LDS Inc corporate modelling and branding refresh

[no1saint]

There seems to be a complete rebranding and overhaul of operations underway. It will be interesting to see how far this goes and what it entails.

So far we have seen (and we could go as far back as the essays) the following:

1. The essays
2. Increased real estate investments
3. Missionary age
4. Meeting with NAAP
5. Be one meeting sponsored by the First Presidency to commemorate the 1978 thing
6. HP and Elders quorums combining (I think to reduce the criteria to form wards from branches thus potentially elevating thousands of branches to wards and districts to stakes). Look how the Church is growing type of stuff.
7. Visiting teaching and home teaching program retirement. I think this is tied into the above.
8. Leaving BSA and creating a global program.
9. Women praying, speaking more and being more prominent at GC - sitting centre of the rostrum as opposed to the side and down the bottom forgotten as for the past 100 years.
10. International components in the general boards of the relief society, primary and young womens.
11. First non anglo/saxon/euro Apostles.
12. Spanish speaking events
13. New hymns and childrens books.
14. General co-operation with other faiths and groups including participation in council of churches and like minded organisations.
15. More international temple complexes.

I don't think this is all of it, but there seems to be a shift to another paradigm. I am interested to see where it goes. What do people think? What's the end game here?

[Hagoth]

Maybe Jesus is giving the final chair-arranging instructions before he comes to wreak havoc.

But seriously,
A lot of this stuff has happened under Pres. Nelson. I kind of get the impression he's trying to create an atmosphere of "there's a new kid in town."

[no1saint]

Maybe Jesus is giving the final chair-arranging instructions before he comes to wreak havoc.

But seriously,
A lot of this stuff has happened under Pres. Nelson. I kind of get the impression he's trying to create an atmosphere of "there's a new kid in town."

Good point, or a lack of movement while the infirm TSM was at the helm. It feels like they are trying to change the flavour to a more international minded org...at least on face value.

What I would love to see is Utah being completely removed from the the work list of the FP, Q12 and Presiding Bishopbric and it being left to the Area Presidency, thus leaving the COB to focus on the rest of the membership.

The new hymns and childrens song book should be interesting. I find the obsessive need to centralise all functions as odd. Each country should be able to develop their own local flavour based on universal concepts. Of course we know how terribly important it is for a white cis heterosexual male to feel completely at home at church in Africa, Asia or South America...because it's his world view that God has ordained as the predestined cultural norm.

[Palerider]

I don't know.....

Kind of seems like a bit of kabuki theater to me.

Maybe a weak attempt to look animated and responsive when the reality is more like a fat, sleeping man being poked to stop snoring at least.

These guys don't want to stray too far from the cushy doctrinal chair they sit in. It's much to comfortable.

The only thing motivating them right now are people leaving the door open as they exit the house and the cold wind is exposing the dirty laundry (the fat man is still wearing) for all the world to see.

[Red Ryder]

I think it's an indication of the stagnation under Monson's so called leadership and Nelson's limited time to flex his ego and build a short legacy before he dies. He knows he has limited time and has energy to do work.

In regards to your list of rebranding, if you break it down to its simplicity the only thing Mormons have done is repaint with a different shade of beige. On the inside they are rebranding to claim prophetic revelation. On the outside they are just another misogynist fundamental religion that discriminates against women and gays.

I believe this is the beginning of a long period of decline as the older generation dies off and the new generation of youth become apathetic.

Time will tell.

[MoPag]

9. Women praying, speaking more and being more prominent at GC - sitting centre of the rostrum as opposed to the side and down the bottom forgotten as for the past 100 years.

Praying and being visible are great new changes. Speaking? Not so much:

http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?i ... type=CMSID

Of course we know how terribly important it is for a white cis heterosexual male to feel completely at home at church in Africa, Asia or South America...because it's his world view that God has ordained as the predestined cultural norm.

So true!!!

[jfro18]

It just feels like the LDS church knows that they are losing the youth and are trying to find ways that they can make changes that still fit within their stale doctrine.

So Nelson is implementing a lot of changes that look great on the surface but accomplish absolutely nothing (and let's be honest, many of the changes were in process before Nelson)...

-Rebranding home visiting to ministering does nothing but is an attempt to freshen up a dying activity

-Redoing the hymnbook/songbook... means nothing to the doctrine of the church but gets people excited for new songs I guess?

-Announcing they are changing the interview process even though the changes are incredibly miniscule beyond allowing parents to be there with kids who are being quizzed on their sexual habits by creepy old guys

-Telling the youth to fast from social media for a week in a show of obedience as they are promised they are the chosen generation just like every generation before them with no results

There's just nothing new really happening, but the members are talking about Nelson as if he has the vitality of a 30 year old man with a direct line to God.

[Archimedes]

Despite all that, I don't think much has really changed, do you? Other than leaving the BSA, these are mostly non-changes. A little nip here, a little tuck there. Coat of fresh paint over there....

