The Business Week story has done it. You walk by ANY magazine rack in an airport in America right now and you see the cover story. The can of worms has officially been opened. No transparency of financials, minimal charitable work, the $2 billion mall... In 2012, most people in America will likely recognize the phrase **magic underwear** as meaning you are talking about Mitt and the Mormons.

Thank you Mitt. The moment you became the assumed Republican nominee, everything about you became ok to talk about in public; even your weird church. How could it not be? It is MAJORLY relevant and newsworthy given the election. It has almost everything an interesting news story should have: scandal, secrecy, relevancy, money, Scientology-level kookiness. (If they could just find a hooker that's been with one of the top 15... I digress.) Thank you media for doing your job. Don't stop.

Does ChurchCo even know how horrible they are being perceived across America and the globe? Are they too old and sheltered to get what is going on? Reform?

It is fascinating to observe.

People are fed up with the Mormons. The Businessweek story exposes them as a business posing as a church. The Mormon response exposes themselves as lying spin-doctors. Hopefully much more will be exposed as we near the election.

I think that it's ironic that the some of the very same people who were after Obama because Jeremiah Wright will be saying the media went too far on this.

Yes, as adults one should be responsible for the faith one embraces, just as political party, and moral issues. Duh.

This is what I was going to bring up. They kept saying how important it is to examine Obama's church and Rev Wright and now the same people are saying to leave Romney's faith alone and claiming it's religious persecution.

We all know people did that because the president is of African descent, & many don't even think he's a real Christian anyway.

And all that jazz about "He wasn't even born in the U.S.!" They would have never questioned it if he was white. Damn racist country.

They had to have seen all this coming. They could have offered him a GA position and put him on the fast track to prophethood. I think Romney would have backed down if the church had pushed hard enough. I'm really surprised that it seems that they actually encouraged him to run.

People today are not fond of hidden and secret institutions. They're still pissed about the Fannie/Freddy Mac/automaker bailouts. There is also a lot on the news lately of charities that aren't really giving to the causes they claim (like the charity that supposedly helps save dogs in Iraq and bring that to the U.S.).

This isn't the 1950s where the powerful institutions can push people around. It's 2012 and we have something called the Internet where everyone gets to have a voice.

I think the church is going to look very different in 5-10 years than it does today. The conversation has been started and the members will defend the church for a little while (because they are in 'defense' mode. BUT, if the financial secrecy continues, the members are going to start questioning. In a year or two, this site will be booming.

Mitt Romney/Tom Cruise 2012

Because every cult deserves their time in the spotlight

The best comment I've heard about Romney so far: "He looks like the picture that came with the frame."

Here's a commentary on the article. I wonder if enough people get pissed of at the morg, will they will boycott their businesses?

http://www.classwarfareexists.com/how-the-mormon-church-owns-billion-dollar-businesses-and-avoids-paying-taxes/

"Well – at least we know that Mitt is just being a good Mormon every time he tries to avoid paying taxes with his offshore tax havens and lack of transparency on his earnings (source). Maybe this guy should run the church; he sounds tailor made."

awesome

Can you imagine how much credibility Romney would gain with the American people if he were to express publicly a desire for ChurchCo to be transparent with their finances ? How about calling on ALL "charities" to fully disclose to maintain their tax free status?
Hell, I'd vote for the guy just on that issue alone. I'd vote for Obama of he did it. I genuinely think that could play very well in a general election.

This truly would be an incredible stroke by the Romney campaign, but the backlash and Monday morning pundit quarterbacking would be very rough, maybe fatal to the campaign. For example, why would Romney choose now to toss his faith under the bus? What might that say to people? Is he a man of conscience, leaving his religion at this precise moment for the right personal and objective reasons or is he a cynic and ambitious opportunist whose faith in his faith was only ever superficial?

His tossing aside Mormonism, but holding to Christianity might do his campaign and the exmo cause immeasurable good, but unfortunately for the world he would do well for his Whitehouse ambitions to stay on the ridiculous faith horse he rode in on.

This is the tipping point I have been telling people would come this year. You can feel it, feel the tide of sentiment changing.

Last night I watched the Daily Show and Jon Stewart ripped Romney a new one by calling him on saying that people who want more "stuff" from the government should be ashamed because those benefits come from taxpayers.

Then he went on to show all the benefits Romney gets from his tax loopholes, his offshore this and that, the outsourcing that won his companies millions, even the unpatriotic outsourcing of the Salt Lake City Olympics uniforms and memorabilia. Not a concern in the world for the working stiff in America.

The coup de gras was when he placed Romney today saying he had a blind trust and didn't know what was being done with his money--side by side with himself four years ago saying that everyone knows a blind trust is just a way to avoid taking responsibility and people who own blind trusts tell their managers what to do all the time.

Hear that sound? It's Joseph Smith marching outside in His Nauvoo Legion Captain's Uniform. He wanted to be president too, and for the same reasons.

It is downhill from here and we haven't even seen the Reuter's article yet. It should be a freeforall where all the carrion eaters tear at the still-flailing body.

Seriously, at the bottom of this is the very sincere belief that Mormons have that they are admired and liked. They are simply wrong. The more people know about the Mormon church, the LESS they like them. This is what they just can't get--all the education in the world can't give them what the average street smart 12 year old has. Common sense and an intuitive grasp of the rules of the real society where we don't have three tiers of people...and a whole gender is basically excluded from power.

Anagrammy in a lawn chair waving happily! Come join us for the second half.....

This is the best part:

"And only one person OWNS all of these unknown billions in businesses and corporations. Only one person is the sole shareholder with complete control of ALL these businesses. That person is the head of the Mormon Church - Thomas S. Monson. Mormons consider him to be a living prophet; myself – I consider him to be a living profit."

It's their big moment and....... they're blowing it. Tee-hee.

The bigger point of the Business week story for me was the massive amount of money being made on the for profit aspects of the mormon church, being sheltered from taxes by the religious shield. here in Idaho, I watch farms and orchids get bought up by the church, and the tax roles suffer. I would think at some point the rest of the churches around the country would get to the point that the non profit status is being threatened buy the blatant profit mongering mormon church.

I looooooove every post on this thread.


"They kept saying how important it is to examine Obama's church and Rev Wright and now the same people are saying to leave Romney's faith alone and claiming it's religious persecution."

I am f*cking sick and tired of the "persecution" argument and the "double standards" and "hypocrisy" behind it.