I have my suspicions regarding who might either:

(a) be writing these essays; or

(b) be involved in some kind of backstage consulting role in influencing the content of these essays.

According to one of my contacts behind the Zion Curtain, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in First Presidency, is "the most influential leader" in today's Mormon Church (having, for instance, publicly admitted in General Conference that LDS Church leaders have made mistakes, are not infallibe, etc.). At my request, this source is going to "poke around" by talking with their own contacts to see if specific authorship of these essays can be determined.

Further, I have a very credible source inside the Mormon Church who may know who (and what) is behind the sudden appearance of these LDS.org confession-of-sorts history-reconstruction pieces. This particular Church source has, on background, previously informed me of a certain individual whom I think might potentially be involved in this frantic Mormon Church rewrite effort. The Church source cannot go on the record but might be able to confirm or deny whether the individual mentioned is an author/consultant participating in the production of the essays. That possible author/consultant is a person of significant reputation within the world of Mormonism. According to my other source, identifying that person as a author/contributer would be "very interesting."

**P.S.--I just had contact with this Church source yesterday, who said they had been thinking about me over the last couple of days. We must be on the same wavelength. :)

We shall see. Will keep you posted.



Edited 11 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2013 04:14PM by steve benson.

Tell your contact to be careful, Steve, I think you may have just outed him/her.

Undoubtedly all your posts go through Danite/SMC/LDS NSA security:)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2013 05:07PM by deco.

It is probably Danny Boy.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2013 05:50PM by steve benson.

He probably is a source at least.

I think it might be Richard M. Romney. He or Bushman.

Bushman.

I would think Bushman too.

who's Danny boy?

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2013/11/i-miss-my-dog.html

At least he has a promise to be reunited with his dog.

maybe he'll get to be the next prophet through revelation, instead of having to wait for nine more senior apostles to die. The Mormons would be insufferable, with their handsome euro pilot-prophet. I can't imagine a more annoying scenario, except maybe with Bawly Wally Holland.

I believe it is a plan... A deliberate approach to combating the information that has been known for years by the church, but that active members are just learning about from the Internet.

(I use myself as an example.)

At the highest levels you know that there is an internal document that called for the statement by Uchtdorf in General Conference as the opening item. Next up were the "essays" on the first vision, race and polygamy. What will be next? The plan already highlights it and the "essay" is being approved right now.

The only involvement from the BIG 15 was last conference and it came from Elder Uchtdorf. They won't address mistakes again, and won't discuss "essay" content unless forced to do so.

Every embarrassing piece of history, once released into the public, via LDS.org, will now be "out in the open" and "part of the past." Translated... Don't worry about.

Consultants have given the general authorities this advice and that is the course of action they are taking. Uchtdorf may be the point man. Interesting view of Dieter may be his shock to find out what TSCC is really like in Utah. From my experience the church in Europe is not the same as in the US (kind of like growing up in the church in SoCal and then moving to Provo, serious difference.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2013 05:46PM by Doubting Thomas.

This is definitely their plan. I have several active LDS employees who had no clue that the church is putting out these essays.

I know if they were to read them they would go on and on about how wonderful it is that the church is addressing this and putting it to rest.

This BS is sickening. God's "TRUE" church would never put out such blatantly deceptive piece of garbage. Yet TBM's eat it up as proof that the church is true.

uhm...if the was a "true" church

It's a "modified, limited hangout" to use the term the Nixon
White House used in trying to navigate the Watergate scandal.

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1116522,1116522#msg-1116522

That there are apologists at all evidences the myth of it all.

It takes a lot of guts to drive change at the top of lds inc. Packer must be losing his influence if Dieter is making these kinds of waves.

Hinckley had Monson under his thumb, and I think Monson has been looking for a new direction for a long time but didn't have the backbone or conviction of his thoughts to make any real changes. Dieter seems to want a new direction, and he is quite charismatic, so it isn't hard to believe he is driving some of this. I think he is the type who could sell these ideas to Monson, and shut Packer's voice down.

I seek further light and knowledge...waiting anxiously, as always.

With talk of Monson's waning health, repost on Packer's precarious position

Sources in direct communication and physical contact with him tell me that he is not doing well at all, physically speaking; that he is essentially physically immobilized and wheelchair-bound: that the effects of his childhood polio are becoming increasingly evident; that his power and influence in matters of broad Church governance is waning; that he is essentially being marginalized as the Mormon Church attempts behind the scenes to move past his problematic legacy; and that, for all intents and purposes, he knows (because his mental powers are still sharp) that his day has come and gone.

