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To help you with visualizing the absurd size of a billion dollars alone vs a million. 1 million seconds is about 11 days. 1 billion seconds is *31 YEARS*
@@bluryfilms what about one quadrillion which the rothschilds have about 60-90 quadrillion of wealth. 99.99% which was stolen from us in one way or another. which i know trillion comes before quadrill
So what is your clan name though if Lexie you just wanted to maybe clan join you spunkledork is it searchable I don't think you can search by player named what you can for sure by clan
@@bluryfilms I explain it this way , you can spend 100 000 every day for 25 years strait and still have more money over than most people earn in their life time .
This is why I keep saying that if churches do charitable things, those charitable actions should be treated as any secular charity would: being fully tax exempt but being required to detail their income and money usage for tax exemption while any money not used for charity (money used for religious or other purposes) should be taxed like any land owner or citizen or business is supposed to be taxed. (Also, obscenely wealthy people and corporations should be taxed fairly and effectively to actually pay their fair share and ensure they are unable to evade taxes)
@@carlosspeicywiener7018 way back in the day, there was an argument that because they were not allowed to have a say in the government they did not need to pay into the government as an institution. This was horseshit of course, they always were in politics, but that was the argument
This really disgusted me when I heard about it. Years ago, when I was a mormon, I had to go collect money from a family so destitute their house eventually got condemned due to disrepair because it was a grandmother- living on a fixed income- who had to raise her six grandchildren from her deadbeat daughter and son in law. Every... single... month I had to go to their house and collect fast offerings (and if I skipped it, because I KNOW they needed the money, the grandmother would pay it in person at the ward house). In addition to these fast offerings, every month the grandmother would give 10% of her social security and welfare to the church. This was one of the biggest reasons why I started questioning the religion. I felt SO horrible demanding money in the name of god from this family, and every time I got reminded to be sure to visit the house because not doing so was "denying them blessings" I wanted to puke. The church should have fixed their house, wouldn't have even been a drop in an ocean of their wealth, but they didn't even help when they had to relocate. Even a god wouldn't need a billion dollars. It's disgusting that there are 770 people in the US who have that kind of wealth, let alone religions that do. About the shopping mall? It isn't JUST a shopping mall. It's basically a shopping mall for ONLY luxury goods. 80% of church members flat out cannot afford to shop there at all. The second coming argument is so pathetic too. Even IF Jesus needed $150 billion, that wouldn't matter. Jesus' second coming will be the END of ALL governments across the world as Jesus will be the ruler of a socialist/communist society. No more USA, the dollar will not have any value at all. It'll be worth less than the cotton it's printed on. Capitalism IS NOT THE ECONOMY of Jesus Christ.
It’s especially disgusting as the church is supposed to have social services for their members. Who gets those services if not that family? At the very least, they could’ve sent some of their missionaries to fix their damn house instead of preaching at people who’d rather shove them off their doorstep.
Isn't the Millennium Kingdom/holy land supposed to have streets of gold? Why would Christ need money when He has the power of an almighty God behind Him?
Emma, thanks for covering this. I grew up Mormon, and seriously, we were always told, "We do charity, but we don't brag about it. That's why you don't see stories about us spending money on charity." Yeah, that was a lie.
For real though! Yeah, the Church does humanitarian aid...but just imagine what they could do if they weren't being slithery snakes. (They won't, but just imagine)
@@HeyItsJayHobson All false religions grow only due to corruption. Without those unfair tax, filing, and oversight breaks (that secular charities and atheist charities and agnostic charities and philosophical charities do not get) religion's "ultimate motivation" would be over and we'd have only a ton of tiny cults all going crazy to hurt each other and skirt the secular laws.
Actually, that was not a lie. They do lots of charity work and, in particular, a lot to take care of members. It does not take a lot of effort to look it up.
@@HeyItsJayHobson How are they being "slithery snakes"? The story wasn't about making certain individuals at the top billionaires while members suffered. It was about a decision made by professionals that run the business of the church on how to best take care of the future interests of the church. Besides the way they went about it, this is simply an argument about how they do it and how they don't do it the way you and I want.
As an ex-Mormon living in Mormon central USA (Utah) seeing these scandals being exposed feels me with so much Schadenfreude! Also thank you Emma, your channel along with a few others help me see that I wasn’t as alone as I thought being an Atheist after I left the LDS church a few years ago!
My final straw with the Mormon church happened when I was in college. I remember sitting in my bishop's office getting my temple recommend interview done. Something they ask if whether or not you pay your tithing (because apparently God wants you to pay to get into heaven, as the temple is essential to salvation in the Mormon faith). I broke down to this man telling how much I was struggling to even pay to feed myself. Balling in his office from helplessness, shame, and embarrassment that I was a broke college student. What was this "charitable" organizations response? To offer me help and tell me to save money so I can get on my feet? No. I was told to pay tithing and he would see about getting me a little bit of help from the bishop storehouse. Come to find out a few years later that my tithing would have been used to fight against LGBTQ rights (kills me, as I have a gay sibling who I love more than anything), to build malls, build an investment portfolio, and to buy up a bunch of real estate in Florida. I went on my apparently not deserved temple trip and never went back to that building. When I later got married, the fact that I would not be getting married in the temple (because I did not pay tithing, so once again, could not go in) it was a big issue between my mom and I up to the day before my ceremony. It kills me to know that the way the church teaches people, I don't think I will ever be able to be fully transparent with my mom about why I completely detached from the church. I don't even think she's aware of how far away from it I am now, about 3 years later. I hope this story gets out to members, but information is so easily tossed away as "anti-mormon" that I'm sure it'll fall on deaf ears. It's a truly devastating situation to be in for these families.
Thank you for sharing. I was raised Mormon as well (haven’t gone to church in 30 years I’m 42 now) and I always it was strange that tithing was a requirement. I have had many arguments/ discussions with my parents about this very thing. I hope you can find peace with everything and it doesn’t cause you pain.
Thats common in many churches. But I've always found it easy to simply not talk about religion to my family, particularly my mother. I liked talking to mormons when they came to the door, but the church is always another matter. Almost all organized religions seem messed up. But I remember one mormon friend saying "you know it sounds crazy....but its TRUE". I just smiled at him. He's a nice guy, whatever floats your boat.
+Bushprowler Who do you mean by 'they' and what do you mean by 'that situation'? I don't know if you are blaming the believers for believing it or blaming people for being in poverty.
I read a Heinlein novel from the 50s (not Orphans of the Sky) that went into detail regarding the social structure that had been created to reduce the risk of inbreeding, resultant founder effect, and genetic disease. I think the story's population was about 2000, but RL Pitcairn Island still has problems left over from 9 HMS Bounty men, and 18 Polynesians 230 years ago.
As an American, this is so fucking frustrating because if we taxed these "religious" organizations, we could help all the homeless and those who are hungry and immigrants and disabled ... And soooo much more. But no. They just have to suffer.
It is what is called "best practices" which are a set of guidelines, ethics, or ideas that represent the most efficient or prudent course of action in any given business situation. Any idiot with any business acumen will know this. Although the church is a non-profit organization the best nonprofits are run using best practices. Any business that is run well will have what is called "cash on hand." If you are a small to medium sized business "cash on hand might be in the hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars. But, if you are a large business you need to have cash on hand in the millions or billions of dollars. It isn't greed it is common sense.
@@lukebahr I’ve read business textbooks, admittedly not back to back. That being said none of them have given me a reason a church would have 150 billion dollars in effectively cold storage except for the fact they’re greedy sons of bitches who don’t follow the words of the god they claim to preach. Greed is a sin remember.
An important thing about the IRS complaint. There is a IRS office center in Ogden Utah, a suburb of salt lake city, that is staffed almost entirely by Mormons.
A local homelessness charity I know of had many many rental properties that they rented out to fund their mission. It always made me frustrated because I’m like…why not just put the unhoused people in the properties you already own? 🤔
So many churches around me spend ALL their money in africa, and not fighting poverty but evangelizing. Several breakaway churches said the hell with it and are building affordable housing.
@@mikearchibald744 They only use Africa for clout. If you look at the long term effects of missionary work in Africa, the negative fair outweighs the positive.
How would they afford to buy new houses to house them in if they don’t get enough income? Housing the homeless has lots of associated costs such as support and assistance with keeping them in the homes. I get your point but these organisations have high costs that can’t function to their full capacity on donation alone. It’s better that the rental profit goes to assisting a charity rather than a rich landlord in my opinion anyway.
Very surreal to see a man who was my Mission President (the older man who oversees 100-200 younger missionaries in a specific area) end up on national TV in a 60 Minutes interview. A lot of the first cracks in my testimony as a church-born member happened on my mission. There was a massive emphasis on having good reportable numbers, such as baptisms, lessons, and contacts (introductions on the street). And in my specific mission, where Waddell was the President, we had a weekly newsletter where the missionaries with the best numbers would be spotlighted. I was just an introverted little guy that wanted to spend 2 years helping other people, and I felt so out of place those 2 years as someone who had no interest in hard-committing sales tactics or "contacting" as many people as possible on the street.
I'm actually from Utah and heard about this a few years back the salt lake temple was also caught influencing the members to vote for certain people in the government causing the salt lake temple to have to pay state taxes. Being from Utah and not being Mormon I see the choke hold the LDS church has on the the governance of Utah. this is so refreshing to see someone cover this
Unfortunately there are a lot of bad apples in Utah and Idaho. Where I live (Washington) tithing is actually used to help the poor and needy, I've personally seen it myself. In Utah and Idaho Mormons are probably actually a cult, but they're not all like that, although the good ones are far and few between
Thanks for covering this Emma, I grew up in the Mormon cult, we exmos (ex-mormons) have known about this for years and have been trying to wake up the current members to the truth but they just see us as angry apostates. The more mainstream this gets the more likely the truth will get through to them. Keep it up.
i love how christoper keeps smiling, it really tells me, he has no fear, no fear of being held responsible. his smile helps you see that, he is, a real slimeball.
