Sunday Musings Connor Boyack

I love the nuance Conner brings to the discussion. Mormonism isn’t neat and clean like most born into it usually believe, but rather it is messy and gut-wrenching and if we dig deep, it will challenge our comfortable paradigms. This is highly recommended for the true believers, the Ex-Mo’s and anyone in between so we can understand truth better for anything “more than” and anything “less than” what is true comes not from a good source.

Th title of my review isnt th real or important question. Unfortunately it is to th shallow-faithed, judgmental, PROPHET-WORSHIPPING CULTure at th LOCAL levels of th Wards & Stakes of Th Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints who would-if-they-could (& too often do) CENSOR & SILENCE those of us like Connor who wisely place our faith & personal relationship wth God B4 & ABOVE our faith in mortal men. To th prophet-worshippers of the Church, th answer 2 th question posed in my title 2 my review isnt even a question—Brother Boyack is “obviously reprobate” bcuz of his inclination 2 place his faith in GOD FIRST above his faith in occasionally fallible mortal Prophets & Apostles (that th Brethren r not perfect & hve made occasional mistakes in judgement regarding SECULAR things is A HISTORICAL DOCUMENTED FACT humbly admitted by th Brethren themselves). Th many prophet-worshippers at th local levels of th Church feel no need 2 “ASK OF GOD”(James 1:5) / “ASK GOD, THE ETERNAL FATHER, IN THE NAME OF CHRIST”(Moroni 10:4) & they look down on those of us who do. My bishop said to me in an interview during th COVID Pandemic mandates: “I DON’T NEED 2 PRAY ABOUT IT, RANDALL. TH PROPHET TELLS ME WHAT 2 DO!” (that’s an exact quote). This was his official counsel 2 me & its a thing widely taught by too many errant members from th LOCAL pulpits at th Ward & Stake level (its not a doctrine taught by th Brethren). This is Prophet worship & its a very real cultish thing. From th point of view of that portion of th Church within th Wards & Stakes who follow & promulgate that false doctrine, nixing prayer in favor of blindly following th Brethren in anything & everything they say, they consider those of us who wisely depend 1st & 4most upon th Lord & personal revelation 4 direction & guidance regarding secular matters, asking honest questions & rightly & responsibly acknowledging th occasional mistakes of th Lord’s ordained Prophets & Apostles which they hve at times made in th SECULAR domain — the Prophet-worshippers in th Church consider our honest questioning of anything th Brethren publicly say regarding secular matters, 2 b “unfaithful”, “against the Brethren”, “out of the way”, “reprobate”, “apostate”, “unworthy”. To b clear, I’ve repeatedly specified that th Brethren’s rare mistakes hve been made in th SECULAR realm. This is th domain in which th Brethren can & HAVE made, & ADMITTED TO, occasional mistakes in judgement & subsequently in their public statements & recommendations made 2 th membership of th Church. In matters DOCTRINAL which pertain 2 Salvation & Eternal Life & th fulfillment of th PRIMARY mission of th Church, th Prophet & Apostles r INFALLIBLE & will not err. Im not speaking of their dispensing of DOCTRINE, but of th Brethren’s RECOMMENDATIONS regarding SECULAR things. 2 b more specific, this includes their decisions, suggestions, & recommendations regarding business, banking, & finance, such as the recommendation 2 th saints that they invest their life savings in2 th bank organized by th Prophet Joseph, which bank soon failed, causing th saints who had dutifully “followed th Brethren” 2 lose their life savings or whatever they had deposited…
Another mistake was th First Presidency’s acceptance & subsequent public announcement in th Church News in 1985 regarding th Church’s procurement of an “authentic” old historical document purported 2 b Church history: th Mark Hofmann “Salamander Letter”. A year later, after it came 2 light that Hofmann had murdered 2 innocent people who had threatened 2 expose his forgeries & he subsequently confessed that th Salamander Letter (for which he had been paid $40,000) was an utter fabrication designed, authored, concocted by him, then-Counselor in th 1st Presidency, Gordon B. Hinckley, was assigned th unsavory duty of doing damage control 4 their mistake. Here is a portion of th Church’s public statement acknowledging that th First Presidency had been deceived…

"I accepted him [Mark Hofmann] 2 come into my office on a basis of trust … I frankly admit 2 being duped—Hofmann tricked us. We [The 1st Presidency] WERE UNABLE TO DISCERN TH EVIL INTENTIONS OF A MAN LIKE HOFMANN. He also tricked experts from New York 2 Utah, however. I am not ashamed 2 admit that we were victimized. It is not th first time th Church has found itself in such a position. Joseph Smith was victimized again & again. Th Savior was victimized. I am sorry 2 say that SOMETIMES IT HAPPENS."

It is instructive to note that th Lord ALLOWS His ordained servants 2 make mistakes in matters SECULAR which will hve no bearing on our Salvation & Eternal Life so long as we dont fall away & remain faithful 2 our sacred Covenants made in th Lord’s restored Church, enduring 2 th end.

“WE [Th 1st Presidency] WERE UNABLE 2 DISCERN TH EVIL INTENTIONS OF A MAN LIKE HOFMANN…SOMETIMES IT HAPPENS.”
Not my words. It is a direct quote. It is th Truth frankly admitted by th Prophet & his Councilors.
As u let those words (particularly th last 3) sink in, here is another more recent mistake made by th Brethren of th 1st Presidency…The Brethren’s public recommendation that we all accept into our bodies (including our children’s) th government-mandated/Leftist-created & pushed gene-altering mRNA injection falsely touted 2 b a “safe & effective” “vaccine”. I just lost a dear friend & brother in Christ 2 complications frm his having accepted th gene-altering mRNA injection bcuz th Prophet had recommended it. He told me a few months before his death that he’d had conflicting feelings about taking th COVID injection even tho Pres Nelson had recommended it. Ron said he’d been feeling the Holy Ghost distinctly prompting him NOT to accept it, but like many who had been errantly taught 2 blindly follow th Prophet in every utterance, he put Prophet b4 God and the consequence followed. Ron said he learned th hard way that Prophets can make mistakes & he would NOT have taken th injection had he known that.

I have really enjoyed listening to Connors perspectives. While I don't know where I stand with some of the issues he brings up, it's nice to have a discussion instead of ignoring these topics.