I don't always write posts, but when I do I either get lambasted or ignored... (I love you guys, you are just like my family.) ;-)


I have a theory, maybe discussed here at RfM, definitely alluded to in lots of posts. It is this: I've been forming this notion that the LDS Church is divided into two parts: 1) The paid members of the church (The Corporation) and 2) The non-paid members of the church (Stakes and Wards). I get this impression that they are almost two completely separate organizations, with separate cultures, separate purposes, and separate beliefs to an extent. I have this idea that the local stakes and wards are almost like "franchises" of the corporate church in SLC. Work with me people...

The "Corporation" in SLC makes the pamphlets, the scriptures, refines and redefines dogma, dictates and controls. All the people here are paid employees, to included the big 15, their staff, missionaries, CES employees, temple maintenance, big infrastructure, marketing, and of course business enterprises etc. They make the grandiose music, put on the massive church productions twice a year; they have the amazing meeting halls, they own the huge network of goods and services. (This is the REAL church, FYI; the one that should receive 99% of your disdain and contempt IMHO.) With echelons of leadership above the little neighborhood ward, no transparency, and creating legendary mystical personae of its leaders the normal person doesn't know the celebrities in this "church" ONE BIT other than the cult-like interactions the leadership may have when they come down from on high to visit a "franchise."

The Wards and Stakes: we know these people well. These are our TBM families, and they were US until we (@RfM) said "screw this!" No one gets paid here. Everyone works really hard: Stk Pres, Bishops, RS pres, EQP, your mom and my mom (working their asses off with dinners, programs, church service...) Lets not forget the ward house maintenance staff ("Every Member a Janitor.") These are the people who cry and pray for us when we depart the faith (no one at the Corp. gives two sh*ts when a letter requesting official resignation hits; they turn the hard task over to local leadership, per usual.)

My very Wahabbi Salafist TMB father always likes to condemn the Catholic Church (and all the rest) for taking money from parishioners to operate, to pay the local clergy etc. He sees that the local ward and stake to which he belongs is virtuous because no one makes money.

The problem is he fails to see the business model of the big Church (the Corporation): It sucks free labor and dollars from the little people in the little churches and that goes straight to the big church; all the people who do the heavy lifting in the community and keep the church floating and functioning smoothly make NOTHING and do almost everything. The stakes and wards pay their franchise fee weekly to the Corporation. Sometimes, the real "church" calls you up to the big leagues to be part of it if you were a worthy, rich, and powerful stake president (leader of multiple regional franchises.)

Its just like fast food franchising, except you make minimum wage at Burger King for cleaning the shitters.

Its a brilliantly evil business model from the way I see it. Any other thoughts? I am throwing my Ex-Mo blog together at the moment (not hit the Interwebs yet), and this will be a foundational concept I will use over and over, with much kudos to my family at RfM; turning into a graphic as well. Any other input will be acknowledged and gratituted.

I'll reply to this post. I have disdain for any Mormon adult that raises their children in Mormonism without a truthful teaching of Church doctrine and history.

This used to be more easily limited by the Corporation, but with the Internet even the most easily fooled and most simply appeased should have information that shows the Corporation with purpose to deceive markets Mormonism externally differently than it operates internally. So my contempt is not 99% towards the Corporation, my contempts expands to sweet simple minded Mormon grandma who send her 19 year-old granddaughter off to the Tempe for missionary work or worse, temple marriage, without any honest discussion about the temple, the priesthood, and the First Vision/Book of Mormon.

Parents need to stop spreading the virus of Mormonsm to their children without full disclosure. If the don't know better, they should know better.