I'm a former Mormon and a former employee of Beneficial Life, so this especially interests me. I know insurance agents used to tell potential customers that Beneficial Life was a safe insurance company, because it was backed by the financial strength of the LDS Church. It was a major selling point. This was back in the mid-1980s, so I guess it hadn't relied on the church for a bailout at that time.
I actually visited the LDS church with my late girlfriend nine years ago, and they made us both feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome. I made an oath to myself never to set foot in any other church. PS: Happy late birthday, Emma.
thank you so much for covering this, as an exmormon I love watching content on this kind of thing, it keeps me informed, especially as I deal with heat from friends and family since becoming an atheist. I wish you all the best Emma! I look forward to more content on the lds church in the future!
The few channels I've seen talk about the LDS church have generally felt very abrasive to me, so I'm very grateful for Emma's thoughtful and compassionate approach. She doesn't shame honest members, but is rightly critical of the leadership
American religious groups mishandling funds is nothing new. From memory: Jim Bakker's "Praise The Lord" organisation (PTL) later became to be known as "Pass The Loot".
I watched a documentary about Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, and half of it had me sitting there with my mouth open in shock. People actually fell for the lies of those two?!
@@iana6713 oh no, … when he got out jail he went back to work building another televangelism network, he’s hard at work fleecing the poor saps that listen to him…
Interesting, I grew up with a friend whose family was deep into the mormon church. Over time my friend drifted away from the church precisely because he was frustrated and disappointed by people in the church not following the teachings they wanted others to adhere to.
I live in Independence, MO, and this was the first place Mormons tried to make into their religious capital; however, the locals drove Mormons out and they resettled in Utah. Since then, there has been a huge push to "re-Mormonize" the area so this corruption hits close to home, very literally. As far as Christian denominations go, Mormonism is certainly one of the worst ones. I've lost friends to the cult, I don't know how many people have been taken in by the lies and financial corruption.
Lol, let me see ALL the denominations' cookbooks and then we'll talk! Why even WANT these corrupt and unfair benefits that secular charities, agnostic charities, atheist charities, philosophical charities, etc do not receive?
I visited Independence back when I was a fully-believing Mormon teen. I remember being so excited that the area was being, as you put it, re-Mormonized. I've since left the Church and fully renounced it, and it sickens me sometimes to think about the things that I used to believe were good. Rest assured, I, and many other millenial/gen-z people are leaving the Church faster than ever. I really hope that the global power and influence of the cult starts to decline (if it hasn't already) and doesn't stop. It does so much more harm than good.
It only makes sense that they would be interested in increasing their presence in Independence, MO. It is their belief that the Garden of Eden was there and Christ will return there. Just because their belief makes them more present than you want them to be _does not imply nefarious intentions or actions._ Edit: Oops. I did not see the *"Read more"* Yes, atheism and agnosticism is growing very rapidly, and that makes me happy. 😁I agree that stances against the LGBTQ+ community are not a good thing. But, I'm not sure I can see what you are referring to when you say, "so much more harm than good." The LDS, like many Christian denominations, does a _lot of good_ in their communities. I just wish we could form societies that could come together to do these good things _without the need for mysticism or supernatural attributions to the motivations._
@@Musix4me-Clarinet No, but failing to disclose a 150 billion dollar fund formed from tithing, which church members should know about before investing, is pretty suspicious
@@ninjoshday *I agree that members would likely appreciate knowing that the church leadership had decided that saving the money, as they teach the members to do, was how they decided to handle the tithes.* As for suspicion, I do not see any behavior that suggests someone is trying to get something over on anyone. If people connected with the funds, all started buying yachts, mansions, or Lamborghini's, I would then be suspicious. But the money appears to be used and appropriated in the same manner that they teach the members to lead their lives. Church members tithe for spiritual reasons and trust members of the leadership to be led by the Spirit in their building up of Christ's church. _I see nothing in their choices that suggest they are up to bad things._
It's baffling to think of 5 million as "a drop in the bucket" to the church. They could literally solve all of my financial problems and allow me and my children to live out the rest of our lives in comfort without even needing to work, and all it would cost them is a "drop"!? Heck, I don't even need 1 million to completely change the quality of my life. That's a fraction of a fraction of a "drop". They could massively improve hundreds of millions of lives! Used very strategically, that kind of money could potentially change the world!
Thank you for this video. I grew up LDS and most of my family still participates. My parents recently moved into an Assisted Living Center and I've started helping with their budget and finances, and it killed me to see the hundreds of dollars they were sending the church every month out of their social security checks and small pension. If they had been saving and investing their tithing dollars for themselves their entire lives they'd have plenty of money for excellent end of life care, but instead we're carefully budgeting as I learn that all of their money (and all of the tithing I also paid until well into my thirties) just went to an enormous investment fund to invest in a for profit shipping center. Not only had the church drained them financially for decades, they've provided countless hours of unpaid volunteer work and paid their own way to serve a senior mission together. I just want this organization to stop preying on people. When you are inside of it you love it and believe it's the one true church on earth and that everyone else outside is wrong. I would've given my life for the church when I was in it, I believed so strongly. I'm so grateful to people like the whistleblower in this video who overcame that intense brainwashing and stood up to this organization masquerading as a Jesus Christ's one true church on earth.
Wow. Nice to see this finally got mainstream attention. It’s scary that I live in a country where nobody holds religions accountable for the stuff they do. Hopefully this story will push people to change how we treat religions differently from other charities, but I’m pessimistic.
Exmormon here, just to say thank you thank you thank you for covering this! Anytime somebody "from the outside" covers the cult and calls it out, it makes me (and so many others like me) very, very happy.
Latter-Day Saints are no more of a cult than any other Christian denomination. Of course, you may define all of them as cults...then I'd have to agree.
@@ajhalkeright7043 Well. I've replied twice now and both times, when I refreshed the screen, UA-cam simply deleted my response. I looked up the BITE model. From my perusal of the criteria, I found it hard to find any that are unique to the LDS faith. All of the ones I agreed with also applied to almost all religions, especially Christian faiths. If you would argue that Christianity, in general, is cult-like, then I would lump the LDS in there as well.
@@Musix4me-Clarinet Well of course it's not special, but it is or isn't a cult depending on the intensity of these parts, and it's pretty up there, especially when it comes to missions.
@@ajhalkeright7043 Looking at specifics, and I'd be happy to publically explore them with you, the behaviors the LDS church teaches its members to exhibit are simply from their scriptures. For example, the Bible is replete with references to God expecting his flock to tithe, and He's pretty strict about it. For example, Malachi 3:8-10, _"Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse-your whole nation-because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."_ So this strict adherence to paying tithes and the belief of receiving blessings from God for the sacrifice might seem to fit the criteria in the BITE model, but so would the Hebrews of the Old Testament. I don't see many calling them a cult. Another example, concerning sending members out on missions, is Matthew 28:19-20, which they believe to refer to missionary work. Was the early Christian church a cult? Certainly, the Jews would have thought so. I never served a mission. I was encouraged to but never pressured to. There was never any kind of "threat" or "damnation" cast towards me because I did not want to serve a mission. In fact, it would have been very odd to have seen that happen.
For context: 5 million dollars is one thirty thousandth of 150 billion. It would be quite a scenario for a church like this to be thoroughly investigated, much less actually busted. Because as you said, other religious organizations would speak out against it. This would be interesting because you can be absolutely CERTAIN that any other organization that does this is ALSO massively misappropriating and misusing funds, and are terrified of a precident being set for them to be investigated similarly.
This goes so much deeper than this rainy day fund. The church has siphoned money out of Canada through 'giving' it all to BYU and Australia has questions about how they are siphoning funds from the church there too. All this eventually finds its way to the "rainy day" fund.
Oh man, so happy you covered this. I would love to see more focus on the mormon church from you. Perhaps a collab with Nemo the Mormon or John Dehlin/Mormon Stories to talk about the church's truth claims.
As an Ex Mormon this is a great topic to cover! A fun way to illustrate how big a number this is is to think in time. One million seconds is 11 days, 13 hours. One Billion seconds is 31.69 YEARS! 150 Billion seconds is 4,753 years!
It won't, how could it. "Money " will be goods, things made, food, and I hate to say it.. but probably women/men and drugs.. End times won't be good, but it'll be especially bad for those who do not know how to live without money and those that need medical. 😢
I used to work at Deseret Industries, and we got more clothes than we could sell. We advertised over the store intercom that we'd give them away to the needy, but the managers said that there was a guy in Canada who bought them from us and not to tell the customers. I tell everyone I can about that just to spite them.
A Church, keeping all the money for itself, instead of using it for what they said they would and convinced other people to? Shocking! It's a good thing the system lets us hold these people accountable, right? /s
The worst part is the way they got the money in the first place. If you don't pay your 10% tithing, you can't go to heaven or even qualify for assistance from the church itself.
@@teapotsaway Um. Where does the church say anything different than _their scriptures demonstrate?_ And, growing up, my family never paid tithing _consistently._ The church was always still there for us and supportive in tough times. In fact, my parents were not active in the church, though still members, for decades before my mother died and they still continued to support them socially. Even today, my Downs brother has members (leadership) attend his birthday parties at 47 years old. Again, I would love to see scriptures they believe in or teachings where they said you cannot enter heaven if you do not tithe. Keep in mind, the LDS believe "Heaven" consists of the Celestial, Telestial, and Terrestrial kingdoms. While you cannot get a temple recommend (needed for completing the rituals to enter the Celestial kingdom) if you are not tithing, you certainly can enter the lower kingdoms.
@@Musix4me-Clarinet OK, so how much does it cost in life to get your own planet after you die? Assuming you're a man, of course. And what do women get (especially if they're not called by their husband), or don't they have to tithe?
@@RichWoods23 You'd have to explore their scriptures and teachings to know for sure. Whether or not you are supportive of their beliefs is up to you. But they are sincere in their beliefs, including their church leaders. The evidence on the ground is that they care for the community in which they live. To literally answer your question, I would suppose at least a year's worth of tithing. So that would depend on how much is made. I believe that they teach that the scriptures referring to tithing is considered a commandment. So, besides exceptions made for those in service, like missionaries, everyone, male or female is supposed to tithe. I believe they still teach that you should bring your children up to tithe as well.
