“Dear Bloggernacle, What were you thinking?” or a Review of the First Round of MMDM

First of all, let’s get yesterday’s final results out of the way:

4 – Joseph F. Smith 36
13 – Chieko Okazaki 8

9 – Gordon B. Hinckley 32
8 – Spencer W. Kimball 10

16 – The Companionship of the Holy Ghost – 29
1 – “As Man is, God once was; As God is, Man may become” 13

12 – Saving Ordinances 33
5 – 3 Kingdoms of Glory 9

2 – The Bible 24
15 – Jesus the Christ 18

11 – Mormon Doctrine 25
6 – The King Follett Discourse 17

3 – The Church Educational System 35
14 – Church Movies and Art 7

10 – Relief Society 38
7 – Visiting Teacher 3

With that out of the way, let’s look over next week’s match-ups and engage in some analysis.

On the 13th, the matches are:
1 – Joseph Smith vs. 12 – James Talmage
2 – Continuing Revelation vs. 11 – Restoration of Priesthood Authority
3 – The Doctrine and Covenants vs. 7 – the 1st Official Declaration
4 – Temple Building vs. 9 – The Young Women’s Program

I believe that the possible upsets here are in the 2:11 game and the 4:9 game.

On the 14th, the matches are:
2 – Brigham Young vs. 11 – Hugh Nibley
3 – Physical Divine Beings vs. 10 – Tithing and Consecration
4 – The Pearl of Great Price vs. 8 – The 2nd Official Declaration
1 – The Welfare Program vs. 12 – The Young Men’s Program

I believe that the only lock here is the 1:12 game.

On the 15th, the matches are:
3 – Bruce R. McConkie vs. 10 – David O. McKay
9 – Word of Wisdom vs. 13 – Zionism
1 – The Book of Mormon vs. 5 – The Lectures on Faith
2 – The Missionary Program vs. 6 – Sacrament Meeting

I think that the only chance for an upset here is the 2:6 game

On the 16th, the matches are:
4 – Joseph F. Smith vs. 9 – Gordon B. Hinckley
12 – Saving Ordinances vs. 16 – The Companionship of the Holy Ghost
2 – The Bible vs. 11 – Mormon Doctrine
3 – The Church Educational System vs. 10 – Relief Society

This was the seeding committees weakest group and it shows. The only one I think is close to a lock is the 2:11 game and it’s iffy.

Looking back over the voting thusfar, I was surprised by quite a number of things:
1. The weak showing for Emma Smith, about which I think the bloggernacle is just wrong.
2. The strong showing, even in defeat, of The Father and the Son ,Zeal without Knowledge, and The King Follett Discourse
3. The really tight races between Tithing and Consecration and Temple Covenants and between Heavenly Mother and Zionism
4. The ultimate defeat of some higher seeds: The King Follett Discourse, “As Man is, God once was, As God is, Man may become”, Heavenly Mother, Emma Smith, and Plural Marriage.

So, did anything surprise you? Can you explain to me where my predictions went off the track? Do you have predictions for the coming round? Please comment below