(Thank you to the person who posted this Kimbal quote on another thread)
1. To proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to every nation, tongue, and people.
2. To perfect the Saints by preparing them to receive the ordinances of the gospel and by instruction and discipline to gain exaltation.
3. To redeem the dead by performing vicarious ordinances of the gospel for those who have lived on earth.
(President Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, May 1981, page 5)
So I ask you all now..... How does a mall in SLC, hunting preserves in Canada and Florida and a 100+ room destination resort hotel in Hawaii fill the aforementioned duty of the the TSCC?????
First they'll come to shop, then they will wander over to Temple Square where they will learn about the church. The mall is the honey to draw the ants to the bait.
The Lard's servants require money to do "the work." You needn't bother worrying how much is enough. They are led by inspiration, so you may rest assured that God is leading "this work." Othewise the mighty smiter would smite them.
The hunting preserves provide a respite for the brethren away from the prying eyes of the media, and little members. This gives them clarity of mind to prepare for General Conference. It's a tough job speaking about trite little virtues that mean nothing to you--like honesty, suffering widows, the evil presence gays and lesbians among civilized people, and commenting on the latest naughty movie. They need a break now and then. How do you think the pickle parable was developed OK!
Profits are necessary for prophets to purchase new investments in malls, hotels, cattle reserves etc. Do not question your leaders. It will all be ok in the end--for somebody.
The LDS church had financial problems back in the day and therefore they started running things differently, more like a business, to prevent that from happening again. They stopped providing public access to their embarrassing financial records which in turn lost their accountability to what is done with all this money flowing in from their followers. They then started hiring business man to run the business, and as you know, people hire people like themselves, and next thing you know all we have for apostles and profits are wealthy and successful MBA's, CEO's, and Attorneys. These guys think like business men and they run the "church" like a business. When they crunch the numbers and they don't see a return they probably poop their pants. They hate seeing expenses and they hate seeing losses. They like to see the upward slope on graphs. They like to see "growth." It brings them comfort when they see this.
If they ran the church like an actual non-profit CHURCH they wouldn't have any investments or be looking for "returns." They would put the money to pay for the expenses of the church operations like maintaining the buildings, paying for youth activities, missionaries work, etc and then any excess above these expenses would go toward charities and helping the poor, infirm and elderly. But this obviously doesn't happen in the LDS church. Otherwise, we wouldn't have a multi-billion dollar mall being built by a church in the middle of one of the worst recessions in US history.
And to be honest since most of the LDS leaders are wealthy, successful and come from an aristocratic Mormon background, they think they are privileged. I'm sorry, but I have seen that way of thinking far too many times by those who were born in, or worked their way into, a privileged class or society. They feel entitled to that way of living and they don't think twice about it. It might not even be a conscious thing. But when they are at the top, they expect to be treated that way. And that's why I think you see a lot of little perks that the "brethren" are able to enjoy, like private hunting grounds, luxery hotel in Hawaii, and a million dollar condo for the "president." And the nice thing about all these things are that they can still enjoy them and they are still investments.
Another thing. Investing can become compulsive. I see myself becoming that way. Now that I am finally out of school and being able to make some money, I find myself obssessively crunchung numbers, making graphs in Excel, and figuring out how much I can earn if I can just put away such an such amount toward my 401K, IRA, etc.
I find myself constantly seeing everything as an "expense" that hurts our return on our investments down the road. It drives my wife batty.
I can EASILY see the LDS church leaders seeing things this way, ESPECIALLY since most of them are former business leaders. Its in their nature. It probably KILLS them to see the church incur expenses and to donate to the needy. Their little handouts now and then are simple window dressing for the masses. What they give to charity PALES in comparison to what they rake in on tithes and returns on investments.
temple name Julia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > wondering if people will be 'called' to shop at > the > mall, or do the menial jobs there?
haha, "The 68th ward went on a youth activity to the great and spacious Jesus Mall to 'shop to their little hearts desire' as has been counseled by President Monson and Eighty two year old Sister Smith has been called on her third senior mission to man the register at the Macy's."
Desolate News- SALT LAKE CITY- Nephi Spencer Smith was called to the new City Creek Shopping Mission this week. He'll report to the church office building to begin training in sacred LDS buying and spending techniques January 19 2012 with others. In March he'll walk over to his new mission home located in Richards Court to greet his new mission president, a former Zion's Bank manager, and begin his mission by entering Macy's and purchasing something. He'll recieve an llotted amount to spend each month. Should he go over that amount his home ward and family will be expected to reimburse in full. "I'm so honored to be spending money for the lard!" he was quoted as saying. "People will see me buying gold plate figurines and Arnold Friberg prints and will want to know more. I and my companion can take them across the street to Temple Square for their first lesson." The mission is expected to grow as time passes. When the novelty wears off and fewer people come to the mall the mission shoppers will be increased so no decrease will be apparent and all will appear to be well in Zion. Elder Smith said in closing "I can't wait to be transferred to Nordstrom!"
That's the real reason all these cult leaders rail against modernity: the technology keeps tripping them up & exposing their secret criminal activities.