Church comments on SEC settlement

[Dr Moore]

Another day with zero mention from DCP, the church’s most prominent apologist, about the scandal.

Instead he posted a list of places he has eaten at.

He could be educating himself on the issue. I would hope so. Too many LDS and apologists leaped to defend, using only DesNews and the church’s weasel worded PR. But without even a basic comprehension of the behavior, the SEC investigation and settlement process, the illegality, the intentional lying that occurred, the perjury committed by 13 “business managers” four times a year for 22 years, and the number of LDS “prophets” who signed off on this every quarter since 1997. This is not a good topic for the poorly informed defender to jump up and down about.

[The Stig]

Another day with zero mention from DCP, the church’s most prominent apologist, about the scandal.

Instead he posted a list of places he has eaten at.

He could be educating himself on the issue. I would hope so. Too many LDS and apologists leaped to defend, using only DesNews and the church’s weasel worded PR. But without even a basic comprehension of the behavior, the SEC investigation and settlement process, the illegality, the intentional lying that occurred, the perjury committed by 13 “business managers” four times a year for 22 years, and the number of LDS “prophets” who signed off on this every quarter since 1997. This is not a good topic for the poorly informed defender to jump up and down about.

Case in point - the MDD board.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

I think it’s worth bumping Sam Brunson’s thoughts again:

Sam Brunson’s article:

https://bycommonconsent.com/2023/02/21/ ... d-the-sec/

. But rather than comply with the law, top church leaders decided to obfuscate, to stretch the law to (or, imho, beyond) the breaking point. It’s not that mistakes were made—it’s that the church took deliberate action to do wrong.
And how should we, as active members, look at this deliberate action to do wrong? I don’t think there’s any way to justify it, and I don’t think members should be asked to justify it. After all, we believe in being honest. To receive a temple recommend, we have to affirm that we’re honest in our dealings. Seriously, honesty is such a lonely word.

And, in spite of our teachings and belief, the top church leaders chose dishonesty. They chose not only to bend the law, but to break it.

And it’s worth noting that, since 2019, Ensign Peak Advisors has filed its Forms 13F. The church and EPA acknowledged that they had acted wrongly. They fixed the problem and paid the necessary fine.

Which leads to the last line of the church’s statement: “We affirm our commitment to comply with the law, regret mistakes made, and now consider this matter closed” (emphasis added).

So here’s the thing: the church may consider the matter closed. But it’s not. This represents a real betrayal to the millions of church members who have worked hard to live up to their standards, to be honest even where it’s hard, to obey the law even where it’s inconvenient. It represents a deeply disappointing disclosure to the millions of Saints who have looked to the church as a model for how to act and how to live.

And saying “this matter [is] closed” doesn’t address that betrayal, that disappointment, that hypocrisy. To move forward, the church needs to address its error. Not to the SEC—it’s already done that—but to its membership. It needs to explain what went wrong, why it went wrong, how it will ensure it doesn’t go wrong again. Members have believed that the church represents a model for their lives for a long time. And, even in the wake of this news, the church can do that: it can model how to repent and come back from severe errors.

But simply paying a fine, then ignoring the harm, is not that model. Church members deserve better. The institutional church deserves better.

[Kishkumen]

Great post by Brunson. I agree wholeheartedly.

[Dr Moore]

This was another dishonesty / failure to disclose in the church press release.

They began filing proper 13F under "Ensign Peak Advisors" in Feb 2020. That caught their positions held as of Dec. 31, 2019.

The SEC began its investigation at least several quarters prior to that. MormonLeaks was in 2018.

They did not, absolutely did not "immediately" begin complying with the law.

Feet were drug. No excuses.

Filing a proper 13F does not take 2 quarters (or more) to figure out. The information necessary to file a 13F is compiled EVERY NIGHT by money managers, their prime brokers and other counterparties.

No excuses.

[Failed Prophecy]

Brunson makes it sound like LDS church members are disappointed. Are they?

Post polygamy, LDS values have mostly been "conservative" American middle class values. The average conservative middle class American probably doesn't see all that much wrong with putting one over on the government based on technicalities. And a fine by the federal government is probably not seen by that group as any sort of moral or ethical judgment.

[Marcus]

This was another dishonesty / failure to disclose in the church press release.

They began filing proper 13F under "Ensign Peak Advisors" in Feb 2020. That caught their positions held as of Dec. 31, 2019.

The SEC began its investigation at least several quarters prior to that. MormonLeaks was in 2018.

They did not, absolutely did not "immediately" begin complying with the law.

Feet were drug. No excuses.

Filing a proper 13F does not take 2 quarters (or more) to figure out. The information necessary to file a 13F is compiled EVERY NIGHT by money managers, their prime brokers and other counterparties.

No excuses.

wow. i'm really glad you're spelling this out, Dr. Moore. At the beginning i was focused on and disappointed in the small fine, but the case is so far beyond that, and the behavior of the LDS church leaders is execrable. When you add in those who work in finance and had to have known they were committing crimes, it becomes more horrifying, if that's even possible.

[Dr Moore]

Yeah, the fine for this is just a symbol of who broke the law. Disclosure (13F) fines tend to be small anyway.

For the church to settle this, the bitterest pill of all was not being able to escape the brethren from owning responsibility as deliberate actors. Not a mistake. Not an accident. Deliberate.

The fine “proves” that ownership of bad faith. As such, from Hinckley to Nelson, every FP and every Presiding Bishopric conspired to break the law. Period.

Ensign Peak paid a larger share of the token fine because they are held to a higher standard. As professionals, they certify quarterly to knowing intricacies of securities laws and adhering to them, no matter what their one and only limited partner (a.k.a. the church) asks.

[drumdude]

For the church to settle this, the bitterest pill of all was not being able to escape the brethren from owning responsibility as deliberate actors. Not a mistake. Not an accident. Deliberate.

This is what I hope DCP acknowledges and attempts to rationalize.

[Dr Moore]

I imagine the primary defense will be some version of not breaking the worst laws. Give the brethren a break - they didn’t trade insider information, smuggle funds or get rich.

Granted. They didn’t break jail-worthy laws. Is that the standard we hold prophets to now?

(Also, they asked those 13 “business managers” to perjure themselves on federal documents… potentially jail worthy)