I have to agree with this, within certain contexts like the following:

1) when I was super tbm I came across some books that painted the church in a bad light. So I got rid of them. I didn't even think about what it meant for the church's authenticity - I got them out of our house because I didn't want our kids to read it and be led astray. This is a terrible and unhealthy mindset! Although to be fair I still do that - I get rid of pro-Mormon literature whenever I can. But to be even more fair it's info that has clearly been disproven by the rest of the world so I feel ok doing it. (Side note : I find it amusing I had to throw out children's books - published by the church when my first was born - because they now contain info in them that the church has disavowed). And I don't mind my children knowing what the church teaches because we can discuss it. I just don't want it to be their primary reading material.

2). I now know of several families who believe the church is false but CONTINUE to raise their children Mormon because "it's a good way to live" - and the two families I spoke more in depth on this with me confirmed that they were NOT telling their children it was all false.

Number 1 I inderstand because I went through it and understand. But I don't condone it. Once I had my critically thinking brain turned back on I felt so sick to my stomach about that book incidence. Being a good morgbot and "protecting" children at its best. I hope I've learned something from it and can move on. And I hope others will eventually see the light too and I give them a little leniency on it now.

Number 2 I have a much much much harder time understanding.

I think they are indeed two separate organizations. I spent a few months working at Church HQ and saw first hand how the Corporate organization works. There is some overlap as all of the Worker bees at the COB are also temple recommend holders, but definitely two separate worlds.

I have just been listening to Daymon Smith on Mormon Stories (author of The Book of Mammon). You May find it interesting - the bits about the corporate church anyway. The podcast is over 4 episodes - 149-152.

Yup Yup.

The Book of Mammon is eye-opening and often funny although in need of some good, strong editing.

Agreed on all points. Loved the information in it, but it was a slog to read at many times, and I'm pretty tolerant of difficult reads. Still worth a read though.

I hope this is what you were getting at, but even before I left the church, I despised any MMM business. I had a big problem with Nuskin for instance using RM's to peddle beauty products to naturally beautiful and poor people in 3rd world countries. When you start to break the church down and look at the corporation you see many of those same unethical business practices being employed. I think you stated it very clearly. When you analyze how the finances are distributed, it makes you realize how your childhood religion is actually a business in disguise.

Can you show me where to find the information about Nuskin being pushed by RM, and the other unethical practices? I am still trying to get my husband to see the truth and any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I like this analogy. So the prize, or when you have "made it" is when you get to AA, GA, or MP. That is when the decades of sacrifice pays off.

And only the few know it. Not only is it the ultimate MLM, it is also the ultimate Good ole Boys club, and if you live in Utah or Idaho, the ultimate fraternity, with temple attendance the hazing that never ends!

I understand! Now if they had told me that from the get, I may have stayed in :)

We typically look for reasons why we do things. That the foot soldiers are unpaid makes them dig deeper to rationalize why they are working for Mormon Gawd's Army (it's called "insufficient justification" in the psychology world). Typically the reason they find is that it is "True". This reinforces the psychological binding to the organization (AKA loyalty).

It's brilliant! Labor costs are typically your biggest expense and the bottom part of their pyramid (the largest part) has zero labor costs! All they have to do is provide infrastructure at that level. This is also the layer that does the grunt work shaking down the the rest of the sheeple for their hard earned dollars. They even formally call them in once a year to make them cough up their protection money (from threatened eternal damnation) just like the mob does. This is what fills the GA coffers.

Damn straight there are two nearly mutually exclusive cultures in LDS, Inc. When someone is asking for sacrifice there's always a party with their arms open ready to receive the direct benefits of said sacrifice. What they are asking for is a master/slave relationship and they are not proposing that the role of master be played by you!

There is an entire cadre of people that unbeknownst to the average members financially exist off of and/or benefit from the widows mite.

The members think the money flows into some kind of righteously managed fund that the prophets oversee and dole out as the spirit prompts them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It is just as you have laid out. There is a level of culture that exists of privileged members whose families benefit by being employed in upper level management positions in businesses owned by the church and bought by the tithing paid by the widow. It is the good o’l boy network that lower level members will never interact with let alone ever realize its existence. They will never know that their tithing dollar paid for vacations, cars, expensive toys, private schools, and expensive bribes for sons to go on missions and $500 dresses and $300 dollar shoes bought at the City Creek Mall for the wife to wear to GC, all to maintain the family TBM profile. These privileged families will never know of sacrifice at the level it took for the widow to hand her bishop all she had and more in that tithing envelope. All because she believed.

