Well, this comes from my “doesn’t matter in the slightest for eternal salvation” file, yet apparently this debate gets people fairly worked up. I’ve seen Sunday School classes split over this – and in one case (several years ago) some roommates of mine nearly came to blows. I bring it up because it came up again in church.
Briefly, here are the two sides of the debate (this debate is usually about his mortal ministry, not his current status):
I just got through watching the press conference on BYU-TV, and when President Uchtdorf walked out to sit beside President Monson as the second counselor, the first thing that went through my mind was, “wow, this is really a good thing for the international growth of the Church.” President Uchtdorf is, I believe, the first non-North American-born member of the first presidency in the modern era (John Taylor was born in England before he moved to Canada). President Uchtdorf took pains to point out twice during the press conference that the Kingdom of God knows no national boundaries, and he certainly did not adopt the mantle of “foreign-born Church leader.” But that was the first thing I thought nonetheless. The other thing I thought is that it makes sense to name counselors who are somewhat younger, and President Uchtdorf is 67, considerably younger than President Monson.
I couldn’t spot anything controversial during the press conference. I found myself thinking that we will be talking about President Monson for many years to come as our prophet and I wondered what would be the signature characteristics of his time as the prophet. President Hinckley was known for his love of public relations and his temple building. What will President Monson be known for?
The following guest post was submitted by a frequent commenter and past guest blogger at M*, Mike. He describes himself as “the husband of my wonderful wife, married five years, and father of two great kids. I am most proud of that. I’m a graduate of BYU in Computer Science, and currently work as a software developer in Wisconsin, where my wife grew up and where I am growing to love. My personal blog is The Horebite.
By: Mike
Last Sunday I broke the Sabbath. Yes, I confess. My wife had a severe pain in the neck (no, it wasn’t me this time), and we didn’t have any ibuprofen or icy-hot. I considered calling some friends to see if I could borrow some, but thinking of the hassle of calling around got the best of me (besides, how exactly do you borrow icy-hot), and so I decided to drive down the street to the grocery story. Yes, on Sunday.
Newsday is printing a column in which the columnist says the groom’s mother should not serve alcohol at her recent convert son’s reception. The mother seems pretty bothered by her son’s request.
What say you, Mormon minions?
(HT: BCC)
Here’s the link: http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/chi-mxaamy0201feb01,0,7598847.column