In the late 19th century the US supreme court was asked to apply the 14th Amendment to corporations and define them as individuals with all the same rights individual persons have. The court agreed. It was but a few decades later that the LDS church transitioned from a nominal corporation to a Corporation Sole.

Under a common definition, a corporation sole consists of one person only, and the successors of that person in some particular station or office.
( http://corporationsole.insights2.org/Corporation.html )

The LDS corporation is treated not only like an individual under US law, but is actually literally an individual (as held by its office).

So, if the corporation sole is legally and to some degree literally an individual with all the rights, issues and factors of other individuals, I wondered...
... Shouldn't the individual be tested for mental disorders, such as psychopathy?

One of the most accepted psychopathy checklists is the Hare list. http://www.hare.org/scales/pclr.html

The primary list is summarized as "Aggressive narcissism" and lists as criteria:

1- Glibness/superficial charm
2- Grandiose sense of self-worth
3- Pathological lying
4- Cunning/manipulative
5- Lack of remorse or guilt
6- Shallow affect (genuine emotion is short-lived and egocentric)
7- Callousness; lack of empathy
8- Failure to accept responsibility for own actions

In my estimation, the LDS corporation rarely if ever issues an "apology" or admission of error, even lying/covering up to hide their issues (factors 3,5 & 8). They believe they are the one and only true organization from the supreme intelligence (f. 1 & 2). They use tactics which are prototypical manipulations of individuals and of the public (one face for the media, another for members) (f. 4 & 6). Their policies show no empathy, and in fact they brag about their expectations being so hard and requiring sacrifice as a testimony that they are the one-and-only god given corporation (f. 7).

Summing up, LDS inc as a corporation individual would indeed classify positive under the Hare list for psychopathy.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/2012 11:12AM by Jesus Smith.

Here is the official Utah Dept of Commerce web site listing:

https://secure.utah.gov/bes/action/details?entity=555534-0145

and on Monson's registered agent Von G. Keetch

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_G._Keetch

Other related legal documents you may find of interest:

http://salamandersociety.com/legal/

Thanks, Cricket. I haven't seen these. I heard the podcast with Damon Smith about the Book of Mammon...

This deserves some more attention

>>In the late 19th century the US supreme court was asked to apply the 14th Amendment to corporations and define them as individuals with all the same rights individual persons have.
...all the rights, none of the responsibilities.

>>The court agreed.
...the dumbest thing the SCOTUS ever, ever, did. Ever.

Agreed.

Ok, I agree with the judgment but wouldn't the same judgment apply to MANY corporations?

I think this is why holding a corporation to be the same as an individual is inherently flawed. Because, no matter how you think about it, they are not.

The latest interchange between Holland and the stake president make me wonder how much Holland fits the criteria.
Glibness/superficial charm
Grandiose sense of self-worth
Need for stimulation, with a proneness to boredom
Pathological lying
Conning and manipulating behaviors
No sense of remorse or guilt
A very shallow emotional affect - they display emotions they don't really feel
A lack of empathy for others
They are parasitic - they live off of others
They are impulsive, and show poor control over their behaviors
They tend to be promiscuous
Their behavior problems start early in life
They cannot form long-term plans that are realistic
They are impulsive, and irresponsible
They do not accept responsibility for their actions - another caused it
Marital relationships are short, and many
They display juvenile delinquency
They violate probation often
Their criminality is diverse

OMG--that is spot on when applied to Holland-and the rest-but we are talking Holland this weekend!

I think that it is impossible for a corporation to make any kind of sacrifice for its members. An individual can (and is expected to) make sacrifices for the good of the corporation.

read "Snakes in Suits"; pretty well describes what's going on there, IMHO

http://www.amazon.com/Snakes-Suits-When-Psychopaths-Work/dp/0060837721

Once again, revisting the lists in this thread given the actions of the church in general and specific (against individuals) during the past months of the Mormon Moment.

I find that the announcement about priesthood and the blacks--that the reason for the ban is not fully understood--is extremely characteristic. I found their actions to send goons after mormon think editors and then in my case back off when going to the media shows that they fit the list.

Any others by recent events?

All the rights of individuals? Yes.

All the social responsibilities of individuals? No.

Ramifications? Many, all bad.

The fact that the head of the LDS corporation sole is both its clergy (#8 on the list of occupations psychopaths are attracted to list) and its President and CEO (# 1 on that same occupations list) is probably enough.

But then there's the fact that he is also a media personality within and salesperson for the religion (#s 3 and 4 on the occupations list).

Many of his upper level staff, many handpicked by him, are lawyers (#2 occupation).

All are both their own number rank on the list, and #8 (clergy)at the same time.

Holy hell. With what RJ has also posted here about the features of psychopathy, I am surprised there hasn't already been a murder suicide or downright bloody massacre at the COB. And NOT from a crazed, deluded member--but between the leaders themselves.

I realize that in LDS church history there was feuding amongst the early leaders at many times, and also a schism concerning the way the church was supposed to go/who had claim to its legacy after JS died, etc.

But do upper level LDS leaders today all spend a lot of time together, regularly? Or are they separated by location and distance, scattered geographically about the country, getting together in close proximity for long periods of time, only for the big/significant meetups like the conferences you guys talk a lot about here?

NeverMo, here; no idea on the daily workings of the church and its upper level leaders.

It is free on Hulu, and other places on the internet. One of the writers wrote the book "The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit, and Power".

A lot of people think corporations as "persons" are psychopaths, because their legal structure essentially requires they act as psychopaths.

TSCC is far more destructive than the average corporation, because they are a religion. They can demand more from members, can take more, and cause far more suffering than most companies who could only dream of such brand loyalty, and control. The authoritarian structure of TSCC is more secretive, and can do more harm. Corporations have whistleblowers, but when is the last time we heard anyone speak about corruption in TSCC? Or ever?

Many people want to see the death penalty applied to certain corporations. So far they are above the law. Their money, and their lawyers keep them from paying for their crimes.

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Compare your "Aggressive narcissism" list to the following Bullet Points in "The Great Mormon Money Machine" found in RFM's "Short Topics" # 392.

From lying to manipulation, to lack of remorse and refusal of responsibility etc. -- the two lists match perfectly point-for-point!


LINK:

http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon392.htm


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