Phoenix area parents, youth, and leaders broadcast

[rongo]

We had a broadcast last night for the Phoenix area with Elder Ballard, Elder Rasband, Elder Robbins, and Elder Joaquin Costa. It was outstanding! Tonight, they are doing a broadcast just for the youth and youth leaders. We are doing a dinner for our youth an hour prior, and then watching it with them.

Because some of the content could be misused to attack them (especially on the internet), I don't want to post my full notes write-up online (and, they wanted all devices turned off so that snippets didn't bounce around online. I figure extensive notes are sort of the same thing). It had an unscripted Q&A that ran over the announced time by about 30 minutes. Questions were 1) Joseph Smith polyandry and teenage wives, 2) pressure on young women to serve mission, 3) children in divorced/blended families with different values (i.e., anti-LDS), 4) the policy on ordinances for children with parents in gay marriages. 

It really was a good meeting! We look forward to the one tonight.

[Rain]

I thought of messaging you to see what you thought.  

I thought it was good.  There were a few things I gained from it that I want to speak with my husband about when he gets back from France about our family.  I didn't feel like they really answered number 1, but then I'm not sure he got to his question.   

[JulieM]

4 hours ago, rongo said:

We had a broadcast last night for the Phoenix area with Elder Ballard, Elder Rasband, Elder Robbins, and Elder Joaquin Costa. It was outstanding! Tonight, they are doing a broadcast just for the youth and youth leaders. We are doing a dinner for our youth an hour prior, and then watching it with them.

Because some of the content could be misused to attack them (especially on the internet), I don't want to post my full notes write-up online (and, they wanted all devices turned off so that snippets didn't bounce around online. I figure extensive notes are sort of the same thing). It had an unscripted Q&A that ran over the announced time by about 30 minutes. Questions were 1) Joseph Smith polyandry and teenage wives, 2) pressure on young women to serve mission, 3) children in divorced/blended families with different values (i.e., anti-LDS), 4) the policy on ordinances for children with parents in gay marriages. 

It really was a good meeting! We look forward to the one tonight.

I don't know if it was the same conference, but a poster over on NOM posted about his experience with being the one to ask the question about Joseph marrying teenage brides.

The thread "Apostle Fireside" is in the support forum over there and he relates his feelings and experience on page 2 of that thread.  He asked Elder Rasband the question and then he said Elder Ballard also "stood to address me". It's interesting to read his view. 

Again, I'm not sure if this was in the same meeting you attended.  This was was Friday night (in Arizona).

[rongo]

I could tell he was a NOM-type. He was "monologuing" his question, and Elder Rasband finally said, "Do you have a question?" He wanted to basically tell the wide audience about polyandry and teenage wives. When are these people going to learn that they aren't going to get anywhere monologuing and annoying the apostles/seventies with monologues and manifestos when they're supposed to ask a question?

Elder Ballard did okay answering. I don't think he quite got what, exactly, the guy was asking, and I don't know how equipped he is to personally answer questions about polyandry, teenage wives, etc. He referred people to the essay, and said some other things. 

Tonight, at the youth and leader broadcast, they were more forceful in instructing us that these things are intended for this specific audience, and are not to be transmitted *or transcribed* for people outside of it. My transcribed notes are five pages, 12 point font, and are very good. I will share them with my ward (they are in the target audience), but they've told us in clear terms not to post them online. It's too bad. Rain, if you would like me to send you one, you can PM me your address.  

One of my favorite things was from Elder Costa from Argentina. He advised all Church members to only turn on an electronic device "only when your intention is clear," and to get off of it when you have achieved that (presumably legitimate) intent. He further said that "aimless wandering" on devices and wasting time doing nothing really is asking for trouble --- and at the very least wastes vast amounts of time. I thought his entire section on pornography was outstanding --- one of the highlights of a very, very good overall broadcast. 

Edited January 29, 2017 by rongo

[Rain]

To be clear Elder Rashad didn't defer to Elder Ballard on this. I think there were 4 questions. At the start of the questions he told us that he would choose different people to answer the questions. 

They were also asked to keep questions on a specific topic and his long preface and question were not quite with it.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Rain

[rongo]

Yeah, Elder Ballard got up on his own. I think the lady who asked about the November 2015 policy was also trying to make a point, and not ask a question. 

Kudos for them for taking some (obviously) unscripted questions! I know when we had our stake firesides years ago (over 130 non-members came), the Q&A were the best parts, even though they made some members uncomfortable who had never experienced anything like that. I think competently and understandingly answering sincere and sometimes hard questions is a shot in the arm for members. 

