Question
Gramps,
At our stake conference last Sunday, President Packer and Elder Perry were both sustained. Was this proper or a mistake on the part of our stake presidency?
Margaret
Answer
Dear Margaret,
Perhaps some interesting philosophical arguments could be made about whether one is ever truly released from being an apostle. We don’t know enough about the Spirit World to hazard a guess on those matters. It is interesting to note that the rest of us are not formally released from our callings when we die either. Though one must wonder if there is much need for “Primary Teachers” in the Spirit World.
All that aside, my best guess is simply this:
In the past, the list they read for sustaining of officers is generated by the MLS software in each ward. That system was supposed to go to a web-based platform recently. The list comes from the similar databases that are used for LDS Tools, which has all the ward members’ info in it. It is probably the case that those databases won’t be updated until after General Conference when the new apostles are called. When your presidency printed the document out of the system, they probably didn’t feel it proper to alter the list and read it as it was.
I could be wrong. One thing we can be sure about-Pres. Packer and Elder Perry are and will be sorely missed.
Gramps
