Today’s guest post is from an anonymous friend of the blog. When Elder Clark G. Gilbert was called an apostle on February 12, 2026, I hoped that the theological narcissism that he exhibited as president of BYU-Idaho and as commissioner of Church education, would be tempered as the humility of a call to the apostleship could soften a person.

Theological narcissism, you may ask? I thought it was something I made up, but of course others have thought about it, calling it spiritual or religious narcissism, with the idea being that the person uses religious authority to command fealty to God through them as the vessel of God. It’s something that I think many church leaders strive to avoid. But not Elder Gilbert.

Elder Gilbert famously showcased theological narcissism at church schools, explaining that dissent was not acceptable to God and he was just the messenger. And of course he got to define “dissent” and the fear it engendered is still felt among the faculty.

Now it’s only been a few months since he was called as an apostle, so there’s a lot of time to still change, but when he spoke in conference and had multiple examples of people coming back to the Church through his efforts (couching it in God’s mechanations, of course) I was dismayed.

And then I saw his recent social post yesterday, which he titles “God Loves His Children” and goes on to say “Every time I go somewhere, I think “who does the Lord want me to see? Who do I need to slow down for just a minute?” He explains that “During my recent assignment to the Europe North Area, Christine and I joined nearly 1,500 young single adults gathered in from across Europe. We could feel their strength, hope, and commitment to the gospel. More specifically, I could hear the Lord reaching through me to try to communicate just how much He loved each one of them. Those feelings were real and profound. I know that God loves His children and one of the miracles of my calling is that I repeatedly feel that love pour through me as I teach and minister to others in His name.”

Now I think he recognizes on some level, his narcissism and attempts to soothe his own ego about it as he also explains, “It’s not about me, it’s about the office I carry. And I honor that office and that calling, just like you do.” But this just adds to the problematic nature of his own self-importance.

We all know of other church leaders at all levels of the church, especially bishops and stake presidents, who are narcissists and have done so much spiritual harm to individuals. I would hate to see what it does on a general level if he is truly a narcissist who does not get help. 

So I wonder if there isn’t someone who could pull him aside and get him to see a therapist, to untangle some of these narcissist tendencies or manage the narcissism itself. Or maybe he has a google search on his name, and if so “Hi Elder Gilbert!”

And please note that if one truly is truly a servant of God, one does not constantly proclaim it.

Do you all see the same red flags I do?