The fans will wonder why the Grinch is stealing their pageant. What will Linda Lu think?
But yeah, I think it signals a shift away from the BoM as doctrine. They’re serious about not treating it as a historical document. I’m amazed to see them making actual progress.
I was wondering what this may be signaling, and I think you are right. Cumorah was a major missionary effort all focused on the BoM.
Now there will be hardly anything in that area. There is a visitors center on the property. The building where the first Boss were printed, the farm, the "sacred grove" etc.
Unless there is a concerted effort to put that on some Mormon tourist bus route, visitors to that area........
My thoughts EXACTLY. They are trying to hard to move away from the BoM as history in their rebranding attempt into mainstreatm Christianity. Nixing the word "Mormon" is even part of that. The BoM is the easy part, the temple and its Masonic roots are going to be the biggest hurdle. It's the money machine. Even though they've changed so much about the ceremony, the undies, the requirements for a recommend (you can be immoral and dishonest as long as you pay), they can't drop the "come to our clubhouse or lose your family for eternity" rhetoric without a big interruption in the money stream. However, it's kind of a fun and interesting show to watch.
This is STRAIGHT out of the RLDS playbook: get away from the term mormon, discontinue any cultural ties to the BOM, make a statement that it is not scripture, join mainstream
Sb3 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This is STRAIGHT out of the RLDS playbook: get > away from the term mormon, discontinue any > cultural ties to the BOM, make a statement that it > is not scripture,
This is prescient and probably accurate. Good observation. Would not surprise me at all if history proves it true.
I don’t know if the church will ever just straight up start saying “I’m not sure we ever taught that” with the BoM, but subtly, they will move away from it. Hell, maybe over the next two decades or something you could count how less often conference talks will make mention of it as a historical document.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2018 10:30PM by midwestanon.
sitting at night with lots of people in the dark and watching a colorful performance is too exciting for mormondum. I know I enjoyed it as a teenager and would probably enjoy it now too. Nelson wants everyone to snooze through church instead, more songs about praising the Man! and Hi'ing to Kolob,
the pagent is not family oriented, or strengthening the famDamiliy enough. (so the article says?)
Look at these two responses in the cited article's comments section:
"mightymite - , 00 Oct. 27, 2018 5:29 p.m. Hard to understand what is going on right not with leadership? Who are they consulting for this change? This is a tough and sad stretch...
"BooBoo - Orem, UT Oct. 27, 2018 4:52 p.m. Pageants are weird. They’ve always been weird. Unless you’re multigenerational LDS and grew up with them, in which case you probably don’t see that they are hokey, embarrassing, and parochial. High time we moved on from the vain traditions of our forefathers, IMO."
I'm guessing that 'BooBoo' from Orem thought that the Broadway version of Book of Mormon was "hokey, embarrassing and parochial."
Anyway, it's interesting to see that, 1) the lord's newspaper is allowing TBMs to voice contrary opinions and that 2) there are plenty of mormons ready and able to kiss up to inspired prophets.
What the leaders are failing to comprehend is that there are many people that are interested in local history that is part of a region and how it connects to a group of people. These places of interest have never been a major missionary tool to convert, but people are interested in visiting places that others revere. It's similar to the road shows where half of the audience were non members that came to see a good show.
The Hill Cumorah Pageant always triggers many, many, much and myriad uses of the "M" word.
The Book of Mmmmmm will eventually have to go. But they have to take baby steps to get there.
It does look like they intend to get there.
Pshsssss~sssss.... Do you hear that sound? Sounds like air steadily leaking out of a tire.
They're downscaling the Mormon church in plain view. But the TBMs can't see it because the leaders haven't specifically announced that they're downscaling. To TBMs, it's just inscrutable "tweaking" that must be good because the good leaders are doing it.
I wonder if the newest, not-yet-announced temple building plans are going to be scrapped...or whether they still need the temple construction projects for money laundering or something.
As LDS changes terminology ("ministers," not HTs or VTs), kills the pageants, distances itself from the exotic (and unique) teachings like celestial polygamy, etc. I'm reminded of a conversation among teen girls when Vatican II introduced folk music into the Mass, eliminated Latin, allowed nuns to wear modern dress, and so on.
The Protestant girls thought this was great, and would make Catholicism more hip and understandable. But there was a devout Catholic girl who objected strenuously, complaining that all this "will make the Roman Catholic Church plain and ordinary, just like all the others!"
Mainstreaming and liberalization will have its cost. Perhaps the (un?)Holy 15 figure such colatoral damage is acceptable.
I used to go all the time, as per I live not too far away. My church friends would participate as actors. I even remember Donny Osmond be an actor in the pagent. If I remember correctly I think 10,000 would be in attendance.
Missionaries would mingle and talk to people before it started. Always visited the Grove, JS home, see the Temple there.
They are backing away from the parts they can't explain that might demand explanation - ie the more public weirdness. This is so, a generation from now, they can teach our grandchildren to say "We never taught that - that is anti-Mormon lies." The way they do nowadays when anyone tries to tell a 20-something that the temple ordinances originally mimed slitting your own throat if you broke the oaths you made in the temple. That never happened ...
The Book of Mormon no longer has a purpose. It's no longer converting people to the church. The church knows the temple recommend is what brings the money into the church and temple marriage is what makes people want one. Who wants the embarrassment of not being able to attend weddings?
Nelson has made a lot of changes in a very short time. At the rate he is going, many more changes will come. JS moved away from the BOM as he started is own "reveled words from God" which is now the D&C. Which is what the lds is governed by for the most part. I see maybe more teaching from it along with very selected statements from past leaders and of course anything Nelson decides on his on. I for one enjoy him as the new leader. He will run many more off then any other leader before him. Especially the young ones. The
I watched the interview with Elder Hendrix at Mormon Stories. Hendrix said he once sat across from Russel M. Nelson eating lunch in the GA cafeteria and said Nelson had a confident arrogance to him. He said Nelson's attitude was like I know what I'm doing, I hope you do.
Usually you can tell what kind of prophet you are getting when you see the guy walk into the press conference after they have been set apart. Some look a bit shaken. Some are humbled. Nelson walked in like he owned the place.
I didn't like it when he told a story about a father giving his baby a blessing at the priesthood session of conference in April. He said the father gave a great talk but failed to bless the baby and Nelson said what a waste or something to that effect. Basically calling the father out as an idiot. I don't think President Nelson or President Hinckley would have done this. Maybe they would have noticed the mistake but not call it out at general conference. I thought it was arrogant of President Nelson. At least the father was in church doing something and not off at the golf course or banging some woman on a business trip behind his wife's back.
So Nelson is going to change a bunch of stuff. Some of it many members won't like.
So, I still have time to plan a "Hill Cumorah Vacation" before it shuts down. My wife and I have an unspoken agreement that our "Nauvoo Vacation" never happened.
You Too? Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don't know that Palmyra made much money off of > it. > > It was mostly just a pain in the ass to be invaded > by Mormons every summer.
You don't think the 2 weeks during the summer helped with the business' bottom lines? You don't believe they are going to feel it in a financial way when the pageant is no more?
I think the merchants in that area should start planning for a huge drunken bacchanalia for the Hill Cumorah Pageant time slot in 2021, called "The Mormons are Gone; let's have fun! Pageant."
Yes, Palmyra won't even notice it with all those guided tours where participants can pay 25 a head to dig for their very own gold bible. I think there's a 50 dollar one where you get your very own peepstone and a hat.