The Setting in Order and Filling the AUB Void

Plato philosophized that there is no such thing as nothing because nothing cannot rightly be said to exist.  Galileo in the 17^th century put Plato’s theory into more scientific terms when he concluded that nature abhors a vacuum.  He rightly determined that the removal of a particular force in nature did not simply mean there was nothing to fill the void…at least not for long.  Something inevitably had to replace the removed force.  A very simplistic example of this is to imagine running a push broom through a shallow puddle of water on a concrete slab on a rainy day.  At first glance it may look like the puddle has been swept away but wait a few seconds and the area will fill back in to the empty space left behind by the broom.  The broom essentially created a vacuum. 

The principle of nature abhorring a vacuum holds true when it comes to organizations or groups.  Power vacuums in organizations are most often created during moments of crisis or leadership transfers.  Organizations are particularly vulnerable to the turbulent winds of a power vacuum when there is no set protocol on how to deal with a crisis or correctly handle changes in leadership.  Not understanding or ignoring the principle of a power vacuum is risky because it is too easy for well-intentioned decisions to have unintended consequences.

The AUB group is undoubtedly in the midst of a leadership power vacuum crisis.  For years now the group has been experiencing problems dealing with changes in teachings, scandal, and leadership.  Those problems came to a head in August of 2014 with the deathbed appointments of Lynn Thompson, Harry Bonnell and the setting in order of the council.  The move was the last in a series of controversial leadership decisions by LaMoine Jenson.  Under his leadership, the AUB group had started to become more “Short Creeky.”   During his tenure the people began to view Jenson as the Lord’s infallible prophet and could not be questioned.   Any sort of disloyalty was seen as apostasy which is ironic for a group of people who were raised on a steady diet of questioning authority.

The deathbed appointments were immediately controversial, particularly to the people in Pinsedale.  Many in Utah have wrongly assumed the reason the appointments were controversial was because the senior apostle, Marvin Jessop, was passed over.  While it is true that passing up the senior apostle played a role, their major concern was the complete reordering of seniority on the council with Harry Bonnell as second elder.  This move vaulted Harry from the back of the seniority pack over the rest of the council, some of whom had served faithfully for decades.   It reeked of politicking and a back room deal forged by someone who had wormed his way as close as possible to the seat of power.

            The sense of uneasiness was also enhanced because of Lynn Thompson’s checkered financial past.  It could have been anyone else and the people in Pinesdale would have probably gulped hard and swallowed the pill. Lynn simply was not seen as a trustworthy individual.  Many people in the Group were uncomfortable with Lynn even maintaining his seat on the council because of the tithing scandal.  Therefore, before Thompson had ever uttered a word as the new leader of the AUB Group, his character was already in question.

Taking over any organization is difficult particularly after a revered and worshiped leader like LaMoine Jenson.  The task for Thompson to establish himself as the legitimate leader would be a difficult task, especially given his baggage.  Thompson didn’t establish himself early on as a humble reluctant leader when he completely ignored the credibility questions of his past and the seemingly dubious last minute appointment as the new leader.  The people in Pinesdale needed him to show up in Montana to put the people at ease but instead he casually brushed the controversy aside by blaming it on hurt feelings in Pinesdale about not having “their leader”, Marvin Jessop chosen to replace Jenson.  Thompson could not have been more wrong in in his reading of the Group pulse at the time and he could not have made a worse political move to start his tenure as head of the Group by not visiting the people in Pinesdale and addressing their concerns.  His miscalculation allowed the discord to fester and provided fertile ground for an emerging split. 

Further fuel to the fire was added when allegations by his daughter Rosemarie went public about an incident where Lynn Thompson fondled her breasts when she was only twelve years old.  Other women also came out of the shadows to reveal they too had been molested at the hands of Lynn Thompson.   The sexual molestation charges were simply too much for many in the community of Pinesdale to handle which led to immediate calls for resignation and an ecclesiastical court to be convened in order to investigate the allegations.  Once again, Thompson miscalculated the seriousness of the charges by first attempting to ignore them.  When that didn’t work and the ground swell of complaints became loud enough, he made yet another miscalculation by attempting to end the controversy by announcing a revelation from the Lord claiming he was not subject to an earthly tribunal. 

