Baker's hats, secret handshakes, funny underwear.

Weird enough.

Plus the surrender of independent moral judgement and responsibility. Surely that is peculiar.

Or was.

Once.

I don’t think the church is really mainstreaming. It’s running like it’s ran by a 99 year old man whose reasoning is gone. The church clearly has no leadership with a strong objective.

A church with $100B isn't crazy. It's eccentric.

They traded in being peculiar for being annoying, and, boring. It was a twofer.

Done & Done Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They traded in being peculiar for being annoying,
> and, boring. It was a twofer.

Like late stage communism.

By the end, it was going through the motions.

"The Lost World Of Communism" (2009)
https://youtube/watch?v=znb_X48WXUg

Think about it. If the Mormon church tries to look like a regular, somewhat open-minded Christian congregation, what does it really have to offer in exchange for what it asks?

Re mainstreaming. I think I am starting to see a very slow walk back on the 'divinity' of JS and the BoM as the most perfect book. But I might be imagining this as it has been many years since I've sat in on a Sunday School or Priesthood Lesson. Thoughts from others?

You may be right, but I don't really see that the church is stepping away from J.S and the B of M. I think the church still really focuses on its prophets and scriptures.

I think it's all about how things look. I think the church is trying to look more mainstream by adding a lot more talk of Jesus Christ to its other unique teachings. They're adopting vocabulary and recognizing typical Christian events that they ignored before. A couple of changes that come to mind is the church's use of "ministering" and within the last couple of years it all of the sudden recognizes Holy Week.

I think the church just wants to appear more mainstream without actually becoming that way. It's seeking greater acceptance by trying to sound familiar and feel comfortable to your typical Christian as well as to members who criticize its focus on everything but Christ. I don't see a day any time soon when a church member could tell their bishop that they don't believe the Joseph Smith story, don't agree with the prophet or don't consider the B of M to be scripture and not face some sort of negative consequence.

I think you are right about that. The church wants to be more accepted among other Christian denominations, and also to be more familiar and appealing to potential converts.

The Mormons possibly can buy their way into any group they want now. Money brings the ability to buy "friends."

Speaking of which, did you misplace my invoice?

I can't afford you. Besides, I noticed in the fine print that you come with riff raff.