17. Uchtodorf and Ethos, Pathos and Logos

Rhetoric is at the center of the Gospel. The Savior died so that all might be able to repent and his disciples go forth to persuade all to believe in him and repent. Rhetoric is the study of how we persuade--what we are persuading our audience to do or believe and how are we doing it. Conference is the perfect way to see rhetoric in action.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's Sunday morning talk on compassion was rich in rhetoric. He utilized emotional appeal, or pathos, by sharing the story of the "canned-food-Mormons." This was the name unaffectionately given to the poor who came into the church after recieving church wellfare. The description of them coming into the church hungering the sweetness of the Gospel causes his audience to feel compassion of these helpless people discouraging us to judge others in need.

His appeal to our ability to trust, or ethos, came most powerfully as he used the example and words of the Savior. He knows his audience are all those of a professed belief in Christ as their ultimate example and so when President Uchtdorf uses Christ's example of accepting all with open arms, he knows this is more powerful than simply asking them to do the same thing.

President Uchtdorf uses logos, or an appeal to logic, brilliantly with a simple story. He tells of an old woman who sees herself as a $20 bill. She says she is old, used and worn, but is just as much worth the same amount as any other $20 bill. What he is teaching us is that everyone has value, though on the outside if may appear differently. Using logical comparison as his tool for such teaching is effective in at least two ways: First, it easy to be understood because all in his audience know what money looks like. Second, as a story it is memorable so that the logical lesson remains long after he has finished his talk.