The God of prosperity exists because of the widow and those who believe.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/2016 10:02AM by anybody.

This Fraud is truly inspired by the Devil. The top level and their extended families that are raking in the benefits (social and monetary) have to be knowledgeble of the scam but must take acting lessons so they can cry on que to look so humble. The real idiots that make this fraud function unfortunately are the Stake Presidents, high council, and Bishoprics ---- who are really the key people that organize, plan and accomplish the work through the members. Then its these idiots that need to pry the widow's mites away from truly needy families and deal with church discipline and the throng of manic depressives and psychotics that flood their offices. I am so tempted to let the Bishop know the truth and let him know, if there is a Hell for liars and people that teach false doctrine, he (his bishopric) and the Stake Presidency are people that claim to "know" somethings that are just not true and harming people that should be learning truth! Think that would get their attention at a church court or in a counseling session ----- in the courts reported on these type of websites I don't hear any people being ex'd that really lay it on the line with these leaders that they basically preach false doctrine, put pressure on people to pay family funds to a corporation, and provide stress on families to work at church, in temples and serve missions with any free time to increase corporate profits!

I am constantly amazed how brainwashed the sheep are. I brought up some statistics from the internet (warning them they may not be totally accurate) but since they supported prayer they seemed obviously valid. However, I brought up someone may get answers to prayers by feelings, voice, manifestation, or being directed to information or other people. Some immediately joked about how inappropriate it would be if someone was directed to the internet for answers. I ran out of time but that is exactly what happened to me but I didn't have a chance to discuss it further. It's ok for for lds.org to use the internet to do miss work and brainwashing info for the world and ok to find info that is supporting of lds inc. but to find info that goes against lds inc. now that is of the Devil!

Someone above used "masters" and "slaves," which also works.
Blasted cult.

What you have described is the pyramid control structure for EVERYTHING here on Earth.

The little guy produces all the wealth.

The big guy takes all of it.

Nothing new here.

Great post...

BY

1. The church contrives a threat...the trademark one being that your family is dissolved when you die.

2. They offer a contrived answer to this threat...temple sealings.

3. You pay for temple sealings by paying tithing in order to be worthy to go to the temple.

4. The church uses tithing to reinvest in the racket and the cycle starts all over.

Instead of 'Send Us Your Poor & Starving', it's:
"Send us Your Money"... and if you're lucky, we'll blow a kiss your way every once in a while...

I was baptized when I was 8 into the Reorganized Latter Day Saints church. Yes, I choose it, but my father and family had great influence.

It dawned on me the other day that I never joined a church called the Community of Christ church. So what right does this organization have to continue carrying me on the church books as a member, based on the fact I was raised a member of the RLDS church?

Answer: Business Law

Nobody asked me what I thought about gay marriage before they changed church policy.

at the expense of others has been enlarged and expanded to others in the modern era. The "you can get rich too" prosperity religion was also espoused by Rev. Ike -- albeit more flamboyantly...



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And the recipients of the financial and social benefits of being on the top of the pyramid regard things as being absolutely deserved because......?????

Well, I'm sure THEY can tell you all the reasons they deserve them, even if I can't.

Totally agree. I think TSCC actually wants to promulgate this idea.

One small sign of this is on the resignation reply letter, the remark "this is an ecclesiastical matter and will be turned over to your local ward/stake".

You've written to the so-called Prophet and Apostles, but they don't consider themselves "Ecclesiastical!?"

Well that makes me feel better. Not only is the doctrine baloney, but I gave all those hours of free labor to a McChurch.

Yup, they sure supersized me. Still waiting to shrink back down.