Oaks reminds me of Anton LeVey. Same energy. Anyone who could look into those dead eyes and believe he's connected to a benevolent force is delusional.
He creeped me out when he was president of BYU and I was a student there. He didn't strike me as having compassion. He didn't seem all that friendly in his interactions with students to me. It seemed more about rules and obedience. He was all about the business of his job I suppose.
I was there when Oaks was president too. I knew two people who had a lot of one on one with him. The student body president and the editor of the Daily Universe (Isn't that what it was called? I forget). They both had stories that made it clear that Oaks was first and foremost a company man and there was nothing that couldn't be sacrificed for the good of the Church's and BYU's reputation.
And of course all my friends were getting electro-shocked at the time courtesy of Dallin himself no matter what he says.
I will give Jeffery Holland credit. He loved being president of BYU and it showed. He was always friendly and he did an act of kindness for my roommate who was working at his house. Sadly it’s not the same Jeff you see now. Apostle Jeff seems so angry and miserable.
One summer day I was walking along Main Street in SLC. I was there for a Jewish genealogy conference and had taken some time to go to the Church Archives (as it was called back then.) I'd been looking at old photos in the files, trying to find a photo of my grandfather in the Southern States Mission.
It was when the new mall was under construction--and about105° on a July day. I walked south along the wooden walkway and a shortish man in a brown suit walked toward me. I realized who he was. Dallin Oaks. I always imagined he was taller! We passed each other and he gave me an odd look, I later reported this incident on RFM, and Cheryl, who used to post here, said something along the lines that he expected to be recognized and fawned over.
It was an odd experience. Once upon a time, when I was a college student in So. Cal, Oaks was "the Great White Hope." What a disappointment he turned out to be--a co-founder of Dialogue! Sorry Dallin--I'm a tall woman. Short men are fine, but not if they are toadies.
unfortunately they’ve shaped the Sheeple into blind, unthinking unquestioning obedience masqueraded as reverence for God’s servants…
Witness their disregard for genuine Christ-like living centered around Kindness & Compassion, empathy & they even diluted adherence to the value of Honesty they once touted..
Authority has been slowly over the years taken over as their top value - priority
Still like the T-shirt an Uncle wore at BYU after Hoax was mead head of the school. He wore it on campus and in class a number of times. Big bright letters that said DALLIN SUCKS TURTLE EGGS.