I've heard that "correlation" destroyed the fun community that once existed in Mormon wards, but what exactly is it? When did it start? How did it destroy the fun?

It's when the center of the Earth is super happy.

(Ok, I've come up with worse.....)

lol I liked it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priesthood_Correlation_Program

Everything is micro-managed now across the board. Budgets went down in most areas, resulting in events that are more "spiritual" (aka demanding) and less social/fun. Most donated money goes directly to Salt Lake, so church headquarters controls the purse strings. There is little control of funds at a local level.

Free thought and discussion diminished since information is top-down and strictly controlled.

behindcurtain:

Last week I listened to the entire podcast series at MormonStories: http://mormonstories.org/149-152-daymon-smith-on-correlation-the-corporate-lds-church-and-mammon/

Andrew Ainsworth interviews Daymon Smith Ph.D and discusses CORRELATION in Episode 2.

Listen and learn. This is why the church has been so successful at teaching a totally white washed version of the truth for 40 years. Thank you Boyd KKK Packer.

This is excellent.

Jiminy beat me to it.

Essentially, correlation is the church whitewash program that had humbler more innocent beginnings that was Harold B Lee's brainchild during Mckay's reign. It is the main reason why I did not learn about Joseph Smith translating ancient documents with a magic hat and rock, his love of teenage girls, his love of alcohol, and his last gunfight until my late thirties. Oh and yes that Brigham Young and his councilor Jedediah Grant were actually batsh*t crazy.

morgrefugee, you've nailed it. This bu11$h1+ is criminal. How can the Mormons get away with their crimes? They fu*k people up with no retribution.

It is the process of converting a church's doctrines into a few corporate policy manuals written at an 6th grade reading level.

Correlation was the most horrible thing to happen to the cult, along with making the 3 hour block schedule.

What's weird is that many stakes, especially where there is a lot of wealth, they still have a lot of activities - road shows, sports, Gold & Green balls, youth conferences, Primary activity days, etc. They still have these things because they just do it themselves.

The individual sections in the church like primary, elders quorum, etc. had total control over themselves and even decided what to teach. But when correlation started that's when the 1st Presidency assumed total control over all areas of the church, and made manuals for them. The GA's struggled over it for a while. It was brought up and discussed I think for a decade or so before it was finally passed with the "prophet" put his foot down and decided on it, then all the apostles that didn't agree changed their decision to be in line with his.

The main practical change was this is when they set it up so that everyone across the world was, theoretically, getting the same lesson on the same week.

It's when they started strongly pushing - teach only out of the manuals.

- This is not to be confused with correlation meetings (although they are probably part of the same movement.)

Correlation also represents disloyalty on the part of the leaders to their own members. Books and manuals were hauled in and destroyed, and new ones reissued with a watered down pap for lessons. Even the scriptures were hauled in and reissued with "new and better" scriptures (and now they're doing it yet again).

The secrets only got more secret after Correlation. Cards were always held tightly to the leaders' collective chest, but now you're no longer able to see the deck.