Does the Interpreter Foundation Have Colonialist Ambitions?

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Rivendale
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Re: Does the Interpreter Foundation Have Colonialist Ambitions?

Post by Rivendale »

Partial transcript from the Mormon stories episode with Roger Hendrix. From one of the less intellectual members of the board. Full episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY2UBU0tkzQ

BYU Pathways & Africa as the dominant “market” for the LDS church
we've got to find a good product that is efficiently delivered
with maybe an uh a newbie like byu pathways and
we've got to find a market that will respond to this a new market
and my theory is that the new market which will be
eventually the dominant market in the church is africa especially
western africa and so you go into africa
and you start delivering the services which they have for 20 years plus sacrament meeting
you know building little chapels seminary early morning seminary relief
society etc plus you add byu pathways
in a place like africa which has how many nations 54 nations 54 countries rather and
and the place says 1.2 billion i mean africa is as big as china and as big as
india and they already have a christian tradition in at least western
africa well and they do in eastern africa and ethiopia especially
and and and uh and the one thing that africans
will will there'll be millions who will be interested
not only in the church and the services but this byu pathways
what byu has done is they have made the getting of a
certificate or an aaa degree or a bachelor's degree they've made it
affordable for the poorest people in the world and
once once you get an african child not only going to seminary not only
taking the sacrament but also being teethed
eventually on byu pathways this byu pathways is being delivered to
them as opposed to them going to byu and provo or byu
in where's by in rec rick rexburg
or in hawaii you can do it online and they'll they they show you how to
have uh group participation and then all of the sudden africans
who can afford it in the poorest part of africa they're saying the church is delivering
more to me than i could ever give to it i i will
for example if i get a bachelor's degree in a country like botswana which has 1.2
million it's desert the people are very poor they're they're they're bred on
agriculture and the the botswana government
they love their people and they are very excited about organizations that bring in
educational opportunities so you come in and you say to a little
african per you know an african child you know we have uh we have primary for
you then we have mutual for you then we help you with your goals
then we put you on a mission and what's more when you get back uh you can afford to get a bachelor's
degree from a from a great university in
america and uh and in a major
that makes you bugs and so you get bought the people of botswana
turned on to the new efficient church plus
the new services of the church and the education part
is the secret sauce uh byu provo is the crown jewel
of the church and next is byu idaho byu hawaii
um and and if it's the crown jewel for us in america who are members of the
church just think what it is to an african child in a poor country
like in botswana and they can afford it and
and and it gets them a better living they're not going to quibble about
tithing they're not going to quibble about uh you know the golden plates
they're going to say or the black priesthood ban that was lifted in 78 and plus
yeah and plus we don't have to worry about that because we're in bed with an naacp and our president
of the church has addressed their national conference twice and uh and so
as blacks communicate blacks in america communicates with blacks in africa
hey this is these guys are okay you don't have to worry about what they
were it's what they are right now plus they're they're going to offer you a bachelor's
degree uh uh you know i i i if you're a Mormon or
you're not a Mormon anymore you're a christian latter-day saint and there and it makes the difference
that is the difference and so when so i believe the church
its best bet is to go into these poor countries
and start the church teeth them on the church programs which
are delivered very efficiently cost efficiently but the quality is still there and then give them byu
pathways the growth of the church will
increase not decrease and that's the trend i think
that is taking place that's what i think is between the lines that people have to
see about where the church and its programs
are going and i believe that in africa that will be the cradle
of great population for the church and i believe that africans will make a
lot of money and i believe that as we throw our ore into the educational sea there
uh it will pay off and we'll be known for that and we give
much more than we get in other words the church gives you more than you get
and so i don't think tithing will be an issue i don't think the priesthood banned
not when you're making more money and not when you're educated and not when you come from a desert
that's uh just poor and i became interested in botswana
and see how that country closed down to the church and now has opened up to the
church and right now the last article i read about byu pathways
i think they in in in uh in all of the countries that where the
church resides that they now have something like 5 000 people uh signed up for byu pathways
and it's it's only been in there a couple years it hasn't been in their 11 years like it has
in the spawning grounds of america it's
and and whoever came up with that
um came up with the big idea
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Kishkumen
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Re: Does the Interpreter Foundation Have Colonialist Ambitions?

Post by Kishkumen »

But if the Church were solely concerned about its bottom line, I think it fairly obvious to any reasonable person (in other words, to the vast majority of people who don’t post on the PO Board) that it wouldn’t be involved in the DR Congo.
That statement is puzzling. Let’s look at some of the pluses that a savvy profit-seeking operation might see in DR Congo:

Second largest potential customer base in Africa.

French speaking population, making the supplying or training of sales staff easier.

Rich natural resources.

GDP has been steadily on the rise since 2000.

Majority Christian population, easing the move to Mormonism.