[Rain]

5 minutes ago, rongo said:

I could tell he was a NOM-type. He was "monologuing" his question, and Elder Rasband finally said, "Do you have a question?" He wanted to basically tell the wide audience about polyandry and teenage wives. When are these people going to learn that they aren't going to get anywhere monologuing and annoying the apostles/seventies with their questions?

Elder Ballard did okay answering. I don't think he quite got what, exactly, the guy was asking, and I don't know how equipped he is to personally answer questions about polyandry, teenage wives, etc. He referred people to the essay, and said some other things. 

Tonight, at the youth and leader broadcast, they were more forceful in instructing us that these things are intended for this specific audience, and are not to be transmitted *or transcribed* for people outside of it. My transcribed notes are five pages, 12 point font, and are very good. I will share them with my ward (they are in the target audience), but they've told us in clear terms not to post them online. It's too bad. Rain, if you would like me to send you one, you can PM me your address.  

One of my favorite things was from Elder Costa from Argentina. He advised all Church members to only turn on an electronic device "only when your intention is clear," and to get off of it when you have achieved that (presumably legitimate) intent. He further said that "aimless wandering" on devices and wasting time doing nothing really is asking for trouble --- and at the very least wastes vast amounts of time. I thought his entire section on pornography was outstanding --- one of the highlights of a very, very good overall broadcast. 

Elder Ballard talked about giving as much time to prayer and scriptures as we do on blogs, social media etc. I thought that was kind of interesting right after the intentional use thing. Can you imagine what would happen if we all timed our use on the internet and then read scriptures for that long every day or vice versa? For some it would be a big deal.  For others a big change. 

Or what if we did service for that long?  I just went to my Just Serve meeting this week and they talked about how important this all was -  that 9/12 apostles and 2/3 first presidency had read over how Just Serve should be working.  What could we as a people do if we equaled or social media time with service? 

[Rain]

I loved how they talked about the Nov policy. I remember those first few days after we heard about it.  I was trying to work it out.  The Spirit kept directing me back to when our sister missionaries were trying to teach some young girls. I was a ward missionary. They had permission from parents to be taught,  but sometimes the parents were not there.  It just did not feel right.  I could not put my finger on how that experience applied to the policy,  but it helped me to feel right about it.  Last night when they talked about it,  it all fell into line.  I'm sure it didn't answer the question for some,  but it was perfect for me. 

Edited January 29, 2017 by Rain

[JulieM]

40 minutes ago, Rain said:

To be clear Elder Rashad didn't defer to Elder Ballard on this. I think there were 4 questions. At the start of the questions he told us that he would choose different people to answer the questions. 

They were also asked to keep questions on a specific topic and his long preface and question were not quite with it.

I don't know much about the poster over there (I read on that forum sometimes but haven't joined it), it just caught my eye and was interesting to read his side or view.

 I guess he's gotten some support from members in the area who have thanked him for asking what he did and I think he knew the guy (high counselor?) with the microphone (who knew ahead of time that he wanted to ask a question). That's why he was able to ask it (I think that's accurate but would need to read what he wrote again to make sure).   

It sounds like an interesting meeting and I wish I could have been there to hear the speakers!

Edited January 29, 2017 by JulieM

[cinepro]

8 hours ago, rongo said:

Because some of the content could be misused to attack them (especially on the internet), I don't want to post my full notes write-up online (and, they wanted all devices turned off so that snippets didn't bounce around online. I figure extensive notes are sort of the same thing). It had an unscripted Q&A that ran over the announced time by about 30 minutes. Questions were 1) Joseph Smith polyandry and teenage wives, 2) pressure on young women to serve mission, 3) children in divorced/blended families with different values (i.e., anti-LDS), 4) the policy on ordinances for children with parents in gay marriages. 

It really was a good meeting! We look forward to the one tonight.

I don't really get this.  If they posted the entire event online and it was any good, they could help innumerable people. 

Sure, there are always those who will try and use what they say to make them look bad, but it honestly sounds kind of weak to have people saying "Oh, we had a great fireside with some Apostles and they addressed these monumental issues that are bothering Church members all over the world, and they did a really good job of it, but I can't tell you what they said..."

[Calm]

 

5 hours ago, cinepro said:

I don't really get this.  If they posted the entire event online and it was any good, they could help innumerable people. 

Sure, there are always those who will try and use what they say to make them look bad, but it honestly sounds kind of weak to have people saying "Oh, we had a great fireside with some Apostles and they addressed these monumental issues that are bothering Church members all over the world, and they did a really good job of it, but I can't tell you what they said..."

