LDS Church Leaders Have Never Been Older

LDS Church Leadership has never been older

The LDS Church is sometimes called a gerontocracy.  (A form of rule where the leaders are significantly older than the adult population).  Since the senior member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles becomes the President of the Church, he is almost always extremely old.

Ages of the Presidents of the Church:

Thomas S. Monson - Age 80 -  (Currently 87)

Gordon B. Hinckley - Age 82 - 97

Howard W. Hunter - Age 86 - 87

Ezra Taft Benson - Age 86 - 94

Spencer W. Kimball - Age 78 - 90
Harold B. Lee - Age 73 - 74
Joseph Fielding Smith - Age 94 - 95
David O. McKay  - Age 77 - 96
George Albert Smith - Age 74 - 81
Heber J. Grant - Age 62 - 88
Joseph F. Smith - Age  62 - 80
Lorenzo Snow - Age 84 - 87
Wilford Woodruff - Age 82 - 91
John Taylor - Age 71 - 78
Brigham Young - Age 46 - 76
Joseph Smith - Age 24 - 38

A man of age has a lifetime of experience to draw on.  Lots of stories and teachings to draw from.  They also tend to be sick more and unfortunately often start to lose their mental abilities.  Steve Benson has written extensively about the last few years that his grandfather Ezra Benson was the prophet.  Leaders would be speaking in General Conference saying the President Benson was guiding the church and Steve would know that his grandfather had significant dementia.

The other difficulty with an aging leadership is the real or perceived lack of empathy with social issues.  If the church leadership would have been in their 30's and 40's would the church have continued to refuse temple blessing to Africans?  Would LGBT men and women have been given greater empathy sooner?  The faithful answer is to say that God is ageless and gives revelation to whomever is in the leadership. That Christ really leads the church.  

Since Pope Benedict resigned the Catholic leadership in 2013, and President Monson has show some signs of aging, the questions have become more frequent on if an LDS President can or should resign.  As the LDS church faces increasing challenges from "outside forces"  effective, vibrant leadership will become more and more essential.  

Links:
Wikipedia - Gerontocracy
SLTrib - Aging Leadership
SLTrib - Can an LDS Leader Resign?

Predicting who the church president will be
Article about Steve Benson


Ages on March 2015

First Presidency

Thomas S. Monson • 87.53 years

Henry B. Eyring • 81.75 years

Dieter F. Uchtdorf • 74.32 years

Quorum of the Twelve Apostle

Boyd K. Packer • 90.48 years

L. Tom Perry • 92.57 years

Russell M. Nelson • 90.48 years

Dallin H. Oaks • 82.55 years

M. Russell Ballard • 86.40 years

Richard G. Scott • 86.32 years

Robert D. Hales • 82.52 years

Jeffrey R. Holland • 74.25 years

David A. Bednar • 62.71 years

Quentin L. Cook • 74.48 years

D. Todd Christofferson • 70.10 years

Neil L. Andersen • 63.56 years

Africans Couldn't Enter Highest Mormon Heaven

Africans Couldn't Enter Highest Mormon Heaven
     For about 130 years, men and women of African decent were considered cursed by the Mormon Church.  They could be baptized, but the were not allowed to serve in leadership positions and they were not allowed to participate in LDS temple ceremonies.

LDS Missionary

     Mormons believe that the only way to achieve the ¨Highest Level of the Heaven¨ is to be endowed and sealed in the temple. Until 1978 they were not allowed entrance to the temples.  Some statements by early church leaders said that they might be able to live in the Mormon Celestial Kingdom as servants.

1978 BYU Universe Cover Story

     In 2013 the church released a statement that in effect said that Brigham Young was a product of his times.  It said that the racist policy and the justifications for it was in error.  The problem is that they also never apologized for 130 years of misguided leadership or acknowledged that some people were hurt.

Mormon Prophet Brigham Young

I plan to write more on this issue again soon.  There are so many other problems here.
The idea that Mormon Prophets could refuse an black man, woman or child access to Heaven because of racism is my main point.
Links:
LDS.org - Race and the Priesthood
Mormonthink response
Quotes by LDS Leaders
FairMormon - Race

Solidarity With Kirk Van Allen

Solidarity With Kirk Van Allen
Kirk Van Allen recently posted a blog about the 132nd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants.  I admire him and admire his courage in posting it publicly.  I have not yet posted my name publicly.  Honestly I'm too nervous.  Here is a link to his blog.  

An Angel with a Sword

An Angel With a Sword
Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith practiced polygamy from about 1834 until his death in 1844.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints continued to practice polygamy until 1905

 (See my blog post about  post-manifesto polygamy)

In justifying "plural marriage" or "celestial marriage" to his wife, young women and women married to other men, Joseph would Claim that "An angel with a sword" has commanded him to marry these women.

