NOMference Sunday Afternoon Spring 2023!!

[Mormorrisey]

Susan Bednar's Husband

[MoPag]

Rusty (again)

[MoPag]

Let's have a moment of silence for the poor workers in the temple building department.

[Cnsl1]

Quick interjection: thank you all for your comments and critiques. I'm not watching or listening to any of the drivel but I appreciate your descriptions and handicapping. The quick synopses are great.

[Culper Jr.]

SO...the year after I resign from the church, Charlotte, NC (where I live) gets a temple. TBM wife is gonna have a field day with this.

[AdmiralHoldo]

How many pretend temples are not getting built THIS time around?

[Mormorrisey]

Sorry I couldn't fulfill my NOM participation duties this NOMference, President. But all hail Mopag! Thanks for all your hard work putting this together.

[Palerider]

More temples...lots more temples.

They're like Walmarts now.

Mormonism: The Walmart version of salvation, only more expensive. Cheap religion at a high price.

[MoPag]

Sorry I couldn't fulfill my NOM participation duties this NOMference, President. But all hail Mopag! Thanks for all your hard work putting this together.

We missed you! But glad you got a break too! I love my NOM calling and my NOM ward.

Another year in the books!

[nibbler]

I gotta dock Corbitt if no one else has. He's the one that some time ago gave a talk (not sure where) where he said that it was wrong to press church leaders for change. Corbitt, the guy that wouldn't even have the PH if people in the past didn't press church leaders for change.

He reiterated that in his gc talk. If you have a kid and (he didn't say it but let's face it, it was very clear what he was implying) they are gay/trans then it's nice that you want to be a mama dragon, but the church leaders should come first and your kid should come second.

-1000 or however many points it takes to make sure he ends up in the red.

[2bizE]

Did I read this correctly….not a single comment on Susan Bednar’s husband’s talk?

[nibbler]

Did I read this correctly….not a single comment on Susan Bednar’s husband’s talk?

You ever find yourself reading a book and you realize that you don't remember what you just read from the last few paragraphs. That was Bednar's talk. Insta-forgetable.

[Mormorrisey]

I gotta dock Corbitt if no one else has. He's the one that some time ago gave a talk (not sure where) where he said that it was wrong to press church leaders for change. Corbitt, the guy that wouldn't even have the PH if people in the past didn't press church leaders for change.

He reiterated that in his gc talk. If you have a kid and (he didn't say it but let's face it, it was very clear what he was implying) they are gay/trans then it's nice that you want to be a mama dragon, but the church leaders should come first and your kid should come second.

-1000 or however many points it takes to make sure he ends up in the red.

I was a little busy during his talk and missed that part completely. I'll have to read that part again - I'll take away my positive score for sure. I remember when he said that the first time, and that was more about BLM than the gay/trans issue, but I can see how they are interrelated. That's no bueno.

[Just This Guy]

More temples...lots more temples.

They announced one in Winchester, VA. This is surprising. Winchester is a moderate sized town in semi-rural Northwest, VA. It's about an hour from Washington, DC. It's a bit over an hour from my house and my former stake back before they split the stake a bit over a decade ago. My stake Martinsburg, WV is the first one to the north.

So in the last few years, the church has been collapsing in this part of the country, The Martinsburg, WV stake peaked at about 14 units. It dropped down to 6 before they moved units from other stakes into mine. Winchester has been fairing about as well. A number of the units have been combined. Not to mention the LDS church still has a lingering bad reputation due to the child molestation coverup case.

The Washington DC temple is only open a few days a week. There just aren't that many members in the area. How do they justify this one?

So this one strikes me as either a vaporware or a real estate scam.

[Phil Lurkerman]

The Lethbridge temple is a bit of a head scratcher. There are quite a few members - I think three stakes - but only 45 minute drive from Cardston. This will really reduce the volume for the Cardston temple.

[Jeffret]

More temples...lots more temples.

They're like Walmarts now.

Mormonism: The Walmart version of salvation, only more expensive. Cheap religion at a high price.

Years ago when one of my kids was a teen and still participating in some Mormon social activities I had to drive her to a dance at a Mormon church building in a neighboring city. Driving in the dark I noticed one building with a large parking lot that looked like it could be a Mormon church building. I knew there wasn't a temple there, though it could've looked like one. It turned out to be a Walmart.

