http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2016/05/apostasy-in-armenia-sole-lds-stake-in.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2016 05:09PM by Susan I/S.

Despite the Mormon belief in universal application of their weird gospel, it just doesn't belong in most places. It's a Rocky Mountain remnant of Yankee superstition. It's right at home in the Morridor and alien to most other places. They sure are arrogant with their costume jewelry Christianity.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2016 05:10PM by Susan I/S.

Here's the better of the two mishie blogs I could find that speak to this issue:

"5-2-16

Well. Probably one of the craziest weeks yet. Things have really changed here. We had stake conference yesterday and it was crazy, seeing as all of Armenia is just one big stake so all of the members in Armenia gathered together in Yerevan, and Elder Katcher and Klebingat of the Seventy came to speak to us.

They announced that the Armenian stake will no longer be a stake. We have been moved back to a district under the direction of the mission. All of the wards, including Vanadzor ward, were changed back to branches. WOW.

They also released almost all of the leaders and called completely new ones. Well the members of Armenia were not too happy about that and about half of them got up and left in protest. Fights started, people were chanting, it was nuts. I wish I could tell you more but... if you want to know, just read Jacob 5. That is exactly what we are doing here.

Basically we are starting from the beginning. Things had gotten pretty bad and we are just pruning the tree so that it can grow bigger and bear fresh fruit. things will mostly be run by the mission president now and the missionaries.

The most important callings that they wanted to focus on is the ward clerk, so that none of this sketchy business goes on again. So they decided to have some of the missionaries serve as clerks for the branches, and of course, I got called to serve as the branch clerk for Vanadzor.

It will be very interesting to see how we will manage to do this as well as missionary work but the Lord will help me so no worries. More to come in the near future. We still aren't sure on which members are going inactive, which leaders will stay or anything. Lots of stuff going on, but it is all for the betterment of Zion in Armenia."

http://elderethanbradshaw.blogspot.com/

In the other blog, the elder said it was 1/3 of the members, and he likened to the Lucifer leading away 1/3 of the host of pre-heaven... http://skippertakesarmenia.blogspot.com/


The thing about ward clerks doing 'sketchy' things... Could that be regarding fudging the numbers so as to get more money from Salt Lake? What else could ward clerks do to enrich themselves and/or their bishops?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2016 05:10PM by Susan I/S.

They are putting the money and as much control as possible into AMERICAN hands.

And I found this telling - but it is all for the betterment of Zion in Armenia."

Note it is not for the betterment of ARMENIA.

"Elder Katcher and Klebingat." I thought you were making this story up! I was laughing. I thought you were a genius! I had no idea this was for real. Poor young man. But at least he knows "the church is true." He said it so many times.

I went back to check on this current week's blog entry from the more verbose of the two bloggers and found nothing. The second guy had a very short entry for this week, because he'd just talked to the family on Mother's Day, and all he mentioned was that they had zone training about 'rebuilding the church in Armenia.'

I'm dying to find out what their numbers were at church this past week end, after the big shake out... Did some come back? Have others joined them?


<ahem> I've purposely not mentioned anything about my contacts with Armenian immigrants to SoCal. Over the years I've had lots and lots of contact, in the course and scope of the activity I pursue to pay for golf, insurance investigations. The stuff I've learned about the basic quality of the Armenian culture doesn't really stand out when compared to other cultures. Just as a for instance, in the book "The Children of Sanchez", the author purports to document that Mexicans will lie in business dealings if it will mean more money. Shocking, isn't it!!!

There are two cultures that I've dealt with where the same basic policy exists, but they have raised it to a level so high as to actually stun the senses, in terms of having been raised in the so called American culture. Armenians grow up lying and honing this skill. Reading 'body language' is a joke. They are simply so adept at it, but I believe I have learned to rival them. It's just a skill and if you work at it enough, it's easy. Only I can't use it to make money... Ask La Saucie. I use it to tell her stories that end up making her laugh. By the way, just to cure any curiosity I engendered, the only 'people' who do a better job of lying are the Italianate Argentine people from Rosario, Argentina. But I've never had to deal with hard core Russians (insurance fraud is too penny ante for them), Turks or Middle Eastern Arabs.


