Open Letter to President Hinckley

[_Trinity]

Dear President Hinckley,

I can see you're a goodly man. You've spent your life in service for your fellow man. You appear to be kind and wise about a good many things. I can imagine you have sorrowed at the changes you've seen in the world during your lifetime. It is likely you cannot understand a lot of these changes, and you fear for the loss of consistencies you've come to rely on and feel is true.

I am sure you are tired. 97 is a lot of years to live. I have a request. Is it possible for you to refrain from saying goodbye, in any of its forms during general conference? You are setting the people on edge, and they have a tendency to mourn for the loss of you at the end of general conference time, and they have had such mourning periods for the past five years. Ever since you started vocalizing goodbye in your conference talks.

I sure think it is weird. I bet you also must feel it is weird to be mourned over so many times by so many people since it is quite obvious you are still alive. Your actual death is going to be anticlimactic at this point. Do you see that?

Thanks ever so much.

Trinity

[_Inconceivable]

..And on the way out, if you would testify and admit that you are a "prophet, seer and revelator" rather than "president". Many in the quorems have made that assumption but I haven't heard you actually say it. That would put me on edge.

While you are at it, please pin down the appelation, "special witness". Does it really mean that Jesus has appeared to you and the brethren and washed your feet?

Thanking you in advance,

Inconceivable

[_Lucretia MacEvil]

The last thing I heard you say yesterday was something like, "men, honor your wives because they are your most precious possessions. Women, encourage your husbands because they need all the encouragement they can get." Congregation goes tee hee hee. I'm sure you didn't mean that literally or that you wish to encourage patriarchal abuse, but it could be taken as permission by those who might tend to be abusive, or those wives who might be susceptible to Stockholm Syndrome. I'm sure the Spirit will help you with rewording for next time. Thank you.

[_ajax18]

The last thing I heard you say yesterday was something like, "men, honor your wives because they are your most precious possessions. Women, encourage your husbands because they need all the encouragement they can get." Congregation goes tee hee hee. I'm sure you didn't mean that literally or that you wish to encourage patriarchal abuse, but it could be taken as permission by those who might tend to be abusive, or those wives who might be susceptible to Stockholm Syndrome. I'm sure the Spirit will help you with rewording for next time. Thank you.

How is what President Hinckley said encouraging patriarchal abuse? It seems like he always favors the women in his talks, and this appears to be no exception.

[_Lucretia MacEvil]

The last thing I heard you say yesterday was something like, "men, honor your wives because they are your most precious possessions. Women, encourage your husbands because they need all the encouragement they can get." Congregation goes tee hee hee. I'm sure you didn't mean that literally or that you wish to encourage patriarchal abuse, but it could be taken as permission by those who might tend to be abusive, or those wives who might be susceptible to Stockholm Syndrome. I'm sure the Spirit will help you with rewording for next time. Thank you.

How is what President Hinckley said encouraging patriarchal abuse? It seems like he always favors the women in his talks, and this appears to be no exception.

This is why it is important to pay attention to words. I didn't say he encouraged abuse. I said that those who tend to be abusive (and there are always a few) might take his words as permission to treat their "possessions" badly and for their wives to accept and even encourage them in it.

Edit: Furthermore, calling women "possessions" isn't favoring them, and making lame jokes about the mens' limitations is only throwing them a bone, and just because they don't know any better than to laugh doesn't make it right.

[_truth dancer]

"men, honor your wives because they are your most precious possessions. Women, encourage your husbands because they need all the encouragement they can get."

(sigh)

Men, women are possessions... your most precious possessions but possessions none the less! :-(



~dancer~

[_Jason Bourne]

"men, honor your wives because they are your most precious possessions. Women, encourage your husbands because they need all the encouragement they can get."

(sigh)

Men, women are possessions... your most precious possessions but possessions none the less! :-(



~dancer~

What do you call YOUR husband when you refer to him. MY husband, or MY wife. That does not entail ownership per say nor did Pres. Hinckley meant ownership when he said it.

[_truth dancer]

I've never heard someone refer to a "possession" when it meant something other than something someone owns.

~dancer~

[_ajax18]

The last thing I heard you say yesterday was something like, "men, honor your wives because they are your most precious possessions. Women, encourage your husbands because they need all the encouragement they can get." Congregation goes tee hee hee. I'm sure you didn't mean that literally or that you wish to encourage patriarchal abuse, but it could be taken as permission by those who might tend to be abusive, or those wives who might be susceptible to Stockholm Syndrome. I'm sure the Spirit will help you with rewording for next time. Thank you.

How is what President Hinckley said encouraging patriarchal abuse? It seems like he always favors the women in his talks, and this appears to be no exception.

This is why it is important to pay attention to words. I didn't say he encouraged abuse. I said that those who tend to be abusive (and there are always a few) might take his words as permission to treat their "possessions" badly and for their wives to accept and even encourage them in it.

Edit: Furthermore, calling women "possessions" isn't favoring them, and making lame jokes about the mens' limitations is only throwing them a bone, and just because they don't know any better than to laugh doesn't make it right.

Well that is downright amazing. Somehow President Hinckely managed to offend me, a strong advocate of mens rights, and you a strong advocate of womens rights in the same sentence. Usually you can at least please one side.

My point to President Hinckley would be that public relations seem very important but in your effort to please the masses you seem to have lost the confidence of those who believed in you from the beginning. I don't see much truth to your public words that I get to hear. Many of them sound like political statements to me, made with other purposes in mind than simply declaring the truth.

[_harmony]

"Possession"? Possession? Have we learned nothing in the last 50 years? Are women still possessions?

And this man is the prophet today? Was he speaking as a prophet or as a man, when he said that?