Posted by:
Elder Berry
(
)
Date: October 06, 2021 01:50PM
Reading two interesting articles today at lunch showed me that the church is more interested in its bottom line than any saving of souls.
Exhibit A: Social services at LDS Inc.
https://rsc.byu.edu/salt-lake-city-place-which-god-prepared/historical-highlights-lds-family-servicesThe inspired leaders of the church had to rely upon the licensed women to keep their beloved Lamanite inclusion program.
"Because the Relief Society Social Services Department was licensed with the State of Utah, Indian Placement headed by Bishop, was placed under its auspices and formal home evaluations were carried out for students arriving from the reservations."
Then it just took the women's work away from them.
"In 1969, due to the Church correlation movement, a decision was made to bring the social services efforts under priesthood direction. Unified Social Services took all aspects of social services from the Relief Society."
It was a useful tool.
"In 1973, Church leaders saw the wisdom of making LDS Social Services a separate corporate entity from the Church. Human problems being what they were, it was only natural that some legal issues arose which made the creation of a separate corporation a wise move. This choice protected the financial resources of the Church, the workload of Church leaders, and allowed worldwide membership to grow unhindered by the possibility of lawsuits that would require inordinate use of Church funds."
Perhaps Amy Lyman was a good person and wasn't interested in protecting priesthood as much as helping the "disabled" in her church?
"Perhaps Amy Brown Lyman could not have foreseen the modern training, clinical tools, and technology that are fulfilling her vision of helping with personal and family problems. LDS Family Services has continually branched out, reaching more and more Church members throughout the world. What must have seemed to some priesthood leaders in the early years as a “nice” program has now become an essential tool in the Church, helping thousands who would otherwise remain roadside, disabled by their problems to instead face their issues, overcome their challenges and take a higher road through mortality."
Exhibit B: That big pot of Golden Plates money.
https://religionunplugged.com/news/2020/12/16/a-slightly-more-transparent-lds-church-one-year-after-revelations-of-a-100-billion-fund?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4cmaz6O28wIV82tvBB2AVgZsEAMYASAAEgIYnPD_BwEI couldn't agree more with Jeanne Markey.
"“This tithing almost starts to sound like common law fraud,” said Jeanne Markey, an attorney at Cohen Milstein in Philadelphia who specializes in whistleblower complaints and SEC matters, in an interview with Religion Unplugged this past summer."
And this is what the church has become - a Vanguard fund. Where is the inspiration to do anything charitable with this money?
"“It could well be that the reporting of the IRS whistleblower caused the SEC to contact them (EPA),” said Markey. “When you don’t have that transparency you are inviting a situation that is so dependent on someone’s good faith and fair dealing you can end up with situations like this… You end up with something looking like the Vanguard fund rather than a religious entity.” "
Developing land and bolstering insurance sound like such noble acts. And if you read this article, one defender of the faith magically makes the money disappear claiming it could be useless during the "Second Coming."
"In the complaint, the Nielsens argue that EPA used tax-exempt donations to rescue two Utah-based entities that were struggling during the 2008 financial crisis: a life insurance company owned by the church and a mall called City Creek Center in downtown Salt Lake near the church’s office. They also argue that EPA did not use its proceeds for charitable purposes and that the Church misled members about uses of the money. "
In conclusion, helping people when it covers your ass and amassing a ridiculous amount of money under the auspices of charitable work seem to be the go to direction "The Lord" had in mind for Mormonism. Their claim that their worth of souls is great is greatly exaggerated. They care about covering their asses with counselling services and counting their billions and not earmarking it for any charity.
So this is what I gave up with Mormonism? Sure feels good to get their Moroni off of my back.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2021 01:54PM by Elder Berry.