Anyone else see a problem with a website devoted to following the prophet around (including details about what restaurants he visits, etc. etc.)? I'd link to it, but I don't want the guy who runs it to find his way over here (this isn't a private blog, and I welcome stuff from people I don't know, but I don't want to get into arguments with the people running the website). In any case, type in "Follow the Prophet" (one word) and end it with a .net to find the site.
I don't envy people who have no privacy. I saw one of the 12 in the men's dressing room at the SJ temple (I'm pretty sure he went through the same session as I did), and I thought, "I could go introduce myself, or I could let him have some peace from having strangers introduce themselves to him." So I let him have peace. Being shy might have had something to do with it too (so shy that when I attended the same ward as Steve Young, I tried to avoid him only to have him come over and ask me my name). I think my reaction would be different out here in the midwest/south, if only because well-known church leaders wouldn't be harassed as often at restaurants, etc. etc. because almost no one knows who they are, and so they would have an easier time finding privacy, but I think everyone is entitled to some degree of privacy somewhere. That includes at the temple and taking your wife out to eat. And if the masses discover your favorite restaurant, it may be good for the business at the restaurant, but it's not good for your sanity as a human being. I have my doubts about the prophet going to dinner at Dee's again now that the paparazzi and the obsessed fans know he likes to eat there.
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Yeah, I'm with you on this one. In addition to not wanting to be a hassle to anyone, especially someone I have a lot of respect for, I guess I don't really see what I gain personally by talking with them. What am I going to say? "Hi. I just think you're great. Really, really great. Well, see you later." Sure, a General Authority is going to probably shake your hand and, if there's time, you'll probably have a pleasant little interchange where they ask your name, and a few questions about your family or your mission, perhaps. But in the end you go your separate ways ... and I'm not sure what the point was supposed to be.
Maybe there's other ways of expressing appreciation and respect for a public personality without intruding on their private lives?
I don't disagree about meeting celebrities. Pres. Eyring had a house in my mom's ward, and when he wasn't on assignment he'd sit on the stand. He presided at my brother's 'farewell'. I always gave him his space. But I can understand that having a brief exchange with an apostle or the prophet even if it is at the grocery store would be distinctly different than, say, meeting Johnny Depp or another celebrity.
I'm the same way. I always feel like I should just leave them alone and I don't know what I would say to them anyway. It is neat to be able to shake an apostle's hand, but it's also neat just to know, "I was in the same meeting as so-and-so." Or "I saw so-and-so at such-and-such a place." Or "Elder Hales spoke at my grandpa's funeral." Such an experience leaves a lasting impression on the layperson even when there is no exchange between you and them.
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