Michael Otterson
Head of Public Affairs, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Michael Otterson

Otterson heads the worldwide public affairs functions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was a former journalist and editor for newspapers.

 ALL POSTS

Thanks to Commenters

Since we're at the end of the first week of this new religion blog, I want to take a moment to sincerely thank everyone who has contributed to this thread.

I wish it were possible to respond to everything that's been written. However, I think the idea of the Washington Post and Newsweek organizers is to hear from as many people as possible. Also, it would require a full-time commitment to respond to the dozens of issues that have been raised - even if we restricted comment to those posts that actually address the original question!

I've personally read every response in this thread at least twice, and some several times. I hope I've done that thoughtfully and tried as far as possible to get inside the head of the person writing. It's impossible to understand everything that shapes a person's opinion without undergoing similar experiences, but we all learn and broaden our perspective when we try. I think this is what the original question was trying to get at.

It does seem appropriate to respond at this early stage to one comment that's come up a couple of times about my own full-time role. Of course, I'm the only contributor to this thread and future ones who can't remain anonymous. I've been quite transparent about the fact that I'm an official spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Newsweek-Washington Post knew that, of course, when they extended the invitation. Nevertheless, the experiences and responses I give are my own.

My experiences may not be the same as yours, and I make no judgment of those who are angry because theirs have been different. I wish it were otherwise. However, I do not know your circumstances and can only base my comments on my own 40 years of activity in the Church and involvement with the lives of its people all over the world. For me, the four decades since my conversion have been a deeply enriching experience that has brought me to an understanding of Jesus Christ, his gospel and Atonement, and blessed the lives of my family immeasurably.

Oh, and by the way, some of the most senior spokespersons in the Church today are women - including Kim Farah at Church headquarters in Salt Lake City (frequently quoted in US newspapers), Elena Nechiporova in Moscow (who oversees all of Eastern Europe public affairs), Gabriele Sirtl in Frankfurt (public affairs director for Europe Central Area) and Leni Pilobello in the Philippines.


By Michael Otterson  |  November 22, 2006; 9:01 PM ET Save & Share:  Send E-mail   Facebook   Twitter   Digg   Yahoo Buzz   Del.icio.us   StumbleUpon   Technorati  
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Thanks, Bro. O! I can't tell you what joy it brings me to see church officials putting new media to use in getting out positive messages like these. And it's great to hear that the church is utilizing the talents of so many fine sisters in getting the word out. That ought to do wonders in combating the false impression that Mormon women are discouraged from working out of the home and aren't full participants in leadership! That's smart thinking and just feels right too.

Posted by: Elder Green | January 26, 2007 5:36 AM
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Thanks, Aaron.

For curriculum related issues, I'll send feedback to the address you noted.

I would still like to see a forum where church-wide ministerial and policy issues can be discussed.

For example, I would like to understand the general authorities' reasoning behind the policy that requires civilly married couples to wait to be sealed in the temple. This creates a situation where a couple with a part-member family must decide between a wedding that includes the whole family and one performed in the temple. Sometimes, this can be divisive and work against the church's interests.

Posted by: Paul | December 10, 2006 9:28 PM
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Paul,

The following statement has been appearing in the recently published curriculum items from the Church. I've contacted them before and my comments have been read and responded to:

Your comments and suggestions about this book would be appreciated. Please submit them to Curriculum Development, 50 East North Temple Street, Room 2420, Salt Lake City, UT 84150-3220 USA. E-mail: cur-development@ldschurch.org

Please list your name, address, ward, and stake. Be sure to give the title of the book. Then offer your comments and suggestions about the book’s strengths and areas of potential improvement.

On a related note, a lot of negative comments I've seen from bloggers both inside and outside the Church have been related to administrative rather than ministerial issues of the Church. I have seen opinions / issues with curriculum materials, missionary training materials, building plans, etc.

My understanding is that, although the administration of the Church is overseen by the General Authorities, much of this work (e.g., preparing primary manuals) is done by rank-and-file members of the Church--people I anecdotally heard that President Hinckley refered to as those "left to run the shop" so that the Twelve can carry the gospel to the world and build up the Church. I believe they, like I, know the work is imperfect, and that we are constantly working to improve the ways we present the gospel message. To that end, I agree that providing feedback mechanisms to Church Headquarters (similar to the church curriculum email, and the feedback link on lds.org) may be helpful in this process

Posted by: Aaron | December 9, 2006 7:05 PM
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Michael, I think it's great to see the LDS church begin to engage online in a public forum. It's a good step in a positive direction.

I wonder if there is any way for this kind of interactive online communication to happen with actual church authorities. (No offense intended, you're great :)

There are many people in and out of the church that would appreciate hearing from church authorities and watching them respond to questions and concerns bi-directionally. Like you, I believe this could be done without rancor even though some of your initial posts were responded to in a less respectful manner.

I am a lifelong member whose family roots go back to Nauvoo. Like most members, I have had good experiences with my local leaders and enjoy immediate access to them to provide feedback and share concerns. I wish there were a way to provide feedback to the governing bodies of the church. Many of my questions and concerns are with the global administration and operation of the church. It's something my local leaders are simply not able to address. Nor do they have effective feedback channels themselves.

Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. When I was first called to teach primary, I was assigned a lesson on Stephen the Martyr. The attention activity in the primary lesson manual (see http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll?f=id$id=tchg-pix.nfo%3Ar%3A1892e$cid=tchg-pix.nfo$t=document-frame.htm$an=JD_34604039$3.0#JD_34604039) suggested that the 8-year-old children be asked whether they would be willing to be martyrs. I felt this was a pretty extreme question to ask young children and that it was in poor taste given recent events with global terrorism. I chose not to include this activity in my lesson but I'm sure there are some across the globe who made a different choice.

I felt that if the correlation committee could hear this feedback, they might make positive adjustments to the correlated materials. The problem is that I have no channel to give them this feedback.

The Internet provides this kind of opportunity. It could be a terrific tool to help the governing bodies of the church feel closer to the general membership and vice-versa.

Since you are clearly working closely with the arm of the church managing it public image, would you mind passing my feedback along?

Posted by: Paul | December 9, 2006 2:18 PM
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So, if Jesus were alive today, would he hire professional spokespeople and PR firms?

Posted by: Ryan | December 6, 2006 7:43 PM
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Good question, Capt Jack. I'm interested in hearing this as well.

Posted by: Mark G. | December 6, 2006 2:24 PM
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Bro Oterson, since you've read all the responses, how about answering at least one of them--to wit, how does your post square with the church's treatment of intellectuals?

Posted by: Capt Jack | November 23, 2006 12:52 PM
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Thanks Michael. I look forward to reading more from you on this site. How about you? Are you really prepared to post on a blog? yikes. you better get some of that stripling warrior armor ready, the wild wild web can be fierce.

Best,

Mayan Elephant

Posted by: Mayan Elephant | November 23, 2006 12:44 PM
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