Blind, submissive followers in any field, be it in government, science, or religion, lack the ability to discriminate between truth and error, good and evil, and between the weightier and lesser matters of the law.  They hardly have a soul to call their own.  This kind of discipleship is not befitting a Latter-day Saint.  He believes in giving loyalty and respect to political and religious authority; but at the same time, as a child of God endowed with free agency and the Holy Ghost, he senses his responsiblility to be a thoughtful and whole-souled disciple of Jesus Christ.  he will follow those who have earned the right to be his leaders.  And he will follow them with understanding and conviction, not with blindness or indifference.

-Lowell L. Bennion, Religion and the Pursuit of Truth (pg. 27)