The Mormon Church in their 2015 Essay on Plural Marriage had the following paragraph:
When God commands a difficult task, He sometimes sends additional messengers to encourage His people to obey. Consistent with this pattern, Joseph told associates that an angel appeared to him three times between 1834 and 1842 and commanded him to proceed with plural marriage when he hesitated to move forward. During the third and final appearance, the angel came with a drawn sword, threatening Joseph with destruction unless he went forward and obeyed the commandment fully.

It is amazing to think that in 2015 the LDS church is justifying Joseph's sexual exploits by claiming an angel with a sword commanded it.

The church's statement above implies that we need to feel sorry for Joseph because he was asked to do this difficult task.  He had to sleep with other men's wives, teenage girls that worked in his home and all of this while lying to his wife, members of the church, his brother Hyrum and the authorities. 

Joseph never claimed that there was another witness to the angel.  I wonder how it would go over today if President Thomas S. Monson came to a father and said that an Angel with a sword has commanded him to marry his 14 year old daughter.  

Plural Marriage at LDS.org

Mormon Think Response

Religion Dispatches

I can't help but add a post that a person gave on Reddit related to this topic:

That lazy-****** Angel with a Sword! Here's what he could have done if he were concerned with more than just JS's wife collection:

Threaten Hitler to not start WWII.

Threaten bin Laden to not use jetliners as WMD.

Threaten Lee Harvey Oswald to not kill JFK.

Threaten Pete Carroll to not throw the ball on 2nd down at the 1 yard line in the Super Bowl.

Post Manifesto Polygamy

Lying for the Lord - Post Manifesto Polygamy

In 1890 then LDS President Wilford Woodruff presented a revelation to the body of the Church called "The Manifesto". It is still found in the LDS scriptures as Official Declaration #1.  It was in response to the very difficult situation that the church was in over polygamy. Many of the church leaders were in jail, others were in hiding and much of the church's property had been confiscated.

The Manifesto

As it turns out the "revelation" was only a ruse to get the federal authorities to back down. "Lying for the Lord" was something that Joseph Smith and others had done, and it worked again here. Life in the church returned to a measure of normality.

Church Leaders in Prison

The church continued to perform plural marriages in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The church recently released an essay that says, "For a time, post-Manifesto plural marriages required the approval of a member of the First Presidency."

President Wilford Woodruff

In 1905 the pressure was back on the Church. During the hearings to see if Reed Smoot could be seated as a U.S. Senator, the church faced very harsh scrutiny. At that time Joseph F. Smith issued was called the "Second Manifesto". This time the LDS Church really meant it. People who performed plural marriages were excommunicated.

D. Michael Quinn

D. Michael Quinn, a noted and prolific Mormon scholar and historian wrote several articles about Post - Manifesto Polygamy and was ultimately excommunicated for his work and was one of the "September Six".

Although the church has freely admitted to the continuation of post manifesto polygamy in some settings in March of 2015 a New Era article said the following:  "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints stopped practicing plural marriage in 1890."  Maybe they need to get their story straight.

Related Links
LDS.org - Essay on Post 1890 Polygamy
Wikipedia - Reed Smoot Hearings
Wikipedia - September Six
Quinn Essay 
LDS Scriptures - Manifesto

The Miracle of Forgiveness

The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball
....was written in 1969.  It was written while Kimball was a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles.  Kimball later became the President of the LDS Church.  The book was reprinted by the church while Kimball was Church President giving it an even more official status.   The book is still sold by Deseret Book.

The book has been a source of controversy.  

A few of the most controversial quotes:
"Your virtue is worth more than your life… preserve your virtue even if you lose 
your lives… do not permit yourselves to be led into temptation"

 “…one should give his or her life rather than to yield to loss of virtue."

Spencer W. Kimball

"Also far-reaching is the effect of the loss of chastity. Once given or taken or stolen it can never be regained. Even in a forced contact such as rape or incest, the injured one is greatly outraged. If she has not cooperated and contributed to the foul deed, she is of course in a more favorable position. There is no condemnation where there is no voluntary participation. It is better to die in defending one's virtue than to live having lost it without a struggle."

As I was riding along the road on my mule I suddenly noticed a very strange personage walking beside me.... His head was about even with my shoulders as I sat in my saddle. He wore no clothing, but was covered with hair. His skin was very dark. I asked him where he dwelt and he replied that he had no home, that he was a wanderer in the earth and traveled to and fro. He said he was a very miserable creature, that he had earnestly sought death during his sojourn upon the earth, but that he could not die, and his mission was to destroy the souls of men. About the time he expressed himself thus, I rebuked him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by virtue of the Holy Priesthood, and commanded him to go hence, and he immediately departed out of my sight....

"Prophets anciently and today condemn masturbation. It induces feelings of guilt and shame. It is detrimental to spirituality. It indicates slavery to the flesh, not that mastery of it and the growth toward godhood which is the object of our mortal life. Our modern prophet has indicated that no young man should be called on a mission who is not free from this practice. What is more, it too often leads to grievous sin, even to that sin against nature, homosexuality.

