...or is it still alive and well in the deep dark recesses of the upper rooms of the SLC Temple where God & Jeebus reportedly appear every Thursday night to the FP & the Q12 at their weekly Texas Hold-'Em Tournaments???

Or so it seems to me...

I think it is. It is showing, and definitely less hardcore than it used to be, but because of the seniority factor for succession and that the prophets are never wrong, we'll have to wait for the hardcores to die off before any real change can come about.

These hardcores will not just be the Q12, but also those members who think they have to think in lockstep with the 12.

Maybe in another 20 years, but then again, we thought the church was easing up in the 70's until Hoffman and others blew the lid off their most sacred secrets, and the screws tightened.

At this point, I can see one of two ways it will evolve-
1) They'll ease up and try to win converts with reason.
2) They'll withdraw and devolve back into a Brigham era church and become dangerous.

I see the church slowly evolving into a more mainstream church in order to keep the younger members. Some groups may splinter off and become fundies. It's a slow process which of course involves the older guard kicking the bucket and younger more progressive leaders coming in.

It's like the garmets. Members still wear them but try and get them to wear one piece ankle length ones today. Good luck.

The "Hinkster", for all his storied waffling and backpedaling, was still smart enough not to do something as stupid as the Prop 8 debacle. It took an "Old Guard" doofus like Monson to pull that off.

Monson brought in a bit of retrenchment, substituting subterfuge and mean-spirited bigotry for Hinckley's more open approach. It will take both Monson and BKKP looking at the bottom side of the cemetery grass to get back on track.

In any meaningful social debate the church has always been on the wrong side of history. With enough time, social ridicule and legal pressure the old "creakers" at the top eventually make a shift in policy - then pretend it was never any different!