DiscussMormonism.com

I gave some information that demonstrates the fact that return missionaries, one would expect anyway, are playing and integral part in developing water projects

You did nothing of the sort, as I proved in my last post, and your bolded words indicate you know that.

Back to the topic:

Gadianton wrote:well these new saints have a big lesson to learn about how the church operates.

When the Hawaii temple burned down, the Church asked the members for donations to rebuilt it. But wait, what about just cashing in on that fire insurance policy? Well, no, there is no fire insurance because the Church self-insurance. Oh, I get it. Well, then why don't they just pay for it then out of all that extra cash they've saved by not paying insurance premiums? That's what it means to self-insure, right? Huh. Well, why not give the members the opportunity for more blessings?

Mormonicious wrote:Could be Elder Asshole Andersen knows something we mere Morgbots don't

Depends on what you mean, everyone knew that Hincker's mall was a huge money pit. Nothing about any numbers reported made sense at all, despite several finance dunces as MDDB trying to explain it. But no, Anderson doesn't know that the Church is now poor because it f'd up an investment, it's quite the opposite. They'll do just fine no matter how many business close. See above for the first reason why. The second reason why is that a real estate company masquerading as a church, they have all kinds of tax advantages that allow them to assume more risk.

Ironically, their ill-gotten easy way of producing cash is a moral hazard and contributes to worse investment choices. The Saints are actually just throwing their money down the garbage disposal.

Your first reason is what I found in Africa also. It reminds me of when I looked into some church projects a couple of years ago in Harare, Zimbabwe, where a temple is now planned. The PR person for the lds church must have been new, because she outlined the process clearly, noting that although the lds church touted this as a humanitarian effort, the lds church had no cash budget for the project, as they would only provide the labor by having extremely poor zimbabwean members work for free. She also explained that because there was no cash budget, the lds church expected her to get other churches and groups to donate supplies, equipment, and cash for any other needs. This was for the makeover of the Sunningale mall in Harare, where If I recall correctly, the lds church now takes advantage of the cleanup by leasing out storefronts.

Laying odds now that the lds temple will be built where the lds church conned other humanitarian groups into paying for their cleanup. I don't know which is worse, that they conned other groups into paying all non-labor coats or that they conned extremely poor church members into working for free, so they could tout their work hours as the lds church 'donation.'

SteelHead wrote:The GDP of Zimbabwe (16 million people) is 18 billion. The LDS church at 15 million people likely has yearly incomes of around 10 billion.

Not wealthy.

If one wishes to compare apples to apples, then one would need to consider the overall economic activity "GDP" of the (claimed) 15 million Mormons, not just tithing revenues.

Assuming the $10 billion in revenues represented 10% of the members income in tithes and offerings, the annual Mormon GDP (economic activity of the church membership as determined by the total market value of all final goods and services), would be on the order of $100 billion.

This makes the per capita GDP of Mormons some six times the per capita GDP in Zimbabwe.

Lemmie wrote:

I gave some information that demonstrates the fact that return missionaries, one would expect anyway, are playing and integral part in developing water projects

You did nothing of the sort, as I proved in my last post, and your bolded words indicate you know that.

You can have it, Lemmie.

Nonetheless, I think it is important to point out, again, in response to Oblish's post, that return missionaries have come back home and then done MUCH good as they have invented and distributed water systems that are bringing much needed fresh water to the inhabitants of Africa.

I'll leave it at that.

Regards,
MG

DrW wrote:

SteelHead wrote:The GDP of Zimbabwe (16 million people) is 18 billion. The LDS church at 15 million people likely has yearly incomes of around 10 billion.

Not wealthy.

If one wishes to compare apples to apples, then one would need to consider the overall economic activity "GDP" of the (claimed) 15 million Mormons, not just tithing revenues.

Assuming the $10 billion in revenues represented 10% of the members income in tithes and offerings, the annual Mormon GDP (economic activity of the church membership as determined by the total market value of all final goods and services), would be on the order of $100 billion.

