Posted by:
reinventinggrace
(
)
Date: August 26, 2012 11:46PM
Hi All,
Who is on The Secret Committee that runs LDS, Inc?
In my previous thread about "will anyone actually be sitting in the "Prophet" seat at General Conference, it brought up some speculation as to "who is actually running The Corporation."
Link:
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,615456So, let's gather our info and put together a few theories.
1) It's a 50 Billion $ outfit. Major investments, a couple million adherents to please, a crowd of geriatrics to stage manage, a PR system, etc. There have to be some brains back there somewhere, some corporate offices, suits, secretaries, tech dudes, etc.
2) Anagrammy wrote "The church has been run by a Secret Committee which used to be headed by Hinckley." Which makes sense. Hinkster took the reins in the early 80s, made sure everything was run shipshape. That's nice, but to figure out who is pulling the puppet strings, we have a question:
a) Did Hinkster run it "smart" where he appointed sharp people and let them be in charge, or
b) Did Hinkster run it like a despot, -periodically fire his top bosses for random reasons.
If it's a), those peeps are still in charge. If it's b), then it's a madhouse.
3) Folks talk about "The Presiding Bishopric" running the finances of the church, and so they're really the ones in change. But, last March they all got "released" at once and a whole new crowd put in. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presiding_Bishop_(LDS_Church). Burton had been in there since 1992, and the whole Bishopric hadn't changed en masse since 1985.
This puts a dent in the theory that the P.B. runs the show. But, maybe, the P.B. decided to release itself and fill "shadow" leadership roles in The Secret Committee.
So, does anyone know Br.s H. David Burton, Richard C. Edgely or Kieth B. McMullin personally? Are they playing golf with their sond-in-law and shopping at City Creek Mall with their wives? Or are they getting in Lincoln Town Cars at 7:30 every morning and driving to The COB? That would be a clue as to whether these three are on The Secret Committee.
4) An organization like this has to have dozens of staff that have a pretty good idea as to what's going on. Of who is asking for what reports, who calls the shots in meetings, what meetings are held to call the shots, etc. There must be a bunch of staffers that know how LDS., Inc. is dealing with the PR issues of the Romney candidacy, etc. These folks probably leak out stuff, frustrations, etc. Does anyone know them? Have you heard stories that can be pieced together?
5) We have a pretty good idea that leadership is somewhat fractured. If they were really doing a good job at being The Men Behind The Curtains we'd see a bit more of a proactive approach in the Post-Hinkster era. Instead they've gotten themselves burned pretty good on the Gay Marriage issues, they've taken a lot of heat for The Mall. They could have dodged those things better if they had someone with a good brain at their disposal, who could lead, and lead people willing to be followed.
Since leadership is fractured, there's angst, there's probably not a tight cloak of secrecy, and these guys need to vent sometimes, and they get fired and pissed sometimes. Thus, folks that live on the Wasatch Front sometimes interact with them -- at the car repair shop, on the golf course, at parties -- and probably hear their stories.
6) The actual guys at the top are living, breathing humans, living on the Wasatch Front. They drive nice cars, work for The Church, they have lives. They may or may not have low level GA titles. But, they're going to have a different air about them than the rest of the rats and hamsters following directions at The COB, They are "The Man." They run the show. A guy can't really hide that in his persona.
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So, throwing this out there for ya'all.
a) Do you know who any of these peeps are?
b) How does their system work?
c) What ways is it functional?
d) What ways is it dysfunctional?
I think we should be able to piece together clues with the information we have on this board and come up with some pretty accurate theories.
Takers?