@@Musix4me-Clarinet Speaking as an ex-Mormon who disavows the church organization but still finds value in the Book of Mormon: so many of the problems with the church don't come from the scriptures, but from the culture. It isn't doctrine that if you stop paying tithing, you don't go to heaven. However, if the members of your ward find out you choose not to pay tithing, they'll probably treat you like you're going to hell (or more accurately, the "telestial kingdom"). The religion isn't fundamentally bad, but the structure, and current political landscape of the US, are naturally corruptive.
One of the reasons it's so much, is because since the time of Joseph Smith. Wealthy church members have been encouraged to donate 10% of their final estate to the church. And thousands have donated their entire estate to the church.
One of the things that blows my mind with this as well. Many members will refute and say 'we still do more charity work than any other organization!' Which we can pick apart - the bigger issue to me is how they are bleeding their congregations dry. Many used to have robust budgets for activities, welfare of local members, etc. But many leaders are now being told to fundraise or pay for some activity costs out of pocket. I know of one 'ward' that a bishop saw a sharp decline in their budget (attendance stayed about the same) and when he asked about it he was told to just find ways to make it work. HQ is hoarding funds.
well, that's not true - what about for instance the lds church's partnerships with red cross, catholic church, islamic relief, in humanitarian aid ? I don't like this, but don't make stuff up to paint it blacker.
I grew up mormon, served a mission and was married in the temple. Long story short, took years to gradually leave, deprogramming myself of life-long beliefs and comforts from the religion, but am finally out of the cloud and thinking clearly. I've lost almost all family and friends. It has been a heartbreaking, lonely road. I'm now 47 years old with three lovely, teenage daughters. Every day I'm so grateful I left the church and didn't subject them to the same pressures I faced. They're happy, free, most of all free to choose whatever they like for themselves, and I couldn't be happier or more at peace. Sometimes I grieve the people I lost as I left but were they really my friends? No, not one of them said anything.. our ties were only from belonging to the same organization. That's not friendship or love. I won't even go into the awful things that happened to me in that church, but I'll never go back, and when I try to tell members about my experience they either ignore me, get mad or become defensive.. they don't care what I went through.
Can't agree more - the LDS Church is deceiving its own members by doing this. And that is utterly shameful, before we even get to the tax-exempt status they hide behind to avoid scrutiny. Not religious myself, so seeing this from an outsider's perspective. Fascinating video, Emma.
It's blows me away how I used to be a part of this church and believed so hard. I look at them now and it's so obviously shady that now I have a hard time understanding why people stay.
As a raised to be Mormon, I was gay and stuck in the uncanny valley with the church for my entire childhood into young adulthood. I would have taken physical torture over that mental hell.
There is a difference between confidentiality and secrecy. Primarily, people are aware there is a confidentiality in place it's just not talked about, but people are not aware of a secrecy.
I wish I was a mormon church that hoarded BILLIONS and kept it confidentially stored. Anyways, Megachurches need to go away but the probably won't. Anyways, time to go steal me some MONEHS
It still baffles me that churches have tax exemption without having to disclose their financial records the way nonprofits do. It seems primed for abuse like this because there's no accountability
22:11 This is why I keep saying that if churches do charitable things, those charitable actions should be treated as any secular charity would: being fully tax exempt but being required to detail their income and money usage for tax exemption while any money not used for charity (money used for religious or other purposes) should be taxed like any land owner or citizen or business is taxed. (Also, obscenely wealthy people and corporations should be taxed fairly and effectively to actually pay their fair share and ensure they are unable to evade taxes)
Two ideas. "With great power comes great responsibility." And "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." What makes what the LDS church did so bad is the fact that with so much power, virtually absolute within their realm of influence, they have a *massive* responsibility to at the minimum adhere to their own principles. And so given the power they have available it makes their failure that much more unforgivable.
Reading through all the anti-LDS tropes, it was refreshing to see a rational approach sprinkled in here. I too appreciate those quotes. While I would like to see society approach helping its neediest first, I do believe the LDS leadership believes that they are doing what is in the best interest of Christ's church. The world has plenty of resources to feed and provide shelter for everyone. That we have not found a way to agree to do it is also an indictment of it.
@@Gfish17 Because an ethical person would give away most of that money to benefit people in need. A billion dollars is more than any individual could possibly need for their entire life
@@ninjoshday I know it's more then any indevidual could ever possibly spend in Thier entire life. That's why it's such a beautiful prize. I want to never run out of money for the rest of my life. I want to never have to work ever again and still afford to fun stuff and basic nessities.
@@Gfish17 A millionaire could also never run out of money without working while still doing fun stuff. Even one million could be enough (although this really depends on what the person does with it and what they count as 'fun stuff'). One billion is one thousand million, anyone with one thousand million has too much for one person so it comes across as just hoarding money you don't need (while some are dying on the streets). There is also the argument that no one can earn a billion (a thousand million) ethically. You have to be doing something unethically (either avoiding taxes, scamming customers to exploiting/underpaying workers) to get to that amount.
@@Gfish17 If you have a billion dollars, and others are dying of poverty when you could help them without even affecting your quality of life, you're complicit in their death. The church has more than enough money to end poverty in the US _forever._ The fact that they choose to do nothing with that money is disturbing
As an ex Mormon, I have to say the sad part about all the negative press that the church has gotten recently, specifically about their financial crimes, wealth hoarding, and child sexual assaults cover-ups, is that my Mormon family will never see or hear it. If some piece of information does make it in, they're conditioned to dismiss it as "anti-Mormon" material, chalk it up to the workings of Satan, and pull even closer to this corrupt and abusive cult.
Same, and I’m so sorry you have to go through that too. I strongly thought about sending this to my parents, but they have arguments and excuses for everything. It doesn’t help that some of these people put so much of their lives and money into it, that I think they both don’t want to hear that they’ve been fooled, and can’t come to terms with the fact that their faith might be wrong. I think the thing that can be hard for Some is that when you give up the idea of the church, you also give up the idea of your family being together forever after death. And even though it can be done, that’s a pretty hard pill to swallow. I think the church is so messed up, and I am so glad I’m out of there. It does weird things to people.
It would break their hearts. The thing that you adore and love not matching your worldview. I've read a good book that changes halfway through and I've been devastated, dismayed, to the point of anger and tears. If the same applied to a cult... well. I couldn't bear it myself.
An interesting bit of trivia: there's apparently a theory that the line about the camel through the eye of the needle _might_ have been referring to a small side door that an unburdened camel could barely make it through, but it was basically impossible to take it through with all of it's pack without knocking it all off and/or hurting the poor thing. Granted, from what I remember of the mention it's a contested theory at best, but either way still yeah that line often gets forgotten by modern christians, that and the lines about prayer in public versus in private.
Thank you for encouraging me to improve my ability to read mirrored text. 😊 Also, I hadn't seen this story reported anywhere else in my feed so thanks for talking about it.
@@Musix4me-Clarinet How would that be ironic? Or even connected at all? I'd assume she, like most streamers, flips the video to make gesturing at things on and offscreen look better but made the all too common mistake of flipping the whole stream rather than just her preview window.
@@protocol6 Actually, it is a regular practice to avoid being auto-demonetized for rebroadcasting copyrighted materials. With all the assuming and presumptions being done in the video, why would I not do the same?
@@Musix4me-Clarinet Ah, I see. You would appear to be right about that. There's a fair use argument to be made (transformative, commentary, news reporting) but it's not a slam dunk.
@@protocol6 I don't know that she did that, nor do I think she did. I'm just pointing out that if we want to look at things and assume suspicious behavior, we certainly can do the same there.
as an exmormon, i thought this would get my parents to leave the church, but when we talked about it they just got mad that i was listening to anti mormon propoganda...
Yep. I got the same response from my parents. It's sad. One month they weren't sure how they would pay their mortgage, & admitted that if they didn't pay tithing that month they'd have enough. But insisted if they paid tithing God would find a way... I'll bet you can guess what happened. They worked their ass off to find a solution, & used their own hard work as proof that God helped them because they paid their tithing. I'm sure you've got stories like that too.
Congratulations Emma on your birthday! You're the knowledgeable mandarin duck on our UA-cam pond, with eclectic style, great personality and enough quirks to bring joy to all your viewers! Why should any religions organizations be tax exempted? Gone are the days when they were just the small community hub. They're literally businesses that operate on the faith of their followers. Only exception is non profit with strict rules and charitable organizations with equally strict rules. Keep sharing in your brilliance Emma, please take care and stay safe!
Hello Emma, thank you for covering this. I am what is known as a 'Jack' Mormon, meaning that I no longer believe the church is true but have not had my name removed from their records yet (you need a lawyer for that) anyway I went on a mission and did everything I was supposed to but ended up researching the early days of the church. The church has been a scam (MLM) from the very beginning. When I was in high school in Utah, it was well known that the church was investing in things, buying up property, and asking members to donate or will at the time of death property and monies to the church. One of the covenants made when going through the temple is to give your time, work, prosperity, and even life to the church. This is really disgusting. I feel bad for the members that buy into this. Sometimes it is impossible to put a mirror up to it and have someone recognize that this whole thing is a sham. I could go on but for now rant over.
@pollyhashiscrackerpaints It's not true that you need a lawyer. Anyone who tells you that, lds or not, has got it wrong. You can request that your name be removed, and the church must comply. They might try to change your mind, but in the end it's your call. Some people have employed lawyers to prevent being hassled by members trying to reclaim them. (Actually I would check that they've in fact done it)
I grew up Mormon, and my parents still are, and we've struggled a lot financially, including being homeless a couple times. I didn't known this was happening until I saw your video, but that's just another reason to leave the faith. My family would be doing much better if they weren't giving away 10% of their income every month. This makes me feel sick and extremely defeated. I hope that people see this and realize what's actually going on.
Glad you got out. But no, they will ignore it. They are tied and bound, politically, socially, financially and emotionally! Spirituality is an emotion.😊 Take care and cheers 😊
I have friends who are LDS members, and back in late 2019 they directed one of their friends my way, as she was looking for someone to make an editorial cartoon about this issue. I worked with her and made a cartoon that she shopped around to various publications, but unfortunately, there were no takers.
