Russell M. Nelson and the new First Presidency

Here are videos of the broadcast announcing the new First Presidency and the new Q & A that followed a video of an unprecedented live broadcast announcing the new First Presidency.


https://youtu.be/yCOrxH3gzRo



https://youtu.be/keqbSQtqyOk

Here are some notes I took as I listened to the media questions.

The medium is the message
President Nelson is the father of 9 daughters who are all grandmothers.
Answering questions from international news organizations.

Repeated answers:
We are children of God.

How do we engage millennials?
Eyring: "There were 3 or 4 powerful missionaries in each mission where there are now 50"
Eyring: "How do we hold on to them and not be left behind?"

Oaks: Millennials are more powerful when they are married.

Nelson: One plus one is more than two

Some young people have a hard time relating to an old prophet. What message can you give them?
Nelson: "A well educated person never stops learning"

Question from Dan Rascone of KUTV 2 (Starting at 37:58 of the news conference):
In your opening remarks, you made a plea to those who had left the church to come back. There are those out there that are leaving the church. There's apostasy that is arising in the church. Some of it has to do with early church leadership, and people finding out about. They feel that the church isn't as transparent as it should be. That's hurt growth in the church. What do you plan to do or what message to you have to those that are leaving the church or have problems with the church leadership or principles that have been taught. You have an army of missionaries that are out there. Church growth is not where you want it.

Nelson: "The difference of what is doctrine and what is human"
"Give your leaders a little leeway to make mistakes just as you hope your leaders would give you"

Oaks:

It's a great comfort to me to know that I don't have to take the statement or actions of one particular leader as expressive of the doctrine and expectations of the church. We don't believe in infallibility of our leaders. What we believe in is the organization the church has set in place with multiple prophets, seers and revelators and with a council system. 

Here sit the quorum of the twelve. We'll be working closely with them in the course of our responsibilities and in council, we all in an independent spirit, individually praying for guidance from the Lord. We sit as the Lord's servants to define the doctrine of the church and the expectations of the church. Under the leadership of the President of the Church, we meet in council to determine the direction of the church and the (what are called in the world) the policies of the church. Some of those things called policies are doctrine. Some of them are practices. Some of them are temporary directions like the age of missionary service. But they come out of a council.  

In addition, I would remind those who worry about the things you ask about very appropriately, when it comes to transparency, by the action of this council, we have published the Joseph Smith Papers. On the desk in my office, are those published thus far, and they occupy a space approximately a yard and still increasing. If we weren't interested in transparency, we wouldn't be publishing all the papers of the prophet Joseph Smith and the documents that came out of the founding of this restored church. 

I believe in the system of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have confidence that their flaws are smoothed by their interactions with each other and with those they serve. Over time, the branches of the tree that produce the most bitter fruit are being pruned. We are becoming more perfect as a church. We will continue to do so until we are fully acceptable to God. Those of us who will, will join into a fellowship with God. We will live as he lives and experience the joy of doing the work he does.

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I believe that no policy change is accepted among the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve unless they all agree to it. "I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine" (D&C 38:27).

D&C 102:3 mentions a unanimous decisions of 12 and/or the First Presidency:
"Joseph Smith, Jun., Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams were acknowledged presidents by the voice of the council; and Joseph Smith, Sen., John Smith, Joseph Coe, John Johnson, Martin Harris, John S. Carter, Jared Carter, Oliver Cowdery, Samuel H. Smith, Orson Hyde, Sylvester Smith, and Luke Johnson, high priests, were chosen to be a standing council for the church, by the unanimous voice of the council."

D&C 107:27 explicitly says that "every decision made by" the quorum of the twelve apostles or the first quorum of the seventy "must be by the unanimous voice of the same; that is, every member in each quorum must be agreed to its decisions, in order to make their decisions of the same power or validity one with the other—"

I am not aware that the First Presidency must by unanimous. I cannot imagine that, for large policy changes, they would not ensure that they were unanimous. It seems that there is a principle in unanimity that preserves the will of the Lord. We are taught that the Godhead are in perfect harmony. I believe that is the standard by which the FP and Qo12 aspire to emulate.

