Patrick was baptised into the ward I attended in London. He was one of the nicest people you could wish to meet… and so handsome. I remember him as being an utter gentleman, very sincere, smart, well educated. At a guess I’d say he was aristocracy/upper class or at the very least from a wealthy family.

I haven’t read the announcement closely but it mentions he attended boarding school which I think, if my memory serves me well, was Gordonstoun School - the school King Charles, as well as his father Prince Phillip, attended. If Patrick did attend there, I can see why he and/or the church would prefer not to share it.

Patrick always spoke with a beautiful cut-glass English accent and was an intelligent, kind and gentle man.



https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-patrick-kearon-called-quorum-of-the-twelve-apostles?fbclid=IwAR2qttGslHTP1m_X7U_4Fq_L7L5XBrXvH_vjTEgM8mBG0KCUYPDTLqeWN2M_aem_AavlurjWTT8iokh63ZRBqh6HigsvhSRw9qScHrt5nJIl5jTXYoZMiKdNHQCGwXD6Zv0



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2023 07:46PM by Claire Ferguson Benson.

I am immediately reminded of the second son of the Duke of Denver, Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey, Eton College, and Balliol College, Oxford, graduating with a first-class degree in history.  

He was also an outstanding cricketer, having done a century on a number of occasions.

Should I be asked to do so, I will raise my arm to the square to show that I sustain him.

What more would expected of a Mexican?

Balliol?

Did Peter of the Whimsical Death hang out with Boris Johnson, who reportedly favored the Taco Bell that opened in the West End in the middle 1980s?

You're clever and witty and funny EOD.


And sometimes you make me feel sad.


elderolddog Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What more would expected of a Mexican?

I've been sad a couple of times in my life.

Do what you can to avoid such episodes; I do!

When they can't be avoided, set the sea anchors, batten the hatches, and eat rice krispies treats.

This guy's a convert. Guess he's going to be swell as he missed out on the earlier and exciting church doctrine.

And the church should called have called Homer Bedloe to be an apostle. I found a great moment where Bedloe is trying to foreclose on the hotel owners. If that isn't terrific GA action, then I don't know what is.

https://youtu.be/0-Mtl_tbX8o?t=1386

I'm not ready . . .

I don't have my immaturity polished to the shine the True Church deserves.

Patrick Kearnon, come on down! You're the next contestant on "The Tithe Is Right"!

    Tell him, "Maybe next time!"

Patrick Kearon is 62 years old for being an apostle that is young. He might become a prophet some day.

If he does, the church will need to change the spelling of the words in the BoM to add lots of U's after O's and S's instead of Z's.

Lot's Wife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If he does, the church will need to change the
> spelling of the words in the BoM to add lots of
> U's after O's and S's instead of Z's.

Yes, indeed.

Especially the zeds.

But definitely the you's. :P

I went on a rant the other day about spelling - I forget the circumstances at the moment but the bottom line is I kept saying "We are not American!" When I realized what I was saying I made myself laugh. I didn't mean it to sound unfriendly, just a fact.

No offence but um, we're not. American.

I note the spellcheck here is underlining my spelling of 'offence' as being incorrect. Humpphh.

It also underlines every single 'u' word I use here, every single time. I will never surrender on that one though.

There is a room for a 'u' when you want to say the weather is favourable, my favourite colour is blue, and thank you for humouring me.

But somebody has to tell RfM's spellcheck that. Because there's a lot of red underlining in this post.

    

That is my favourite sub line of all time, EOD!


(To Claire: Hello. Lovely to see you. Sorry to be goofing off on your thread).  

Hello Nightingale, good to see you too! No worries, not my thread, it belongs to everyone to do with as they wish! :)

I'm just happy you don't insist on using oghamic--a word that happens also to provoke the RfM spellcheck and hence begs the question why you lot just.can't.take.a.hint!

Nightingale Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> It also underlines every single 'u' word I use
> here, every single time. I will never surrender on
> that one though.
>
> There is a room for a 'u' when you want to say the
> weather is favourable, my favourite colour is
> blue, and thank you for humouring me.


At least the Yanks got "glamour" right

We can be tainted. I am a living example.Lol. Any bets on how long he will last?

Claire, are Steve and Marianne Benson your parents? I have much respect for both of them. They were headliners at Exmo Conferences in 1990's 2010s.