I got a cold-call 10 or 11years ago from the church; my mother was Mormon, they assumed I was, and they wanted me to come and run some of their IT consulting. I told them I took after my father, a Catholic (I'm arguably an atheist), and they decided they wanted to hire someone else. This is not a rare thing for them. They will attempt to recruit people they believe are Mormon to help run their operations. Probably because they believe (rightfully) that most religious folks are blind to corruption in their own religion. I don't know from internal experience, but considering they "converted" my dad post-humous, I believe any level of corruption is possible in that "church".
I was raised Mormon, for what it's worth as far as I know "shunning" isn't an official institution as it is in JW, I don't recall it ever being a thing. I still talk to my (still *very* Mormon) grandparents without issue. Even if it's unofficial and socially enforced though it could be very harmful so I feel for anyone that experiences it. This news doesn't surprise me. Mormons have always been very thrifty and money-oriented, with Chik-Fil-A being a prime example. It's abstract money stuff too, so I'd imagine most Mormons wouldn't understand the issue enough to be outraged before they're convinced it's actually ok by leaders. EDIT: Chik-Fil-A was founded by a Southern Baptist apparently, for some reason I thought he was Mormon.
@@ninjoshday You can tell them that native americans are not from the middle east and they were never in the j religion, that they have their own religion. All native americans, from North America to South America are of asian/siberian descent. There is zero evidence of j people writings. In Israel, and those regions, there are writings called proto-j people writings.
Shunning isn't really a widespread doctrine. But there is a deep-rooted narrative created about people who leave the faith through general conference talks and Sunday lessons. While I'm glad it's not usually full shunning, it's still tough to maintain the same relationships after leaving the LDS church because of those narratives being taught about you: that you were weak, that you gave into Satan's temptations, that you are blinded, that you threw away your whole life because you were "offended," and that you are lost and need to be "brought back to the fold."
I left Mormonism in late 2020 and yours was one of the channels I dove into as I was deconstructing those beliefs and trying to figure things out. Thanks for all you do!
I was Baptist not Mormon but I always had a problem with Tithing to a church because I knew even as a Christian that I wasn’t going to see the money I Tithed to the church returned to me after I died, I mean people create wills for the very reason that you can’t take money or any of your possessions with you after you die; it really opened my eyes to what a scam it all was, I’ve been an atheist for seven years now and I’m glad I left.
Seriously. A hundred billion dollars could *solve poverty* in the US with money left over. It's crazy that there are people who think it's right to hoard it.
My understanding is that according to Mormon teachings, you can't get into heaven if you're not caught up on your tithing. So they are literally scaring the money out of people, under the threat of not being in heaven, and then hoarding it.
I am from a 9th generation LDS cult family and I thank Lord Lucifer I escaped ... I have literally hundreds of relatives who are still members, and when I try to speak to any of them about the abomination of this cult and all religious cults, they get all glassy eyed and either walk away or change the subject quick ... Many years ago, being the curious type for information, I broke the first commandment of this cult, "Thou shalt never question the church" ... the second commandment is "Thou shalt give thy money to the church" ... so glad I did and now I am a true black sheep
@@ninjoshday They are absolutely commandments. They do not call them commandments explicitly, but in every way they are commandments. To enter the temple you have to be a full tithe-payer and 'not question the church', so to speak. They are far more than social expectations.
I was lost when they said all of this money is for the second coming of Jesus. OK, suppose that Jesus comes back to bring paradise and happiness to his true followers...what does he need money for? Why would he need even a dime to make that happen, let alone one. Hundred. Billion. Dollars. To let my Star Trek Nerd show in a quote: "What does God need with a Starship?"
I'm an exmormon and my shelf broke around the time that the news about the $150 billion dollar hoard came out. The really terrifying thing is the sheer amount of money the makes every year. I did some napkin math back then and if 30% of the church pays tithing(about 4,999,099 people) at the US minium wage($7.25) with a 20-hour work week, then the church gets about $3,769,320,646 per year in gross tithing. Even if most of it goes towards operations and management, $3,769,320,646 is a hell of a lot of money to get completely tax-free.
Glad to see you talking about this subject. I used to work for a land title database company, and so I know -- the LDS church owns properties all over the southwest. They have even paid in gold for properties.Oh! and before I forget, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
As a 17 year old who is still active in the church because I can’t leave yet, this literally kills me. I know my church is bad, but thinking about 5 year old me who was so excited to give 3 dollars to the church, is gut wrenching. I was so happy that my money would help people, would build temples, would support the missionaries. And even as an atheist, knowing this now crushes my heart.
Glad you covered this, I personally probably never would have found out! I went to a high school which was majority mormon as an atheist, and I could tell the whole thing was weird, but this is crazy. Keep it up, you're doing gods work!
Also, as far as churches', and not just Mormon one, tax exempt status, if the law were followed, they should lose this, but the tax laws on churches are nearly never enforced in the US, and churches can get away with damned near any violation of financial and tax laws. Because Jesus.
Hello Professor! I was 15 when I first heard this album. I bought it, on vinyl, from a shop my then-girlfriend was working in. I still have it, and still love the excitement, and exhilaration, contained in these few songs. To record an album of this magnitude...in 36 hours...is mind-blowing...yet these guys did it. It really is stunning. Thanks for producing such solid, entertaining content, in a world of half-arsed click-bait.
A good way to imagine billions is aircraft carriers. a new US aircraft carrier costs 14 Billion. 285 Billion is enough to build a carrier 5 cruisers, an attack sub and to operate them for 2 years. most of the cost is in the 75 planes and the 25 Million per day operation costs
It occurs to me that public companies have shareholders that they are answerable to. Those shareholders have access to the financial statements of the company and are able to comment and criticise how the company is run in meetings if they wish. It’s a shame that an organisation supposedly run for the good of its members and the community is less transparent than a for-profit company. And, that it is allowed to be.
Happy birthday Emma! This video just highlights one of the many reasons I don't play with religion anymore. As you said, there is no such thing as and ethical billionaire.
been putting off watching this because my sister, who is still Mormon, was over for two weeks, and my mom already thinks I'm corrupting my siblings. so glad to see this talked about!! I haven't identified as Mormon for almost a decade now but I still have the occasional faith crisis and this was one of the major ones. for a long, long time I believed that the church def wasn't for me but that it made a lot of people happy so I'd leave it alone, but this was a turning point. Mormons claim to have a red phone to god, basically; though they're cagey about it if asked directly, members are taught that the top leaders occasionally personally see Jesus. I was taught there's a special room in the Salt Lake temple where prophets go to talk to god, and I mean really talk. Joseph Smith claimed he saw and talked to Jesus and God face to face and Mormons keep up the idea that it's real. BUT IT CAN'T BE. the Jesus I believed in would have never directed a church to hoard wealth while people were homeless and starving, and a Jesus who would direct religious leaders to hoard wealth instead of building shelters and helping the poor isn't one I want to follow. there are people living on the very streets of Salt Lake City while hundreds of church buildings in Utah alone sit empty most of the time. most of them even have a kitchen and showers already. add a washer and dryer and have some bedding available and so, so many people could have a temporary place to stay, get a warm meal, wash up, and clean their clothes. and yet my mom has disowned me twice by restricting access to my younger siblings (there's a 15 year gap and 20 year gap between me and my youngest two siblings, so one is still a minor and one only just turned 18) because I don't believe in this anymore. it kills me.
I don't think most people comprehend what a billion actually means... I could pay you $1 every SECOND of the day, and if I had to give you $1 Million it would take me about 11.5 days. Now, if I had to pay you $1 BILLION, it would take me 30 YEARS! Now think of 100 Billion... over 31,000 years.... NO ONE should ever have that kind of money and power.
I think you got your maths wrong. I work it out as “only” 3,000 ish years. Worth noting of course the US minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, so paying out $1 per second is almost 500 minimum wage employees for that time.
I hope anyone going in for temple recommend interviews this year tells their bishop they won’t answer questions about tithing because they don’t measure their personal contributions in percentages either.
The Mormon has been grifting their followers for years, also their member participate by selecting other Mormon businesses to do business with even when there are cheaper or better options. They try to keep the money in the family so to speak.
A few years ago, I came across a job posting for the Mormon peanut butter factory. Among the requirements is that you be a "Temple-worthy Mormon". Which means, amoung other things you thithe 10% to the church. They do donate product to the local food bank. But the food bank has to round up volunteers to package it. (Probably boxing the jars, not sure.)
Hoarding immense amounts of money and claiming it's for "charity" when the charity in question is a pittance and/or directed at members of the group, while the accumulation of wealth just continues...is actually pretty common behavior for mainstream large religious organizations. The LDS church in their misbehavior isn't an outlier here, unfortunately. (That's not a defense of the LDS church.)
I can verify, it’s absolutely always been a cult. When you drill into parishioners that you need to be sealed in the temple in order to be a family forever, you get people using your dead mother against you when you leave the church. It’s pretty messed up, and I’m really glad people are leaving.
As someone who has left the Mormon church, I'm really glad to see you talking about this! Hopefully with more and more people talking about it more and more people still in the church will realize the unethical and hypocritical things that the church is doing.
My former cult Jehovah’s witnesses are doing the same thing. They will not tell their members how much money they have. They also move money around to pay legal bills in their CSA cases.
Yep. And current JWs will never question where the money is going, because they're convinced that the 9 leaders of Watchtower speak for Jesus, so how could they possibly do something wrong?
Sorry I'm late, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMA! 🎉🎊 🎂🎈 I don't have much to say on Mormonism, not being Mormon and never having been one, or the IRS, but I can tell you it infuriates me that a religious organization has that kind of wealth and isn't helping anyone but themselves. In the US, we're facing a housing crisis, and it's worse in my state (New Jersey) than most other states. I'm one of the homeless, yet one of the luckier ones (I'm living in a motel with my boyfriend). If you don't believe that qualifies as homeless, do some research, because it is one of four types of homelessness. I have mental and physical health problems. Things are getting worse in the US, with homelessness getting worse, inflation going up, pay rates not nearly enough to cover expenses, and technology replacing people in employment.