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President Nelson and with his family in 1982

President Spencer W. Kimball conversing with Elder Nelson, who performed his open-heart surgery. Image from Deseret News.

President Nelson (center) skiing with his family. Image from Deseret News.

President Nelson with his first wife, Dantzel. Image from Deseret News.

See more at http://www.ldsliving.com/Photos-That-Will-Help-You-Love-and-Understand-Our-New-Prophet-Even-More/s/87504

Dec 2009 "Mormon Church to emphasize care for poor and needy"

From "Mormon Church to emphasize care for poor and needy" KSL, 10 Dec 2009.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is adding a fourth emphasis to its three-prong mission. 

The LDS Church is adding, "to care for the poor and needy" to the threefold mission of the Church, which is to teach the gospel to the world, strengthen the membership of the Church and perform saving ordinances for the dead. 

The change will be made in a new Church Handbook of Instructions, to be released next year, which will refer to them as "the purpose of the Church" instead of missions. 

Church spokesman Scott Trotter said, "Caring for the poor and needy has always been a basic tenet of the Church. The language reference is simply a description of the purposes of the Church to be included in the next edition of the Church Handbook." 

The change became public over the weekend during an adult session of an LDS stake conference in Holladay, where Bishop Richard C. Edgley, a counselor in the LDS Presiding Bishopric, spoke of the revision at the prodding of the stake president. 

David H. Sundwall, who attended the conference, blogged about it at asoftanswer.com.

See also https://www.mormonwiki.com/Four-fold_Mission_of_the_Church

Mormons and Landmark

I took the Landmark Forum course in May 2015. I am still doing the 10 seminar follow up sessions they offer to help retain it. I took the advanced course in July 2015. What I offer here is from my perspective and how I have gotten my training from Landmark and in context with my understanding of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Landmark does not advocate or belittle religion or faith. They do not address it at all except when brought up by a participant. I will say that there certainly were a few things that challenged my perspective. I feel mostly resolved with that. One of the best things I heard was from my forum leader. At the end of the 3 days, she said that anything she had said that did not work for us, she takes it back.

I have felt free from shame I have felt for years. Shame is different from guilt. Guilt is "I did something wrong". Shame is "I am something wrong". I have learned that I have been bringing along my past and basing my future on it. I have not been allowing the atonement to free me from the bonds of sin. I accept the sacrifice of Jesus and seek to continue to remember him according to the covenants I take every week at my ward.

What I discovered is that the shame I feel is what I have told myself. It is possible that there are temptations from other sources as well, I just am not confident that I can tell what comes from my own mind and what might be coming from below. Either way, many of the things I have heard from the conversation from my head are not real.

The past is not real. I cannot touch it. The only way that it affects my now is if I remember it and believe it. I can choose to keep things from my past that work well for me. Among the best is my testimony of Jesus Christ that was fed from my study of the scriptures in seminary. This includes the many other distinct teachings of the LDS church, the benefit of the fall, the several degrees of glory, bonds of love in family made effective by sealing. All administered by the actual authority from God given to men on earth from actual, physical angelic visits to earth.

The things I can let go are those that do not work for me. Do not help me live a healthy life unfettered to do the good I feel inspired to do. I do not have to believe what I told myself as a 6 year old boy that keeps me from being open emotionally to those closest to me. I do not have to believe what I told myself as a 12 year old boy that in order to compensate for not fitting in, I can be smart. I can be any number of things that include being smart. I could go on.

In my advanced course, I learned that I was working against our marriage. I had not been willing to be open with my wife. I took the courage to break through that. I said I was for a united marriage and I went ahead with plans I had not discussed with my sweet wife. I am shifting in this. I am committed to creating the marriage that the sealer created in word when we were sealed.

I am for removing the barriers between my Mormon and Landmark communities. I am not sure what will happen as they drop. I am confident that as I continue in this work, that my trusted friends and family and the whisperings of the Spirit will open my eyes to any blind spots out of sight. I have asked them to do so. I ask you to as well.