It is possible that the training is going to occur elsewhere and then want people to attend to see and hear for themselves and not rely on reports.

[Rain]

I think it was Elder Ballard that mentioned they don't want recording done because of problems with small pieces of video being taken out of context. 

I have mixed feelings about it.  At this point I think anyone who wants to record will so it makes sense to have the whole thing out there, but I am really tired of the lack of respect over this.  I think most people would respect my wishes if I asked you not to take videos of me in my house,  but these people think nothing of taking video of people when they have been asked not to in the church. I doubt anyone would say I am hiding something like they do of Church leaders. 

[cinepro]

2 hours ago, Rain said:

I think it was Elder Ballard that mentioned they don't want recording done because of problems with small pieces of video being taken out of context. 

I have mixed feelings about it.  At this point I think anyone who wants to record will so it makes sense to have the whole thing out there, but I am really tired of the lack of respect over this.  I think most people would respect my wishes if I asked you not to take videos of me in my house,  but these people think nothing of taking video of people when they have been asked not to in the church. I doubt anyone would say I am hiding something like they do of Church leaders. 

If you claimed to be a special witness of Jesus Christ (only 15 in the world), who received special revelation from God and had special authority to act for God all over the world, and that your words (when spoken under inspiration) are the equivalent of Biblical scripture, then I would find it just as odd if you were addressing a group of people about issues that are a concern and relevant to people all over the world but asked not to be recorded or otherwise distributed for fear that they might be taken out of context by some enemies of the Church. 

People understand the context and intended recipients of messages.  The bigger concern is that it looks like the leaders haven't figured out that they aren't going to be able to control the distribution of their words like they used to (when Church magazines, broadcasts and publications were the only way for a wide audience to hear what they said).

What's really interesting is that it gives them an opportunity to reach audiences they otherwise wouldn't reach.  If the Church announced that Elder Ballard wanted to speak to ex-Mormons and people who are disenchanted with the Church, and asked them to please assemble at the Conference Center, do you think 21,000 would show up and listen?  I doubt it.  But now you have people who will record his words and post them on the exmormon group at Reddit (the "subreddit") which has over 30,000 subscribers.  I would argue that never in the history of the Church have so many exmormons (and people on the way out) been so interested in what Church leaders have to say.  And what do Church leaders do?  Ask people to please not record it or otherwise share their notes, for fear they'll be taken out of context.

That's what we in the business call "a missed opportunity."

[Jane_Doe]

43 minutes ago, cinepro said:

If you claimed to be a special witness of Jesus Christ (only 15 in the world), who received special revelation from God and had special authority to act for God all over the world, and that your words (when spoken under inspiration) are the equivalent of Biblical scripture, then I would find it just as odd if you were addressing a group of people about issues that are a concern and relevant to people all over the world but asked not to be recorded or otherwise distributed for fear that they might be taken out of context by some enemies of the Church. 

People understand the context and intended recipients of messages.  The bigger concern is that it looks like the leaders haven't figured out that they aren't going to be able to control the distribution of their words like they used to (when Church magazines, broadcasts and publications were the only way for a wide audience to hear what they said).

What's really interesting is that it gives them an opportunity to reach audiences they otherwise wouldn't reach.  If the Church announced that Elder Ballard wanted to speak to ex-Mormons and people who are disenchanted with the Church, and asked them to please assemble at the Conference Center, do you think 21,000 would show up and listen?  I doubt it.  But now you have people who will record his words and post them on the exmormon group at Reddit (the "subreddit") which has over 30,000 subscribers.  I would argue that never in the history of the Church have so many exmormons (and people on the way out) been so interested in what Church leaders have to say.  And what do Church leaders do?  Ask people to please not record it or otherwise share their notes, for fear they'll be taken out of context.

That's what we in the business call "a missed opportunity."

It's a disadvantage of our sound-blip world today.  People (apostles or anybody else) can speak fantastically, but one poor choice of words turns into a sound blip and haunts everyone forever.  Therefore, you have to be SUPER UNNATURALLY careful on word choice when there's recording devices around, which limits a person's ability to speak, especially straight from the heart.

[rpn]

Do you think it possible that God could /would inspire an answer to one group, that would be different in some ways to another group or at another time?   If that is possible, then not wanting material broadcast to others makes some sense.

Further, what happens when something is taken out of context?   In the public discussion of the video meeting leaks, much of it distorted what actually happened in those meetings in ways that prevented the public discussion from discussing accurately the matters of concern.

