Comments on: They Spoke in General Conference as Ones That Had Authority

By: Brent Crash Allen

Brent Crash Allen — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 02:56:40 +0000

Hmmm. I dig the scriptural angle…but what were the scriptures? Were they quoting Christ and using Christ’s words? Not confrontational but curious.

By: David Evans

David Evans — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 11:28:21 +0000

Ziff, thanks so much for pointing me to your interesting analysis of books of scripture in Conference. I was wondering if anyone else was doing this kind of analysis, and now I know the answer! That’s interesting work and I look forward to continuing to read about it.

Jones, perhaps amazingly, C.S, Lewis made only a single appearance in this General Conference (Brother Robbins’s talk, Which Way Do You Face?, quotes the Screwtape Letters.) Maybe we’ll see a resurgence in a month!

By: Ziff

Ziff — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 21:45:14 +0000

I love your analyses here, David. Great stuff! Your major finding is intriguing. As you’ve already suggested, it brings up so many other interesting questions that could be pursued (if there were more time). One I wonder about is if there are reliable differences among speakers across time. Like if President Monson quotes “the poet” this Conference, was he more likely to last Conference too? I would guess that there are such differences, but I haven’t studied it. Or another question that might add support for your major finding if it held up is if people quote less authoritative sources more as they rise in the hierarchy. You could compare what sources men like Elder Ballard and President Uchtdorf quoted when they were Seventies to the sources they quote now, for example. Or it might even hold across the change from being in the Quorum of the Twelve to the First Presidency, or to becoming Church President. Thanks again for this really interesting analysis.

This is only tangentially related, but I wrote a post recently where I looked at which books of scripture FP/Q12 members quote when they quote scriptures. So I’m loving seeing more of this type of analysis done!

http://zelophehadsdaughters.com/2015/02/17/which-gas-prefer-which-books-of-scripture-updated/

By: Jones

Jones — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 20:25:15 +0000

Ha! I thought there might be a separate category for how often C.S. Lewis is quoted.

By: David Evans

David Evans — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 18:47:25 +0000

Good point, Adano. I’ve put up the medians and standard deviations, together with my interpretation.

By: James Olsen

James Olsen — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 17:54:45 +0000

Very interesting, Dave. In addition to the other reasons I look forward to the next GC, I look forward to seeing your next analysis.

“that’s something to look forward to once I retire from my day job”

Goodness, if you can do this sort of analysis with your day job, you’re doing better than me. Except, I know what your day job is, which means I know that’s not true. Puzzled.

By: adano

adano — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 17:48:11 +0000

With so few data points, a single outlier can skew means and ranges very quickly. I’d be curious to see the medians and standard deviations. Post the spreadsheet and I can calculate them for you in a couple minutes if you like.

By: Steve Smith

Steve Smith — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 14:51:51 +0000

Wow, cool analysis. Thanks for sharing.

By: SilverRain

SilverRain — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 12:12:07 +0000

An interesting analysis, though I never read that to mean referring to other authority, but to mean teaching with the power of the Spirit rather than relying on intellectual interpretation.