A Future Q12 Apostle

That sounds very good. I think it is almost inevitable more Latin American apostles are going to come through.

(Although as I said over on another thread, the lack of Polynesians in the upper echelons is puzzling)

(Although as I said over on another thread, the lack of Polynesians in the upper echelons is puzzling)

I completely agree! There are sooooo many good and faithful Polynesian saints. They have strong LDS communities. One of the most amazing men to ever live was Iohani Wolfgramm (1911-1997) from Tonga. Why he was never a GA? The Church didn’t even know what to think or do with him. This guy was performing miracles right and left, including raising the dead. From one account I heard (from someone very high up -GA) he was too special to be under anyone but God’s direction… cool. I had the honor last year of spending and evening with my husband at the home of his daughter who shared many stories… wow… talk about an amazing and humbling experience.

Yes, they make killer rugby players too!

Latin America, and the Pacific Islands are the two areas, which are grossly underrepresented. I appreciate we have few blacks in the leadership too, but the African membership of the church has not tended to be the biggest, and pre-1978, we weren’t so attractive to them, for regrettable reasons.

It would be good to see a more diverse leadership. Who knows, maybe one day, the English speaking saints will be the ones hearing the translators’ voice over, at least some of the time.

I believe significant diversity is coming. Our church’s senior leadership is generally drawn from the oldest segment of the membership population. So the 70 year old Apostles were from the church population that came into being in 1940! The church was VERY different, and has made great changes since that time period, including the rapid expansion in South America.

By the very nature of how people move into the top echelons of leadership, the leadership diversity will lag behind the membership diversity.

But think about this: In 30-40 years … that would mean that the majority of the Q15 will be something other than white, American males of European descent. It could very well be a majority of leaders from South America.

Not only is that a superficial difference in appearance, but also a potentially dramatic shift in church culture (in a very positive direction towards more overall diversity). The church might also have to come to terms with differentiating between the Gospel and local Utah culture.

Probably worth saying that Utah will always hold a special place in the LDS heart though, for obvious reasons.

Nah, this liberal/conservative dichotomy is mainly a US thing. Politics elsewhere in the world tends to run on different lines, e.g. social democracy, Christian democracy, socialism/labor etc There are of course people calling themselves Conservatives and Liberals elsewhere, but they don’t have much in common with them. American “conservatives” are neo-liberals in the international sense anyway.

I for one feel this would be a very positive shift…diversity in many ways will assist the church to move forward positively. I for one am weary of a backward view from our leadership. My husband who is 70+ years old clings to this traditional viewpoint. It is really sad. The church is hampered by this backward view. We need to evolve in the action focus…focus on becoming the Savior’s hands in the world and making a difference for the living. My husband brought home a thought from a discourse he heard from a person over the temples who said women should wear nylons in church…when did what we wear determine our righteousness…we need to get over this kind of thinking. I am reminded of the Savior’s reference to “whited sepulchers which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness,” Matthew 23: 27. I wish we would get over this childish clinging to dead traditions and move into greater openness and actual application of Christian actions. I also would like to know who is going to be in charge of the nylon inspection team.