[CMZ]

14 hours ago, cinepro said:

I don't really get this.  If they posted the entire event online and it was any good, they could help innumerable people. 

Sure, there are always those who will try and use what they say to make them look bad, but it honestly sounds kind of weak to have people saying "Oh, we had a great fireside with some Apostles and they addressed these monumental issues that are bothering Church members all over the world, and they did a really good job of it, but I can't tell you what they said..."

It's not uncommon for some things to be said in a small group and that get rebroadcast to the Church at a later point. At the same time I do think some meetings really are just for the intended audience.

Edited January 29, 2017 by CMZ

[CMZ]

Or maybe from now on all of us can go to every sacrament meeting, every stake conference, every regional conference...

[cinepro]

5 hours ago, rpn said:

Do you think it possible that God could /would inspire an answer to one group, that would be different in some ways to another group or at another time?   If that is possible, then not wanting material broadcast to others makes some sense.

Further, what happens when something is taken out of context?   In the public discussion of the video meeting leaks, much of it distorted what actually happened in those meetings in ways that prevented the public discussion from discussing accurately the matters of concern.

It's an interesting theory, but only plausible if you've never read the Doctrine and Covenants. 

[Jeanne]

18 hours ago, JulieM said:

I don't know much about the poster over there (I read on that forum sometimes but haven't joined it), it just caught my eye and was interesting to read his side or view.

 I guess he's gotten some support from members in the area who have thanked him for asking what he did and I think he knew the guy (high counselor?) with the microphone (who knew ahead of time that he wanted to ask a question). That's why he was able to ask it (I think that's accurate but would need to read what he wrote again to make sure).   

It sounds like an interesting meeting and I wish I could have been there to hear the speakers!

I read this too.  It was very interesting and this member is so sincere and is doing all he can to sustain the church and keep his beliefs.

[Johnnie Cake]

On 1/28/2017 at 2:39 PM, rongo said:

We had a broadcast last night for the Phoenix area with Elder Ballard, Elder Rasband, Elder Robbins, and Elder Joaquin Costa. It was outstanding! Tonight, they are doing a broadcast just for the youth and youth leaders. We are doing a dinner for our youth an hour prior, and then watching it with them.

Because some of the content could be misused to attack them (especially on the internet), I don't want to post my full notes write-up online (and, they wanted all devices turned off so that snippets didn't bounce around online. I figure extensive notes are sort of the same thing). It had an unscripted Q&A that ran over the announced time by about 30 minutes. Questions were 1) Joseph Smith polyandry and teenage wives, 2) pressure on young women to serve mission, 3) children in divorced/blended families with different values (i.e., anti-LDS), 4) the policy on ordinances for children with parents in gay marriages. 

It really was a good meeting! We look forward to the one tonight.

Really? Whatever could they say that they were afraid might be put on the internet?  What are they telling the church youth they'd ever be embarrassed to find on the internet?  Strange 

[CMZ]

29 minutes ago, Johnnie Cake said:

Really? Whatever could they say that they were afraid might be put on the internet?  What are they telling the church youth they'd ever be embarrassed to find on the internet?  Strange 

We now have a new thing for people to harp on forever. They aren't saying embarrassing things; but they might say things that some can take out of context and twist, and apparently they have found that type of thing to happen. Maybe they'll get so tired of it eventually that there will be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour.

[Johnnie Cake]

20 minutes ago, CMZ said:

We now have a new thing for people to harp on forever. They aren't saying embarrassing things; but they might say things that some can take out of context and twist, and apparently they have found that type of thing to happen. Maybe they'll get so tired of it eventually that there will be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour.

Wouldn't it make more sense to provide full unedited copies of all public addresses thereby making it impossible to take things out of context or twist?  It only makes sense to not do this if they have something to hide

[CMZ]

It's a possibility. But sometimes certain things really are just for a certain audience.

[carbon dioxide]

18 minutes ago, Johnnie Cake said:

Wouldn't it make more sense to provide full unedited copies of all public addresses thereby making it impossible to take things out of context or twist?  It only makes sense to not do this if they have something to hide

It the questions were not known in advance and there are people out there ready to pounce an every idle word the GA says, I understand their caution not wanting things circulating out there that people will blow out of proportion when they are not giving a prepared answer going in.  Now if the comments were prepared in advance and reviewed so that they would be accurate and clear, I would see no reason for them be concerned about it.

[CMZ]

Another possibility is that maybe they don't feel the need to overload people with religious teaching; maybe they want to allow them some time to go skiing.