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To help you with visualizing the absurd size of a billion dollars alone vs a million.
1 million seconds is about 11 days.
1 billion seconds is *31 YEARS*
@@bluryfilms what about one quadrillion which the rothschilds have about 60-90 quadrillion of wealth. 99.99% which was stolen from us in one way or another. which i know trillion comes before quadrill
i am desepointed in you =(
So what is your clan name though if Lexie you just wanted to maybe clan join you spunkledork is it searchable I don't think you can search by player named what you can for sure by clan
@@bluryfilms I explain it this way , you can spend 100 000 every day for 25 years strait and still have more money over than most people earn in their life time .
I swear the majority of large churches should lose their tax exempt status.
Every religion should lose their tax exempt status. Personal faith is no excuse for not abiding by the rules of society.
I never understood why they're tax exempt anyway.
This is why I keep saying that if churches do charitable things, those charitable actions should be treated as any secular charity would: being fully tax exempt but being required to detail their income and money usage for tax exemption while any money not used for charity (money used for religious or other purposes) should be taxed like any land owner or citizen or business is supposed to be taxed. (Also, obscenely wealthy people and corporations should be taxed fairly and effectively to actually pay their fair share and ensure they are unable to evade taxes)
@@carlosspeicywiener7018 way back in the day, there was an argument that because they were not allowed to have a say in the government they did not need to pay into the government as an institution. This was horseshit of course, they always were in politics, but that was the argument
@@renatocorvaro6924 right by that logic if I’m a charitable person I shouldn’t have to personally pay taxes 🙃
This really disgusted me when I heard about it. Years ago, when I was a mormon, I had to go collect money from a family so destitute their house eventually got condemned due to disrepair because it was a grandmother- living on a fixed income- who had to raise her six grandchildren from her deadbeat daughter and son in law.
Every... single... month I had to go to their house and collect fast offerings (and if I skipped it, because I KNOW they needed the money, the grandmother would pay it in person at the ward house). In addition to these fast offerings, every month the grandmother would give 10% of her social security and welfare to the church. This was one of the biggest reasons why I started questioning the religion. I felt SO horrible demanding money in the name of god from this family, and every time I got reminded to be sure to visit the house because not doing so was "denying them blessings" I wanted to puke.
The church should have fixed their house, wouldn't have even been a drop in an ocean of their wealth, but they didn't even help when they had to relocate.
Even a god wouldn't need a billion dollars. It's disgusting that there are 770 people in the US who have that kind of wealth, let alone religions that do.
About the shopping mall? It isn't JUST a shopping mall. It's basically a shopping mall for ONLY luxury goods. 80% of church members flat out cannot afford to shop there at all.
The second coming argument is so pathetic too. Even IF Jesus needed $150 billion, that wouldn't matter. Jesus' second coming will be the END of ALL governments across the world as Jesus will be the ruler of a socialist/communist society. No more USA, the dollar will not have any value at all. It'll be worth less than the cotton it's printed on. Capitalism IS NOT THE ECONOMY of Jesus Christ.
It’s especially disgusting as the church is supposed to have social services for their members. Who gets those services if not that family? At the very least, they could’ve sent some of their missionaries to fix their damn house instead of preaching at people who’d rather shove them off their doorstep.
@@AL-bv7jt My family has had a few interactions with the church's social services, and they are a nightmare
Isn't the Millennium Kingdom/holy land supposed to have streets of gold? Why would Christ need money when He has the power of an almighty God behind Him?
They are transparently parasitic, just like all the other billionaires.
Emma, thanks for covering this. I grew up Mormon, and seriously, we were always told, "We do charity, but we don't brag about it. That's why you don't see stories about us spending money on charity." Yeah, that was a lie.
For real though! Yeah, the Church does humanitarian aid...but just imagine what they could do if they weren't being slithery snakes. (They won't, but just imagine)
@@HeyItsJayHobson All false religions grow only due to corruption. Without those unfair tax, filing, and oversight breaks (that secular charities and atheist charities and agnostic charities and philosophical charities do not get) religion's "ultimate motivation" would be over and we'd have only a ton of tiny cults all going crazy to hurt each other and skirt the secular laws.
Actually, that was not a lie. They do lots of charity work and, in particular, a lot to take care of members. It does not take a lot of effort to look it up.
@@HeyItsJayHobson How are they being "slithery snakes"? The story wasn't about making certain individuals at the top billionaires while members suffered. It was about a decision made by professionals that run the business of the church on how to best take care of the future interests of the church. Besides the way they went about it, this is simply an argument about how they do it and how they don't do it the way you and I want.
@@Musix4me-Clarinet a church not spending ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS on charity is a fucking travesty
As an ex-Mormon living in Mormon central USA (Utah) seeing these scandals being exposed feels me with so much Schadenfreude! Also thank you Emma, your channel along with a few others help me see that I wasn’t as alone as I thought being an Atheist after I left the LDS church a few years ago!
Me too! I'm glad it's not just us that got to appreciate the comical timing of that "Ummm..."
I have never seen anyone else use schadenfreude in a sentence before, kudos!
My final straw with the Mormon church happened when I was in college. I remember sitting in my bishop's office getting my temple recommend interview done. Something they ask if whether or not you pay your tithing (because apparently God wants you to pay to get into heaven, as the temple is essential to salvation in the Mormon faith). I broke down to this man telling how much I was struggling to even pay to feed myself. Balling in his office from helplessness, shame, and embarrassment that I was a broke college student. What was this "charitable" organizations response? To offer me help and tell me to save money so I can get on my feet? No. I was told to pay tithing and he would see about getting me a little bit of help from the bishop storehouse. Come to find out a few years later that my tithing would have been used to fight against LGBTQ rights (kills me, as I have a gay sibling who I love more than anything), to build malls, build an investment portfolio, and to buy up a bunch of real estate in Florida. I went on my apparently not deserved temple trip and never went back to that building. When I later got married, the fact that I would not be getting married in the temple (because I did not pay tithing, so once again, could not go in) it was a big issue between my mom and I up to the day before my ceremony. It kills me to know that the way the church teaches people, I don't think I will ever be able to be fully transparent with my mom about why I completely detached from the church. I don't even think she's aware of how far away from it I am now, about 3 years later. I hope this story gets out to members, but information is so easily tossed away as "anti-mormon" that I'm sure it'll fall on deaf ears. It's a truly devastating situation to be in for these families.
Maybe you should show her this video. She might join you some day.
Thank you for sharing. I was raised Mormon as well (haven’t gone to church in 30 years I’m 42 now) and I always it was strange that tithing was a requirement. I have had many arguments/ discussions with my parents about this very thing. I hope you can find peace with everything and it doesn’t cause you pain.
They choose to be in that situation. They choose to be desperate. If you can't grow out of it you're probably fine with being in that situation.
Thats common in many churches. But I've always found it easy to simply not talk about religion to my family, particularly my mother. I liked talking to mormons when they came to the door, but the church is always another matter. Almost all organized religions seem messed up. But I remember one mormon friend saying "you know it sounds crazy....but its TRUE". I just smiled at him. He's a nice guy, whatever floats your boat.
+Bushprowler
Who do you mean by 'they' and what do you mean by 'that situation'? I don't know if you are blaming the believers for believing it or blaming people for being in poverty.
I did the math on that fine. That would be like an individual failing to pay $2000 in taxes and the IRS fining them 6 cents
As an ex Mormon, I love that they did the story, and I really appreciate that you did it too.
Ditto.😊❤
The Expanse series really predicted that the LDS would be able to afford the construction of a generational ship.
🤣🤣🤣 The Nauvoo!!!
I read a Heinlein novel from the 50s (not Orphans of the Sky) that went into detail regarding the social structure that had been created to reduce the risk of inbreeding, resultant founder effect, and genetic disease. I think the story's population was about 2000, but RL Pitcairn Island still has problems left over from 9 HMS Bounty men, and 18 Polynesians 230 years ago.
As an American, this is so fucking frustrating because if we taxed these "religious" organizations, we could help all the homeless and those who are hungry and immigrants and disabled ... And soooo much more. But no. They just have to suffer.
It is what is called "best practices" which are a set of guidelines, ethics, or ideas that represent the most efficient or prudent course of action in any given business situation. Any idiot with any business acumen will know this. Although the church is a non-profit organization the best nonprofits are run using best practices. Any business that is run well will have what is called "cash on hand." If you are a small to medium sized business "cash on hand might be in the hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars. But, if you are a large business you need to have cash on hand in the millions or billions of dollars. It isn't greed it is common sense.
@@lukebahr150 Billion dollars kept in limbo by a church is best practice? What possible ways could a church spend 150 billion dollars if not charity?
@@austinestep8461 Exactly what I wrote. I don't believe I have time to spell it out for you. Go read a Business 101 text book.
@@lukebahr I’ve read business textbooks, admittedly not back to back. That being said none of them have given me a reason a church would have 150 billion dollars in effectively cold storage except for the fact they’re greedy sons of bitches who don’t follow the words of the god they claim to preach. Greed is a sin remember.
@@lukebahr Then churches should be treated like any other business if they're going to behave exactly like them, that's the whole point.
An important thing about the IRS complaint. There is a IRS office center in Ogden Utah, a suburb of salt lake city, that is staffed almost entirely by Mormons.
Thet is an important point.
A local homelessness charity I know of had many many rental properties that they rented out to fund their mission. It always made me frustrated because I’m like…why not just put the unhoused people in the properties you already own? 🤔
So many churches around me spend ALL their money in africa, and not fighting poverty but evangelizing. Several breakaway churches said the hell with it and are building affordable housing.
@@mikearchibald744 They only use Africa for clout. If you look at the long term effects of missionary work in Africa, the negative fair outweighs the positive.
Exactly.