This makes the per capita GDP of Mormons about six times the per capita GDP in Zimbabwe.

thanks for pointing that out. And adding the insistence on giving free labor to the requirement of giving debilitating tithing levels is just adding injury to injury. Remember when some lds leader told this continent that paying tithing would cure poverty? Shameful.

I have a question wrote:“We are not a wealthy people.” Said a guy sat on a stock portfolio worth $32 billion and who invested $billions into a Salt Lake City upmarket shopping mall and office/residential complex and who owns outright 2% of Florida.

Does it say whether or not Mr Anderson managed to keep a straight face?

In case there was any doubt. We now have concrete proof. Jesus Christ and his teachings do not have any part of the program. It is all about the green backs. I feel like shouting wake up people, you are in a cult.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt 6:21)

oliblish wrote:There are tens of thousands of full time missionaries out available to put to good use. Why not use just a fraction of them to work on providing clean water to the people of Africa? This seems like a no brainer...

My aunt and uncle were in ghana africa on a mission. It was suppose to be a proselyting mission, but my uncle, a retired rancher decided that his efforts would be better served helping the people with their day to day hardships. One such hardship was that there were several wells that were in disrepair, which forced the women to carry large containers many miles to fetch back water. We had wells all over our ranch, so my uncle was familiar with the technology. Most of the issues were just worn out parts that once replaced would put the well back in service. He estimated that for $1500 he could buy the parts and have them shipped. He would do the service.

It took him four months of letter writing, emails and phone calls to get the church to finally pony up the money for the job. My uncle, who is a TBM as they come, was upset beyond words. A year later, when he related this story in his homecoming, You could hear the anger in voice.

I’m just cogitating on whether or not Jesus would rather have a crystal chandelier-filled, Bianco Sardo granite edifice on the outer ring road of Rome, or clean water for Zimbabweans...it’s a puzzler.

I have a question wrote:I’m just cogitating on whether or not Jesus would rather have a crystal chandelier-filled, Bianco Sardo granite edifice on the outer ring road of Rome, or clean water for Zimbabweans...it’s a puzzler.

Hey IHAQ,

Please do not forget that ponderization must be substituted for cogitation if one wishes to come to the only authorized and properly aligned conclusion. Hope this helps.

DrW wrote:

SteelHead wrote:The GDP of Zimbabwe (16 million people) is 18 billion. The LDS church at 15 million people likely has yearly incomes of around 10 billion.

Not wealthy.

If one wishes to compare apples to apples, then one would need to consider the overall economic activity "GDP" of the (claimed) 15 million Mormons, not just tithing revenues.

Assuming the $10 billion in revenues represented 10% of the members income in tithes and offerings, the annual Mormon GDP (economic activity of the church membership as determined by the total market value of all final goods and services), would be on the order of $100 billion.

This makes the per capita GDP of Mormons some six times the per capita GDP in Zimbabwe.

I was being sarcastic. ;)

SteelHead wrote:The GDP of Zimbabwe (16 million people) is 18 billion. The LDS church at 15 million people likely has yearly incomes of around 10 billion.

Not wealthy.

DrW wrote:If one wishes to compare apples to apples, then one would need to consider the overall economic activity "GDP" of the (claimed) 15 million Mormons, not just tithing revenues.

Assuming the $10 billion in revenues represented 10% of the members income in tithes and offerings, the annual Mormon GDP (economic activity of the church membership as determined by the total market value of all final goods and services), would be on the order of $100 billion.

This makes the per capita GDP of Mormons some six times the per capita GDP in Zimbabwe.

SteelHead wrote:I was being sarcastic. ;)

I know.

Just thought someone should take a moment to point out the obvious. Imagine trying to live on 16% of the average US annual income, and then being asked by someone who lives on 6.6 times as much as you do to give them 10% of your income in order to be a member of their silly club.