So, it was a cathedral to the Almighty Dollar instead of a cathedral to Joseph.

[Red Ryder]

More temples...lots more temples.

They announced one in Winchester, VA. This is surprising. Winchester is a moderate sized town in semi-rural Northwest, VA. It's about an hour from Washington, DC. It's a bit over an hour from my house and my former stake back before they split the stake a bit over a decade ago. My stake Martinsburg, WV is the first one to the north.

So in the last few years, the church has been collapsing in this part of the country, The Martinsburg, WV stake peaked at about 14 units. It dropped down to 6 before they moved units from other stakes into mine. Winchester has been fairing about as well. A number of the units have been combined. Not to mention the LDS church still has a lingering bad reputation due to the child molestation coverup case.

The Washington DC temple is only open a few days a week. There just aren't that many members in the area. How do they justify this one?

So this one strikes me as either a vaporware or a real estate scam.

The wife’s aunt lives there. They are extremely happy today. They admitted they have no idea how it will be staffed because they can’t get enough workers for the DC temple. They go 1 day a week to work in DC now. That will end when they get there own.

[jfro18]

The wife’s aunt lives there. They are extremely happy today. They admitted they have no idea how it will be staffed because they can’t get enough workers for the DC temple. They go 1 day a week to work in DC now. That will end when they get there own.

One of the greatest ironies of Mormonism is that they're building more and more temples for fewer and fewer people... and those who go to the temple feel like things are just moving along as planned while the temples operate with smaller hours.

It's really amazing how you can use money to project a much bigger, bolder version of reality by building a lot of overpriced and gaudy temples to keep the members inside the bubble.

I'm pretty sure the church believes it's a great marketing tool as well when people see the temples, but I'd love to see the hard data that building temples actually improves missionary outreach.

[Red Ryder]

The wife’s aunt lives there. They are extremely happy today. They admitted they have no idea how it will be staffed because they can’t get enough workers for the DC temple. They go 1 day a week to work in DC now. That will end when they get there own.

One of the greatest ironies of Mormonism is that they're building more and more temples for fewer and fewer people... and those who go to the temple feel like things are just moving along as planned while the temples operate with smaller hours.

It's really amazing how you can use money to project a much bigger, bolder version of reality by building a lot of overpriced and gaudy temples to keep the members inside the bubble.

I'm pretty sure the church believes it's a great marketing tool as well when people see the temples, but I'd love to see the hard data that building temples actually improves missionary outreach.

Yeah that would be interesting to see the data.

I’d think as the boomer generation will start to die off it will be leaving an ever bigger gap as more temple and even less people.

Of course that assumes that all the announced temples actually get built. At this point they could have a 20 year backlog.

[asb]

Oaks: +20 - It was a word salad, but you can certainly say it was Christ-centered. Most of the other speakers would also improve if all they did was read out of the Bible.
+10 - Credit where credit is due. Somehow, he managed to avoid even the slightest hint of LGBTQ-bashing, religious freedom, and his other gospel-hobby topics. That must have taken unimaginable willpower.
(I'll even forego the -10 I've given him every other time he's showed his face this conference.)
Ballard: +10 for giving a list "things that matter most" that focused on God, family, and neighbors. No mention of things like the church, the temple, etc.
Rasband: +15 for a good Christ-focused talk. Had to dock a few points for poor delivery.
Stanfill: +20 for distinguishing "becoming perfect in Christ" from perfectionism and calling out the latter.
Bassett: +5 for a mostly Christ-centered talk, but he would have done much better without finishing it off emphasizing commandments, prophets, and covenants.
Corbitt: -20 for unlikely and condescending story of a missionary moment on the bus, plus for shaming of those who speak ill of the church or its leaders.
Bednar: -10 - He had the right basis for a decent talk, but he relied too much on fictional scriptural accounts. And also repeatedly spoke of being "worthy" to take the sacrament, keeping "covenants," and being a member of the one true church. Plus, he just creeps me out.
Nelson: -13, one for each of the temples that he announced (if I counted correctly).