President Monson Closing Talk at Priesthood Session Aborted?

[consiglieri]

Did anybody else notice that Priesthood Session closed a full half hour early after President Monson's closing talk was apparently aborted on short notice?

The first thing I noticed was Elder Uchtdorf getting up after Elder Eyring's talk. This was the point where President Monson would normally give the final address.

Elder Uchtdorf said, "Thank you, President Monson."

At the time, I thought it was just a slip of the lip, calling President Eyring President Monson.

But then they went immediately to the closing hymn and the closing prayer.

President Monson could then be seen being walked off the platform with a man on each side holding him by the arms.

The next morning, President Monson was able to give a brief opening address.

Interestingly, though, subtitles were provided for his talk. He was able to be understood, but it appears that somebody felt it quite possible that he would not be able to be understood and hence the subtitles.

President Monson did give a brief 3-minute opening to Priesthood, but it seems his final talk was omitted at the last moment.

It is unclear whether President Monson made the decision to not speak, or whether somebody else made the decision for him.

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

[Not Buying It]

It's getting ridiculous the extent they are going to in an attempt to make us think President Monson plays any kind of leadership role in the Church anymore. It is embarrassing to see them prop him up in front of a teleprompter for show. It's laughable that we don't have a good mechanism for retiring top leaders who are clearly in no position to lead the Church. And it doesn't speak well of us that we subject a person who is obviously not well to all of this. They should have retired him a long time ago and left him to live out his days in peace. However much I despise some of the things he has done over his long and illustrious career in Church hierarchy, I hate to see someone used this way. Even President Monson, and there is no love lost there.

[Silver Girl]

.
It's possible that he was just plain exhausted after a full day of conference. Anybody would be worn out, and the Q-15 are especially under stress. I didn't see the portion you mentioned (haven't looked at the PH session yet), but if he was wobbly or showed signs of being worn out, it makes sense (a rare thing for the Q-15) that he would be pulled so he could rest. As for his mind - well, those things happen to some people when they age (for many, it hits much sooner).

Even though I am frustrated and even angry at the way the corporation is run, I do feel for those who are aged and are on a hamster wheel they didn't invent. I don't know what it would take for them to back away from the Red Throne for a Lifetime tradition - I'd hate for someone to have to drop dead at the podium because of their collective stupidity and inertia.

[Korihor]

It's getting ridiculous the extent they are going to in an attempt to make us think President Monson plays any kind of leadership role in the Church anymore. It is embarrassing to see them prop him up in front of a teleprompter for show. It's laughable that we don't have a good mechanism for retiring top leaders who are clearly in no position to lead the Church. And it doesn't speak well of us that we subject a person who is obviously not well to all of this. They should have retired him a long time ago and left him to live out his days in peace. However much I despise some of the things he has done over his long and illustrious career in Church hierarchy, I hate to see someone used this way. Even President Monson, and there is no love lost there.

Let's assume for a minute that a prophet could "retire" and live the rest of his days in peace without the current facade. Personally, I think it would be so cool to have the retired president show up for GenCon and say a few words occasionally. It would show a living dynamic church that is focused on it's current situation and still respects it's predecessors. TSM words of "be kind" as he shared in Priesthood Session would have much more impact, I think.

He was just reading the teleprompter. He is a robot up there just doing is his job. I feel bad for him and blame the hidden circus master that declares - the show must go on!

[consiglieri]

It was just pointed out to me that MormonLeaks published in advance the Priesthood Session speaker line-up and they show President Monson at the beginning but not at the end.

So it appears that it was known in advance that President Monson would not speak at the end of Priesthood Session.

This makes it even more odd as to what was going on when they hastily concluded Priesthood a half-hour early.

Is it possible that President Monson's original talk was going to be thirty minutes but he was only able to get through 3-minutes of it? I just checked it this morning and he did speak at the beginning of Priesthood for 3-minutes.

Whatever was going on did not seem planned; and it left a gaping half-hour hole at the end of Priesthood Session.

[Rob4Hope]

PH was a half hour shorter.

I ain't complaining!

