The Divine Genius of the Lord's Church - Ensign Article

[FiveFingerMnemonic]

At home on the table I noticed the October ensign and picked it up to read a re-print of a message from Pres. Hinkley.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2016/10/the- ... h?lang=eng

Highlights that I took issue with:

Some express concern that the President of the Church is likely always to be a rather elderly man, to which my response is, “What a blessing!” The work in this dispensation was first put in place through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He was at the time young and vigorous, one whose mind was not set in the traditions of his day. His was a youthful mind which the Lord could mold as fresh, moist clay as He initiated His work.

Not only was Joseph set on the traditions of his day, all of his theological constructs originated or were borrowed from them. I will concede that he re-used them in a newly creative way for his time.

Joseph’s successor was relatively young when he was faced with the terrible responsibility of leading an entire people across the wilderness to pioneer a new land.

But the basics of our doctrine are now well in place, and we are firmly established as a people, at least until the Lord should mandate another move. We do not need innovation. We need devotion in adherence to divinely spoken principles. We need loyalty to our leader, whom God has appointed. He is our prophet, our seer and revelator. We shall never be left without a prophet if we will live worthy of one. He does not need to be youthful. He has and will continue to have younger men to travel over the earth in the work of the ministry. He is the presiding high priest, the repository of all of the keys of the holy priesthood, and the voice of revelation from God to His people.

There is an old proverb which says, “Youth for action. Age for wisdom.”

Hinkley is essentially making excuses for the lack of current revelation by stating that we don't need innovation, and that the current crop of aging leadership is divinely mandated, in contrast to the young church that needed innovators. Interesting way to frame it for the faithful.

[Corsair]

There is an old proverb which says, “Youth for action. Age for wisdom.”

I think that applies better for dating advice than founding a religion. But I suppose that Joseph Smith knew that also.

Hinkley is essentially making excuses for the lack of current revelation by stating that we don't need innovation, and that the current crop of aging leadership is divinely mandated, in contrast to the young church that needed innovators. Interesting way to frame it for the faithful.

I immediately started hearing Eric Idle's cockney voice in my head singing, "Always look on the bright side of life."

[Meilingkie]

What´s also interesting it that when we change things it´s called continuing revelation.
And we change teachings, and ordinances all the time.
When the Catholic Church did the same it´s been called The Great Apostasy.

[moksha]

But the basics of our doctrine are now well in place, and we are firmly established as a people, at least until the Lord should mandate another move. We do not need innovation. We need devotion in adherence to divinely spoken principles.

Even the whitest sepulchers and most spacious of buildings sometimes needs a makeover. If the message of God's love is somehow not getting through due to a garbled signal, the wiring needs to be checked from top to bottom, but especially at the top.

[2bizE]

I wonder if this reprint is related to the growing discussions of allowing the president to retire. President Monson is apparently in end stage dementia. His counselors will run the church. The president can't quit because of the corporation sole business organization set up for the corporation of the president.

[FiveFingerMnemonic]

I wonder if this reprint is related to the growing discussions of allowing the president to retire. President Monson is apparently in end stage dementia. His counselors will run the church. The president can't quit because of the corporation sole business organization set up for the corporation of the president.

I think that is very likely the reason.

[Corsair]

I wonder if this reprint is related to the growing discussions of allowing the president to retire. President Monson is apparently in end stage dementia. His counselors will run the church. The president can't quit because of the corporation sole business organization set up for the corporation of the president.

Prophets in the 19th century did not live long enough to have mental and physical incapacitation be a serious concern. We have seen a few conference talks about how 15 apostles support each other and an elderly prophet. I'll bet that the private discussion of the apostles considers this idea very soberly, especially when keeping a united front when some liberal apostle wants to extend the priesthood to people of African descent or some other radical idea.

Faithful church members see the extremely brief talks by Tom Monson as some kind of tender mercy and they cling to the type of compassion for senior leadership. The fact that Monson talks in conference is considered an amazing blessing from God that many church members have as the beneficiary of their prayer and fasting. It's too bad that praying to relive childhood cancer is not as successful. Many older church members will soberly remember the final years of McKay, Kimball, and Benson where they were unable to even show up at conference, let alone talk.

HInckley's decade was pretty inspiring as a 99 year old guy still speaking quite eloquently in general conference. The priesthood and RS "Teachings of the Living Prophets" manual for 2017 is a brand new manual on the talks and writings of Gordon Hinckley. The divine genius of the Lord's church will probably hold up pretty well with this manual although I am interested in an major events that they do not cover such as his involvement in the Hoffmann forgeries.