan of Redemption. Chapter 2 is about ministering to individuals. Chapter 3 is about identifying and articulating a shared vision and helping people focus on accomplishing a few (1-3) key, measurable objectives to achieve that vision. Chapter 4 is about priesthood leadership specifically of/for Aaronic priesthood-age young men. Chapter 5 is a recap of the first three principles followed by mentioning a few other concepts like problem solving in councils, communication to group members, and fostering esprit de corps.

Overall, I learned some good things from this book that I think will be helpful to me and help me be a better priesthood leader now and in the future.

The only part of the book that left me somewhat unsatisfied was wanting a clearer explanation of HOW exactly to determine what the right vision should be, how to identify what are the few most important things to focus on, etc. That seems to be a challenge most leaders struggle with.

All in all, I still learned a lot and liked the book and would recommend to those who want to become better priesthood leaders in the Church.

[Kole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was weary of reading this book at first. I have never heard of the author, it's been over 20 years since it was published, and would the principles taught still be relevant today.

I loved this book. Though it has been over 20 years since it was published, I was captivated by the author's ability to succinctly teach principles related to priesthood leadership. Though this book is geared to priesthood leaders, all members, male and female, would benefit from this book.

This is a book that I will revisit.

[Juan Botero · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Al punto!

Este es un buen libro en cuanto a las prioridades de un líder dentro de la iglesia y su función en ella.

Pienso que toca puntos importantes, me ha dado un poco de claridad y ha pulido algunas ideas que tenía en mente al mismo tiempo que me ha ayudado a descartar algunas malas ideas de que es el liderazgo.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on priesthood leadership that all should read. I particularly like the section on Aaronic priesthood leadership.

[Shayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times, not well written but great information.