Basically the church leadership are saying do all the sucky things we expect you to do. You may see no immediate payoff for sucking up your life but endure it. You might have to die to see any benefit of what we expect from you.

I found this weekend’s conference so uninspiring. Usually in general conference you can find at least one good talk. This conference was nothing more than church leaders kissing Russell M Nelson’s ass by quoting him constantly and wearing garments and temple covenants are the soul focus of the church and even God himself has to abide by our church’s rules.

In short. The church is God. It gets you to heaven by jumping through all its hoops. Your prayers may never be answered, you may never see any miracles, but you better damn well do as we say or else!

The other GAs know the music for Rusty will stop soon so the butt-kissing competition is intense for those playing "prophet musical chairs".

They only say things they think the FP wants to hear. Jesus and the members are the furthest things from their minds.

They are an arrogant bunch. It’s all about obeying their rules.

I posted this on GNPE's thread but it fits here better if OK to double post:

I happened to see Nelson sitting in his chair making this announcement on TV at the end of the meeting. I wasn't listening all that carefully, but I think he said there would be 8 temples in ANY of the (15 or so) locations he listed. I thought that was strange. They must not have all the arrangements finalized or are anticipating some locations won't work out right now.

Then he talked about the purchase of the Kirtland temple. He made it sound like the Community of Christ church (who they bought it from) were their best friends. He mentioned that Mormons were driven away from the Nauvoo and Ohio temples but neglected to explain why (oh, the persecution!)

It went off the rails when he told JS's account of Jesus visiting JS in the temple, trying to sound all Biblical describing His eyes, voice, etc. Honestly, it looked like it was time to help Grandpa back to his room to stop his crazy talk to the public.

I thought they were trying to mainstream, but what little bit I saw of the talks, they were seriously buckling down on Celestial stuff, BoM and temples. Read the BoM all the time (even if you don't learn anything new) and go to the temple as much as possible.

There was a "shame 'n threat" talk (Todd Christopherson or whatever his name is) about how people who don't behave exactly like Jesus wants will get the lower degrees of heaven. He made Jesus sound like a real jerk, IMO. How convenient they are there to tell you exactly what Jesus wants OR ELSE.

This stuff is not going to appeal to regular mainstream semi-educated people. It would only appeal to the people who are brainwashed true believers and maybe some incredibly credulous people who live under rocks.

The church is flatlining membership wise. In the past it would point to membership growth of proof of the church fulfilling its mission. It can’t now. What the church can do is build temples. All you have to do that is spend money and in today’s church that’s no problem. It’s incredibly stupid but that’s the game they are playing. They are making enemies in communities who don’t want them and the members are going to get temple burnout.

I didn't see any of GC, but Gordon Monson, the local print gadfly for the church over at the SLTrib, wrote a totally glowing review of Uchtdorf's talk, mentioning all the things it wasn't. The implication was that the other talks exhibited the faults Uchtdorf's talk lacked.

Excerpt's from Monson's column:
He said everyone wants to be happy, but not everyone is happy. He didn’t indicate that non-Latter-day Saints couldn’t be happy in this life outside the Latter-day Saint faith. He said the opposite, that people could find great happiness by way of pursuits of varying kinds, through nature, music, art, learning and many other pursuits. He reprimanded no one. He scolded no one. He threatened no one. He jokingly rephrased an old country song that claimed that maybe sometimes we look for happiness in all the wrong places. That drew another laugh.

He wisely noted that “depression and other difficult mental and emotional challenges are real, and the answer is not simply, ‘Try to be happier’” — adding that, thankfully, therapists, counselors and other professionals can be summoned to help.
........
Go back and listen to the talk if you can, whatever your beliefs are. Chances are Uchtdorf’s words will do what they typically do — lift your spirit with encouragement, extend good hope to your soul. It’s not just what the guter Mensch says, it’s how he says it. He does not — and did not — swing a hammer, instead he offered a dream worth pursuing, an endeavor worth achieving.
.........

There was quite. bit more, but you know, paywall and all that. Monson is typically a pretty sharp critic of the church, so this kind of glowing review surprised me. The sad part is that the talk was in the Saturday evening session, aka Priesthood Meeting, probably the least watched of the sessions. I'm actually kind of tempted to watch it, just to see if there is an actual Christian in the Q15.

I think Uchtdorf ascribes to the philosophy of Cafeteria Mormonism~ meaning indulge in what you like and ignore what may be served to you. I can't remember the names of the popular elites who went around during Monson days but they were lecturing people to stay in the church if there are parts that benefit you.

I have learned that my mom is mostly in the church for the social and people interactions. She is friendly with the older sisters who had less than perfect or celestial families. These were people who had non-member spouses, never called to serve in church leadership, and usually worked outside the home to make ends meet.

Anyways the cafeteria approach is non-official doctrine/church policy. It largely is discouraged, but is a reality (that a portion of active members don't care for the bologna being served, but they show up).

I have 2 LDS friends that are/were in stake leadership positions. They both have said I would be surprised at how many cafeteria Mormons there are that are among the supposed stalwarts that show up most Sundays, accept callings, etc.

I think the garment emphasis this GC is an attempt to push back on cafeteria Mormonism. For a segment of the Mo population, that will be the final straw and they will decide that's it, I'm done.

Everything about Mormonism these days seems to be a one-way valve pushing people out, but nobody back in. I mean who in their right mind is going to be enticed back in by garments??? A few may be frightened back in I suppose.

Stalwart mormons

Cafeteria mormons

...

Are there dine & dash mormons?

I talked to a firmer mission president who feels the church has lost its way. While serving as MP he said most the church leaders he dealt with were jerks but he liked Uchtdorf. He felt comfortable enough to unload some frustrations on him and he listened and was very understanding.

There’s a good chance Uchtdorf will be prophet. He actually could live longer than Nelson. When the Nelson/Oaks disaster finally dies Dieter is going to have a lot of damage to repair.

The We Say So Church.

Great grandfather knows best.

I was at a Humanist meeting and a few folks knew I had previously been a Mormon. One person asked if I could summarize my experience. I told the group that the main message from Mormon leaders is 'Endure to the End'.

They started laughing and the same person responded, 'That would not make a very compelling recruitment poster.' More laughs.

but she went to the temple yesterday and when they were in St. George for the winter to work, they went to the open house of the new temple and went to the St. George temple a few times. I made it to the temple maybe 5 times at the very most. I cannot imagine doing what she is doing, but they leave for Alaska on the 24th and Anchorage is quite a ways away from where they work during the summer (they work year round for Princess--half time in St. George and half by Denali).

Earlier when I started to read on here, she and her husband were eating dinner right behind me, so I got off. Her husband is a great guy and not EXTREME mormon. Oh, they gave a blessing on the food while I'm sitting here on the computer.

I'm so glad to be OUT of that mess.

I'm glad you are able to visit with them. It sounds like you both mostly stay in your lane when it comes to the church. They sound like good kids.