David Snell, a popular Latter-day Saint content creator, recently made a video analogizing God to a head coach and LDS prophets and apostles as his offensive linemen. His point was that prophets are faithfully but imperfectly doing their best to run the coach’s plays, and that we should excuse their imperfections.
It’s a clever metaphor. But when we look honestly at LDS history and what Scripture teaches about how God reveals Himself, the analogy doesn’t just wobble—it collapses completely.
The Unfaithful Lineman
If God is the head coach, His prophets are supposed to execute the plays He calls. But imagine this scenario:
The offensive lineman refuses to execute any plays where the ball would be passed to players on the team who are African American. He claims that this policy came from the head coach either because their parents were not good players or because they had dropped the ball too many times ontheir high school football team
What kind of head coach would stand by while his lineman refuses to pass the ball to players of a different skin color?
That’s what happened with the LDS priesthood and temple ban, which leaders insisted was commanded by God. For generations, Black members were denied full participation in the church.
If God were truly calling the plays, why would He call one so plainly contrary to His character? And if the offensive lineman didn’t get that policy from the Coach, then how can we trust that he is faithfully calling plays now?
Or take another example:
The Offensive Lineman secretly tells the players on his team that the coach has told him to marry their wives or daughters. He threatens that if the players do not listen they will be cut from the team, while if they listen they will be guaranteed a starting role.
That’s what Joseph Smith claimed about polygamy. He said God required him to take multiple wives, including some who were already married to other men. He claimed that God sent an angel with a sword to compel him to enter those marriages; he warned his wife and other women that if they did not obey they would be destroyed (D&C 132:64), and he promised his followers eternal life if they listened to him.
What makes this analogy even more striking is that Joseph didn’t just claim divine permission — he claimed to have the playbook itself. Doctrine and Covenants 132 was presented as a direct revelation from God, outlining rules for plural marriage. Yet his own conduct violated even those supposed divine commands. For instance, the alleged revelation says that additional wives should be “vowed to no other man” and that the first wife should “give her consent,” (D&C 132:61), but Joseph Smith routinely broke those instructions by marrying already married women without his wife’s consent. In other words, even using his own claimed “playbook,” he ran plays that the “head coach” never called.
These are not the mistakes of a faliable but faithful offensive lineman as Snell’s metaphor suggests. It’s the deception of a man pretending his own impulses were ordered by the head coach. It’s one thing to fumble a play; it’s another to draw up a counterfeit playbook and tell everyone the coach dictated it.
“But Bible Prophets Were Imperfect Too…”
Many Latter-day Saints respond to this by saying, “Well, biblical prophets weren’t perfect either!”
That’s true. Abraham lied about his wife. Moses lost his temper and murdered an Egyptian. David committed adultery and murder. The Bible doesn’t hide those sins.
But there’s a big difference
Those men never claimed that God commanded their sins by revelation.
When David sinned with Bathsheba, he didn’t say God told him to do it. When the prophet Nathan confronted him, David didn’t defend himself with “Thus saith the Lord.” He repented in ashes, crying, “Against You, You only, have I sinned” (Psalm 51:4).
By contrast, Joseph Smith claimed his adultery was a revelation (Doctrine and Covenants 132). Brigham Young claimed God commanded racial exclusion. Those are not moral failings—they are false prophecies. And the Bible continually warns against following such men even if they claim to receive revelation from heaven. Here, for instance, are God’s words to Jeremiah.
“The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them or command them or speak to them; they are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.”
— Jeremiah 14:14
No Christian expects leaders to be flawless. But the key question is “do they speak truthfully for God, or do they falsely invoke His name to legitimize sin?”
Ultimately, when a leader claims divine authority for deception, racism, or sexual exploitation, they are not a fallible teammate, but a deceiver. And by claiming that the “head coach” endorses their wickedness, they are bearing false witness and blaspheming against the holy God of Israel.
Just think about what this lie does to the reputation of the “head coach.” If the “head coach” let offensive linemen exclude black players and let this error go uncorrected for over a century, then he is either an incompetent coach or wicked
But God will not be mocked, and he does not let his name be profaned.
The True Head Coach
When God’s offensive linemen repeatedly fumbled the ball, the true “head coach” didn’t just stand by. Instead, he stepped onto the field. Jesus Christ came to redeem his people from their folly and misplays. He never made a false play or pretended to falsely represent the head coach. To the contrary, he came bearing “the exact imprint of his nature,” (Hebrews 1:3), and spoke and did only “the will of the Father” who sent him. (John 5:30). He is the one who is called “faithful and true” (Revelation 19:11), and who redeemed a people for God through his blood (Revelation 5:9) and won the victory through His own perfect righteousness.
Conclusion
The “head coach” analogy sounds humble and relatable, but it falls apart when taken seriously. Biblical prophets sometimes failed morally, but they didn’t claim that God authored their sin. LDS prophets, by contrast, have repeatedly claimed to be speaking in the name of God, while introducing doctrinal error and encouraging immorality.
Praise God that Christians are free from having to defend and follow men like that. Our trust isn’t in the linemen—it’s in the Coach Himself, who calls every play in perfect holiness and has already secured the victory through his sacrifice on the cross.