How the Mormon Church Makes money (businessweek)

[demosincebirth]

Late last March the Mormon Church completed an ambitious project: a megamall. Built for roughly $2 billion, the City Creek Center stands directly across the street from the church’s iconic neo-Gothic temple in Salt Lake City. The mall includes a retractable glass roof, 5,000 underground parking spots, and nearly 100 stores and restaurants, ranging from Tiffany’s (TIF) to Forever 21. Walkways link the open-air emporium with the church’s perfectly manicured headquarters on Temple Square. Macy’s (M) is a stone’s throw from the offices of the church’s president, Thomas S. Monson, whom Mormons believe to be a living prophet.

On the morning of its grand opening, thousands of shoppers thronged downtown Salt Lake, eager to elbow their way into the stores. The national anthem played, and Henry B. Eyring, one of Monson’s top counselors, told the crowds, “Everything that we see around us is evidence of the long-standing commitment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Salt Lake City.” When it came time to cut the mall’s flouncy pink ribbon, Monson, flanked by Utah dignitaries, cheered, “One, two, three—let’s go shopping!”

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-10/how-the-mormons-make-money

[pnwmom]

1. Wow. n/t

[Yeah Its Spin]

2. Bet that mall has no KB Toys

or Stage stores

[cloudbase]

3. Victoria's Secret? n/t

[fascisthunter]

5. magic underwear

[roguevalley]

11. they also have huge farms and ranches all over the west.

[siligut]

15. The largest cattle ranch in the US, Deseret Ranches in Fla

I think it isn't directly owned by the church though, but it is, somehow, but you aren't supposed to think too much about that. http://www.deseretranchflorida.com/

Good Steward in Central Florida for over 50 years

Owned by Farmland Reserve, Inc., an entity related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Manages beef cattle, citrus, and timber while also fostering wildlife

For over 50 years, Deseret has been known in Central Florida as a good steward of the land. When much of it was purchased in the 1950’s, the land that today comprises Deseret Ranches consisted mostly of cut-over timberland and wiregrass range land of extremely low quality. The cypress had been heavily cut to the point of near depletion and the pines had been logged with little thought of regeneration. Deseret has worked to create a vibrant, viable operation for beef cattle, citrus, and timber, while carefully managing for the success of wildlife populations. Deseret’s landscape is a mosaic of pastures, citrus groves, wetlands and woodlands sustaining a viable agricultural operation.

[fascisthunter]

4. piece of shit cult

[BumRushDaShow]

6. They are about to put this

(LDS Temple in Philadelphia)



Right directly next to this (Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter and Paul) -





In your face epic showdown.

[whathehell]

31. I like the basillica better.

RC Church has been around sooo much longer than LDS, but then again,

hasn't everything?...Okay, maybe scientology is newer.

[begin_within]

7. How can they still be considered a non-profit church?

And keep their tax-exempt status? Clearly they are a business, that happens to have a church as one of their many business ventures.

[LadyHawkAZ]

8. Mormon Church whines about nasty people questioning their finances:

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=21228422&title=lds-church-responds-to-businessweeks-money-article&s_cid=featured-3

[demosincebirth]

9. Charity is mentioned in their article, I've never seen or known any charitable works they

do around the world unless you are one of them. As far a claiming their missionary work is charity, then they are changing the meaning of charity.

[LadyHawkAZ]

12. Much as I loathe to give them credit...

in Salt Lake, if you go to the bishop in your ward in need of help, they usually will help. As cheaply as possible and they will want you to either attend church or work for them at Welfare Square for a set amount of time, or both- but they will help. I don't know if that's everywhere or just Salt Lake though.

I would question the official numbers supposedly doled out in charity, though. It sounds incredibly inflated.

[IdaBriggs]

29. Actually, they are amazing with charity.

Each local ward has a "bishop's storehouse" where food is distributed to those in need locally. They are also AMAZING during disasters (along with the Southern Baptists, who regularly beat Red Cross into areas in need of food, etc.). Just because they don't put it on tv doesn't mean they aren't doing it. Also, the young missionaries regularly make sure the "overlooked" are provided for; it's one of their missions: to serve their fellow human beings.

[uponit7771]

14. +1!

[madinmaryland]

10. The motherfucking temple slows traffic down every fucking day on the outer loop of the beltway

in the morning.

[Solomon]

17. Because the motherfucking spires at the top never all

perfectly line up from any angle as you approach it. Always bugged me. That's the exit where I live. I could walk to that thing from my house.

[LeftyMom]

23. Is the "Surrender Dorothy!" graffiti still there?

[Kristina A]

13. A telling quote from the article?

I'm new at posting here ... though I'll admit to browsing DU for great insight, liberal thought & links since way back in 04 when Kerry was running and I was still living on the East Coast. I couldn't help to take a minute here to post as something stood out in this article:

“As we trade securities, all of the trading happens essentially with a handshake. … There’s lots of protections around it, but billions of dollars change hands every day just based on the ethics of the group—that people know that they can trust each other.”