Because of Thompson’s handling of the situation there has been a strong backlash of disgust and open criticism where people in Pinesdale have used the formats of priesthood meeting, Relief Society, and the Sunday pulpit to openly denounce Thompson’s wickedness, lack of  integrity, and dishonesty rendering him unfit to lead the Group.   The cover up and protection of Thompson by the AUB council have led to dozens of Pinesdale community members to publically announce they will no longer pay tithing to an organization that seemingly protects sexual deviancy and financial scandal by invoking the protection of God. 

Brian Jessop, one of the newly called council members defiantly stood against Lynn and the rest of the council in demanding an open investigation of the allegations.  After several months of repeated demands by Brian to no avail he simply threw up his hands in disgust, disavowed himself from the council, and walked away from his seat at the table of authority.   Others have resigned their position as well including the Elders Quorum president, Brad Jessop.  Marvin Jessop has done his best to try to stop the widening gap by listening to and investigating the allegations but also playing the other side of the fence in continuing to attend council meetings buying into the false hope of reconciliation.  However, in recent months, even Marv has resigned himself to the fact that “they”, the council in Utah, are simply closing their eyes and ears to the problems.  This move by Marv is seen by the council as nothing more than an old man being influenced by the voices of his wayward sons. Marv Jessop has now missed three council meetings in a row and three unexcused absences which is basically considered a resignation.  All that is left for the council to do is to officially release Marv, effectively excommunicating him from the Group. 

The environment in Pinesdale has been one of religious chaos which is literally tearing some families apart. The geographical and religious split between Salt Lake and Pinesdale that I originally predicted would take years has actually taken only a year and half. That split has created a power vacuum in Pinesdale that will inevitably be replaced.  There are two competing camps that are vying to fill the vacuum in Pinesdale and they may both have to share space in the future of the community. 

The first camp is the AUB Loyalists who still proudly adhere to the priesthood authority of the AUB with Lynn Thompson as the head of the priesthood.  The man leading the Loyalist charge in Pinesdale is the newly called council member Mark Jessop.  Mark is a good hearted man looking to naively prop up the AUB as the only possible option for the people.  He has essentially taken over Marvin Jessop’s role since Marvin has taken himself off the AUB council.  The small loyalist following led by Mark refuses to look at or even so much as acknowledge the allegations and problems of the AUB.  They are too invested at this point with their families and cannot afford to be wrong so they cling tightly to the AUB authority for salvation.   The Loyalist camp is definitely the minority faction in Pinesdale making up anywhere from 10-20%.  Over the coming years they will hitch themselves to the AUB wagon come Hell or high water as it continues its trek towards one man rule and the inevitable Short Creek mentality.

The second major faction in Pinesdale is the AUB Dissident.  The Dissidents make up about 80-90% of the members in Pinesdale but to say they are all on the same page would be a gross over statement.  They are united in the fact that they no longer want anything to do with the AUB, but they are anything but united when it comes to a future course of action. 

·         One portion of the Dissident members are converting back to mainstream Mormonism and the LDS Church as a way to voice their disbelief in the AUB. 

·         Also among the Dissident members are the Independents.  The Independents still feel a strong connection to the community and see little value in leaving Pinesdale in large part due to their polygamist lifestyle.  Even if they wanted to, they cannot join the LDS church without splitting their own family and therefore their options for religious organization are extremely limited.  The Independents are increasingly becoming distrustful and detached from any sort of organized religion. 

·         The largest portion emerging within the Dissident camp is a growing movement towards organizing a “New Group” completely separate from the AUB.  These folks long for the organization of the fundamentalist religion but can no longer support the AUB.   They want the community of Pinesdale to remain a fundamentalist religious community as originally intended.  This “New Group” crowd is made up of the people who were the most vocal in calling for correction by the AUB in order to avoid a split.  Of all the Dissidents, they have hung on the longest in the hope the AUB could change course.  Even though they have now lost complete faith in the AUB as presently constituted, they have not lost faith in the history of the fundamentalist movement over the last 60 years and want to continue on in the fundamentalist Mormon doctrines.    