In other words, the sun is rapidly setting on Packer's pernicious era of callous and clueless savagery.

Again, we shall see.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2013 04:11PM by steve benson.

NOT.

It would have been a great day for exmos if BKP had a chance to run the show.


More than a little contrast between him and Pope Francis.

IMO, if Monson were to go to his reward, leaving the reins to Packer, it wouldn't even make a blip of a difference. Packer may still be mentally OK, more so than Monson certainly, but he doesn't have the energy any more to fight for his views, which I think are now most definitely out of favor among the big 15. Packer is done, Monson won't even be able to read from a teleprompter for too much longer. The struggle will be between the Dieter faction and the harder line Oaks-Bednar faction, and it appears that Dieter is winning. That's how I see it, anyway, based on what I can see of what is going on in public.

sophia Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> IMO, if Monson were to go to his reward, leaving
> the reins to Packer, it wouldn't even make a blip
> of a difference.

The Church is not run by a "prophet" but by a "board of
directors."

When the guy in the figurehead position changes that has little
to do with the direction the corporation takes.

I recall when ETB gave a speech, during his reign, on how
mothers should not be in the workforce but should stay at
home. My wife worked at the COB at the time. The next Monday
her boss came in, looked around at all the women employees and
said, with mock surprise, "I thought you would have all
resigned."

What the top guy says might make the papers but it has little
influence on the people actually running the show.

Steve - These sources know who you are and what you are about of course. Is it possible that some high ups in TSCC want the creepiness of TSCC to be revealed (what a revelation!) to the general public and along with that to the TBMs?


Pagag - At least he has a promise to be reunited with his dog. - Was he sealed to his dog too? How does that work?
Just another reason why I would never want to go to the CK (even if it did exist). Animals are not there.

While there may well be secret disbelievers in the upper echelons of the Mormon Church who are taking a paycheck but who nonetheless are hardened cynics hoping for the ultimate collapse of the Mormon Church, sources I have had contact with cover a wide range from, on the one hand, those who are complete apostates who don't give a damn about providing inside information against the Mormon Church to, on the other hand, those who, while being deeply disappointed with the historical inhumanities and dishonesties of the Mormon Church, are genuinely concerned about being outted at great personal cost to themselves.

The profile of somehow connected, and often embedded, Mormon Church sources manifests a variety of human faces.



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2014 09:02AM by steve benson.

I don't know if Daniel Peterson has a dog or hopes to be reunited with a Labrador in The Celestial Kingdom.

I just think he is one of the most telling people in Mormonism.

And about the promise, here is it in print but for all I know this "Mormon Prophet" was "speaking as a man."

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1977/03/i-have-a-question?lang=eng
"To what degree of glory do animals go? The scriptures speak only of animals being in the celestial kingdom. Whether they go to other kingdoms is a matter of conjecture. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith on one occasion said the distribution of animals into all three degrees of glory is “very probable,” (Improvement Era, Jan. 1958, pp. 16–17.) To my knowledge, no other prophet has published an opinion on the subject."

One (as in Mormon) just never knows when "Mormon Doctrine" is so dynamic.

Funny how for Mormon "relative morality" is bad but relative theology is good. For me personally, the relativity of Mormonism isn't a good sign but a sign of a cult.

I checked my calendar. I interviewed for essay writing June of 2012. So the LDS essay contingent hasn't been around for very long.

Though I find these posts and this topic interesting...I bet many here are calling you a "tease" steve..

The trouble with Uchtdorf's current position and influence is that once Monson dies, Uchtdorf will become just another (and actually rather junior) apostle.

What are the prospects that Richard Scott would call Uchtdorf back to the First Presidency?

Ten bucks says that the current counselors stay as the counselors until they're dead.

I'm just curious...why does it matter who is writing the essays?

It isn't that it matters whom is writing the essays. What matters is that the essays are unsigned. No one is taking responsibility for the essays that are appearing on the LDS website. Since there is no accountability, there is a potential for deny-ability by those higher up the chain of command should the verbiage within the essays not adhere to the current or future belief system.

The Mormon church is replete with examples of doctrinal changes. One of the adherents to a faith being factual ("true"), is that its doctrines do not change.