Non-scientific research - you can participate too!

[lostinmiddlemormonism]

Sooo,
During conference I kept a count as to how many times General Authorities were quoted as opposed to how many times Jesus was quoted. President Rusty got his one special category. The results were...interesting.

My my counts Rusty was quoted more than Jesus, and General Authorities were quoted more than both of them combined. So that got me to thinking...is that abnormal? For the sake off all my interested Nommy friends I endured sacrament meeting at the local cinder block chapel to find out. The results:

Quorum of the 12 and 1st presidency quoted 8 times
Jesus quoted twice.

So apparently the Holy 15 are 4 times more important than Jesus on the week before Easter.

If you would like to play along you can add your total here in the thread below from your local branch or ward for the next few weeks. The rules of the game are thus: It must be a speaker, teacher in a class, or a comment from someone in the class. Personal conversations, announcements from the stand, etc. do not count. It must be a directly referenced quote. References to individuals don't count. So just because someone mentions Jesus' name or Rusty's name don't count it. Only count it if it is a quotation. Quotations of Jesus from any LDS scriputures can count (D&C, Book of Mormon, or Bible....yes I know Jesus didn't really come to the US, but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt on this.) But simply scripture quotes don't count as a Jesus reference. ie, just because King Benjamin mentions Jesus doesn't make it a Jesus quote. Questions, just ask.

Let the count begin! Let's see whether this church worships the words of Christ or the words of heart surgeons and lawyers.

-lost

[Red Ryder]

I usually count the ceiling tiles and floor boards in the gym during sacrament meeting.

Challenge accepted!

Have you done the word search comparison on the written talks online?

That would be interesting to do for the whole GC population.

[Hagoth]

Have you done the word search comparison on the written talks online?

I once tried to figure out how frequently Jesus Christ was mentioned in conference talks across time. The problem is that his name comes up most frequently when included in the name of the church, when followed by "amen," or as an indirect reference to the church (e.g. the gospel of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the representatives of Jesus Christ, etc.)

[Corsair]

It's really weird that general authorities seem to take pride in quoting modern prophets. This does not impress or inspire anyone who is not already a believing Mormon. But I can take inspiration from any person who deeply dives into quotes from Jesus even if I disagree with their quote mining or their conclusions. I find myself passively discounting anyone who quotes Nelson in a conference talk because it sounds like the narrowest version of GA virtue signalling. This makes their talks relevant only in the current year. Almost no one will want to draw inspiration from Russell Nelson once Oaks and Holland ascend to the top spot.

This is the opposite of missionary work. A non-member who shows some interest in the church might want to tune into conference to see if they feel inspired by living prophets. I imagine that many of them are weired out by the hero worship and surprising lack of focus on the Savior, especially at Easter. At no time has anyone said, "They have been quoting Jesus a lot. Could they quote more modern prophets?"

This is the conference talk version of why most church pageants are ending. The Mesa Easter pageant is the story of Jesus and it is well attended by many Catholics and Protestants in the Phoenix area. But Manti and Palmyra are ending this year. Apparently, the Nauvoo pageant will continue because people want to visit Nauvoo, but very few believers want to uninonically visit Manti or Palmyra.

[BriansThoughtMirror]

Interesting. One thing to consider- I bet there's a LOT more volume of material to quote from from GAs than there is from Jesus. Take that for whatever it's worth.

[jfro18]

They quote each other because it solidifies their authority and avoids all of the contradictions that might come with quoting early leaders or mainstream Christianity.

Same reason they've largely done away with manuals and instead focus only on GenCon talks.

[deacon blues]

Did Pres. Nelson's quote of D&C 132 count as a quote from Jesus? He says it came from Jesus but approximately 1 billion Christians would probably disagree.

[Corsair]

Did Pres. Nelson's quote of D&C 132 count as a quote from Jesus? He says it came from Jesus but approximately 1 billion Christians would probably disagree.

The rest of the Christian world would simply think that Nelson was quoting Joseph Smith, not Jesus. This further solidifies the insular nature of LDS doctrine and practice. Joseph Smith did have some new religious ideas, but I don't think anyone cares outside of a narrow band of Mormonism and a handful of scholaras. J. R. R. Tolkien made up a lot also, but no one takes him literally. Mormons only take one of these guys literally. I think we know who is a more influential writer today in the world at large.

[Random]

Subbing to see the word count after I get back home after this weekend.

[moksha]

Interesting. One thing to consider- I bet there's a LOT more volume of material to quote from GAs than there is from Jesus. Take that for whatever it's worth.

Plus, the General Authorities are constantly in touch with one another.

[lostinmiddlemormonism]

Plus, the General Authorities are constantly in touch with one another.

I see what you did there....

[BriansThoughtMirror]

Plus, the General Authorities are constantly in touch with one another.

[lostinmiddlemormonism]

Well today we visited a different ward. The results from sacrament and SS on Easter Sunday:

2 quotes of Jesus Christ
9 of General Authorities
0 or Rusty

-lost

[EternityIsNow]

So finally a solution for the new nick-name of the not-rebranded church. Now that we know who they REALLY worship. This is the Church of the General Conference. Members can now be referred to as "Conferites". Or maybe "GenCons".

[Random]

GenCons. I like that. It has a sci fi feel to it, or perhaps a dystopian tone.

[lostinmiddlemormonism]

So....after 3 weeks the results:


Holy McGeneral Authorities: 19

Jesus Christ: 4

[Random]

Sigh. That's like 1/5. Pretty low score for a God we claim to love and worship.

[lostinmiddlemormonism]

3 months into this non scientific research:

The oh so Holy McGeneral Authorities: 76


Quotations of the Jesus: 11


-lost

[FiveFingerMnemonic]

This just proves that we are the church of the church of the latter day narrative.

[Random]

This just proves that we are the church of the church of the latter day narrative.

Yep.