What happened to all those stories and rumors of recent missionary call letters allegedly saying to wait until General Conference to find out more about the anticipated length of their missions??

Maybe they meant the next conference?

One thing, no one on another site where videos and .jpegs are common, was able to put up a copy of one of those supposed letters.

I did mention the one letter that I did see a photo of, belonging to a sister missionary who's letter called her a 24-month Russian mission. But a parent called in, it was claimed that it was a secretarial error.

Ya I was waiting for that announcement too. I was so excited I couldn't sleep last night... (kidding :)

Rumors get members excited for nothing.

I'm just wondering because it seems like a lot of changes just get implemented, without waiting for GC and without making any big announcement in GC.

Nearly all changes in the temple rituals don't seem to have been announced in GC.

Like everything in Mormonism, it doesn't seem like there is any reliable system or logic to any of it. The leaders do what they want to do, how they want to do it...and whether they make a big fuss about it in GC or not is also completely up to them.

In GC, they would have to talk about the changes, and they don't want conversations. I think the prophets are afraid to face a group head-on, in person. They're more comfortable whispering little rumors, and strategically "leaking" bits of info in their Deseret News. Perhaps, also, the Mormon leaders have an inkling that they appear ridiculous to the rest of the world. Who has a "revelation" about earrings, tattoos, cola, veils, and trivia like that. If the leaders were to announce the new LGBTQ policy in conference, they would have to admit to the previous policy which was a huge faux pas for the church. The cult likes to keep things under wraps, so only the brainwashed, blindly Mormons hear about it, on a need-to-know basis. It's also easier for the leaders to reverse, back pedal, deny, and gas-light, if policies are not very widely known, and are not very clear.

I think the Mormon leaders know exactly what they are doing. Like magicians, they use practiced smoke-and mirror techniques, sleight of hand, distraction, etc. in order to confuse people. Mormons appear to be nice, friendly people, and they loudly get everyone's attention, and even jostle people a bit, then, when people are off-balance, the Mormons pick their pockets.

The rumors effectively diverted the members attention from the change in the policy on gays.

Maybe the church actually plants pre-conference rumors just hoping it will get more people to tune in.

I think there is something to this theory. They are too widespread to account for just people talking.

If anything, they should be extending missions to 3 years.

That would get the those mormons talking.

I don't recall big announcements being made in conference. It would cause too much commotion.

Imagine if no rumors had leaked and the announcement about shortening the mission to 18 months had been announced in conference. There would have been a lot of commotion and murmuring, which would have disrupted things. Can't have that. They want everyone to just sit calmly and bask in the "inspired" talks of their leaders.

The "revelation" allowing the black men of African descent to hold the priesthood was announced on June 8th, 1978 via the news media, 2 months after April conference and 4 months prior to October conference. I heard about it on the radio when I was driving with my mom. Why wasn't such an important change announced during conference? Imagine the commotion it would have caused if people heard the about the big news for the first time during conference. Commotion! The TV cameras would have captured it. LDS Inc. doesn't want commotion. They want the members to have their reaction BEFORE conference. They want the TV cameras scanning the audience to capture calm, sedated faces.