Comments on: We need not apolo……ahh, never mind.

By: Steve Evans

Steve Evans — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 20:15:18 +0000

John, I fully agree with BTD Greg’s analysis; I find it doubtful that Pres. Packer had more controversial periods of mormon history in mind.

By: john f.

john f. — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 19:55:36 +0000

Excellent point, BTD Greg (#12). That is exactly how I interpreted it at the time he stated it: â€œwe donâ€™t need to apologize for believing that our Church was founded by a young man in New York who was visited by God the Father, Jesus Christ, and angels,â€ as you put it. It wasn't until reading the bloggernacle later on that it even occured to me that many had chosen to interpret it as â€œwe donâ€™t have to apologize for the Moutain Meadows Massacreâ€¦those Missourians had it coming to them.â€ But that is not surprising. After all, Elder Packer is not a person that some in the bloggernacle are willing to give the benefit of the doubt or a charitable reading.

By: mw*

mw* — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 18:41:18 +0000

So Elder Packer made those statemetns in conference, then himself made minor edits to make his ideas ready for publication? Would this infer he retracted the original “no need to apologize” statement?

By: Steve M.

Steve M. — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 16:36:38 +0000

â€œThe text posted online has been reviewed by the speakers after the conference. They sometimes contain minor edits to make them ready for publication.â€

Interesting.

By: Connor Boyack

Connor Boyack — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 16:25:52 +0000

Larry Richman, LDS.org product manager, has responded to my question as follows: "The text posted online has been reviewed by the speakers after the conference. They sometimes contain minor edits to make them ready for publication."

By: ECS

ECS — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 14:06:16 +0000

Well, I guess this is just another example of the benefit of not paying close attention to what the GAs say in GC.

By: Eliza Roxcy

Eliza Roxcy — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 13:58:25 +0000

This reminds me of when I received my patriarchal blessing. The Patriarch said, “I bless you that you will not use your talents…” The transcription omitted the word “not,” a change I was pleased to find when it was delivered in the mail.

By: Ronan

Ronan — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 13:55:23 +0000

That’s how I understood it too, Greg.

By: BTD Greg

BTD Greg — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 13:44:08 +0000

I think it’s interesting that the one speaker who tends to diverge the most from his prepared remarks is Pres. Monson–and yet, he’s also the one speaker whose divergences make the least difference. Basically, President Monson seems to write out his own talks, then paraphrases them for 30 minutes.

I know some in the bloggernacle were agast, I have to wonder whether it even occurred to Elder Packer that his words would be interpreted the way they were. I suspect (pretending to be a mind reader) that what he had was more along the lines of “we don’t need to apologize for believing that our Church was founded by a young man in New York who was visited by God the Father, Jesus Christ, and angels,” not “we don’t have to apologize for the Moutain Meadows Massacre…those Missourians had it coming to them.”

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 11:52:57 +0000

I’ve noticed that the preambulatory jokes, if any, are excised by the time the talks appear in the Ensign. Probably just as well, but certainly not “as delivered.”