LDS popular culture super stars when I was a kid

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by Solon

Mormon Doctrine is still considered the trump card to end all debates in my parents' ward.

Not in ours. You'll be laughed silly if you quote from it. People will quote from the DoM book and audible groans erupt from the congregation whne BRM is quoted. He is a persona nongrata in our ward. We call it Unmormon Doctrine, or Mormon Nondoctrine. As Palo Alto Cougar once described it, scripture mingled with the philosophy of a man.

[ute4ever]

Originally Posted by Solon

Mormon Doctrine is still considered the trump card to end all debates in my parents' ward.

First or second edition?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Not in ours. You'll be laughed silly if you quote from it.

Nor ours.

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Nor ours.

Yeah, I agree. But I'm not in a normal ward.

I think SU is correct that in his day, BRM was quite the superstar in terms of doctrine. It was as if he was the final word. I think the force of his personality had something to do with that.

I may be treading on thin ice, but I thought it interesting that he went so quickly.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by myboynoah

Yeah, I agree. But I'm not in a normal ward.

I think SU is correct that in his day, BRM was quite the superstar in terms of doctrine. It was as if he was the final word. I think the force of his personality had something to do with that.

I may be treading on thin ice, but I thought it interesting that he went so quickly.

Was I that much on the fringe, because I remember Sunstone being the rage in the eighties and I can't remember if the seventies. I don't remember anybody in Sunstone hailing McConkie as a great scholar or knowledgeable person of the scriptures. In fact, I remember the debate with my LTM teacher and we came to the conclusion that the greatest scriptural authority was SWK, not any of the Twelve.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by myboynoah

I think the force of his personality had something to do with that.

Couldn't agree more. He never equivocated on anything. I think that confidence and outspokeness struck a chord with lots of people.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Couldn't agree more. He never equivocated on anything. I think that confidence and outspokeness struck a chord with lots of people.

He took an authoritarian, dogmatic approach that some people perceived as useful. His deep bass voice, coupled with his authoritarian speech pattern probably promoted that. Many members want a leader to be forceful, without equivocation so they, as listeners can receive the answer confidently.

However, as I examined his approach to doctrines, he was often plain wrong. For example, when President Kimball had him repudiate the Adam-God concept, BRM did so on specious grounds. And we're all aware of the more than one thousand doctrinal errors he made in unMormon Doctrine.

[il Padrino Ute]

I have to say that as I got older, I disagreed more and more with BRM; however, as a missionary in the MTC, he was the last GA I heard speak to us and he really got my group fired up to go.

I give him all the credit in the world for kind of recanting his thoughts on the age of the earth, especially in light of his rather adamant belief in his earlier days as an Apostle. And his last talk in general conference was one of the best I've heard from anyone.

[RockyBalboa]

I can't remember the last time I heard someone quote directly from Mormon Doctrine in the 3 hour block.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

his last talk in general conference was one of the best I've heard from anyone.

His last talk made up for a lot of his shortcomings. It was powerful, simple and not dogmatic. If he had spoken like that in past years, he would have been universally beloved.