I understand from reading various articles that like all families, the Huntsman family has had its struggles. Even though the parents were GA stock (mother Karen, son)of "Apostle" David Haight; father Jon, a GA

- their son James kidnapped at 16 for ransom by anothe 16 yr old, who

- daughter Kathleen died of heart complications after a drug overdose at 44

See this Vogue magazine article from last summer:
http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/jon-huntsman-the-outsider/

I would really like to know a bit more about the life of this GA-ledfamily. I can't help but wonder... did Kathleen suffer from depression and not get sufficient attention for it? Were the GA parents of this large family negligent, like so many Mormon parents saddled with endless church meetings, leaving their kids alone and to fend for themselves? Or did she or the family have some other demons in their closet?

Drug addiction is like a trip wire in the brain.
And in my case the child was loved and probably more attended to than a lot of children.
In the end I had to realize a few things, definatly a genetic issue. And not something I could fix.

It's something you live with. I would imagine this daughter received the best care money could buy.
In the end some just curl up with the addiction.

So Huntsman Sr. said she had anorexia, but the article said she had a drug addiction. I wonder if the addiction was related to anoerexia (as in diet pills)?

I'm sure nobody wants to go public about their child's drug addiction problems, but I wish people whose family/kids have problems and addictions etc. could go public, especially families with means, to tryy to rally support for their kids.

I find that often in Mormonism, families try to sweep such problems under the rug. I'm sure it happens outside Mormonism, too--but that doesn't resolve the problem.

I have two TBM relatives whose kids have suffered from anorexia and drug problems and their TBM parents tried to look the other way, rather than address what was going on openly. It's unfortunate because in my experience, such problems just continually resurface unless they are openly and honestly dealt with.

Exmogal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So Huntsman Sr. said she had anorexia, but the
> article said she had a drug addiction. I wonder if
> the addiction was related to anoerexia (as in diet
> pills)?
>
> I'm sure nobody wants to go public about their
> child's drug addiction problems, but I wish people
> whose family/kids have problems and addictions
> etc. could go public, especially families with
> means, to tryy to rally support for their kids.
>
> I find that often in Mormonism, families try to
> sweep such problems under the rug. I'm sure it
> happens outside Mormonism, too--but that doesn't
> resolve the problem.
>
> I have two TBM relatives whose kids have suffered
> from anorexia and drug problems and their TBM
> parents tried to look the other way, rather than
> address what was going on openly. It's unfortunate
> because in my experience, such problems just
> continually resurface unless they are openly and
> honestly dealt with.

Often they resurface even if they have been honestly dealt with.
We still have far to go in terms of dealing with eating disorders.

I don't know much about the Huntsman family but I did check out their genealogy to map their ties to Romney and the LDS hierarchy. To me, it appears that the Huntsman's bought and married their way into the LDS hierarchy.

You can find the map here (in Dutch, but the names and pictures are international):

http://www.mormonisme.nl/2011/07/twee-mormoonse-presidentskandidaten.html

Man, I'm pushing my blog big time today - I swear it's a coincidence.

Jon Sr., like Mitt Romney, is the great, great grandson of Parley P. Pratt -- through Jon Sr.'s mother Kathleen Robison. They didn't buy their way in.
Their daughter Kathleen was a very nice person, very welcoming and sweet. She was much loved by her family and they are still devastated by her loss. I would say it probably was a genetic predisposition, but who can ever know?

A friend of mine ran into Jon Sr. and an extremely emaciated Kathleen at the Huntsman Institute hospital a few months before her death. Jon Sr. told my friend his daughter was anorexic and that they were feeding her intravenously. He was heartbroken and devastatingly honest with my (cancer suffering) friend when he didn't have to be. Tragic situation, I think she had a great many problems. Even billions of dollars couldn't save her.

I guess what I'm wondering is why does someone like Jon JR get away with behaving like a Jack-Mormon, if he has parents who are GAs (his Mom may as well be a GA, in that she's the daughter of one and married someone who became a GA)???

Jon Sr. apparently supports his son's Presidential race, so he must not mind that his son is a Jack-Mo, unless his son is acting that way, and in reality truly believes in Mormonism.

Could it be that GAs (Huntsman Sr included) are not what they seem? Not really spiritual but just businessmen who are opportunists?

Exmogal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I guess what I'm wondering is why does someone
> like Jon JR get away with behaving like a
> Jack-Mormon, if he has parents who are GAs (his
> Mom may as well be a GA, in that she's the
> daughter of one and married someone who became a
> GA)???
>
> Jon Sr. apparently supports his son's Presidential
> race, so he must not mind that his son is a
> Jack-Mo, unless his son is acting that way, and in
> reality truly believes in Mormonism.
>
> Could it be that GAs (Huntsman Sr included) are
> not what they seem? Not really spiritual but just
> businessmen who are opportunists?