How would they afford to buy new houses to house them in if they don’t get enough income? Housing the homeless has lots of associated costs such as support and assistance with keeping them in the homes. I get your point but these organisations have high costs that can’t function to their full capacity on donation alone. It’s better that the rental profit goes to assisting a charity rather than a rich landlord in my opinion anyway.
they are the rich landlords though…
Very surreal to see a man who was my Mission President (the older man who oversees 100-200 younger missionaries in a specific area) end up on national TV in a 60 Minutes interview. A lot of the first cracks in my testimony as a church-born member happened on my mission. There was a massive emphasis on having good reportable numbers, such as baptisms, lessons, and contacts (introductions on the street). And in my specific mission, where Waddell was the President, we had a weekly newsletter where the missionaries with the best numbers would be spotlighted. I was just an introverted little guy that wanted to spend 2 years helping other people, and I felt so out of place those 2 years as someone who had no interest in hard-committing sales tactics or "contacting" as many people as possible on the street.
That's basically my deconversion story too!
After talking about how brave the whistleblower is, I want to say, you are so brave to present your coffee stained self to the world! You go, Emma!
The crazy part about this is there is a common saying among Mormons is "obey the law of the land."
Except she lost all credibility with Mormons being a filthy sinful coffee drinker 😆
Funny, I didn't think of the coffee irony.
I'm actually from Utah and heard about this a few years back the salt lake temple was also caught influencing the members to vote for certain people in the government causing the salt lake temple to have to pay state taxes. Being from Utah and not being Mormon I see the choke hold the LDS church has on the the governance of Utah. this is so refreshing to see someone cover this
Unfortunately there are a lot of bad apples in Utah and Idaho. Where I live (Washington) tithing is actually used to help the poor and needy, I've personally seen it myself. In Utah and Idaho Mormons are probably actually a cult, but they're not all like that, although the good ones are far and few between
Thanks for covering this Emma, I grew up in the Mormon cult, we exmos (ex-mormons) have known about this for years and have been trying to wake up the current members to the truth but they just see us as angry apostates. The more mainstream this gets the more likely the truth will get through to them. Keep it up.
Are mormons still ok with giving their 10% to the mormon church? Why?
i love how christoper keeps smiling, it really tells me, he has no fear, no fear of being held responsible. his smile helps you see that, he is, a real slimeball.
I interpreted his smiling as telling the reporter that he understands what she is trying to get out of him.
It’s disgusting for any ‘religious’ institution to sit on so much money when so many are in need!
Like Mother Theresa sadly.
@@fractuss like blm
@@mrcodpwnsI don't think blm is a religion... I mean, it wasn't even an organised group...
I'm a former Mormon and a former employee of Beneficial Life, so this especially interests me. I know insurance agents used to tell potential customers that Beneficial Life was a safe insurance company, because it was backed by the financial strength of the LDS Church. It was a major selling point. This was back in the mid-1980s, so I guess it hadn't relied on the church for a bailout at that time.
Imagine what could be done with all that money.
It's so disgusting that they don't even care about the real world.
That's because the real world is not real to them
@@daxleone and yet they are VERY invested in money and wealth, which is pretty non-heavenly
@@aazhie Yep, you got that right
I actually visited the LDS church with my late girlfriend nine years ago, and they made us both feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome. I made an oath to myself never to set foot in any other church. PS: Happy late birthday, Emma.
They may be rich AF but they are morally bankrupt.
The more you have of one, the less you have of the other.
Morals vs riches.
@@louistournas120 I feel like I remember Jesus saying something about that...
I agree, but for Mormons, the church is the moral high ground and defines exactly what that means.
Even if morally bankrupt they are laughing all the way to the bank…
@@hurdygurdyguy1 I think the church has taken that saying to a new level.
thank you so much for covering this, as an exmormon I love watching content on this kind of thing, it keeps me informed, especially as I deal with heat from friends and family since becoming an atheist. I wish you all the best Emma! I look forward to more content on the lds church in the future!
The few channels I've seen talk about the LDS church have generally felt very abrasive to me, so I'm very grateful for Emma's thoughtful and compassionate approach. She doesn't shame honest members, but is rightly critical of the leadership
American religious groups mishandling funds is nothing new. From memory: Jim Bakker's "Praise The Lord" organisation (PTL) later became to be known as "Pass The Loot".
I watched a documentary about Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, and half of it had me sitting there with my mouth open in shock. People actually fell for the lies of those two?!
He is still very much at it.
@@fractuss Really? Well... I thought he'd have slunk off into obscurity.
Aka Pay The Lady 🤣🤣🤣
@@iana6713 oh no, … when he got out jail he went back to work building another televangelism network, he’s hard at work fleecing the poor saps that listen to him…
Interesting, I grew up with a friend whose family was deep into the mormon church. Over time my friend drifted away from the church precisely because he was frustrated and disappointed by people in the church not following the teachings they wanted others to adhere to.
@👉TheEmmaThorne👈 You are not Emma. From where did you steal her image?
I live in Independence, MO, and this was the first place Mormons tried to make into their religious capital; however, the locals drove Mormons out and they resettled in Utah. Since then, there has been a huge push to "re-Mormonize" the area so this corruption hits close to home, very literally. As far as Christian denominations go, Mormonism is certainly one of the worst ones. I've lost friends to the cult, I don't know how many people have been taken in by the lies and financial corruption.
Lol, let me see ALL the denominations' cookbooks and then we'll talk! Why even WANT these corrupt and unfair benefits that secular charities, agnostic charities, atheist charities, philosophical charities, etc do not receive?
I visited Independence back when I was a fully-believing Mormon teen. I remember being so excited that the area was being, as you put it, re-Mormonized. I've since left the Church and fully renounced it, and it sickens me sometimes to think about the things that I used to believe were good.
Rest assured, I, and many other millenial/gen-z people are leaving the Church faster than ever. I really hope that the global power and influence of the cult starts to decline (if it hasn't already) and doesn't stop. It does so much more harm than good.
It only makes sense that they would be interested in increasing their presence in Independence, MO. It is their belief that the Garden of Eden was there and Christ will return there. Just because their belief makes them more present than you want them to be _does not imply nefarious intentions or actions._
Edit: Oops. I did not see the *"Read more"* Yes, atheism and agnosticism is growing very rapidly, and that makes me happy. 😁I agree that stances against the LGBTQ+ community are not a good thing. But, I'm not sure I can see what you are referring to when you say, "so much more harm than good." The LDS, like many Christian denominations, does a _lot of good_ in their communities. I just wish we could form societies that could come together to do these good things _without the need for mysticism or supernatural attributions to the motivations._
@@Musix4me-Clarinet No, but failing to disclose a 150 billion dollar fund formed from tithing, which church members should know about before investing, is pretty suspicious
@@ninjoshday *I agree that members would likely appreciate knowing that the church leadership had decided that saving the money, as they teach the members to do, was how they decided to handle the tithes.* As for suspicion, I do not see any behavior that suggests someone is trying to get something over on anyone. If people connected with the funds, all started buying yachts, mansions, or Lamborghini's, I would then be suspicious. But the money appears to be used and appropriated in the same manner that they teach the members to lead their lives.
Church members tithe for spiritual reasons and trust members of the leadership to be led by the Spirit in their building up of Christ's church. _I see nothing in their choices that suggest they are up to bad things._
It's baffling to think of 5 million as "a drop in the bucket" to the church. They could literally solve all of my financial problems and allow me and my children to live out the rest of our lives in comfort without even needing to work, and all it would cost them is a "drop"!? Heck, I don't even need 1 million to completely change the quality of my life. That's a fraction of a fraction of a "drop". They could massively improve hundreds of millions of lives! Used very strategically, that kind of money could potentially change the world!
As an exmo (our nickname for "ex mormon"), I greatly appreciate you bringing attention to this extremely massive issue
I think it's a pity that "exmo" is a more common term for former Mormons than the beautiful "formon"
I never heard the term and I have apparently been an exmo for 10 years. And a member for 25 years.
Thank you for this video. I grew up LDS and most of my family still participates. My parents recently moved into an Assisted Living Center and I've started helping with their budget and finances, and it killed me to see the hundreds of dollars they were sending the church every month out of their social security checks and small pension. If they had been saving and investing their tithing dollars for themselves their entire lives they'd have plenty of money for excellent end of life care, but instead we're carefully budgeting as I learn that all of their money (and all of the tithing I also paid until well into my thirties) just went to an enormous investment fund to invest in a for profit shipping center. Not only had the church drained them financially for decades, they've provided countless hours of unpaid volunteer work and paid their own way to serve a senior mission together.
I just want this organization to stop preying on people. When you are inside of it you love it and believe it's the one true church on earth and that everyone else outside is wrong. I would've given my life for the church when I was in it, I believed so strongly. I'm so grateful to people like the whistleblower in this video who overcame that intense brainwashing and stood up to this organization masquerading as a Jesus Christ's one true church on earth.
I’m a bisexual resident of Utah who also grew up in the damn cult so my religious trauma is already fired up from the title alone.
I can't begin to imagine what it must've been like to have that experience growing up.
Sadly thats NOT just a mormon thing. Catholics and evangelical protestants have real problems with that as well.
@@mikearchibald744 I know. Not a fan of cults like that either.
Your username is clever. Like flipping the bird to the church
@@ninjoshday Thanks for noticing 😊
Wow. Nice to see this finally got mainstream attention. It’s scary that I live in a country where nobody holds religions accountable for the stuff they do. Hopefully this story will push people to change how we treat religions differently from other charities, but I’m pessimistic.
It's gross.
Exmormon here, just to say thank you thank you thank you for covering this! Anytime somebody "from the outside" covers the cult and calls it out, it makes me (and so many others like me) very, very happy.
Latter-Day Saints are no more of a cult than any other Christian denomination. Of course, you may define all of them as cults...then I'd have to agree.
No it's definitely a cult. I personally looked at it through the BITE model
@@ajhalkeright7043 Well. I've replied twice now and both times, when I refreshed the screen, UA-cam simply deleted my response.
I looked up the BITE model. From my perusal of the criteria, I found it hard to find any that are unique to the LDS faith. All of the ones I agreed with also applied to almost all religions, especially Christian faiths. If you would argue that Christianity, in general, is cult-like, then I would lump the LDS in there as well.
@@Musix4me-Clarinet Well of course it's not special, but it is or isn't a cult depending on the intensity of these parts, and it's pretty up there, especially when it comes to missions.
