I recall the Mormons were driven west due in part because their policies on slavery and race made those in the South uncomfortable due to the fact that they were too progressive and then once they reached Utah they did a prompt 180. My knowledge of the church's history is pretty spotty though admittedly but they've been pretty wishy washy for a while now same as most religions I spose.
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What happened to the FPPC's investigation into the LDS church over its involvement in the Califonia's Proposition 8 vote in 2007. How much did they really spend on their campaign and were they conspiring with other churches to defeat gay marriages.
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I do wonder if a federal move towards equality wouldnt cause something of a catastrophe on the local level what with the kind of deranged polarized insanity we already get in American politics over the merest assumptions.
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Suppose the FPPC were to rule that the LDS church (or for that matter any other large group) had breached the rules. What meaningful action could the FPPC take? Given that they were prepared to spend such vast amounts of money on getting Prop. 8 passed I suspect they would regard a reasonable level of fine to be acceptable cost of doing political business.
Fred
Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.
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Whatever it was they could afford it. They could always sell off a few of the farms they own here in Norfolk!
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This article came from the New York Times website, originally published: Tuesday, July 2, 1991
Income of Mormon Church Is Put at $4.7 Billion a Year
A Phoenix newspaper reported Sunday that the Mormon Church, which does not disclose its finances, collects at least $4.3 billion a year from its members and $400 million more from its many enterprises.
Nearly all that $4.7 billion is spent furthering religious goals, The Arizona Republic said, but it added that the church also invested several hundred million dollars a year in real estate and securities and in expanding its businesses and investments. The newspaper said the figures were conservative estimates based on an eight-month investigation.
Don LeFevre, a spokesman at the national headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here, said of the newspaper's report, "The estimates of the church's income are just that, estimates by The Republic, and they were grossly overstated."
He said that reporters preparing the article sought confirmation of their data but that church officials "did not get into the money figures" and "did not verify them." Secrecy on Finances
Accurately assessing the church's finances from the outside is impossible, because in 1959 Mormon leaders stopped disclosing financial reports even to the church's members. The church has 7.7 million members worldwide, including more than one million in Utah.
"It is not required and the church chooses not to make these records public," Mr. LeFevre said. "Members certainly aren't clamoring for them."
Instead of a financial report, church officials assure members that their contributions are managed "prayerfully and with inspiration."
The diversified corporate organization built by the Mormon Church is apparently free of financial fraud or personal wealth-building among top officials, the newspaper said.
Compared with sales of publicly traded companies, the church's $4.7 billion would place it about 110th on the Fortune 500 list of top corporations.
The Republic article said the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which has a worldwide membership of 6.2 million, collected $4.1 billion in tithings in 1990.
The church's business subsidiaries generate an additional $4 billion a year in sales, which, if counted in the total, would make the Mormon Church an $8 billion-a-year corporation, comparable with the Union Carbide Corporation and Borden Inc., The Republic said.
The newspaper said it was unlikely that it had identified all the church's companies, business names or affiliated holdings because financial data were incomplete, partly outdated and sometimes contradictory.
But the newspaper said it was able to conclude that the Mormon Church controlled at least 100 companies or businesses; had become one the nation's largest private landowners, with holdings in all 50 states, and appointed spiritual leaders who could double as business leaders to oversee real estate, communications, tourism, insurance and education operations.
In a written statement, church officials said of the newspaper's report, "While portions of the series are accurate, there are many deficiencies."
Is the LDS a church or a major business empire?
Are there any poor mormons ?
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It is easy to become cynical about many things to do with this organisation, but there are indeed many poor Mormons. However, they also have an impressive support system that is generally able to help out those who need it. My ex is still an active member of the church, as is my father, with whom I live when in the UK. When we went through some tough times financially they were able to offer support by making sure we had enough food even though I was not an active member. Almost all the "clergy" are volunteers. What always struck me as strange was that although many members come from what we might once have called "working class" backgrounds the church never really learned how to deal with those people on their own terms. I did encounter a lot of fish-out-of-water wannabe professionals though. Weird.
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