When the internet came into being and lot's of factual information surfaced that proved the Book of Abraham a fraud, I was naive enough to think this was going to be the end of Mormonism. What I came to learn is the dogma and doctrine are just filler. It could be a great spaghetti monster visiting Joseph Smith in the grove of bamboo and ice plates inscribed with reformed eskimo language. Whatever you want to make up and sell. It can be anything.

What really keeps the church going is family heritage, ancestor worship, peer pressure, community ties, and yes business and opportunities.

To really understand something or believe it you have to spend some time pondering, reflecting, meditating, and thinking about it. All things the church doesn't want it's members to do. They want the members to let the leaders do the thinking for them and follow the program. If you think for yourself and do your own research you will end up hanging around at exmormon.org sharing your story of why you left the mormon church. LOL!

So yeah, I think GA's are in the same family social rut most TBM Mormons are. They are probably scared of finding out it's really not true and like a kid who desperately still wants to believe in Santa Clause they tow the line and justify it by the benefits they get in the church like opportunities, business, community, a great place to raise a family ect... All that BS that soothes the fear of finding out it's not true and you wasted your life in it.

Kathleen was a wonderful woman and a great friend to me. I owe my sobriety to her because of the support she gave me during my stay in rehab. I cannot believe this has happened to such a wonderful person. Addiction lives in all types/classes of people. I will truly miss her greatly.

Rubicon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Exmogal Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
>
> What really keeps the church going is family
> heritage, ancestor worship, peer pressure,
> community ties, and yes business and
> opportunities.


This.

+1 Missed this earlier but very insightful post.

Fascinating family with great approach to human values and destiny .
Kathleen , RIP ..you are an angel !

Kathleen Huntsman was a drug addict. Her drug of choice was cocain! I went to rehab with her and she was a mess. The Anorexia was a direct cause from the cocain habit she had. In fact...she had 29 statutory rape charges brought up against her back in 2006. She was having sex with her daughter and her daughters boyfriends ALL TOGETHER!!!! I believe her daughter was 16 at the time and was bringing her mother an once of cocain a week in the Utah rehab she was in. Her daughter was also using cocain.

Her family quickly shipped her off to California to another rehab where she spent the rest of her life. They didn't want any bad publicity due to the fact that her brother was priming himself to run for President and at that time was Gov. of Utah.

So it had nothing to do with prescription drugs or depression! She just couldn't get sober...she had the disease of addiction.

Rubicon wrote: "What really keeps the church going is family heritage, ancestor worship, peer pressure, community ties, and yes business opportunities."

Precisely. Those are the ingredients of the glue. If two or three of those things fail, the glue fails, and people leave.

I find this post to be highly offensive and cruel.

Rather than "highly offensive and cruel", there are many kind words about the Huntsman family on this thread. I served with one of the sons in Japan in '87-'89. He was a humble, genuinely nice young man. He was gentile and soft-spoken. I wasn't from Utah and had never heard of the Huntsman family. I would have never known he was from a rich or prominent family if someone hadn't told me. It does't hurt to be reminded that we all are equally human regardless of our background.

I remember that Jon Sr. granddaughter (brunet and quite attractive, with dark features) decided it was all a bunch of crap went on a tv documentary and told everyone this. She coincidentally decided to marry a never-mo.

But after all the benefits her family received from being momo royalty, for her to excommunicate her self? It would be like if Prince Harry said: "I just don't buy into this English royal business anymore, My grandmother is full of shit, I'm giving up my allowance and am going to live off my job."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2015 01:04PM by poopstone.

Always liked Jon

wish he'd take another run for president

1. There is a genetic component to depression.
2. Drinking coffee helps - the WoW increases depression.

Jon Huntsman Sr. was never a General Authority. He was a Stake President and later an Area Authority Seventy.

His wife's father was David B. Haight, an Apostle from 1976 until his death (approx 2005).

Jon Huntsman Jr. is obviously an "exmo" in Spirit. He is certainly not a Steve Benson in being vocal about things. But I have never seen/heard of him doing any TBM thing at any time since he stepped down as Governor of Utah.

Smart. Articulate. Measured. Opinionated. Wise.

He sounds like you :)

Jon Huntsman Sr is one of my heroes. His philanthropy is my definition of "work on things you can do something about."

He is a real person just like the rest of us. He has real life problems just like the rest of us. He uses his resources to help the whole world. He is a very wealthy man with a kind heart and wants to make the world better.

