In Plato’s Gorgias,
one of the major bones Socrates has to pick with Gorgias and the other
rhetoricians is that they used what they called “skill” to persuade others to believe
something. This wouldn't be so bad, but Socrates points out that the Sophists, in fact, know little but speak
as though they know much. I think that Socrates would have enjoyed Elder David
A. Bednar’s talk “Sweep the Earth as with a Flood” because it is easy to see
that Elder Bednar only knows a lot about what he’s talking about but is an
excellent example in doing what he is encouraging others to do. He uses words
like “disciples” to invoke feelings of duty and responsibility.
Watching Bednar’s talk, it would be easy to get so caught up
in what he was saying that we
completely miss what his words were doing.
It is obvious that his objective was to encourage members of the church to
share the gospel using social media, but the thing that I loved most was how
Bednar used social media to teach us about using social media! Bednar
demonstrated great logos as he spoke about inventions through time and the way
that they can be used to share the gospel. His logos was strengthened as he
shared some meaningful statistics to show how influential social media can be.
I loved how I felt when they played the video of Christ.
Bednar knew his audience and used their love for Christ to drive home the point
that social media can have a powerful impact. It was great because we actually
got to experience the thing we wish to allow others to experience.
As if Elder Bednar didn’t already have great ethos, he showed
that ethos can be borrowed from others as he played sound scripts from President
Hinckley and President Kimball, former leaders of the church who were greatly
respected and adored.
Finally, I love the imagery that Bednar creates with the
phrase, To Sweep the Earth as with a Flood. Not only is it an easy metaphor to
picture in our minds, but the image is a powerful one and it is easy to remember.
I like what you said about understanding what he was doing. As I was watching the video, even though I was trying to keep the assignment on my mind I was caught in the spirit of it all and loved his use of social media. It certainly moved me to want to share the gospel online!
ReplyDeleteGreat points. Elder Bednar seemed so discreet about what he was doing (using social media to promote using social media) that It was almost subliminal. And you're very right, it really strengthened his logos because by the end of his talk I was just thinking "well that just makes sense, I should use more social media!"
ReplyDeleteThe video was a great use of pathos because it left the audience with a "feel-good" attitude about what he was talking about. People are more likely to do something that they are happy about. It brings up a question though; for topics such as Elder Bednar's, does invoking the spirit count as a type of rhetorical device?
ReplyDeleteThats a super interesting question Courtney. I think that if it is, God's rhetoric is the best. As a form of persuasion the spirit is the ultimate tool because it touches both heart and mind. And the spirit ALWAYS persuades you to do good. So as long as you are using rhetoric to persuade others to do good I think invoking the spirit would be classified as fair game :)
DeleteYeah I loved the videos, they really helped bring power to the delivery of the speech. But I have the same question as Courtney, what I felt during the videos and at moments during the speech was the power of the Holy Ghost. Does the Holy Ghost respond to good rhetoric? Many of the comments and posts say that Elder Bednar did a great job or that he convinced his audience etc... but what we're taught and what I believe is that ultimately the spirit is the teacher, and the Apostles always say that they hope that we will listen to the spirit, not so much their words when they speak. How does that work?
ReplyDeleteI like your post. Some of the things you mentioned were what stuck out to me as well in both Socrates and Elder Bednars addresses. I reviewed the ideas logos and invention right before watching Elder Bednars talk, which led me to come to the conclusion that this address given by Elder Bednar is definitely different compared to his or other general authorities "normal" talks. Again, great insights James. Oh, and very clever title.
ReplyDelete