9 AM Press Conference

[jay santos]

You have convinced me, Jay. I mean look at all the wonderful strides the church has made on LGBT issues in the last nine years with DFU in the FP! There had to be a backlash coming.

No. Let's not do that. I never even brought up LGBT. All I'm saying is he did something extremely uncommon, and he replaced the most progressive guy with the most conservative guy. I don't know exactly what it means. But it definitely means something. And it's certainly not something ONLY someone wanting to stir up drama would notice.

[old_gregg]

You have convinced me, Jay. I mean look at all the wonderful strides the church has made on LGBT issues in the last nine years with DFU in the FP! There had to be a backlash coming.

haha but also

[Northwestcoug]

Dude, I totally know how to google stuff on wiki.

Wow, you shouldn't have told me that. I'm too easy

[Moliere]

The other one was what President Nelson said: there are specific assignments Elder Uchdorf is specifically intended to perform, and being freed up from administrative duties as a member of the First Presidency will allow him to better serve those functions.

Shhh! The speculation is far more interesting that actually knowing why the change was made.

[creekster]

No. Let's not do that. I never even brought up LGBT. All I'm saying is he did something extremely uncommon, and he replaced the most progressive guy with the most conservative guy. I don't know exactly what it means. But it definitely means something. And it's certainly not something ONLY someone wanting to stir up drama would notice.

I wonder if Uchtdorf really was that progressive. Or was he just able to move forward with the same doctrine and policy in a Christ-like way? I think sometimes Oaks' problem is that he was trained as a lawyer/advocate, so he tends to be plain and seemingly confrontational to make sure his point is clear. But I am not sure just how progressive Uchtdofr really was, although I personally prefer Dieter's style over all the rest.

[jay santos]

Also, if you think the counselors don't matter, I think you don't understand how powerful they can be. Many decisions are made solely by the First Presidency, including the selection of new apostles. With the age of the president and the gap in time between when they no longer function well and when they die, the counselors have significant power. I would not be surprised at all if we get a book in 20 years like Prince's book on the McKay administration that says when Monson started deteriorating that the senior apostles Nelson, Oaks, and Ballard felt like Eyring and Uchtdorf were taking too much into their own hands and not consulting their senior apostles.

[smokymountainrain]

The other one was what President Nelson said: there are specific assignments Elder Uchdorf is specifically intended to perform, and being freed up from administrative duties as a member of the First Presidency will allow him to better serve those functions.

jeez, mr. buzzkill!

[cougjunkie]

My favorite DHO quote is this: "It's wrong to criticize church leaders even if the criticism is true."

Mine is:

“Don't be dumb."
― Dallin H. Oaks

[jay santos]

I wonder if Uchtdorf really was that progressive. Or was he just able to move forward with the same doctrine and policy in a Christ-like way? I think sometimes Oaks' problem is that he was trained as a lawyer/advocate, so he tends to be plain and seemingly confrontational to make sure his point is clear. But I am not sure just how progressive Uchtdofr really was, although I personally prefer Dieter's style over all the rest.

That's possible. But regardless. If you take a vote on which apostle is the most progressive, Uchtdorf wins by a landslide, right?

[All-American]

Shhh! The speculation is far more interesting that actually knowing why the change was made.

Also, watching that press conference, it made sense why he would pick Elder Oaks. They are clearly of one mind and work very well together. (They go back many years, by the way, starting when then-Doctor Nelson visited then-Professor Oaks at the University of Chicago while considering a position there.) His job is to be a counselor to the President, and I don't doubt that he'll be a very good one.

[Uncle Ted]

Nobody on this board could be a bigger DFU fan than me, but I didn't see this as any kind of symbolic swipe against his popularity or progressive nature. DHO is next in line to be the prophet. Makes total sense to put him in the presidency. Anyone who sees any meaning beyond that is looking to stir up drama.

That being said, the biggest downside of this is that we will likely get to hear fewer DFU talks in GC. Bummer. DHO talks are a little too legalistic for my tastes.

Yeah, I view it as the logical choice... Get DHO trained up and ready to take over by putting him in the #1 chair but keep HBE in there because he knows what the hell is going on and can run the show in his sleep.

Of course, if it was me I would have back filled the Q12 with folks like JL first and put them up in the #1 and #2 chairs... in "The Young Pope" style.

[All-American]

Also, if you think the counselors don't matter, I think you don't understand how powerful they can be. Many decisions are made solely by the First Presidency, including the selection of new apostles. With the age of the president and the gap in time between when they no longer function well and when they die, the counselors have significant power. I would not be surprised at all if we get a book in 20 years like Prince's book on the McKay administration that says when Monson started deteriorating that the senior apostles Nelson, Oaks, and Ballard felt like Eyring and Uchtdorf were taking too much into their own hands and not consulting their senior apostles.

I would be surprised by that. I think we don't appreciate the extent to which all 15 work together.

[jay santos]

I would be surprised by that. I think we don't appreciate the extent to which all 15 work together.

Did you read the Prince book on McKay? Why wouldn't the same dynamics exist today?

[smokymountainrain]

Also, if you think the counselors don't matter, I think you don't understand how powerful they can be. Many decisions are made solely by the First Presidency, including the selection of new apostles. With the age of the president and the gap in time between when they no longer function well and when they die, the counselors have significant power. I would not be surprised at all if we get a book in 20 years like Prince's book on the McKay administration that says when Monson started deteriorating that the senior apostles Nelson, Oaks, and Ballard felt like Eyring and Uchtdorf were taking too much into their own hands and not consulting their senior apostles.

love me some jay santos.

[creekster]

Did you read the Prince book on McKay? Why wouldn't the same dynamics exist today?

There will be no diary of the sort relied on by Prince for that book. Not your point, I know, but there will be no similar book.