The Pinesdale/AUB split is multifaceted and complex as the people have a tendency to shift their stand based on the latest information and emotions.  Things can change on a daily basis.  As mentioned earlier, Marvin Jessop has distanced himself from the AUB council.  The council has in turn basically blamed Marvin for the split which has only furthered the divide. On the flip side of that equation, men in Pinesdale have lobbied Marvin for his blessing in moving forward in separating from the AUB by using his apostolic authority as the senior member of the council and only man alive with an apostolic priesthood lineage linked to Rulon Allred.  Marvin has repealed all such advances to date and refuses to be the person that starts his own Group.  However, his unwillingness to participate in the AUB council is giving space for at least the perceived OK to move in a new organizational direction.  Marvin is caught in the middle of a no-win situation.

This past Sunday, February 8, 2016 the latest seismic shift and bold display of dissidence in Pinesdale came from Morry Jessop the current bishop in Pinesdale.  What makes Morry’s statement so earth shattering is his unquestioned integrity and character regardless of what side of the debate one might adhere to.  He has served the community faithfully and quietly for the last 20-30 years.  He is honest, quiet, unassuming, slow to anger, reluctant to rash decisions in any facet of life, and has surrendered nearly his entire life to the building of the community.  For this reason he has been the steady leader-in-waiting that the community of Pinesdale has looked to.  For the past year and half, Morry has listened stoically to people on both sides of the emerging split with very little to no advice given as to which direction to follow.  His slowness to action and his refusal to neither condone nor condemn anyone has angered people on both sides of the fence.    His patience and quietness at times has seemed maddening but that all broke on Sunday when he stood at the Sunday pulpit and announced he would effectively be resigning as bishop along with Sterling Venema, their councilors, Sunday school teachers, and youth leaders in the community.  In typical Morry fashion, he did not turn the incident into an oratory display as everyone knows he is a man of few words.  His move was not politically motivated to grab headlines or make a claim for leadership.  He simply said he could no longer support the direction of the AUB and therefore could not serve as a bishop.  He declared he would still serve the community in whatever capacity he could and would even coordinate with the future AUB bishop if needed.  His words and action were a shot aimed directly at the AUB council that he and the community had reached the breaking point and could no longer stand in defense of an organization that is headed down a dangerous path.  To continue to serve in their callings they felt would essentially be condoning the actions of a fallen council of dishonorable men.  Morry’s stand will most definitely be the shot heard round the Group that has signaled the Group is no longer simply in the process of experiencing problems which could lead to a split, but instead the split has officially happened.

Much like Marvin Jessop distancing himself from the actions of the council, Morry’s public stand will give space for those who are calling for a new and separate Group.  At some point in the future there will be a new Pinesdale Group.  More than likely, at first at least, there will be no claim on authority for this new Group.  They will claim only enough priesthood to organize and gather together.  This new Group will probably at first look like a loose collection of like-minded families and individuals trying to start fresh with a renewed interest in basic gospel principles such as faith, accountability, and repentance.  However, even in the absence of the claim of authority…authority can’t help but be on display at their first meeting.  All it will take is someone to hesitantly take charge long enough to ask for an opening prayer and the seed for authority will take root.  The first vestiges of power and authority will undoubtedly be worn reluctantly out of duty to gospel, family, and community.  Eventually over time a strong centralized authority will however emerge.  After all, it is the nature of groups and organizations to go down that enticing road.  Interestingly, some of the Independent crowd has warned against a new organization effort feeling like it would simply be resetting of the clock and therefore setting it up for a future generation to deal with the exact same problem again down the road.

This fertile ground of discord and discontent in Pinesdale is the stage where the principle of the power vacuum being filled will be played out over the coming months and years.  It is anyone’s guess as to what the new Pinesdale Fundamentalist Group will eventually look like and how long it will take to get there.  What is unmistakable is that the history of scandals, sexual allegations, cover up, and mishandling of the current crisis by the AUB has created a power vacuum that must and will be filled.  The AUB broom has tried to sweep away the problematic puddle of Pinesdale but it will not go away.  After all, nature abhors a vacuum.