      
      

In the following link, look at the box on the upper right side. Notice the entry "spouse"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Benson_(cartoonist)

Hey Cricket! I was just talking about you. I think this link will work. https://www.exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,2498729,2498883#msg-2498883

Lovely to see you around. Those of us that have been around since the beginning of time need to keep in touch. Claire is Benson's wife btw.

Hi Cricket

Thank you for asking!

I’m Steve‘s wife. We’re practically newlyweds though, we married in March 2020.

One of his sisters and I were missionary companions in England in 1985 and she and I have remained best friends since then.

I’d been married before, as had Steve, and his sister introduced us in 2008 after we’d both been divorced. I have a feeling she was trying to tie up two loose ends! That was a joke BTW, she loves us both and we love her dearly.

She introduced us because we’d both left the church.

xo



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2023 03:52AM by Claire Ferguson Benson.

Great story, Claire! I wish you both continued happiness.

So he's a Brit aristocrat...and in that photo looks SOOOOOO Mormon. How do they do that?

Lethbridge Reprobate Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So he's a Brit aristocrat...and in that photo
> looks SOOOOOO Mormon. How do they do that?

No, he's definitely not an aristocrat. He's from a rich family which is quite different. The British class system isn't traditionally based around wealth but blood. You can be relatively poor and an aristocrat or very rich and seen as "common".

He is also an adult convert. His elite status comes from befriending the right people. In 2015, he went on a tour of migrant processing centers in Greece and Germany with Elder Ballard, maybe because he can speak Arabic.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/elder-ballard-visits-refugees-during-recent-assignment-to-europe?lang=eng

That takes a certain mindset which I have difficulty imagining...

If you don't qualify for even being considered for a seat in the House of Lord's, you aren't British aristocracy.

Plenty of "commoners" who are not aristocracy in the House of Lords since the introduction of life peers.

Is he the first apostle that has been a convert? Or have their been others?

I think his promotion is more than just knowing the right people, or having previously held the right positions. The Mormon church is in dire need of converts, especially in developed countries. The church may seem him as being relatable to converts. He also comes across as being Ecumenical, which will play well in many countries. His promotion of "religious freedom," which I think he means sincerely, will play well abroad, but will be taken to mean a support for Christianity to throw its weight around in the U.S.

Noticed he met his American wife who was doing study abroad in London. I was in England from 1986-90, about the same time.

When I went over there, my plan was to date someone like he did (in the BYU program). They would have more likely come from families with more money.

The British women by comparison, were “commoners.”

Ended up marrying a “commoner.” Best decision of my life. Maybe Kearon married into Mormon “blue blood,” and that’s why he is where he is.

By the way, the “commoner” British women despised the guys (especially British guys) who chased after the BYU ladies.

I studied a lot of broads in Europe. Never married one though.

Are any of his peeps employed to host/ MC one of those late-night tv commercials?

For a long tie it seemed as though all or most of those advertisers thought a British accent was necessary for success selling off-branded goods; example- Anthony Sullivan

Kearon is an Irish name. Gaelic in its origin. Coupled with Patrick it is very Irish.

Kentish,

I don't know much about the various British accents but his sounds to me as if it has a strong overlay of American. Is that off the mark?

Lots Wife, I have not heard his voice to have an opinion on its sound. Perhaps his wife has influenced him or perhaps he has spent time in the US. Americans always comment on my English accent but family in England always say how American I sound. Perhaps it is a mid Alantic accent.

For your consideration. . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn3YJ2F8xMc

I'm not a linguistics expert by any means. From a quick listen he sounds English to me. More "proper" (i.e. highbrow) than most of my English relatives (who live an hour-and-a-quarter from London).

Interestingly, he pronounces 'extraordinary' exactly like an Englishman would (in my experience; ex-tror-dinary) but when he says 'circumstances' the 3rd syllable sounds more North American (like the 'a' sound in 'atlas') than British.

But he was brought up in England and in the Middle East, his bio states, and has worked in the USA.

Those areas have likely all contributed to how he sounds but mostly, to my ears, he does sound British. He has a good clear speaking voice with a pleasant accent. He also looks quite young.

They could do worse. :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2023 05:15PM by Nightingale.

Oh, definitely English. But I do think, subject to correction, that he is shifted 30 degrees towards an American accent and hence much easier to understand for the non-UK, non-Canada, non-Aussie crowd.