Back to Armenia: I checked back on some old posts by the first elder and found this, which I think is quite on point:

"Turns out that 'elect' investigator we found a couple weeks ago isn't actually interested in religion at all. He just wanted money and work from our church and didn’t care at all about what we had to say about Christ. So we had to drop him. That has been a big problem for us lately, trying to see which investigators are legit and actually want to follow Christ and which ones just heard that our church gives them money and food if they get baptized and are trying to take advantage of us."

I would imagine that this elect investigator was a lousy liar, which I'd imagine is a rarity.

I Love your stories that make me laugh.

happened in the Kirtland Ohio Stake of Zion or am I in some sorta time warp here?

Say hi to Susan Sarandon for me!!

Unbelievable.

Release all the local members and call United States missionaries to do the jobs of ward/branch leaders. What happened to "teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves?"

Here's the bottom line: A United States church is not going to make it in Armenia.

PS is the second blog written by the son of Marie Osmond?

Note that his name is Jacob Osmond Christensen.

Unless his mother was a big fan and gave him that middle name. LOL.

Send in the turks.

First a Swedish Rescue and then an Armenian Massacre.

They suck at this Mormonism all over the world thing.

What does the Swedish Rescue refer to?
Gatorman

Swedish Rescue, the


Hans Mattison, a Swedish area authority, and a bunch of intelligent Swedes, said to SLC and the fossils, "...'ere now, wots all this then!?" with regard to all the information on the internet pointing to the church being something other than what SLC claimed it to be.

In an effort to distract the Swedes' attention to the man behind the curtain, SLC sent two dumb asses to Sweden with pie charts, a flannel board and cup cakes.

But many of the Swedes were not placated and moved on to less expensive religious pursuits.

If you Google swedish rescue, you'll get more information, but it'll be boring...

I love how all the other posts on this blog get a lot of comments, but this particular post? Crickets. But I have to give the blogger credit for even posting such a not-faith promoting story on a blog that is nothing but touting the alleged growth of the Church.

you mean to tell me that armenians are spiritually immature ?

Oh, what a great news!! Thank you so much for sharing! I was baptized in the Europe East area, and as far as I remember Armenian stake was the third (after Kyiv and Moscow) stake in the area.
What an awesome news!!
There are rumors that the president of the first Russian stake in Moscow resigned after he was released. Tscc is having really big problems in the Eastern Europe. They discontinue stakes, districts, branches... F/ck the cult.

How delightful!

I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Armenia back in the mid 1990s. As I was leaving, Herbalife was starting to take off there. I ran into many disciples of that particular MLM trying to sell me weight loss products. A cursory glance at Armenia's Herbalife Web site shows that business is still going there...

It is good to know, though, that Armenians are at least rejecting Mormonism! I will have to spread the good news!

My sole intersection with Armenia was in '86 when it was a Soviet republic. I spent a few days in Yerevan after the summer semester at Leningrad State University was over. My visit to Etchmiadzin is to this day a highlight of my life. It's difficult for me to imagine Armenians joining a batshit crazy Yankee superstitious church, but what do I know. I hope they were scamming 50 East North Temple...

I bet it was fascinating to be there in the 80s. Things have changed a whole lot since I was living there from 95-97. I'd like to go back, especially since I recently found out one of my former students now works for the Peace Corps.

I read on another site that the stake has only been around for 4 years. That's a pretty short shelf life for a stake.

Sounds like mormonism just isn't a good fit for Armenia. The mormons should pack up their missionaries and go home.

I did find it funny that one of the missionaries said they would go up in the mountains and help the farmers pick herbs. I did a bit more research to see just what kind of herbs these mormon kids were picking. Turns out the Armenians go up into the mountains and pick herbs for their tea. I guess you can help pick, you just can't drink it.

Armenians drink a lot of tea, coffee, and booze. They also tend to smoke like chimneys. The only thing good I could see coming from Mormonism in Armenia is perhaps getting some folks to change potentially destructive smoking and drinking habits. However, I can personally attest to the fact that life in Armenia is hard enough without the stupidity of Mormonism. I'm glad to read that it's being rejected there.

Just shows what happens when you try to force one culture on another! One size fits all ? The Church in Europe is in freefall! Most countries closed Wards and branches last year and actually reported lower membership numbers! The only growth is from the children of members!

"The most important callings that they wanted to focus on is the ward clerk"
"So they decided to have some of the missionaries serve as clerks for the branches, and of course, I got called to serve as the branch clerk..."
I bet he was "humbled" by the calling...

LOL! Give the locals their cut or cut out LDS stink!!!

lol lovin it