Related Links: For Sale on Deseret Book
Mormon Research Ministry

The Real Cost of Mormon Temple Work

The Real Cost of Mormon Temple Work
The Mormon Church believes that we can perform ordinances such as baptisms, marriages (sealings) and Endowments for those people that are dead.  These rites are performed in Mormon Temples

There are about 150 temples worldwide.  They are beautiful, massive buildings that are constructed with the finest materials and engineering.  Their cost has to be enormous.  (The church does not release the cost of anything.

The San Diego Temple

Greater than the cost of building the temples is the cost to the members of attending the temple.  Many people attend the temple weekly and most LDS families have a goal to attend once a month where possible.  The cost in gasoline, babysitting, clothing, and lost work time is huge.  In addition since small children can't go to the temple, parents are often away from the children for hours at a time.

Baptismal Font inside a temple

Annual estimates to the church in building and maintaining the temples as well as the cost to members ranges from about 1 to 3 $Billion / year.

Even though the  LDS Church has at times performed temple ceremonies in rivers, tents and cabins, they insist on building $50 million ornate buildings while knowing of the suffering, hunger and poverty around the world.

It is a common story taught in LDS churches of a poor family from an island in the Pacific or somewhere deep in the Amazon saves money for years to attend the temple at a distant location rather than use the money for education or housing.   The story refers to the great sacrifice and faith of those people, essentially promising them eternity in Heaven.

The real cost of all this might be in the shaming and social loss of those who leave the faith or part member families who cannot attend the temples weddings of their loved ones.

Sources
List of LDS Temples - Wikipedia
Social Cost of Temples Attendance
LDS.org - Why Temples?

What is a General Conference Session?

What is a General Conference Session?

The October 2014 General Conference began (or not?) with a Relief Society Session. Several people called it the first session of conference, and apparently, “The brethren” were upset by this.  When a member of the Quorum of the 70 gave a prayer at the Saturday Evening Priesthood Session, he called that session the 4th session, which would have included the Relief Society session.  Listen to the Link, it is clear that they muted out the word fourth. It is laughable and embarrassing. The prayer was so horrific that they actually took the time to edit it, and make a statement about it in the Church Newsroom.  

I can’t think of a better way to belittle and demean women than to take the time to throw their session out of the official list.  Why does the Priesthood session count and the Women’s session does not?  It is misogyny and stupidity at its worst.

Do Women Count?

Priesthood Session Video (Watch prayer starting at about 5:00 minutes)

Book of Abraham

The Book of Abraham

In 1835 Joseph Smith purchased four mummies that included some papyrus written in Egyptian hieroglyphics.  Joseph “translated” them into what is now the Book of Abraham.  After the death of Joseph the original papyrus were lost.  In 1966 some parts of the papyrus were found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  

Facsimile #1 

1966 discovery of the documents caused great anticipation in the church because since the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, scholars would now had the capability to translate the hieroglyphics and prove that Joseph was a true prophet.  

Title Page

As Egyptologists analyzed the papyrus however they found that they had nothing to do with the Prophet Abraham but were a typical burial or funerary document that was placed with most mummies.  Radiocarbon dating has also suggested that the papyrus were from a time 1500 years after Abraham was said to have lived.

Even though the Pearl of Great Price calls the scripture “The writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.” The Church now acknowledges that they are “Inspired Translations” which means that Joseph used the ancient papers as a way to receive inspiration.  

One of the discovered fragments

While most people outside the LDS church consider story to be an example of Joseph Smith’s deception, faithful members consider the Book of Abraham to be of divine origin and that they include sacred truths about God’s dealings with man.  

Links:

Wikipedia - The Book of Abraham

LDS.org - The Book of Abraham

LDS.org Essay on Book of Abraham

Infants on Thrones Podcast - Book of Abraham

FairMormon - Book of Abraham

Dinosaurs and the Mormon Church

Dinosaurs and the Mormon Church

From the LDS Bible Dictionary - Death:

"Latter-day revelation teaches that there was no death on this earth before the Fall of Adam. Indeed, death entered the world as a direct result of the Fall (2 Ne. 2:22; Moses 6:48)."

Dinosaur Fossils Found in Utah

The church says that Adam lived about 6000 years ago.  

Most Geology and Paleontology scholars estimate that the dinosaurs died 65 million years ago.  

So if there was no death before 7000 years ago, where did all the dinosaurs come from?

LDS Seminary Old Testament Timeline

Prior to the 1980's it was commonly taught in church settings that fossilized dinosaur bones are from dinosaurs that lived on other worlds that were destroyed to create the Earth. They were living creatures, but not from this Earth.  The did not die HERE, so there was no "death before the fall"

The Church has backed away from this teaching but the doctrine still continues to be taught among the congregations. 

Links
Timeline Bookmark
1987 Ensign Article on Fossils
Blog Post on Dinosaurs
Bruce R. McConkie Speech from 1980
FairMormon - Dinosaurs