It's also possible, even likely, that he studied under American teachers while a child in Saudi Arabia. There is zero evidence that he took any formal classes in Arabic, and he was a military brat, so he probably studied in ex-pat schools. And having built the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the decades after WWII, the US presence there is probably a lot larger than the British.

For the church it's a win-win situation. He is exotic in a white sort of way and still easy for the bulk of the Saints to understand. He also has all the trademark traits of a public relations man: the well-timed jokes, the bright smile, the self-deprecating tendency to blink a lot at appropriate times and then to stare directly when making his main points. That's why the church hired him: he's an excellent communicator.

Also interesting--and I'll start a separate thread on this--is how in this speech he threw Spencer Kimball under the bus.

I've spoken to a couple of people who live on the American compound in Saudi, and they have liked it. They were paid well to work there, and didn't mind living there at all.

I didn't listen to much. I'll wait for your nutshell version of what he said.

It's funny - I don't hear the American in his voice. But then I only listened for a minute or two, just long enough to conclude, without looking it up first, that he's a Brit. Maybe this thread even says that - I just skimmed so maybe missed that essential detail. I should quit doing that.

Yes, I can see why they chose him. The fact that he'll likely be around for a good long while yet (he's on the young-ish side) is a bonus for them.

It's funny (in a not-that-funny kind of way) that a decidedly American church can branch out and gain converts all over the place. Unfortunately. Because it keeps them going for one. And also because it's not a huge plus for joiners. Me, for instance. It's right up there with the most ill-advised things I've ever done. Way at the top, in fact. Because the list isn't all that long. :)

Being born into a TBM family was "the most ill-advised thing I've ever done."

Lot's Wife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Being born into a TBM family was "the most
> ill-advised thing I've ever done."

Ha. You had no choice. I did - I just didn't exercise it. Until it was a bit too late but at least I finally did so.

He's a very good public speaker. My take on the accent is that it's chiefly British with a bit of American English -- rather an interesting blend. I noticed the Americanisms mostly on the vowels, specifically long /a/ and long /i/ -- not all of the words, but some, and also some of the short vowels. His inflection goes back and forth.

Where is the British part of his accent from? I'm not sure I would take that to be northern England, where he's from -- I want to say Cumbria.

If he continues to be kind, the members could build a real affection for him in the same way that they feel about Dieter.

The thing is that Uchdorf has been driven into the wilderness since he doesn't have a base of power in the quorum. I don't think Kearon and Uchdorf have anywhere near enough influence to counterbalance the OG network in the near future.

On the other hand, newcomers are a good vehicle to make changes in the church's doctrine and policy--as Kearon already is trying to do with regard to sexual abuse. But he can only do that with the backing of his seniors and the censors who vet all conference talks.

I was thinking the same on both counts: that he’s fresh new blood like Uchdorf, but also that Uchdorf had sort of fallen out of favor.

It's always best to bring in a hitter from far away if you're going to knock off a past prophet.

      

That would have to be Kearion.

Lot's Wife Wrote:
--------------------------------
> That would have to be Kearion.



So, an Armenian apostle!

I'm waiting to see him on late-nite TV pitching ChurchCo with his heavy British accent; FREE SHIPPING! CALL THE NUMBER ON YOUR SCREEN! EASY PAYMENTS!

Did a little more digging and discovered that he ran a public relations firm. Call me naive, but I suspect that played a large role in his selection.

> Did a little more digging
> and discovered that he ran
> a public relations firm.


So he is well experienced regarding the role he has been called to play...

You were zapped, penned, made to sit in a corner with a pointed cap!

Hours ago I saw a post in which you truduced me, maligned my character (or at least my appearance), and behaved in a most un-gentlemanly way. Knowing you reasonably well, I was not surprised, nor took I offense. But people classier than either of us evidently insisted on keeping up appearances.

For shame, Senor. Now go and sin no more!

"... to breathe is to sin, and to sin is to prove one's humanity.  I would as soon remain chaste for the rest of my life as I would savor swimming in mormon goose pool truths."

    --Judic West
      Tijuana 2nd Ward Goose Pool Doctrines Indestructor

Just keep that pointed cap handy. I suspect you'll need it again.

Sounds like he will fit in fine with the LDS royalty. Maybe he can start up a polo club for LDS royalty at Red Ledges near Heber (about 30 miles from SLC where several GA's have homes).

I regret he wasn't a GA when I went to chruch. I like the English accent. It sounds smart and polite.

  
    
  
  

One Word for GA athletics / sports: RUGBY