@@ajhalkeright7043 Looking at specifics, and I'd be happy to publically explore them with you, the behaviors the LDS church teaches its members to exhibit are simply from their scriptures. For example, the Bible is replete with references to God expecting his flock to tithe, and He's pretty strict about it. For example, Malachi 3:8-10, _"Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse-your whole nation-because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."_ So this strict adherence to paying tithes and the belief of receiving blessings from God for the sacrifice might seem to fit the criteria in the BITE model, but so would the Hebrews of the Old Testament. I don't see many calling them a cult.
Another example, concerning sending members out on missions, is Matthew 28:19-20, which they believe to refer to missionary work. Was the early Christian church a cult? Certainly, the Jews would have thought so. I never served a mission. I was encouraged to but never pressured to. There was never any kind of "threat" or "damnation" cast towards me because I did not want to serve a mission. In fact, it would have been very odd to have seen that happen.
For context: 5 million dollars is one thirty thousandth of 150 billion.
It would be quite a scenario for a church like this to be thoroughly investigated, much less actually busted. Because as you said, other religious organizations would speak out against it.
This would be interesting because you can be absolutely CERTAIN that any other organization that does this is ALSO massively misappropriating and misusing funds, and are terrified of a precident being set for them to be investigated similarly.
This goes so much deeper than this rainy day fund. The church has siphoned money out of Canada through 'giving' it all to BYU and Australia has questions about how they are siphoning funds from the church there too. All this eventually finds its way to the "rainy day" fund.
Let me guess. The relevant financial laws are a lower hurdle in the US than they are in Canada and Australia.
Oh man, so happy you covered this. I would love to see more focus on the mormon church from you. Perhaps a collab with Nemo the Mormon or John Dehlin/Mormon Stories to talk about the church's truth claims.
Wooww as a 1 yr (out) exmormon I was not expecting you to cover this! Seriously there's some shady shit
What percentage of the current generation mormons leaving the mormon church?
As an Ex Mormon this is a great topic to cover! A fun way to illustrate how big a number this is is to think in time. One million seconds is 11 days, 13 hours. One Billion seconds is 31.69 YEARS! 150 Billion seconds is 4,753 years!
At the end of times I don't feel money would maintain its worth.
When a country no longer exists, its money becomes worthless. Example, The Confederate States of America!
It won't, how could it. "Money " will be goods, things made, food, and I hate to say it.. but probably women/men and drugs.. End times won't be good, but it'll be especially bad for those who do not know how to live without money and those that need medical. 😢
I used to work at Deseret Industries, and we got more clothes than we could sell. We advertised over the store intercom that we'd give them away to the needy, but the managers said that there was a guy in Canada who bought them from us and not to tell the customers. I tell everyone I can about that just to spite them.
A Church, keeping all the money for itself, instead of using it for what they said they would and convinced other people to? Shocking! It's a good thing the system lets us hold these people accountable, right? /s
The worst part is the way they got the money in the first place. If you don't pay your 10% tithing, you can't go to heaven or even qualify for assistance from the church itself.
@@teapotsaway Um. Where does the church say anything different than _their scriptures demonstrate?_ And, growing up, my family never paid tithing _consistently._ The church was always still there for us and supportive in tough times. In fact, my parents were not active in the church, though still members, for decades before my mother died and they still continued to support them socially. Even today, my Downs brother has members (leadership) attend his birthday parties at 47 years old.
Again, I would love to see scriptures they believe in or teachings where they said you cannot enter heaven if you do not tithe. Keep in mind, the LDS believe "Heaven" consists of the Celestial, Telestial, and Terrestrial kingdoms. While you cannot get a temple recommend (needed for completing the rituals to enter the Celestial kingdom) if you are not tithing, you certainly can enter the lower kingdoms.
@@Musix4me-Clarinet OK, so how much does it cost in life to get your own planet after you die? Assuming you're a man, of course. And what do women get (especially if they're not called by their husband), or don't they have to tithe?
@@RichWoods23 You'd have to explore their scriptures and teachings to know for sure. Whether or not you are supportive of their beliefs is up to you. But they are sincere in their beliefs, including their church leaders. The evidence on the ground is that they care for the community in which they live. To literally answer your question, I would suppose at least a year's worth of tithing. So that would depend on how much is made. I believe that they teach that the scriptures referring to tithing is considered a commandment. So, besides exceptions made for those in service, like missionaries, everyone, male or female is supposed to tithe. I believe they still teach that you should bring your children up to tithe as well.
@@Musix4me-Clarinet Speaking as an ex-Mormon who disavows the church organization but still finds value in the Book of Mormon: so many of the problems with the church don't come from the scriptures, but from the culture. It isn't doctrine that if you stop paying tithing, you don't go to heaven. However, if the members of your ward find out you choose not to pay tithing, they'll probably treat you like you're going to hell (or more accurately, the "telestial kingdom"). The religion isn't fundamentally bad, but the structure, and current political landscape of the US, are naturally corruptive.
They have just paid £97million for an amazon warehouse in Wembley. The property holdings if this organisation in Cambridge and Florida are disgusting.
One of the reasons it's so much, is because since the time of Joseph Smith. Wealthy church members have been encouraged to donate 10% of their final estate to the church. And thousands have donated their entire estate to the church.
I have known people who are successful in the church where the bishop asks for 25-35% for tithing ... disgusting
@@daxleone That's definitely not supposed to happen
One of the things that blows my mind with this as well. Many members will refute and say 'we still do more charity work than any other organization!' Which we can pick apart - the bigger issue to me is how they are bleeding their congregations dry. Many used to have robust budgets for activities, welfare of local members, etc. But many leaders are now being told to fundraise or pay for some activity costs out of pocket. I know of one 'ward' that a bishop saw a sharp decline in their budget (attendance stayed about the same) and when he asked about it he was told to just find ways to make it work. HQ is hoarding funds.
And also - something a lot of people don't know is that the charity they give is generally only to their own or relates to helping their own.
And if that charity isn't to their own, it's absolutely not unconditional.
well, that's not true - what about for instance the lds church's partnerships with red cross, catholic church, islamic relief, in humanitarian aid ? I don't like this, but don't make stuff up to paint it blacker.
I grew up mormon, served a mission and was married in the temple. Long story short, took years to gradually leave, deprogramming myself of life-long beliefs and comforts from the religion, but am finally out of the cloud and thinking clearly. I've lost almost all family and friends. It has been a heartbreaking, lonely road. I'm now 47 years old with three lovely, teenage daughters. Every day I'm so grateful I left the church and didn't subject them to the same pressures I faced. They're happy, free, most of all free to choose whatever they like for themselves, and I couldn't be happier or more at peace. Sometimes I grieve the people I lost as I left but were they really my friends? No, not one of them said anything.. our ties were only from belonging to the same organization. That's not friendship or love. I won't even go into the awful things that happened to me in that church, but I'll never go back, and when I try to tell members about my experience they either ignore me, get mad or become defensive.. they don't care what I went through.
Can't agree more - the LDS Church is deceiving its own members by doing this. And that is utterly shameful, before we even get to the tax-exempt status they hide behind to avoid scrutiny. Not religious myself, so seeing this from an outsider's perspective. Fascinating video, Emma.
It's blows me away how I used to be a part of this church and believed so hard. I look at them now and it's so obviously shady that now I have a hard time understanding why people stay.
As a raised to be Mormon, I was gay and stuck in the uncanny valley with the church for my entire childhood into young adulthood. I would have taken physical torture over that mental hell.
I'm gay and agender, and growing up in mormonism into young adulthood was hell for me too.
Oddly enough some Mormons are okay with their kids being gay, just not on Idaho and Utah
@@crystlelakefarm1254 Mormons (LDS) are NOT ok with their children being anything but straight and saving yourself for marriage. I grew up in Cali.
There is a difference between confidentiality and secrecy. Primarily, people are aware there is a confidentiality in place it's just not talked about, but people are not aware of a secrecy.
I wish I was a mormon church that hoarded BILLIONS and kept it confidentially stored. Anyways, Megachurches need to go away but the probably won't. Anyways, time to go steal me some MONEHS
It still baffles me that churches have tax exemption without having to disclose their financial records the way nonprofits do. It seems primed for abuse like this because there's no accountability
22:11 This is why I keep saying that if churches do charitable things, those charitable actions should be treated as any secular charity would: being fully tax exempt but being required to detail their income and money usage for tax exemption while any money not used for charity (money used for religious or other purposes) should be taxed like any land owner or citizen or business is taxed. (Also, obscenely wealthy people and corporations should be taxed fairly and effectively to actually pay their fair share and ensure they are unable to evade taxes)
Two ideas. "With great power comes great responsibility." And "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." What makes what the LDS church did so bad is the fact that with so much power, virtually absolute within their realm of influence, they have a *massive* responsibility to at the minimum adhere to their own principles. And so given the power they have available it makes their failure that much more unforgivable.
Reading through all the anti-LDS tropes, it was refreshing to see a rational approach sprinkled in here. I too appreciate those quotes. While I would like to see society approach helping its neediest first, I do believe the LDS leadership believes that they are doing what is in the best interest of Christ's church. The world has plenty of resources to feed and provide shelter for everyone. That we have not found a way to agree to do it is also an indictment of it.
Agreed. No such thing as an ethical billionaire
Why not?
@@Gfish17 Because an ethical person would give away most of that money to benefit people in need. A billion dollars is more than any individual could possibly need for their entire life
@@ninjoshday I know it's more then any indevidual could ever possibly spend in Thier entire life. That's why it's such a beautiful prize.
I want to never run out of money for the rest of my life. I want to never have to work ever again and still afford to fun stuff and basic nessities.
@@Gfish17
A millionaire could also never run out of money without working while still doing fun stuff. Even one million could be enough (although this really depends on what the person does with it and what they count as 'fun stuff'). One billion is one thousand million, anyone with one thousand million has too much for one person so it comes across as just hoarding money you don't need (while some are dying on the streets).
There is also the argument that no one can earn a billion (a thousand million) ethically. You have to be doing something unethically (either avoiding taxes, scamming customers to exploiting/underpaying workers) to get to that amount.
