- Jonathan Green on “Preferred Passengers”: Fred Woods on the Organization of LDS Emigration: “Thanks, Ardis. (What are your plans for Keepa, by the way? I’m revising my reading list.)” Jan 14, 18:55
- on “Preferred Passengers”: Fred Woods on the Organization of LDS Emigration: “No continuity. The first stake was organized in 1854 and discontinued by 1858 (exact date unknown because as members moved west there was no “this is our last meeting” note). There was no stake in St. Louis again until 1958, although there was lots of missionary work, branches, local activity leading to the numbers and organization of the current stake.” Jan 14, 17:52
- on “Preferred Passengers”: Fred Woods on the Organization of LDS Emigration: “That’s a good question. I would suspect that the current ones are continuations of that stake, though I don’t really know.” Jan 14, 17:31
- on “Preferred Passengers”: Fred Woods on the Organization of LDS Emigration: “That’s interesting that there was a stake in St. Louis in 1854. I wonder if there was any continuity between that stake and the current stakes there.” Jan 14, 10:15
- on Dieter F. Uchtdorf, [Probable Future] President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “I am hopeful for an Uchtdorf presidency as I appreciate his kindness and optimism, but three factors temper my hope: 1. He is already old, and is getting older. He may not have the strength or fortitude to make much of an impression or to make a Pope Francis sort of pastoral impression on the curia. 2. He will not be president for very long. He may not have time to make much of an impression. 3. He will certainly be followed by Elder Bednar for quite a long period. For some reason, I tend to think a Bednar presidency will be a return to Joseph Fielding Smith and Bruce R. McConkie dogmatism and legalism (but I could be wrong).” Jan 13, 14:19
- on Weekly Calls as a Safeguard Against Mission Abuses: “One of the recently called mission presidents, a member of my stake, made a career as an officer of the US Public Health Service, and is currently the Director of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. I would suppose his life dealing with such things would be a reassuring comfort to those serving in his future mission and their families.” Jan 13, 13:08
- on Dieter F. Uchtdorf, [Probable Future] President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “Thanks for the correction, I’ve modified the OP accordingly. ” Jan 13, 11:13
- on Dieter F. Uchtdorf, [Probable Future] President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “Being born in Ostrava does not make Pres. Uchtdorf a Sudenten-German. His father, Karl, was born in a small village in Saxony about 150 km west of Berlin, and his mother was born in Zwickau, a city in Saxony. They married in Zwickau, and they had children (all older than Pres. Uchtdorf) born in Zwickau, Berlin and Neustrelitz, a city in Mecklenburg, north of Berlin. Karl was a German customs officer, and it seems likely that he was posted to Ostrava after Sudetenland was absorbed into the German Reich. The family left after Karl was conscripted into the German army, and moved to Zwickau, which makes sense as it was Pres. Uchtdorf’s mother’s hometown. They were joined there by Karl after the war ended.” Jan 13, 11:06
- on Weekly Calls as a Safeguard Against Mission Abuses: “I think whether it’s appropriate to contact, or even in very extreme situations go above the president’s head, depends on where it falls on the continuum of badness. On one hand we want to avoid a sort of “every member a mission president” situation where parents are calling about every little thing and distracting the mission president (I could definitely see something like that being a problem, and I’m sure MPs have their own stories), but on the other hand there should be enough outside contact to avoid some of the situations that have been raised here. I wasn’t even implying that my parents should have called the mission president to try to change the mission culture, just that having an outside anchor for the missionaries would have really helped prevent some of the excesses.” Jan 13, 10:57
- on Weekly Calls as a Safeguard Against Mission Abuses: “I’m a little late to the party, but a question. Weekly calls only help if there is some sort of redress. Missionaries don’t want to face the social consequences of being seen as an ark-steadier, or a critic of the mission president. So even if a missionary vents to a parent, and the parent agrees the mission president’s policy is mistaken, what recourse is there? It feels odd for me as a parent to contact the mission president to tell him his policies are wrong. Case in point: Our son’s mission president requires them to make temple trips monthly–and to do it on p-day. By the time they’ve driven two hours each way, they have little p-day time left for groceries, zone sports, buying new shoes, and generally taking a break. These days, the missionary rulebook says that missionaries should not sacrifice p-days, meal breaks, or scheduled sleep hours in hopes of receiving additional blessings–a provision I wish had been present when I was a missionary. The mission president’s rule about using p-day time to go to the temple seems to violate the spirit if not the letter of that provision in the handbook. Is it appropriate for me to contact the mission president and tell him about the deleterious effect of his policy on missionary preparedness and mental health?” Jan 13, 10:24
