The modern LDS Church is a corporation. In many ways it’s similar to McDonald’s. McDonald’s owns most it’s locations and makes most it’s revenue in real estate. The church makes most it’s revenue in both commercial and agricultural real estate.

McDonald’s has a strict form of centralized standardization that makes all McDonald’s locations worldwide the same. The church is no different.

Some McDonald’s are themed McDonald’s reflecting something unique about the locations they are in. The LDS does the same with it’s temples by putting local styles, decorations and art around, on and in the temples. A temple in Mexico may have a Spanish or Aztec look. This is a cheesy attempt to make these temples become local landmarks and cherished heirlooms of the members.

Like many large corporations, the church isn’t very good at adapting to new social changes. They stick with the same formula and the leadership are so comfortable and out of touch in their bubble they really don’t have the pulse of the real world. They have the resources to survive many mistakes but eventually the success becomes the demise.

Sears would be a great example. One of the first great mail order companies. Sears completely destroyed it’s retail empire by completely missing the on-line internet trend. Sears could have been Amazon with the greater advantage of having stores or distribution centers big items could be delivered to and even final assembled for the customer. Of course management were comfortable in a bubble and had the luxury of making mistake after mistake. So is the life cycle of corporations.

The LDS corporation’s worst performing division is the religious part of it. It’s losing it’s base and it’s products are so dated the younger generations are saying “yuck!”

Supersize Me

That’s called getting endowed under the golden Moroni where billions and billions will be served.

Many of the top leaders are like Scrooge McDuck. Obsessed with counting their Billions.

Once upon a time you could buy just about anything from a Sears catalogue. Hell, you could even order a house. Years ago LDSInc filled the needs of it's members. Relief Society was something to look forward to. There were a lot of activities, food, babysitting, a nice day out before the older kids got home. Primary and teen activities were fun and the preach factor was low. Scouts were a big deal and a lot of the men were involved with camping, fishing and hunting trips. Your current bish would call the one where you were moving and they would help you move in after your other ward helped you move out. If something went wrong or you had a baby, you could depend on your ward to help you. Roadshows, balls, potlucks, great parties. A bazaar was a big event with really cool stuff and the ward kept the money to use for one thing or another.

Now, none of those needs are met by LDSInc. It's all about the money and obeying. Serve the machine and get nothing back. it was always a crock of crap but at least the members got SOMETHING out of it.

Lot’s of those Sears and Roebuck houses are still in good shape with people living in them. All the wood was top grade and was cut and shaped in a factory on machines and if the buyer followed the instructions well and built a good foundation it was a better quality house than most local builders could put together.

Sears was a pretty sophisticated operation in the day.

I think if Sears had been observant and progressive, they could have been like Amazon. They had everything and you could order it. They squandered that idea, IMO.

What Sears had was a distribution network and local service. I ordered lots of stuff from Sears catalog because it would be delivered to a local store and I go go down to the loading dock and pick it up.

Sears could offer that plus having it assembled for you and a repair service available. That’s nice for big items like treadmills, appliances ect.

Home Depot kind of does that. I ordered a BBQ online and it was delivered to the local Home Depot store and they assembled it for me. Sears could do the same at a much higher level.

It’s just that management are pulling big salaries and they are comfortable. They aren’t hungry and in the game.

The church right now is the same. The old guys are comfortable. Holland probably got pats on the back. Way to tell em Jeff! The reality is more people exit the church. The church has the money to build temples nobody needs. The members soon will get temple burnt. Then what’s. What’s left? The did away with all the fun activities.

The church correlated itself to death. Home based church just means they aren’t going to provide any activities or fun. You will have a temple close by and you can spend your time there doing names of distant cousins from Family Search.

I've felt, based on descriptions such as yours, that the church made a huge mistake in insisting that all activities have "a gospel purpose." They didn't realize that churches also have a social function, and that is one thing that the Mormons really excelled at in the old days (but no more.)

I hear so many older members say the McKay years of the church were the best. David O McKay broke from the old guard that were still stuck in the Joseph F Smith era of the church and created the church of the 50’s to the 70’s. That was when the church was the funnest. Unfortunately Herold B Lee turned the church into a correlated monster. Gordon B Hinckley made the church run more like a corporation by bringing in temporal authorities who ran Fortune 500 companies. He became obsessed with real estate development and public relations.

I think Russell M Nelson is further ruining the church by his ministering and home based church concept. The current church believes entertaining the members doesn’t retain them. Brainwashing them more will retain them. Come Follow Me and ministering are just more brainwashing wrapped up in a more cozy package.

I think the Morg is riding a cultural trend. There are a number of businesses that spring up in every big city and tourist destination: Hard Rock Cafe, Ripley's Believe it or Not, etc. People "collect" them: "I've been to the HRC in 12 different cities!" For Mormons, "the temple" is a similar draw. My TBM brother, for example, visits temples all over the place.

The church actually builds tourist temples in places that don’t have enough members to justify one but lot’s of members go there on vacation. Nauvoo, Palmyria, Paris and Rome would be examples. You can go see Versailles and then go to the nearby temple and do a session.

Exactly!

Nauvoo and Palmyria have "mormon" reasons for visiting, but most tourist destinations do not.

It might be interesting to see stats on who's visiting which temples. How many temple worthy morgbots are visiting multiple temples all over the place, as opposed to who just visits their closest temple.

The temple in Rome is in the suburbs by a shopping center. There are hardly any active members in in Italy or that part of Europe. The church built that grand temple and visitor’s center to wow the members back in the states. Look! We have a temple in the Vatican’s backyard! The gospel is rolling forth!

Who’s going to go to that temple are Mormon tourists. The real tourists are going to stay inside the city that is more interesting. They are going to eat wonderful pasta dishes with wonderful vino. Walk around enjoying the fountains and the ancient ambience of the city.

I like to stay over by the Spanish Steps because that’s where some great shopping and restaurants are. Rome is a great walking town. It’s not as nice as it once was unfortunately but you are going to have to go out of your way to go to the LDS temple. If you like freeways and IKEA, well the temple is in that type of vibe.

The locals call the LDS temple the toaster building because it looks like a toaster. Ha! Ha!

One big difference between a MORmON ward house versus a McDonalds is that a MORmON ward house only has to be open one day a week to be MOReMONey generator.

That way they are all set to be converted into radioactive dumps.

Most churches aren't very good at adapting to new social changes.

    In terms of social change (which as you say, the church is not good at) is it fair to opine that the Gays are this decade's Negros?  How many years before we have wards in which the Bishop and the EQP are married?

    And then how many years before females get the priesthood and it's a Lesbian couple serving as the Bishop and the EQP in that ward?

elderolddog Wrote:
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> How many years before we have wards in
> which the Bishop and the EQP are married?

About the same amount of time it takes to get a bishop married to the entire Relief Society presidency.

Ha! Ha!