The phrase listen to the gadolim is generally expressed in an attempt to turn Judaism into a cult. The person saying it has an opinion and projects it onto this mythical entity called the gadolim. Have you ever spent time around Torah scholars? On any topic of any controversy, they are not all in agreement. Not at all. They disagree often and openly. I once heard Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky stand up and disagree with something Rav Pam had just said on the topic of sexual abuse in the community. He didn't hesitate. I have sat with many gadolim and shared a thought from a different gadol and expressions of disagreement were quite frequent. One time, I expressed to a Chassidic Rebbe the view of a Yekke scholar who frowned on anybody switching to a different nusach from Minhag Ashkenaz. The Rebbe disagreed. He didn't hesitate. These guys disagree all the time. It's a mythology that the "gadolim say" this or that on controversial topics. They all agree to keep Shabbos, stuff like that. But on anything you are confused about, they don't all agree. And then you must consider the Modern Orthodox figures like Herschel Schachter and Zalman Melamed. I personally don't like their Zionism but I have to admit their scholarship is on par with many who you think of as Charedi gadolim. With them, you get much more difference of opinion on all kinds of subjects.
In sum, this phrase, you have to listen to the gadolim is mostly an attempt to control you by turning Judaism into a cult. The person might not even realize he is doing it, but he is doing it.
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