The Nelsonian reforms part 1
I was reading comments on the Deseret News article on the ending of 4 of the 7 pageants, one commentator attacked President Nelson as a man with unmeet goals that he is no implementing because he is now in charge.
I think this is far too simplistic an understanding of Nelsonian reforms.
To begin with, they are often as not continuations of previous reforms, not stark contrasts to past courses of action.
The end of the BSA relationship was clearly long in the works. As early as 2015 Church spokespeople indicated the Church had long been working on a way to have one youth program worldwide. It was in spring 2017 that the Church announced it was ending BSA membership for youth 14-18. Thus the steps were already in place to reach the the total split by 2020 before President Monson died.
If anything the biggest change is that President Nelson has chosen to announce the Lions share of his changes in general conference, while previous changes were often announced at other times.
The biggest change in the last decades in some ways was the missionary age change of fall 2012. That was even announced in general conference. Other changes largely flow from that.
The increased role of the mission president's companion (wife) starting with spring 2013 reforms, and emphasized again in 2018 with the change from Mission Presidents Training to Mission leaders training. However that was mainly a name change since both involved both the mission president and companion. There may be harder to detect changes in instructional thrust.
One change I was thinking was Nelsonian, I just figured out happened under President Monson. This was the summer 2017 changes in policies related to Church employees. The three big changes were male employees no longer always have to wear white shirts, just solid color ones. Female employees can wear pansuits and not just skirts/dresses, and creating maternity and other familial leave policies.
There were major changes in the Church handbook of instruction in 2010. Among them, making it easier for fathers to participate in blessings even when their worthiness was not rock solid, and the end of the ward activities committee.
The current changes in curriculum that are so central to going from 3-hour to 2-hour church meetings also predate in many ways President Nelson becoming president of the Church. I would have to have a much clearer sense of who was leading the Curriculum committe when.
From 2007 to 2015 Nelson was head of the executive commitee of the Church Educational System Board of Trustees. After he became president of the Quorum of the 12 he did not as far as I can tell have specific committee leadership assignments.
I think some of the anti-Nelson reactions overemphasize the importance of who the President of the Church is in Church leadership decsisions.
That said, I will try to chronicle reforms that got us to where we are now. The current institute manuals were released in 2015 and represented a major shift in core focus. It was about that time that the come follow me program was initiated for youth Sunday school, and young men and young women. It was a little later that teacher councils were begun.
The Church Historians Press was formed in 2008 and the Joseph Smith Papers Program began earlier than that. The gospel topics essays were began publishing in late 2013 if I have my timeline correct.\
Three big reforms may in some minds be linked to President Nelson, and he may well have been a key figure in them happening, but they pre-date his becoming Church president. First, the move to a switch between priesthood meeting in April and general women's meeting in October was announced last October or November. Second, the new policies on youth participation in the temple and moving to a priesthood and temple preview meeting for all 11-year-old youth were announced last year. Third, the new Melchizedic Preisthood/Relief Society schedule was announced last year. While that schedule is largely gone in the 2019 schedule, the strong emphasis on focusing on the most recent general conference talks is magnified even more.
I will wait until my next post to try and cover every change I can detect under President Nelson.
I think this is far too simplistic an understanding of Nelsonian reforms.
To begin with, they are often as not continuations of previous reforms, not stark contrasts to past courses of action.
The end of the BSA relationship was clearly long in the works. As early as 2015 Church spokespeople indicated the Church had long been working on a way to have one youth program worldwide. It was in spring 2017 that the Church announced it was ending BSA membership for youth 14-18. Thus the steps were already in place to reach the the total split by 2020 before President Monson died.
If anything the biggest change is that President Nelson has chosen to announce the Lions share of his changes in general conference, while previous changes were often announced at other times.
The biggest change in the last decades in some ways was the missionary age change of fall 2012. That was even announced in general conference. Other changes largely flow from that.
The increased role of the mission president's companion (wife) starting with spring 2013 reforms, and emphasized again in 2018 with the change from Mission Presidents Training to Mission leaders training. However that was mainly a name change since both involved both the mission president and companion. There may be harder to detect changes in instructional thrust.
One change I was thinking was Nelsonian, I just figured out happened under President Monson. This was the summer 2017 changes in policies related to Church employees. The three big changes were male employees no longer always have to wear white shirts, just solid color ones. Female employees can wear pansuits and not just skirts/dresses, and creating maternity and other familial leave policies.
There were major changes in the Church handbook of instruction in 2010. Among them, making it easier for fathers to participate in blessings even when their worthiness was not rock solid, and the end of the ward activities committee.
The current changes in curriculum that are so central to going from 3-hour to 2-hour church meetings also predate in many ways President Nelson becoming president of the Church. I would have to have a much clearer sense of who was leading the Curriculum committe when.
From 2007 to 2015 Nelson was head of the executive commitee of the Church Educational System Board of Trustees. After he became president of the Quorum of the 12 he did not as far as I can tell have specific committee leadership assignments.
I think some of the anti-Nelson reactions overemphasize the importance of who the President of the Church is in Church leadership decsisions.
That said, I will try to chronicle reforms that got us to where we are now. The current institute manuals were released in 2015 and represented a major shift in core focus. It was about that time that the come follow me program was initiated for youth Sunday school, and young men and young women. It was a little later that teacher councils were begun.
The Church Historians Press was formed in 2008 and the Joseph Smith Papers Program began earlier than that. The gospel topics essays were began publishing in late 2013 if I have my timeline correct.\
Three big reforms may in some minds be linked to President Nelson, and he may well have been a key figure in them happening, but they pre-date his becoming Church president. First, the move to a switch between priesthood meeting in April and general women's meeting in October was announced last October or November. Second, the new policies on youth participation in the temple and moving to a priesthood and temple preview meeting for all 11-year-old youth were announced last year. Third, the new Melchizedic Preisthood/Relief Society schedule was announced last year. While that schedule is largely gone in the 2019 schedule, the strong emphasis on focusing on the most recent general conference talks is magnified even more.
I will wait until my next post to try and cover every change I can detect under President Nelson.
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