Like everyone, I've anxiously anticipated the Dateline show, and I wasn't a bit disappointed by what they chose to include. Some may have been a little upset by the length, but a 30 minute segment in prime time was fantastic. It was very factual and unbiased----and powerful. My wife was fighting back the tears. My brother, who is still active (although barely hanging on), was 10 minutes late to his Tuesday Book Study because he stayed home to watch it. In spite of the build up I had been giving him, he was stunned. His wife, who has just recently resigned as a regular pioneer, was visibly shaken, almost crying. At the Book Study, the elder who conducts it was also a little late and had watched the program. My brother said he had an odd green color, probably from nausea, and conducted the study like he was shell-shocked. The group was very subdued and quiet. After the meeting, they conferred privately for a few minutes and the elder just couldn't believe what he had seen. However, he didn't express any disagreement over any of the material. My guess is that he started to remember all the committee meetings that he has no doubt sat in on about this issue and how he had thought he was dealing with an isolated case here and there, and it hit him like a ton of bricks: it's not an isolated case here and there. It permeates the organization. My brother had taped it, and after the meeting, a regular pioneer sister who they are good friends with, wanted to watch it. And so she went over to their house(on the QT, of course) for a veiwing session. The sister was moved to tears. So it doesn't look like the rank and file are heeding the Society's directive to stay away from this wicked apostacy.
Oh, yes, that program is going to have a powerful and far-reaching effects, and you can be sure that, right now, the only thing on the Society's collective mind is damage control. They've got their work cut out for them.
Thanks to Bill,Barbara,Silentlambs,Dateline and everyone else who brought all this out.
David