"Could it be that GAs (Huntsman Sr included) are not what they seem? Not really spiritual but just businessmen who are opportunists?"

Gee that would really be something new with the CULT huh?

I like the Huntsman's.. They just resonate "take us as we are". Sincere in their efforts to change humanity and sickness..giving back beyond expectations.

do not forget other credentials for Jon Sr.

Designate home teacher for the LDS prophet.
(Gave Hinckley access to the Huntsman corporate jets, which Hinckley used to intrude on the Navajo nation one Sunday afternoon among other things)

One of only two unindicted Members of the otherwise beseiged Nixon presidential cabinet.

Mission President for Washington DC mission.

Gave the world the styrene foam egg carton .........and plastic hamburger box. both of which were done away with as they were realized to be dreadful environmental negatives from a chemical processing standpoint, but not before they made Huntsman very rich.

(best of all) Inadvertently punched LDS Inc in the stomach in a media forum by stating that paying tithing is NOT being charitable, its merely paying club membership dues.

Yah, really !!! the truth HURTS -MORmONISM is a self serving religious / non golfing country club NOT a charity!!!!!!! LDS Inc PR probably choked when they saw this. Here is the link.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewcave/2014/06/23/giving-to-your-church-doesnt-count-jon-huntsman-snr-and-twitters-biz-stone-on-new-philanthropy/

You can't forget Abby Huntsman, who is exmo. I absolutely loved it when she blasted the Mormon Church over the excommunication of Kate Kelly on msnbc:

http://www.msnbc.com/the-cycle/watch/abby--open-dialogue-needed-in-mormon-church-290985539952

This was an old post - but back when I posted it, Idid not know that Huntsman daughter had anorexia. I read in a newspaper or somewhere that she had a drug problem, prescription medication or something along those lines, not really sure. That made me want to assume depression, but I really don't know what happened.

I have no doubt that some of the Huntsman family members are very decent. I dated one of the boys, he was allright.

Part of me respects Jon in that he seems kind of cool - but there's another part of me that is seriously bugged by him. While he may not be a typical Mormon, he still went on a mission, married in the Temple, and probably able to do 3/4 of the things he's done thanks to Huntsman Sr. being wealthy. That said, it seems like Huntsman Sr. worked hard to get to where he did financially.

Too bad Huntsman became a GA at one point. The "Mormon royalty" badge tends to result in less humility but who knows, mayb Huntsman Sr. is a pretty decent guy. Anyone know him?
.

Oh I see, Huntsman Sr. was an AREA Authority, technically not a GA. But since he reportedly loaned his private jet to the FP in the days of Hinckley, there's a good chance that he and his wife maybe others in the family had the good ol' 2nd annointing. So to me, it's all the same - GA, 2nd annointing, etc.

This is just conjecture but if Jon had the 2nd annointing too, that would explain why he doesn't have to follow all of the rules with his calling & election made sure! I said IF.

Maybe it's just his parents, but it would make sense to me that Jon and his wife plus Mitt R. and wife both have been annointed as former Governors and as folks who have willingly given a bundle of $ to LDS Inc.

I'd be inclined to support Jon if he had the courage to leave Mormonism and totally walk away from it. If he is a Jack, it means he either still believes on some level, or he feels he has to stay in due to his family/parents. It takes a bundle of courage to totally leave, as many here have done, with far less money and means. Jon would truly earn my respect if he officially resigned. So would Steve Young, if he left instead of being one of those guys who is most likely annointed and thus given a break on a lot of the rules due to financial status etc.

Mormons--as a religion, as a social group, community group, as business people--typically aren't very concerned about the environment (certainly not overpopulation).

That said, does anyone care that John Huntsman Sr. is one of the world's major polluters?

How did he make his fortune? I know, as an insider, that John's mother-in-law, Ruby Haight Olsen, was from a family that had a lucrative egg business in California. Olson Brothers Eggs created a special plastic egg carton, that would keep the eggs from breaking. John worked at that company, and he stole the formula, quit Olsen Brothers, and started his own company. The family was furious.

He produced cartons for McDonald's, which they used for many years. You remember those spongey, lightweight plastic-foam boxes, don't you? Do you remember seeing those blowing around at the beaches, parks, and along the roadsides, all over America? Over One Billion Sold! Like Clorox bottles, they will be dug up with our ruins, centuries from now.

The production of Huntsman plastic cartons emits highly toxic gasses into the air. I think it's illegal to produce that stuff in the US, so Huntsman moved his plant to China. Cheap labor, too. How is this guy any kind of hero?

The environmentalists were outraged at McDonald's, so to keep everyone's business, and to be good Americans, McDonald's stopped using those containers, but Huntsman had already made his millions, by then.