[Red Ryder]

Monson spoke first. Maybe 5 minutes with subtitles. He essentially said something like be kind. I was too busy battling the deacon next to me on clash royal to pay much attention.

In October, he spoke last but only for a short 5 minutes. It ended early as well. I think they are managing his speaking time so he doesn't fall off the podium.

The shorter session hopefully is becoming the new normal.

[moksha]

My guess is that President Monson's particular condition worsens late in the day. Schedules need to be adjusted for times when he is at his best.

[asb]

Priesthood sessions have been getting shorter and shorter over the past couple of years. A quick look at the video length of priesthood sessions on YouTube shows:

October 2014 - 1:53
April 2015 - 1:52
October 2015 - 1:44
April 2016 - 1:30
October 2016 - 1:32

So an hour and a half is nothing new, but does seem to correspond to about the time that Monson's talk time starting evaporating.

[Silver Girl]

My guess is that President Monson's particular condition worsens late in the day. Schedules need to be adjusted for times when he is at his best.

.
You just reminded me of something I learned about a few years ago - there's a condition called Sundowner's Syndrome (see the link below). It is an sign of dementia that some people show but not all show it. As the day progresses or ends, they become more fuzzy in their thinking or speaking. I learned about this when I called an older friend of mine who could sometimes be forgetful, and she was incoherent late one afternoon - it was alarming. I checked up on her afterward and she sounded fine (I am not suggesting Monson is otherwise fine - he is quite old). She had heard of that syndrome and was very interested in my observations about the way she had talked when I got alarmed.

Here's the link:

http://sundownerfacts.com/sundowners-syndrome/

[consiglieri]

Priesthood sessions have been getting shorter and shorter over the past couple of years. A quick look at the video length of priesthood sessions on YouTube shows:

October 2014 - 1:53
April 2015 - 1:52
October 2015 - 1:44
April 2016 - 1:30
October 2016 - 1:32

So an hour and a half is nothing new, but does seem to correspond to about the time that Monson's talk time starting evaporating.

Thanks for pointing this out!

It looks like the time has collapsed over recent conferences; possibly because they are making room for President Monson to speak in the hopes that he will be able to fill his allotted time, and that in the last three conferences, he has not been able to do so.

I would have thought they might have somebody else ready to fill up the time, but maybe it is hard for them to find somebody to fill the prophet's shoes.

[asa]

.
It's possible that he was just plain exhausted after a full day of conference. Anybody would be worn out, and the Q-15 are especially under stress. I didn't see the portion you mentioned (haven't looked at the PH session yet), but if he was wobbly or showed signs of being worn out, it makes sense (a rare thing for the Q-15) that he would be pulled so he could rest. As for his mind - well, those things happen to some people when they age (for many, it hits much sooner).

Even though I am frustrated and even angry at the way the corporation is run, I do feel for those who are aged and are on a hamster wheel they didn't invent. I don't know what it would take for them to back away from the Red Throne for a Lifetime tradition - I'd hate for someone to have to drop dead at the podium because of their collective stupidity and inertia.

Many years ago Hugh b Brown recommended to the 12 that upon reaching 70 they become emeritus and young apostles could be called . He volunteered to be the first as he was already 70. The proposal was rejected initially but later adopted by the 12 for everyone but themselves. They remain there not because of any doctrinal reasons but because they want to. Besides as Pres Hinckley pointed out in his interview with Larry King the way you become President is not through revelation or even voting as the Catholics do but by outliving the competition. Can you imagine Nelson volunteering to give up his chance to be THE prophet. ?

[Emower]

I don't feel bad for any of the q12. They know what they are doing at that point and they know where life is headed. I don't feel bad for the 1st quorum of the 70 either because they probably just hope to make it to the big time someday. It's the lesser quorums and area authorities I feel bad for. They are tied to the hamster wheel that pulls them around, whacking them into all kinds of obstacles for no compensation whatsoever.

[nibbler]

Monson spoke first. They knew he'd only be speaking for about 5 minutes (general conference is choreographed to the nth degree) so they could have added a few speakers if they really wanted it to be 2 hours.

