Elder Oaks wants MORE Excommunications!

[BeNotDeceived]

Being ex'd nowadays is a badge of honor after everything that has come out and been exposed in the last decade.

[consiglieri]

Was he really just saying the more members are excommunicated the fewer members are left to excommunicate?

I don’t think so. I think they are looking at excommunications being down the same way a business would look at profit being down. For example, Walgreens looks at profit using the following formula:

Profit = (number of customers through door) x (profit per customer)

If profits are down, it’s either because fewer people are walking into the store, or the people who are walking in the door are purchasing less stuff, or both.

Likewise, Oaks is looking at excommunications this way:

Total Excommunications = [Number of Councils] x [Probability Council Results in an Excommunication]

He’s saying that total excommunications are down because there are fewer councils and the councils that are convened don’t end in excommunications as frequently as they used to. Therefore, to get total excommunications up to where they need to be, stake presidents should do both of the following:

1. Convene more councils
2. Push harder to resolve each council with an excommunication

I think that is his point.

You put that so clearly even I could understand it.

[drumdude]

It’s a little weird that the leaders who guarantee their own salvation in a creepy hidden ceremony want to strip others of their salvation in another creepy hidden ceremony.

If this isn’t cult like behavior, what is?

[Everybody Wang Chung]

This whole thing is so ridiculous. Elder Oaks is actually chastising local leadership that they need to excommunicate more people?

I guess I missed that part in the New Testament where Jesus chastised his Apostles to drastically increase the excommunications.

[Marcus]

Just anecdotal, but a family member of mine is of the opinion, based on his friendship circle in slc, that membership will eventually shrink to the core families with many who externally call themselves Mormon being financially supported regardless of their actual lifestyles. He thinks that's what the obnoxiously bloated 'rainy day fund' is intended for.

The membership counts seem to be following the path of scientology:

In 2007 an official claimed 3.5 million members in the United States[3] but, according to a 2001 survey published by the City University of New York, 55,000 people in the United States would, if asked to identify their religion, have stated Scientology.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientolo ... ted_States

[I Have Questions]

Does Oaks give a list of offences that can be used to purge the membership rolls?

If this initiative is successful, won’t they need fewer temples rather than more?

[Analytics]

You put that so clearly even I could understand it.

I’ve got to say, this whole thing is surreal. If the Church made a list of its problems, having too few excommunications is not only on the list, but a big enough issue to merit somebody in the first presidency making a PowerPoint about it?

It’s patently obvious this is about manipulating people so that they are emotionally dependent on the Church; it isn’t about repentance or forgiveness.

[Analytics]

It’s a little weird that the leaders who guarantee their own salvation in a creepy hidden ceremony want to strip others of their salvation in another creepy hidden ceremony.

If this isn’t cult like behavior, what is?

+1,000

[Philo Sofee]

This whole thing is so ridiculous. Elder Oaks is actually chastising local leadership that they need to excommunicate more people?

I guess I missed that part in the New Testament where Jesus chastised his Apostles to drastically increase the excommunications.

It really is insanely assinine. We don't have enough excommunications, so lets do all we can to get those numbers higher! We are failing the Lord in not kicking out enough of his children! Dammit man, get with it! Ruin more lives and their ability to gain salvation. We can't just fill the Celestial Kingdom with everyone, that just wouldn't be right. Jesus only cares about faithful Mormons, we got a job to do now lets get out there and start kicking more people out of the Kingdom so we can make Jesus proud again. Here's a hat with our motto! MEGA - "Make Excommunications Great Again"

[Failed Prophecy]

Someone needs to film a scene where Dallin H. Oaks explains to David A. Bednar that the excommunication stats are rookie numbers. He should also explain that Bednar should masturbate twice a day. Eventually, he'll start thinking about excommunication while [deleted].