What's the point of 'hoarding' 100 billion when the leaders see very little of it ? Yes, I'm aware that the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve are all well off making 6 figures and getting all kinds of freebies. However, I don't see them getting millions every year. Who benefits from the 100 billion ? The money is just sitting there, growing ever more steadily and serving nobody. It seems like a huge waste to me. Imagine how much good it could do. I'm equally sad and angry about this.

Why are you talking about them like they’re rational people?

They are going to keep growing the pot because they can. That’s what funds do. They see the Lord as the beneficiary. It will be interesting to see if the IRS sees it that way.

Mormons equate wealth with righteousness. The fund only reinforces their religious beliefs because it’s size is a measure of their righteousness. So, accumulating wealth is an end unto itself. But remember, it’s a cycle. There’s supposed to be a period of pridefulness and then a downfall.

It’s to fund the founding families, that’s the whole purpose of this. They get paid positions, sweet contracts etc all with donated money.

I'm not saying this is the original or main purpose of the fund, but think of all those highly paid finance jobs that the fund supports. In the reporting that happened prior to the Ensign Peak leak there were over a dozen separate companies identified that managed Mormon money (it is not known whether those funds are part of the 124 billion slush fund or not). I'd love to know the top employee of those funds and if they are friends/family of Mormon Royalty. I think the ability to control a few hundred jobs, most of them being very highly paid is worth millions. Like if someone told me I could either have 5 million dollars right now or the ability to set up my children and grandchildren for life in highly compensated plum jobs, I'd take the jobs.

A: Because you can.

In yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune, there was an excellent letter to the editor about the 100 billion.
The writer brought up the various for profit businesses the church is involved in. He pointed out that they could very well use the interest generated from the 100 billion and do humanitarian things and not touch the 100 billion.
But the church is not humanitarian. Not the least bit interested in relieving needs and suffering.
He closed his letter with a very pointed, truthful conclusion.
He said it's a mystery as to why the church feels it needs 100 billion, but doubts it has anything to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ.
I'm keeping that letter, framing it, and putting it in a prominent place in our living room, right above our wolf in sheep's clothing statuette. Maybe my SIL and daughter will read that and get the message.

tax treatment because the tax code is political.

Remove the beneficial tax treatment issue from the equation...

and it's just a bunch of adults who are freely choosing to spend money in exchange for real and perceived benefits they think are worth the cost.

In that light - what a business does with it's money should be dependent on what those who choose to pay think it's worth.

If they don't like it, they can stop paying.

And now I think they’ve reached the point where they believe that if they help just one person with that money, everyone will expect help, and the demands would never end, the money would all disappear and they would be broke and still have a line of petitioners snaking back from the bishop’s office into the cultural (HA!!) hall.

I don't see that as an issue. With the 100 billion, the church could fund many different charity projects. They don't have to hand money over to every beggar that comes knocking.

The fact that they don't and they'd rather buy up real estate, shows that their priorities are skewed. Unfortunately, the church is run as a business by business men. They have no real interest in helping the world. They just want to sell a product and count gold coins.

Why would a hive want to give away their honey? The honey is the purpose of a hive and producing new bees to make more honey, mo honey, mo honey is their plan of hive-iness.

You can buy anything in this world with money.

Talk about sufficient for our needs!

Jesus wants it! Didn't he say that in the NT? "Blessed are the Multi-Billionaires, for they shall be given more."

Love this picture of Mormon Jesus holding cash,

almost looks to be an Arnold Frieberg work


https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/bl6d1u/mormon_jesus/

Can we take it that cash will still be worth something when the time comes to use it?

It is for when Jesus returns. As a supreme being he demands an appropriate rate of pay. 100 billion is his first month's salary.

To many of the younger generation this means Ensign just peaked.

They need to start over. Make Adam God Again!

There was an interesting article by the presiding bishop (Elder Causse) this month that came to my email, in which he tries to defend the church and the butt load of money accumulated, He said that the church is currently making about 7% interest every year on investments and they have greatly increased the humanitarian efforts from what they were in the past. Now the humanitarian efforts are 1 billion annual donation from ensign peak advisors (which I guess is now the official name for the Mormon church). He also denied that the church is hording this for Jesus' second coming. But it's suppose to be used for when there is another downturn in the economy.

So they have improved slightly, should we at least give them that much credit?

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2020/2/14/21133740/mormon-church-finances-billions-presiding-bishopric-ensign-peak-tithing-donations-byu-real-estate