The other great mistake is calling America a "democracy". It never was, and was never meant to be. America is a constitutional republic. And, as with churches, anyone who doesn't like it is free to leave. 
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I agree with Jahn, above. The U.S. is a Democratic Republic and was designed so intentionally by the Framers as a check on democratic excess.
Your relation of the hierarchy of LDS is similar to the structure of the Catholic Church. The Pope, as Bishop of Rome and the Successor of Peter, is the Head of the Church on Earth and, as such, is imbued with authority over his fellow bishops and Church as a whole. In instances where the Pope speaks "ex cathedra" he is said to carry the authority of the Holy Spirit. Democracy and whether the members of the Church like what is said has nothing to do with it, just as God was not outvoted by Adam and Eve on the issue of eating the Forbidden Fruit... they ate it and they were out!
Commenting by HaloScan
