We just concluded
a truly historic general conference of the Church. The newly sustained
president, Russell M. Nelson, announced some major game-changers meant to
improve the lives and lift the souls of millions of members as the Lord hastens
His work. President Nelson and other leaders quietly ignored the clamor of
obsessed and misled activists promoted by the Tribune, As God’s prophet, President Nelson effectively (though
figuratively) kicked Satan hard where it hurts. The devil has been responding
by creating opposition to the church through both his spirit angels (evil
spirits) and through his mortal followers (those anti-Mormon activists obsessed
with the church, and disloyal, false members). The Salt Lake Tribune continues to be one of their main outlets to
voice their displeasure. I think it worth pointing out, that in this latest
instance, the Tribune has also missed
the point over and over in their attempt to cover conference.
Let me draw
a comparison. In 1899, Bishop Orson F. Whitney’s eldest son, Race Whitney, was
a talented young man who had followed in his father’s footsteps, exhibiting
abundant literary talent. Recognizing his gifts, Bishop Whitney used his
connections to get Race a job working as a reporter for the Salt Lake Herald. Bishop Whitney also
used his personal friendship with the recently (6 mo.) sustained church
president, Lorenzo Snow, to get Race included as a member of the large traveling
party of church leaders and press going to St. George in mid-May for stake
conference.
Along with Race, others
accompanying the group were LeRoi C. Snow (Pres. Snow’s son who acted as a
private secretary/assistant to his father and Deseret News reporter), Arthur Winter (official church
stenographer/sermon reporter), and one or two more. Race’s job was to cover discourse
content and major events that would be of interest to readers. He was fairly
green at the time and so the experience was challenging, especially when Pres.
Snow called on him, with no notice, to speak in one of the meetings during
their journey.
On May 17th,
President Snow was speaking to the assembled saints in the St. George
Tabernacle when he received a manifestation, revealing to him that the solution
to the Church’s severe debt problems of the time, was for all members to paying
a full and honest tithing. This Pres. Snow briefly stated. The next day, May
18, during his address, Pres. Snow made the formal historic announcement of what
the Lord had revealed to him the previous day, that all members should step up
and pay their tithing. Then he went on and talked about a few other subjects, something
about the railroad, and also plural marriage, mentioning that no one had
authorization to perform such marriages in the church.
Race, being
the new and inexperienced reporter that he was, completely missed the tithing
revelation pronouncement, and sent the Herald
a piece about Pres. Snow denying the performance of new plural marriages. Race
had just witnessed the most important announcement that President Snow would
make as the prophet of the Lord in his three-year ministry, and Race missed it,
going with something he thought more sensational instead.
The reason
this story of Race’s incompetence, resulting from inexperience, is so relevant
right now is that the supposedly experienced reporters for the Tribune have made the same errors in
their coverage of general conference. But they don’t have Race’s excuse for
their incompetence.
In their
headlines about the two new apostles chosen, the Tribune highlights them being “minorities” chosen by Nelson, and
misses the point that they are now apostles and special witnesses, called of
God through revelation to His prophet. National origin is of secondary and
passing importance—but not if your bias is obsessed with racial diversity and
political correctness.
Elder Cook
gave a superb discourse on priesthood keys enabling temple ordinances for
eternity, and how members must keep the commandments to be worthy of those
blessings. But the Tribune missed the
point again. They took one or two sentences from his powerful message to
attempt to tie them to the so-called “me too” movement. Elder Cook condemned
both “non-consensual immorality” (sexual assault of anyone) and also “consensual
immorality” (fornication, adultery, homosexuality). The Tribune reporters missed the point and latched onto the one item instead
of the main message. Keep in mind that I am going strictly off headlines here; since
I don’t care to pay the Tribune a
penny for biased and fake news about Mormonism and they only give you 10 free
stories to read a month.
Other items
they pointed out were the adjustments in ward priesthood quorums, the
sustaining of the new First Presidency, and revisions in home and visiting
teaching—all big news it is true, but still missing some points and trying to
put a spin on things. The Tribune
seems to have missed President Nelson’s most important message to members: that
all must become better at getting personal revelation for themselves, to know
what is true, as the world gets worse, or they may fall away and be overcome. “If
we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad voices and the
philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive revelation,” he
said. The Tribune’s failure is typical
incompetence, but is also understandable in that some, or at least one, of the
reporters writing these stories are themselves among the myriad voices
promoting the philosophies of men that attack truth. Further, said the prophet:
“In coming days it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the
guiding, directing, comforting, constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” By their
fruits, or the content of their fake news stories, shall you know them; those
who are not surviving spiritually.
So these reporters miss the point
of the most important messages, the same as Race Whitney did. For an end to the
story, Race himself eventually did not survive spiritually, dying in his
mid-twenties of alcoholism, inactive in the church. I wonder which, in God’s
judgment, would be accounted the worse fate after death: to die young of
alcoholism or to be paidemployed to use your time and considerable public influence
writing negative and false stories for years about The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. I think I would much rather die and go into the spirit
world because of a word of wisdom weakness than to be held accountable before
the judgment bar for taking part in large-scale and consistent efforts to persuade
church members to accept the philosophies of men/women.
During
their poor coverage of conference, the Tribune
also ran some opinion pieces submitted by rank apostates, seeking to use the
extra prominence of all things Mormon generated by conference, to criticize the
Church. Salt Lake Tribune Tripe
continues.
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