Dear Gramps,

When you “lay this mortal by,” how are you going to answer these emails in the spirit world? Does paradise have internet access, or will someone else take over Ask Gramps? Best regards,

Johnny B. from Oregon

Dear Johnny,

Every enterprise has its own lifetime–a movie run, a business company, book sales, a social organization, etc. The lifetime has three phases–the growth phase, the maturity phase and the declining phase. There have been two previous Ask Gramps internet enterprises. First, a daily column in Mormontown.com, and then a weekly Q&A in LDSLiving.com. Both of these enterprises have gone the way of all flesh–in the first, the column itself had a sudden demise when the volume became too great to handle; in the second, the host company began its decline, and thus changed hands, and the Ask Gramps column was dropped.

The present Ask Gramps enterprise, begun almost a year ago, is in the growth phase. Subscriptions, which of course are free, are increasing, and the number of questions submitted is on an up-swinging curve. The general concept of supply and demand rules here as in all business enterprises, although Ask Gramps is not strictly a business, since it derives no income. So far the demand (or degree of interest) is exceeding the supply, although Gramps has a very difficult time fielding all the questions that are now being asked. When the time comes that the number of questions and answers submitted to the site exceeds the demand, readership will fall off, and Gramps will be twiddling his thumbs–that is, if he is yet able to twiddle thumbs. Already his children are arguing among themselves who is going to be brave enough to try to take his car keys away from him. So, the demise of this enterprise is on the horizon, and when it slips away into the past, no one will notice its passing because interest will have waned–unless, of course, Gramps slips into the past first.

Himself