In any case, I thank DCP for showing me the tactics that are used to shield the church that has a ballooning investment portfolio rapidly approaching 200 billion dollars, used occasionally to prop up its failing for-profit businesses. Pointing to its daily ecclesiastical operations as the reason for this investment strategy has been proven to be a ludicrous explanation.
Last edited by Kishkumen on Sat May 27, 2023 4:13 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Kishkumen
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Re: Does the Interpreter Foundation Have Colonialist Ambitions?

Post by Kishkumen »

This information is interesting fodder for questions regarding the fruits of Mormonism in the financial lives of members:

https://www.empower.com/the-currency/li ... s-by-state

Utah ranks LAST among US states for the retirement savings of its residents.

LAST.
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”~Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
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Kishkumen
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Re: Does the Interpreter Foundation Have Colonialist Ambitions?

Post by Kishkumen »

Rivendale wrote:
Wed May 24, 2023 3:44 pm
Soon to be a trillion dollar church and they aren't concerned with money? :lol:
IKR?

I think Jesus said it best when he spoke of “embellishing the tombs of the righteous.”
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”~Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
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Re: Does the Interpreter Foundation Have Colonialist Ambitions?

Post by Gadianton »

Kishkumen wrote:Utah ranks LAST among US states for the retirement savings of its residents.
And if the Congo becomes Church HQ for Africa, then Congo will rank LAST among all African countries for the retirement savings of its residents.
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Re: Does the Interpreter Foundation Have Colonialist Ambitions?

Post by dastardly stem »

Utah's also the youngest state--by a pretty large margin (next closest is 4 years older). So that likely factors into this.

I imagine 4 years on average into a retirement fund could make a substantial difference.

It also seems to be a bit of a regional thing. For instance, "people who use Empower's Personal Dashboard". I don't use that. Who does? How does that work out in averages.
Screenshot 2023-05-26 074451.png
Screenshot 2023-05-26 074451.png (37.58 KiB) Viewed 287 times
I mean the amount between Millennials - Utah's average population (who the numbers are weighted in favor of apparently) and Gen X - most other's Population average is pretty large.
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Kishkumen
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Re: Does the Interpreter Foundation Have Colonialist Ambitions?

Post by Kishkumen »

Gadianton wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 1:11 pm
And if the Congo becomes Church HQ for Africa, then Congo will rank LAST among all African countries for the retirement savings of its residents.
Paying 10% of your income to the LDS Church is not a path to abundant retirement savings.
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Re: Does the Interpreter Foundation Have Colonialist Ambitions?

Post by Gadianton »

An explanatory note on my recent clarification.

Note that I said the preacher arrives at the mining town after the miners.

It isn't the case that the Mormon church sent missionaries first, who converted lost souls, who then by means of their conversion became blessed in their endeavors, learned to mine, and raised their standard of living, which then led to tithes to build the kingdom of God.

Africa is in transition for better or worse, with godless China quite possibly leading the way of its material rise, and there's good and bad with that because China certainly isn't good -- the local powers like it because they keep it about money. But then as the momentum accelerates, the Mormons storm the land the reap the harvest. See the difference? The greedy Mormon church is taking its cut of the prosperity, they aren't the impetus to the prosperity.
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Re: Does the Interpreter Foundation Have Colonialist Ambitions?

Post by Kishkumen »

Africa is in transition for better or worse, with godless China quite possibly leading the way of its material rise, and there's good and bad with that because China certainly isn't good -- the local powers like it because they keep it about money. But then as the momentum accelerates, the Mormons storm the land the reap the harvest. See the difference? The greedy Mormon church is taking its cut of the prosperity, they aren't the impetus to the prosperity.
Very true, Dean Robbers. China’s role is concerning, but it is the financial titan driving prosperity at present.
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”~Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
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Re: Does the Interpreter Foundation Have Colonialist Ambitions?

Post by Everybody Wang Chung »

The only reason DCP/Interpreter Foundation is in the Congo is that it's one of the very few countries registering any Church growth. DCP wants to give the erroneous impression that the Church is growing rapidly and filling the earth. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Trends point to continued underperformance of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints compared to its competitors. While a range of possibilities exist, the default path is for further decline of growth rates. The LDS Church is unlikely to regain its former growth trajectory. Prospects of becoming a major world faith have faded and are likely beyond reach.
http://jmssa.org/stewart/

As people in Western, Asian and many Latin American countries have become more and more informed about the harm the Church is/has caused and the true history of the Church, they have been leaving in droves. Now, any new growth is mainly found in developing nations where education, literacy, and access to the internet is low. The baptismal numbers in the Congo are offset by correspondingly large inactivity rates, and low numbers of local members in a position to provide robust local leadership.

The trends are not positive. And the fact that the Church has conspicuously stopped sharing metrics on growth proves it. It is dishonest. If President Nelson and the rest of the leaders were more concerned with the truth, we would be frankly discussing these realities in Church meetings, and how we might better address them to fulfill the three-fold mission of the Church.

Eventually, the Congo will develop economically, educationally and have widespread internet access. The Church will then start dying on the vine in the Congo, just like it has in every developed/developing country.
Last edited by Everybody Wang Chung on Sat May 27, 2023 9:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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