The obvious question

[_I have a question]

Who?

Christofferson.
That he was the one required to sit in front of the camera and 'clarify' pegs him as the author of this.

Why?
My guess is that there is a financial implication to all of this.
As always, follow the money.

[_zeezrom]

The only thing that could slightly make sense to me is that the church does not want to make records where both parents are male/female.

Yeah I think this is definitely the reason. Perhaps they foresee a potential lawsuit as well. I'm sure this is being discussed somewhere... I just don't have time to search for it right now...

[_mentalgymnast]

Knowing how things work at the Church Office Building, I am left with an obvious and unanswered question:

Who came up with this idea?

I think you can put all the spin you want on this...Waterdog and others...but when it comes right down to it you have to use the old saying, "Stupid is, stupid does", as a yardstick. The brethren are not stupid. So then you have to ask yourself, like you are doing, WHY? I think there are only two options when all is taken to the foundational level. They either believe that they have no choice because they think that this policy is the mind and will of God...or they are stupid.

Which they're not.

Doctrine/policy...it doesn't matter Peggy.

They KNEW there would be a fallout. They KNEW the word would get out.

So. Stupid or inspired? I think we're left with that. Neither choice leaves a trail free of collateral damage.

Regards,
MG

[_Tim the Enchanter]

Who?

Christofferson.
That he was the one required to sit in front of the camera and 'clarify' pegs him as the author of this.

I disagree. His appearance before the camera says nothing about the authorship of the policy (though Christoffersen obviously had to agree to it). More likely, I think Christoffersen was assigned to sit in front of the camera by a senior apostle.

Why assign him as opposed to someone else? I can only speculate, but my guess is that he was selected specifically because his brother is gay and the FP/senior apostles wanted to send a clear message to the members that the 15 are all (even they guy with the gay brother!) united on this. Not that Christoffersen would have been called to the 12 if there were any doubts about his acceptance of church policy towards gay people, but by making Christoffersen speak out publicly like this makes him less likely to go soft (from the church's perspective) on gay issues over time because he has a gay brother.

[_just me]

False dichotomy. There are plenty of choices other than inspired or stupid.

I'd like to point out that otherwise smart people do dumb stuff and make mistakes all the time.

Saying the only choices are inspired or stupid puts the church in a corner when it comes to the black priesthood/temple ban. I guess MG would agree that one falls under the stupid category. Right? Does that mean every leader under that evil policy was not at all smart?

[_consiglieri]

Elder Oaks = Saruman

Elder Christofferson = Grima Wormtongue

[_Tim the Enchanter]

"Stupid is, stupid does", as a yardstick. The brethren are not stupid.

The brethren, like the leaders of every other organization in the world, are capable of doing stupid things even though there are not "stupid" in the sense that they would score low on IQ tests.

So then you have to ask yourself, like you are doing, WHY?

Another good question is, "Knowing that even smart people can do stupid things, is this particular thing stupid?"

I think there are only two options when all is taken to the foundational level. They either believe that they have no choice because they think that this policy is the mind and will of God...or they are stupid.

I propose a third alternative. While not "stupid" in the sense of low intelligence, they are nonetheless capable of being horribly mistaken in terms of what is the mind and will of God.

Which they're not.

Can they ever do stupid things? Can this particular thing be stupid?

[_Runtu]

I think you can put all the spin you want on this...Waterdog and others...but when it comes right down to it you have to use the old saying, "Stupid is, stupid does", as a yardstick. The brethren are not stupid. So then you have to ask yourself, like you are doing, WHY? I think there are only two options when all is taken to the foundational level. They either believe that they have no choice because they think that this policy is the mind and will of God...or they are stupid.

Which they're not.

Those are not the only two options, clearly.

Doctrine/policy...it doesn't matter Peggy.

In the church, it does matter. The brethren have made that distinction many times.

They KNEW there would be a fallout. They KNEW the word would get out.

And you know this how? It's a safe bet that someone making policy changes knows there is going to be fallout, but it's entirely possible that the brethren underestimated the reaction. I don't know, and neither do you.

So. Stupid or inspired? I think we're left with that. Neither choice leaves a trail free of collateral damage.

Regards,
MG

Again, there are many other possibilities, not just those two choices.

[_just me]

Smart people can be prejudice, cruel, mean-spirited, neglectful, racist, homophobic, sexist, etc. Just because someone has a high IQ or has been to college does not mean they always make decisions that are morally or ethically sound.

[_Runtu]

Smart people can be prejudice, cruel, mean-spirited, neglectful, racist, homophobic, sexist, etc. Just because someone has a high IQ or has been to college does not mean they always make decisions that are morally or ethically sound.

Yep, and good-hearted people with good intentions can create cruel policies. Humans are complicated like that. It's not stupid or inspired; it's human or ... human.