When I was younger, I loved his folksey ways, homey stories and warm demeanor, and I hoped that he'd have the tenacity to outlive the competition and be our prophet. But
(I'm speaking of appearances here...)
SWK: appeared (to me (at the time)) the humble servant of God
ETB: authoritative, direct, unwaivering
HWH: sorry, I blinked
GBH: earned his respect through years of service, creating bridges with the non LDS worls through his mastery of media
TSM? Wiggles his ears? No media. No authoritative pronouncements? Nothing. The old me who hoped he'd be the pres would have been very disappointed

deja vu all over again.

I never liked TSM, most of my friends grew up with his stories and thought he was a "sweetheart". Not me, from the moment I heard him speak I thought he was kind of sleazy (like a sales person trying to sell an extended warranty)... Plus, his sing-song pattern of speech annoyed me to no end. I was bummed that he became pres. of LDS, Inc...

You know what, the more I think about it the more I realize how profoundly I didn't fit into the mormon mold...

It is almost as if he is in hiding (temple dedications and the JAZZ not withstanding). I have been around since DOM and there is no one like President Monson. He could be translated and no one would notice for a month or two...

I have speculated on this site that I think he's in the early stages of dementia. I have not once heard him speak off the cuff since becoming President.
No, once... you're right, that Jazz game. A single sentence sounded like quite an effort.
I wonder if his performance in GC is little more than automatic pilot.

The man is 83. The average lifespan for men is 77. Over 50% of his high school class is dead now of old age. My grandmother was in great shape until she had her first stroke at 83. She died just 6 weeks before her 90th birthday. It's very likely that a man his age is in mental decline.

I looked at his wikipedia page and two things about his bio bothered me: 1) He has 3 honorary Phds, from BYU, UofU and SLCC. Does it even count to give a board member an honorary degree? Why doesn't a university outside Mordor (Mormon Corridor) think enough of him to give him an honorarium?
2) He turned down a Naval commission to serve as an LDS Bishop. What kind of unpatriotic church demands he give up a military career for an unpaid, part-time clergy position? Six months later, the US sent troops to the Korean peninsula, so Monson avoided serving during the Korean War.

How do you get a doctorate from a community college, even if it is only honorary? That's just plain goofy.

Heck, he doesn't even use his own materials!
In his ever popular talk entitled "come back [here you bast-rd]", he used Pres. Hunters words. And in some more recent secretions he used other peoples words. Doesn't he have any of his own besides the G-rated version of his widow stalking exploits?

Monson seems to be little more than a place-holder, or an icon- "hey looky here, we be true cuz we be havin a prophet"

Monson's widow talks remind me of Max Bialystock seducing widows to fund his sham musical.

...I'll second the motion.

The whole "seniority" system for prophet succession favors the church's being headed by someone with one foot in the grave. Do TBMs really not notice the utter lack of leadership, not to mention revelations, under Monson?

So who is really running the show???
KKKP???
If tommy has dementia believe me, he's not up for anything except to eat and go back to sleep!
So the "old' profits are running the show? Who is behind the curtain???

Sounds like a topic which merits its own thread.

corporate momentum is my guess.

TBMs don't notice this. You can have a guy propped up by 2 counselors and nobody will care. He's the Lawd's annoited.

Hinckster ran LDS, Inc for about a dozen years before taking nominal control.

Here's a funny thing to contemplate (and I think Tommy Monson is part of the trend): as medical technology advances in extending the human lifespan, church leaders get older and older. Finally you will have many bags of bones that have to be wheeled around like Boyd. They will slobber and babble and serve "the Lord."

What is different since TSM took over?

Monson seems to have no new ideas and is just pursuing the same goals as Hinckster. It makes sense, since he served under him for so many years, but he doesn't have the savvy to make it work nor the foresight to make needed changes.

The Prop 8 debacle would have never happened under Hinckster. Yes, he funded antigay hate crusades, but he was more subtle about it. Monson was hamfisted and got caught, creating a huge backlash against LDS, Inc.

Monson also let LDS, Inc. finances collapse. Hinckster scrimped and saved and invested, and maybe would have lost a lot in 2008 as well since he overinvested in real estate. Monson just keeps the same investment strategy even after it has fallen apart. His reaction is cost cutting on the members' backs. Since LDS, Inc. only real asset are members handing over 10% of their gross income and a good chunk of their free time for nothing, this is an extremely foolish area to cut.

I found your observation of "past" profits interesting. You certainly took the Ultra TBM route in your assessment of these men.
My observations led me to a completely different viewpoint. I'm 58 and from the late 60's to now, (stopped it all about 12 years ago) I always thought of them as arrogant, manipulative, difficult power mongers that had nothing better to do than tell everyone else what to do. (No offense to Steve but your grandfather was high on the list).
With the exception of L.David Burton (he was my basketball coach as a teenager), they all fueled my dislike of constantly being told what, how, when and where to do everything in life.
Going back it started when I was 12. I could hardly stand being around any of the white shirted Ward puds clear back then.
Imagine how I feel about them now.
I never believed a single story Monson told. I still think he made 90+% of them up. I was about a dozen people in line behind Monson one day at Lagoon at the Log Flume attraction.
Of course he had on a white shirt and tie. The idiot. He's such a fat @$$ when he and his spawn went through the final decent he got completely dowsed with water. His anger and rage was palpable. I couldn't stop laughing and and my wife got so pi$$ed at me she walked off for making fun of the lards annointed. The entire scene point an exclamation point on my opinion of all of them. Completely unable to enjoy the moment regardless of where they are and what they're doing.
GA's. I disdain all of them.

Mrs Truthseeker's patriarch grandpa has mentioned in more than one weekly letter that he has enjoyed watching the "mantle of leadership" envelope TSM. Maybe this mantle is something only TBMs can see or understand?

hahahaha- wiggles his ears - I hope he reamins the profit well into senility, it could turn out really funny!!!!

He reminds me of Count Chocula.

I wonder if he would look any better if he quit coloring his hair.
Maybe he would look more natural.

Anyway, yeah, I really expected a lot more out of him too. In my TBM days I wondered if he would be the last profit before Jesus. He was called to the 12 so young I had to wonder. Well, he finally gets the nod and he is in his 80s and just seems to be putting in his time. It is like he is real uncomfortable being number 1. His comfort level is to be a board member of a corp and sit back and partake of the benefits.

With all of his widow talks I expected him to really push service and following Jesus, etc. Maybe come across like a real humble profit. But he hasn't really pushed anything or done anything at all. It seems the church just reacts to bad press and continues to dumb-down.

HWH? Wow, I must be recovering.

Not only do I not know who this is, I have no recollection of any "prophet" between Benson and Hinkster.

:)

Howard W. Hunter. You blinked and missed his time at the helm.