A couple days ago /u/NotTerriblyHelpful asked “What would happen if the Church ended worthiness interviews for everyone?“? It was an interesting question to speculate on. Ultimately my answer was that it would be a huge step toward a big-tent Mormonism.
Last night I found a cool timeline prediction for future LDS prophets. The chart has Holland as Oaks’s likely successor, but /u/Stuboysrevenge pointed out that Holland’s health is such that he might not make it that long. This would lead to Uchtdorf getting the hot seat.
In 1985 Marion G. Romney was not retained in Ezra Taft Benson’s 1st Presidency. Romney was in the 1st Presidency when Official Declaration 2, which gave black folks access to the priesthood. Benson was notoriously racist and some have speculated his removal was a political move. The Uchtdorf has long been thought of as the most liberal of the Q15; some have speculated that’s why he was booted from the 1st presidency for political reasons, as Romney may have been. The difference here is that we may actually see a Uchtdorf era.
I don’t think we quite know how the politics work between and among the 1st Presidency and the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. However, I have reason to believe that whatever the president says, goes. The Q12 would essentially be yes-men. That being said, what would happen when you don’t have to be a yes-man anymore? Nelson’s era has been noteworthy for him implementing things that he’s believed since the 90’s, but hasn’t been able to really do anything about because of Hinckley and Monson.
Ultimately I don’t think the LDS church will be willing to do things like give women the priesthood or solemnize LGBT marriages for several more generations, if ever. These are going to become bigger and bigger game changers for Millennials and Generation Z. I also think the LDS church will not take other necessary steps to retain future generations. I think ultimately it’ll be a case of “too little, too late”. However, its fun to speculate on what would happen if the LDS church got a liberal president. I have decided to allow myself to speculate:
- No more worthiness interviews. They are causing a 2nd class membership crisis that Millennials and Generation Z don’t care for. Additionally, the LDS church has only ever gotten major flack for this (See: Sam Young)
- Re-emphasis on the word “Mormon” – its common sense branding
- More charity work
- More transparency
- Greater inclusion of women
What sort of things would you expect from an Uchtdorf presidency?