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With all the things that are going on lately, I don’t quite know where to begin. Where have you heard that before? I had this site conceptualized several years ago and have been tinkering with it for awhile now. Recent world events and some personal events have got me sidetracked.

I am writing this to clarify a few things before we get started. You will see that there are six essays following this that should be read consecutively. Starting with essay No. 1 – The LDS Future, I need to explain (as I actually do in the essay itself) the meaning of the title. One might think that I am talking about the future of the Church – I am not. One might think that I am talking about the future of the LDS people in general – I am not. I just want to create a forum for those LDS who want to participate to talk about the future and yet not their own personal futures but how they might develop a view of future issues in general and ways to respond to them. So this concept has a limited focus, and it cannot be said to represent an attempt to portray a future vision of the LDS people, or Church, or any particular persons. Of course we cannot make this a perfect venue for such a sentiment, but we can try through the various parameters elucidated in the essays to keep things on track by concentrating on order and decorum.

I will not get into the other essays as I think they are self explanatory. Yet some things that have happened recently may have changed their aspects. For one, the Covid 19 virus puts a damper on attempts of people to meet face to face which is a main tenant of this concept. One will see that the essays emphasize this a great deal. It can be compensated for by online meetings to some extent. I am not sure how much can be accomplished in this manner. Perhaps those with more experience in the Internet world than the current author can help us with ways to connect better The consolation is that early developments of this concept do not require face to face meetings but will best be handled by “bloggernacle” style meetings anyhow. The important thing is that ideas be exchanged freely.

This points to the foundational premise of “democracy” that underlies the whole nature of our endeavor. We seek to build a democratic forum or “society” to address future concerns that might reflect an LDS perspective. It would not be geared directly to LDS institutions and practices such as doctrine, history, personalities, etc., but would emphasize everyday observations with subjects like social, economic, and political issues. The best way to start this ball rolling would be on the bloggernacle as mentioned above, at some time down the road then the opportunity to meet together in small local groups would avail itself. Not all who comment on the bloggernacle would want or be able to participate in face to face groups for various reasons. But the purpose for promoting the, shall we say, small “chapter” setting is to encourage those involved to frame their bloggernacle suggestions in the context of a group endeavor. It would provide some discipline to comments where a person would have to ask himself, “How will my, or any group, respond to and adapt this proposal?”

What will chapters do? They will start out like any small democratic bodies, getting the preliminaries taken care of. Organizational meetings typical of such would include elections of officers, practice in parliamentary procedure, studies of local issues, and social gatherings to name a few. The emphasis should be towards democratic self government through education on a learning curve of employing mock issues in parliamentary exercises. Later delving into external issues of a local character should be approached cautiously and probably delayed until credibility and competence in those areas are demonstrated.

Of course the longings and desires of LatterDaySaints would come to the fore in any consideration of the future. How chapters, or for that matter how the whole concept, might respond to the challenge of, for example, Zion will be an ongoing conversation. I drop that word because I know it will come up. We must use discretion in utilizing it. I talk about it on this site but not as Zion, the finished product, but in suggested early halting steps attempting to move forward. Most of us want to “build Zion.” Yet we must not be so arrogant to think that we alone can do it. All we can say is that we will develop democratic skills and similar skills that might contribute to it. There are no guarantees, but maybe there is some confidence for participation that dwells within us. There are different schools of thought about how Zion evolves. We will see if we find a place in the ongoing drama. This concept, at any rate, might rest on our ability to achieve self government. So one does not need to have a driving interest in Zion to participate. Saints can come here with any ideas applicable to a democratic setting. We will not tell people what to think or enforce a program. We just want to dream of a happy future and maybe Zion will accommodate. In the meantime we will hope for a recovery from Covid 19 , so we can participate in the important activity of meeting with each other.