I'm hoping beyond hope that 90 minutes is the new norm. After Monson passes we'll see. I think all sessions of conference would benefit by a half hour reduction. What's the loss? 35 talks instead of 40? It's just that I find 90 minutes sessions infinitely more manageable. Conference fatigue doesn't set in as much.

I suspect Monson spoke first because he's not doing well physically. It's easier to rest up, speak first, then go back to your chair (or home for that matter) than it is to rest up, wait in a chair for 90 minutes, then hope you have enough in the tank to get up and give a speech.

[nibbler]

You just reminded me of something I learned about a few years ago - there's a condition called Sundowner's Syndrome (see the link below). It is an sign of dementia that some people show but not all show it. As the day progresses or ends, they become more fuzzy in their thinking or speaking. I learned about this when I called an older friend of mine who could sometimes be forgetful, and she was incoherent late one afternoon - it was alarming. I checked up on her afterward and she sounded fine (I am not suggesting Monson is otherwise fine - he is quite old). She had heard of that syndrome and was very interested in my observations about the way she had talked when I got alarmed.

Here's the link:

http://sundownerfacts.com/sundowners-syndrome/

I've seen people sundown firsthand. It ain't pretty. Try to imagine Monson suddenly yelling out for his mom and dad right in the middle of his speech during conference or walking away from the podium to go after someone that stole his handkerchief (that's visibly hanging out of his pocket).

There's another factor that comes into play. People with dementia can revert back to a time when they were younger and they can do better in familiar settings. If Monson has dementia I'm sure it helps that he's been doing general conference for like 60+ years or something. Revert to youth? You're still giving a conference address, nothing odd or out of place about it.

I've got to say, if Monson has dementia he carries it extremely well. I suppose everyone handles it differently, confusion is certainly a part of it, but I haven't heard any stories or seen any evidence of some of the other more pronounced symptoms of dementia. I'd like to know what medication he's on so I can give it to some people I love.

[Palerider]

My mother passed away from dementia about five years ago and my father currently suffers from it. Not a pretty thing and it effects some people differently than others depending on how quickly the disease progresses in the brain. Slower for some than others.

As a general rule mornings are usually better and then cognizance decreases as the day progresses. If you put someone in a very familiar situation they can sometimes do quite well unless you were to ask them a question or to perform a task not associated with what they're in the middle of. Then they can get quite flustered. But doing things by wrote doesn't last forever either. Give him enough time and Monson won't be speaking in General Conference anymore, just being helped in and out and "presiding" very quietly.

If he's lucky he'll have a big stroke or heart attack and be able to check out gracefully.

[A New Name]

Many years ago Hugh b Brown recommended to the 12 that upon reaching 70 they become emeritus and young apostles could be called . He volunteered to be the first as he was already 70. The proposal was rejected initially but later adopted by the 12 for everyone but themselves.

Asa,

Do you have a reference for this?

[Grace2Daisy]

Pope Benedict XVI said in an interview that he felt a "duty" to resign from the papacy because of his declining health and the rigorous demands of papal travel. Clearly this was a correct decision.

When will the LDS church realize "retiring" is not a bad thing when you are as old and feeble as TSM, or just flat sick? Why put him, or anyone, through the everyday strain of running a major corporations. It is, after all, the Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with well over 15 million customers, er ah. . . . members.

[asa]

Many years ago Hugh b Brown recommended to the 12 that upon reaching 70 they become emeritus and young apostles could be called . He volunteered to be the first as he was already 70. The proposal was rejected initially but later adopted by the 12 for everyone but themselves.

Asa,

Do you have a reference for this?

A little late but it is found in ' Hugh B Brown - An abundant Life "

[1smartdodog]

I could only hope in my old age that there were people to take care of every need of mine. I have no sympathy. He gets much better treatment than the average senior citizen. So a few appearances where he needs to be carted around is a small price to pay for top notch medical care and other perks.

Besides any leader in their old age can say no. They do not have to do anything. I think he still enjoys it.

Now the part about him receiving revelation and leading the church I think is a stretch, but some members just got to have a figurehead to follow.