If they all know it's a fraud, the essays are a great way to give some members a way out.

It's been said in the past the reason they play along is that the members need the church.
Those that need it will stay, those who read the essays can use common sense and feel ok to leave.

The guilt has to eat at them everyday. The essays are like a confession about past bad deeds that have been hidden away. Eventually they can't stand it, but they cant completely just blow it up. The essays releive some pressure for the 15 to feel slightly less dirty.

Just a thought.

I don't think the 15 most effective people of their time at being oblivious to the needs others and aggressive in their support of the Mormon power structure would entertain such a motive.

I think they hired a PR company to create a strategy. I think they hired Mormon "scholars" to half-truth the hell out of their history, and I think they expected to slip these into the record for purposes of appeasing the general membership with a Church position.

Since they rose to where they are by being the best jerks, I don't think they are trying to be nice.

agree with gentlestrength

essays are PR masterpieces, even though I hate them

Yep they had a boatload of money to hire amazing strategists to do damage control. Half truths are way more effective than outright lies. Damn.

The essays were created under the direction of the 15 Suits to cover their past lies hoping to prevent more damaging lawsuits.

This has been a hypothesis of others on this site and I agree. Lawsuits cost money which the LDSinc. prefers to spend on large spacious buildings and shopping centers and mansions for the 15 Suits. Plus, I personally think the bad publicity they received in the English courts by the hand of Tom Phillips also gave them more than a grande migraine.

Of Mormonism!