And I don't think any of this signals the church moving toward a more liberal position w/r/t its dogma and control of members. If anything I see this as a sort of "circling the wagons" for the faithful, those who will believe despite any evidence to the contrary.

[Corsair]

And I don't think any of this signals the church moving toward a more liberal position w/r/t its dogma and control of members. If anything I see this as a sort of "circling the wagons" for the faithful, those who will believe despite any evidence to the contrary.

Yes, nothing has really changed. But did you get a chance to observe the believers during and after the last general conference? This was a brilliant move from LDS leadership who made all of the devout Mormons feel like they participated in receiving this new revelation. They saw something big and new take place and felt the nervous energy of organizational change. However, they felt the divine relief of simply following the prophet without having to make any personal changes in their own life.

I had an aunt and uncle who were senior missionaries in England in the 1980s. They told me that they worked with at least one ward in working class England that had sent representatives to Salt Lake City in 1978 to try to explain to President Kimball that this whole "priesthood for everyone" plan was a bad idea. If President Nelson had actually announced something truly transformative, you can bet that there would have been a lot more whining.

Maybe we are just being softened up for bigger changes in subsequent conferences. Maybe this was just a couple of easy changes before bigger announcements show up. I doubt it and I have no inside knowledge whtatsoever. But I have plenty of things to keep me occupied while we wait.

[Archimedes]

Maybe we are just being softened up for bigger changes in subsequent conferences. Maybe this was just a couple of easy changes before bigger announcements show up. I doubt it and I have no inside knowledge whtatsoever. But I have plenty of things to keep me occupied while we wait.

This is possible and there is always room for hope and optimism. That will have to be carried by others, however - my hope and optimism have left the building at least as far as the LDS church goes.

[BlackMormon]

There seems to be a complete rebranding and overhaul of operations underway. It will be interesting to see how far this goes and what it entails.

So far we have seen (and we could go as far back as the essays) the following:

1. The essays
2. Increased real estate investments
3. Missionary age
4. Meeting with NAAP
5. Be one meeting sponsored by the First Presidency to commemorate the 1978 thing
6. HP and Elders quorums combining (I think to reduce the criteria to form wards from branches thus potentially elevating thousands of branches to wards and districts to stakes). Look how the Church is growing type of stuff.
7. Visiting teaching and home teaching program retirement. I think this is tied into the above.
8. Leaving BSA and creating a global program.
9. Women praying, speaking more and being more prominent at GC - sitting centre of the rostrum as opposed to the side and down the bottom forgotten as for the past 100 years.
10. International components in the general boards of the relief society, primary and young womens.
11. First non anglo/saxon/euro Apostles.
12. Spanish speaking events
13. New hymns and childrens books.
14. General co-operation with other faiths and groups including participation in council of churches and like minded organisations.
15. More international temple complexes.

I don't think this is all of it, but there seems to be a shift to another paradigm. I am interested to see where it goes. What do people think? What's the end game here?

Friend, they are doing this because the church needs to come across as more christian (to mimic other mainstream religions) to stay afloat. Eventually, it will become a Joel Osteen type religion, lots of feel good, a God that loves everyone (despite Bible scriptures to prove otherwise) and next thing you know, they will be playing guitar and bass in sacrament meetings. All we are witnessing is the inevitable. In order to please people (a church with no members dies) they have to change with the times. They will be friends with other churches, despite God's adominition to Joseph to join none of them because they were all false, well, I guess they are not false anymore. Soon the Prophet will have the Pope over for dinner or dine at the Vatican, despite Bruce R. McConkey saying the Catholic Church was the Church of The Devil. I think, that over the next decades, the Mormon church as we know it will be very different, not to mention all the very conservative old timers that have ruled for a long time are dying off. Newer generation leaders will have been influenced by more modern liberal times. The church may have already died way back in 1910 but failed to send out the memo. Today, it see the church as just another religion making structural, business and marketing decisions in order to retain and gain more customers. The product? The Gospel. If the pattern after WalMart, selling cheap gospel concepts, burying and denying the past, completely changing doctrines, etc. There is a good chance that it can grow bigger and expand. It worked for Walmart. Do you remember when Walmart started and their slogan was about everything being made in the U.S.A.? When that failed because people wanted cheap prices, not patriotism, Walmart became a huge importer of goods from Asia. The church might be doing the same thing, getting rid of what no longer works and trying a new approach. If you ran a business, you'd do the same thing. Adapt or die.

[RubinHighlander]

I think it's an indication of the stagnation under Monson's so called leadership and Nelson's limited time to flex his ego and build a short legacy before he dies. He knows he has limited time and has energy to do work.

And would the name of that ego be DHO? Seems to me, from the first press release, the hand of DHO is up the RMN puppet most of the time. Is RMN really a real boy/prophet/ceo?

Either way, I see the COB brass using the admin change as an opporutnity to try and make itself look progressive and moving forward in a conservative miraculous way. It's a lot of fluff for the TBMs to grab on to to bouy up their specialness.