Didn't the two of them coincidentally get called during some short lucid spell that Spencer W. Kimball had?

Good question.

You really have to wonder who recommended these two to be join the ranks; especially since those two ruffled long time church man Hinkster. There probably have been more heated private discussions about the role of the church ever since these two joined.

SWK called them both at about the same time.I remember it well.

At least we have the comfort
of knowing that it's all part
of a great and marvelous plan.

Lucifer/Satan, of all people,
should know the futility of
trying to fight ghawd's will.

Imagine how it would feel to
not have Free Will!!  We are
blessed to have the power to
decide for ourselves whether
or not to do what is right,
knowing that if we don't want
to obey, ghawd already knew
that's what we would choose.

Finally, it's best that you
not think about it too much.
Just pay, pray, and obey...

I've called them worse.

The fallacy is that the president of the church alone channels god and calls someone.

There are vetting committees, nomination lists, the full remaining apostles get involved.

I've read stories of nominations being rejected, even at the last minute.

“Every time a seemingly faithful mormon male dies young, it’s ghawd telling the Brethren not to promote him.”

--professional cynic who wishes to remain anonymous

Heartless Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The fallacy is that the president of the church
> alone channels god and calls someone.
>
> There are vetting committees, nomination lists,
> the full remaining apostles get involved.
>
> I've read stories of nominations being rejected,
> even at the last minute.

The president still has to approve them, right? How can he do that in a coma/senile stupor?

Auto-pen. The vegetable ETB era was a boon to the Q15. Any prophet who is incapacitated opens the lid to the cookie jar. They have great incentive to install whichever apostle is most rapidly fading in hopes of getting a Weekend at Bernie's scenario.

I believe it's usually some variation of the "blink if you reject the nominee; no eyelid movement = approval" sort of thing.

I think you confused the word lucid with lurid.

Russel M Nelson was Spencer W Kimball’s doctor.

I'm not a real prophet, but I play one on TV.

Hinkley admitted he was not a real prophet, only sustained as such.

He didn't deny being a prophet. He just shifted the burden in false humility from himself to the church membership.

But that's not a denial.

I'll concede the point, but watching the broadcast I fully expected him to say yes, to declare to the world he was God's mouthpiece.

He failed to do so, and at the time, I took that to mean he was embarrassed, he was afraid and he was not worthy of leading the church.

He didn't say no, but he certainly didn't say yes. His fear, was the linchpin that turned me away from mormonism.

I didn't think it was cowardice; I took it more as supreme arrogance.

I believe, but may not remember correctly, that when Jesus was before the Sanhedrin they asked if he was the son of God and he answered something like "you say," which was sort of an insult. I interpreted Hinckley's statement the same way.

I also believe that was the interview in which he denied the doctrine that "as man now is God once was, as God is man may become." And wasn't that the time he dismissed the priesthood ban as "flecks of history?" Then a few weeks later in an LDS conference he smiled wryly and told the audience they could rest assured he knows Mormon doctrine,

That Larry King interview was so dishonest, so manipulative, that it literally chilled me. That was one of the first times I perceived Hinckley as evil, a word that I still think appropriate.

I was disappointed of that Hinckley interview. I hated his answer when asked about being a prophet. I had previously served a 2 year mission- I stood up for the "honor" of the church and took a lot of crap from people. I never shied away from being a member of a church that was always on the wrong side of social movements. And here that turkey weaseled out of answering - Yes, I'm a prophet of God.

He really gave a wishy-washy deceitful answer.