Perhaps I am wearing a tin-foil hat that is much to big for my head, but this quote from the article made me wonder if perhaps the Mormon Church were the ones running Bain during Romney's "part-time" tenure, leave of absence? This would answer a few questions & solve the growing riddles.

If this were the case, it would explain why he stands behind his assertion that he wasn't the one making the decisions between 99-02, why he refuses to share his tax returns as well as why he doesn't offer an explanation as to WHO was running Bain during that time he continued to be listed as CEO, sole shareholder, etc.

It would be quite difficult to explain how the Mormon Church was actually the entity responsible for outsourcing American jobs (especially considering their 'white-horse prophecy')... but it would be an easy explanation as to why the "top boss" would be so trusting with business dealings while he was "saving" the Olympics at their home-base in Salt Lake City.

Again, perhaps I'm over reaching here, but this article, specifically this quote from the article seemed to be quite telling.

[Control-Z]

18. I wondered who

was running things while Mitt "saved" the Olympics. Your suspicion is actually better than any that I could come up with. It is very possible, imo, and it makes sense in a weird and greedy way.

[Kristina A]

20. Disturbing ...

would be a good description too!

I've seen several people post that perhaps the Obama campaign knows much more than is yet out...and I'm sure they do, that's their job, and if this was the case, then it would have to be let out of the gate slowly ... no one could suddenly begin holding the Mormon Church responsible without being able to CLEARLY explain it to the public, so if we are told a bit at a time it, with facts then we could all comprehend it without allowing conservatives to blame Obama & his team of attacking religion ...

I guess we'll all see where this goes ... as it has become very intriguing!

[Control-Z]

21. I agree that

the administration needs to put things out at a safe and comfortable pace. I'm practically wishing away the summer, though, to hurry up and find out. It has become intriguing indeed!

Welcome to DU, btw!!

[Kristina A]

24. Thank you for the Welcome!

I don't really feel "new" since I've been reading ya'lls posts here for awhile! But yes, wishing the summer away to hurry up and find out, and also to get some relief from the heat!

After a week of 100's in Las Vegas, tonight we are actually having thunderstorms!

Thanks again!

[Skittles]

26. it's an interesting theory

Last edited Sun Jul 15, 2012, 05:56 AM - Edit history (1)

welcome to DU, Kristina A - it's about time you posted!!

[dimbear]

27. Welcome to DU. We're going to like the way you think.

[BuelahWitch]

16. There used to be 2 malls downtown, across the street from one another

The ZCMI (Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution) Center and Crossroads Mall. I guess they tore both of them down to make this new one. Perhaps they prefer to have one building full of empty shops instead of two.
ZCMI was a department store owned by the Church. They sold it to the May Company right before I moved away, around 2000 or 2001. It was kind of a nice place to shop, despite being Church owned. My mother and I usually got better bargains at Weinstocks across the street though. I missed them a lot more than I did ZCMI
If I remember correctly, Crossroads Mall *did* have a Victoria's Secret. Whether they have one in the new place is anyone's guess, but I'm sure they'll look the other way if it brings in money for the Church...

[stockholmer]

19. The Godmakers: Mormon Cartoon(africans:black because they're neutral in war between good & evil,etc)

This video was made by Jeremiah Films (www.jeremiahfilms.com). Foundational Mormon Doctrines, twisted as they are, were never more readily / simply explained, demonstrated & exposed than in the God Makers Cartoon aka "The BANNED Mormon Cartoon".. The claims contained within are what the mormon religion was actually founded on. Many modern Mormons now try to distance themselves from these views simply because of their blatant absurdity, yet still cannot manage to simply walk away from their religion, such is the power of the constraints of religion on the mind. Despite these absurdities, millions of Americans call themselves Mormons today.

[Initech]

22. It's way past time to end the free ride for religious organizations.

This part here floored me:

According to U.S. law, religions have no obligation to open their books to the public, and the LDS Church officially stopped reporting any finances in the early 1960s. In 1997 an investigation by Time used cross-religious comparisons and internal information to estimate the church’s total value at $30 billion. The magazine also produced an estimate that $5 billion worth of tithing flows into the church annually, and that it owned at least $6 billion in stocks and bonds. The Mormon Church at the time said the estimates were grossly exaggerated, but a recent investigation by Reuters in collaboration with sociology professor Cragun estimates that the LDS Church is likely worth $40 billion today and collects up to $8 billion in tithing each year.

[nilram]

25. A mall... with... no... Starbucks???

But it's true.

http://shopcitycreekcenter.com/

[LadyHawkAZ]

28. There is a Teavana though

And a McDonalds that sells coffee. Money beats doctrine every time.

[B Calm]

30. Did they build this all tax free?

[demosincebirth]

32. Yup