When I read that yesterday it had an effect on me. It made me think that the Church is dying a slow death. I mean if its a long ways off why worry. Why pay money to this Church knowing you will not be around for it. It made me think about all the things I believed, and I was taught about second coming being close. Seems those things were lies. Wait, they were taught by Prophets, Seers and Revelators. Just like Dusty Rusty. So it got me to thinking, what can you believe these days? Who can you believe. We are taught the follow the top guy and they will not lead you astray. I think over the years they have.
I think once word of this gets out it will have some sort of impact.Its like we are no longer called but we are volunteers in our callings concept being pushed now.
How can we be sure Dusty Rusty is giving us the latest? Talk about doubts. So I think you will see a slow decline in morale at Church coming to a ward near you.

The con is unraveling ?

Surely some will be taken aback temporarily, but in the long term Mormons (and people in general) have ways of dealing with cognitive dissonance. Several years ago, Boyd K. Packer announced in General Conference what some Mormons would find even more confusing than the President Nelson tweet:

"Sometimes you might be tempted to think as I did from time to time in my youth: 'The way things are going, the world’s going to be over with. The end of the world is going to come before I get to where I should be.' Not so! You can look forward to doing it right—getting married, having a family, seeing your children and grandchildren, maybe even great-grandchildren."

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/general-conference/2011/10/counsel-to-youth?lang=eng


Was there much, if any, long-term fallout from the Elder Packer claim?

I wondered about that, because I naturally assumed he'd been assigned to say something that would put some fire to the 'sales' of the 99-year leases of the condos there at City Crap mall. I figured he was telling the impressionable saints that they'd get their money's worth out of them.

I get the impression that the True Believers still think the end is nigh. Words from GAs that indicate otherwise are spoken to comfort the weak in the faith, but the Real Saints know the real skinny, and will be in good shape when the (unexpected) end comes.

Never underestimate the power of delusion. It is particularly strong now. Mercury is in retrograde.
;)

Couldn’t you chalk up Rusty saying stupid sh*t to Mercury being in retrograde?

I think the local level adds another layer to what ever the leaders in SLC say. Russ can say its a long way off, but there will always be some local bozo spewing off the "the prophecies are being fulfilled, the saviors return is eminent....blah, blah, blah."

Between the two sources, the members will patiently wait for Jesus' return, which isn't for a long time yet, as if it could happen tomorrow.

when it used to be that it could come at any time or soon. Like I said in the other thread, I read an article in Dialogue in the 1990s and it talked about the early pioneers thinking the end was near, so the wives were leaving their husbands and being sealed to GAs so they had a sure place in the CK.

At 2000 (which is when it was hinted at would be the end), I hoped it would end, but I knew it wouldn't. By then I was pretty much out. They don't give exact dates, but they have always hinted around as it being near. What about the people with patriarchal blessings that say they'll see the second coming in this life (I think they are all dead now).

but, but, wait,, what about all of the earthquakes? and the famines? Isn't that proof enough the the previous prophet's predicktions are all pointing to the end of times very soon? And, and, the food storages? All the wheat, beans, and crap? Shirley that's proof that gawd is getting his chariot ready. Now Wendy's boy-toy is telling us that it ain't gonna happen for a long time. Please, for the love of gawd, somebody define "for a long time". I got cans bulging, wheat being bolweaviled, and a half-built handcart with rubber wheels on back order.

Mormons have a definite modus operandi when dealing with pesky facts:

The “translation” of the Book of Mormon: For generation after generation, we were told about the Urim and Thummim, and shown pictures of Joe studiously viewing the gold plates. Over the years, there were a couple of obscure references to the rock in the hat, which gave TSCC a scant measure of defense when the truth came out. Now they claim “we don’t know exactly how the Book of Mormon was translated.” That’s pure bull excrement, but it clouds the picture sufficiently to keep most TBMs from looking any deeper.

The Book of Abraham: For generations, the official line was “written by Abraham’s own hand on the papyrus.” When that narrative became harder to defend, the apologists tried various explanations to defend Joe’s “translation.” Now, the official line is “We don’t know how it came to be, but it’s the word of God.”

We’ve seen similar patterns of spin and deception when it comes to various versions of the First Vision, Polygamy, racial exclusion for the priesthood and temple ordinances, and other embarrassments. First, something is stated clearly. Next, some alternate explanations or quotes are dispersed. Finally the view is sufficiently muddied so that they can say something completely contradictory from what was previously taught.

We have just seen this pattern again. From the beginning of the church to the late 20th century, it was “the Lord’s coming is nigh; even at the door.” Joe taught that there were members of the rising generation that would not taste of death before the second coming. Countless people in the 19th century were told in their patriarchal blessings that they would live to see the second coming of the Lord. The vast majority of Mormons believed that Jesus would return by the year 2000, if not sooner, and leadership (both local and general) encouraged that belief. Along the way, Packer (once) said the end of the world wasn’t coming for a while. Now Russ says it’s a long way off. Now they can claim that they never said that the 2nd coming was soon—in fact they can claim just the opposite. For most true believers, that will be enough to put their doubts to rest.

I remember well sitting through Fast and Testimony meetings as a teenager during the late 1970's and early 1980's and hearing members state that Christ could return at any time ... so we all needed to live every day in preparation for the Grand Event; this was clearly the belief of many of the rank-and-file membership at that time. However, even as a youth I recognized that their claims could not possibly be true, because there was a whole laundry list of prophecies that had yet to be fulfilled, some of which would require years to come about and many of which had to happen in succession. So for me, somewhere around the year 2000 seemed just about right for the Second Coming, which would fit in nicely with the church's 4000 B.C. (approximately) timing for the Fall and "the seven thousand years of [earth's] continuance, or ... temporal existence" [D&C 77:6], with the Millennium occupying the last thousand years.

It all seemed very tidy and plausible at the time.

Mormons in the area where I live were convinced that when gay marriage became legal in Utah that was the sure sign of the end of days and a wrathful Christ was on his way.
As of today, still waiting.

Every generation is the chosen generation.

https://www.exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1974127,1974157#msg-1974157