Elder Malcolm S. Jeppsen, president of the Utah South Area, addresses the area priesthood leadership meeting. Elders Henry B. Eyring and Joseph B. Wirthlin are also in attendance. According to an attendee, Elder Jeppsen defines "a spectrum" of church members including "an increasing number . . . who still cling to their membership" but "are pursuing paths to apostasy." In the center are "the mainstream of the Saints, whose who follow the guidance of the latter-day prophets." To the right are four groups: "the priestcrafters who sell their services of gospel understanding for money, the latter-day gnostics who believe that they are endowed with special knowledge of the mysteries and that the veil has been rent for them, the doomsayers who forecast future events, and the cultists who practice polygamy or other doctrines that are not taught by the Church." To the left are "the feminists: those who advocate a mother in heaven and women holding the priesthood, the intellectuals who advocate a naturalistic explanation for the Book of Mormon and other revelations, and the dissenters: those who challenge the interpretation of the leadership of the Church." According to this report, Elder Jeppsen also characterizes Satan as "the great multiplier of perspectives in this earth" while "Jesus Christ is the great consolidator of all truth. . . He is asking us that we follow the brethren unquestionably [sic]." Also in the same priesthood meeting, one speaker (not identified) gives a list of fifteen "false teachings," including specific dates for the Second Coming, "praying to a Mother in Heaven," explicit preparations for attacks by Russians and others, and teaching where and when the ten tribes will return.
[Anderson, Lavina Fielding, "The LDS Intellectual Community and Church Leadership: A Contemporary Chronology," Dialogue, Vol.26, No.1]
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