@@Gfish17 If you have a billion dollars, and others are dying of poverty when you could help them without even affecting your quality of life, you're complicit in their death. The church has more than enough money to end poverty in the US _forever._ The fact that they choose to do nothing with that money is disturbing
As an ex Mormon, I have to say the sad part about all the negative press that the church has gotten recently, specifically about their financial crimes, wealth hoarding, and child sexual assaults cover-ups, is that my Mormon family will never see or hear it. If some piece of information does make it in, they're conditioned to dismiss it as "anti-Mormon" material, chalk it up to the workings of Satan, and pull even closer to this corrupt and abusive cult.
Same, and I’m so sorry you have to go through that too. I strongly thought about sending this to my parents, but they have arguments and excuses for everything. It doesn’t help that some of these people put so much of their lives and money into it, that I think they both don’t want to hear that they’ve been fooled, and can’t come to terms with the fact that their faith might be wrong. I think the thing that can be hard for Some is that when you give up the idea of the church, you also give up the idea of your family being together forever after death. And even though it can be done, that’s a pretty hard pill to swallow. I think the church is so messed up, and I am so glad I’m out of there. It does weird things to people.
It would break their hearts. The thing that you adore and love not matching your worldview.
I've read a good book that changes halfway through and I've been devastated, dismayed, to the point of anger and tears. If the same applied to a cult... well. I couldn't bear it myself.
Always great when things like this come out that make clear that the unfair standards are a feature, not a bug.
An interesting bit of trivia: there's apparently a theory that the line about the camel through the eye of the needle _might_ have been referring to a small side door that an unburdened camel could barely make it through, but it was basically impossible to take it through with all of it's pack without knocking it all off and/or hurting the poor thing. Granted, from what I remember of the mention it's a contested theory at best, but either way still yeah that line often gets forgotten by modern christians, that and the lines about prayer in public versus in private.
Thank you for encouraging me to improve my ability to read mirrored text. 😊
Also, I hadn't seen this story reported anywhere else in my feed so thanks for talking about it.
LOL. Why would someone intentionally flip a video while, at the same time, condemning the _ethics_ of saving money? Ironic, isn't it?
@@Musix4me-Clarinet How would that be ironic? Or even connected at all?
I'd assume she, like most streamers, flips the video to make gesturing at things on and offscreen look better but made the all too common mistake of flipping the whole stream rather than just her preview window.
@@protocol6 Actually, it is a regular practice to avoid being auto-demonetized for rebroadcasting copyrighted materials. With all the assuming and presumptions being done in the video, why would I not do the same?
@@Musix4me-Clarinet Ah, I see. You would appear to be right about that. There's a fair use argument to be made (transformative, commentary, news reporting) but it's not a slam dunk.
@@protocol6 I don't know that she did that, nor do I think she did. I'm just pointing out that if we want to look at things and assume suspicious behavior, we certainly can do the same there.
as an exmormon, i thought this would get my parents to leave the church, but when we talked about it they just got mad that i was listening to anti mormon propoganda...
Yep. I got the same response from my parents. It's sad.
One month they weren't sure how they would pay their mortgage, & admitted that if they didn't pay tithing that month they'd have enough. But insisted if they paid tithing God would find a way... I'll bet you can guess what happened. They worked their ass off to find a solution, & used their own hard work as proof that God helped them because they paid their tithing.
I'm sure you've got stories like that too.
Congratulations Emma on your birthday!
You're the knowledgeable mandarin duck on our UA-cam pond, with eclectic style, great personality and enough quirks to bring joy to all your viewers!
Why should any religions organizations be tax exempted?
Gone are the days when they were just the small community hub.
They're literally businesses that operate on the faith of their followers.
Only exception is non profit with strict rules and charitable organizations with equally strict rules.
Keep sharing in your brilliance Emma, please take care and stay safe!
Religions never were 'the small community hub'. Religions have always been involved in wealth, power and politics, to a greater, or lesser degree.
Hello Emma, thank you for covering this. I am what is known as a 'Jack' Mormon, meaning that I no longer believe the church is true but have not had my name removed from their records yet (you need a lawyer for that) anyway I went on a mission and did everything I was supposed to but ended up researching the early days of the church. The church has been a scam (MLM) from the very beginning.
When I was in high school in Utah, it was well known that the church was investing in things, buying up property, and asking members to donate or will at the time of death property and monies to the church. One of the covenants made when going through the temple is to give your time, work, prosperity, and even life to the church. This is really disgusting. I feel bad for the members that buy into this. Sometimes it is impossible to put a mirror up to it and have someone recognize that this whole thing is a sham. I could go on but for now rant over.
@pollyhashiscrackerpaints It's not true that you need a lawyer. Anyone who tells you that, lds or not, has got it wrong. You can request that your name be removed, and the church must comply. They might try to change your mind, but in the end it's your call. Some people have employed lawyers to prevent being hassled by members trying to reclaim them. (Actually I would check that they've in fact done it)
I grew up Mormon, and my parents still are, and we've struggled a lot financially, including being homeless a couple times. I didn't known this was happening until I saw your video, but that's just another reason to leave the faith. My family would be doing much better if they weren't giving away 10% of their income every month. This makes me feel sick and extremely defeated. I hope that people see this and realize what's actually going on.
Glad you got out. But no, they will ignore it. They are tied and bound, politically, socially, financially and emotionally!
Spirituality is an emotion.😊
Take care and cheers 😊
For me to fathom 1 billion dollars, I break it down to time. 1 Million seconds is 11 days. 1 Billion seconds is 31 years...
And a trillion takes you back to around 30,000 bc
I have friends who are LDS members, and back in late 2019 they directed one of their friends my way, as she was looking for someone to make an editorial cartoon about this issue. I worked with her and made a cartoon that she shopped around to various publications, but unfortunately, there were no takers.
Me: Oh no, a RAID sponsorship.
Emma: Gushes about voice actors.
Me: You know what, I'll give this one a pass.
I got a cold-call 10 or 11years ago from the church; my mother was Mormon, they assumed I was, and they wanted me to come and run some of their IT consulting. I told them I took after my father, a Catholic (I'm arguably an atheist), and they decided they wanted to hire someone else.
This is not a rare thing for them. They will attempt to recruit people they believe are Mormon to help run their operations. Probably because they believe (rightfully) that most religious folks are blind to corruption in their own religion. I don't know from internal experience, but considering they "converted" my dad post-humous, I believe any level of corruption is possible in that "church".
I was raised Mormon, for what it's worth as far as I know "shunning" isn't an official institution as it is in JW, I don't recall it ever being a thing. I still talk to my (still *very* Mormon) grandparents without issue. Even if it's unofficial and socially enforced though it could be very harmful so I feel for anyone that experiences it.
This news doesn't surprise me. Mormons have always been very thrifty and money-oriented, with Chik-Fil-A being a prime example. It's abstract money stuff too, so I'd imagine most Mormons wouldn't understand the issue enough to be outraged before they're convinced it's actually ok by leaders.
EDIT: Chik-Fil-A was founded by a Southern Baptist apparently, for some reason I thought he was Mormon.
Do you talk to your parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins?
@@louistournas120 More or less, it's a big family so it's hard to keep up. Maybe half of them are still Mormon
It's good that you're on good terms with your family. I'm still living with my active family. They try to be understanding, but it's still awkward
@@ninjoshday You can tell them that native americans are not from the middle east and they were never in the j religion, that they have their own religion.
All native americans, from North America to South America are of asian/siberian descent.
There is zero evidence of j people writings. In Israel, and those regions, there are writings called proto-j people writings.
Shunning isn't really a widespread doctrine. But there is a deep-rooted narrative created about people who leave the faith through general conference talks and Sunday lessons. While I'm glad it's not usually full shunning, it's still tough to maintain the same relationships after leaving the LDS church because of those narratives being taught about you: that you were weak, that you gave into Satan's temptations, that you are blinded, that you threw away your whole life because you were "offended," and that you are lost and need to be "brought back to the fold."
I left Mormonism in late 2020 and yours was one of the channels I dove into as I was deconstructing those beliefs and trying to figure things out. Thanks for all you do!
$5 million out of $150 billion. If you can imagine what $15,000 looks like, it would be $0.50
To spell it out, it was as if TSA caught someone not reporting $15k, and they "fined" that perp with 50 cents. :-|
I was Baptist not Mormon but I always had a problem with Tithing to a church because I knew even as a Christian that I wasn’t going to see the money I Tithed to the church returned to me after I died, I mean people create wills for the very reason that you can’t take money or any of your possessions with you after you die; it really opened my eyes to what a scam it all was, I’ve been an atheist for seven years now and I’m glad I left.
Seriously. A hundred billion dollars could *solve poverty* in the US with money left over. It's crazy that there are people who think it's right to hoard it.
They just bought an Amazon warehouse in the UK. And they seem to be spending more money on investments than charitable programs.
My understanding is that according to Mormon teachings, you can't get into heaven if you're not caught up on your tithing. So they are literally scaring the money out of people, under the threat of not being in heaven, and then hoarding it.
You _can,_ but you can't get into the highest tier of heaven. In any case, if people find out, you'll probably be treated like you won't
I really hope this information goes mainstream and that something ends up being done about it. It's insanely frustrating.. thanks for the video!
I am from a 9th generation LDS cult family and I thank Lord Lucifer I escaped ... I have literally hundreds of relatives who are still members, and when I try to speak to any of them about the abomination of this cult and all religious cults, they get all glassy eyed and either walk away or change the subject quick ... Many years ago, being the curious type for information, I broke the first commandment of this cult, "Thou shalt never question the church" ... the second commandment is "Thou shalt give thy money to the church" ... so glad I did and now I am a true black sheep
Just to be clear to anyone reading this, those aren't literal commandments of the church. They're social expectations. Just as harmful but less overt
@@ninjoshday They are silent commandments, but can get you excommunicated if you break them
@@ninjoshday They are absolutely commandments. They do not call them commandments explicitly, but in every way they are commandments. To enter the temple you have to be a full tithe-payer and 'not question the church', so to speak. They are far more than social expectations.
You described Dolly when you talked about billionaires being millionaires. She’s an amazing human.
I was lost when they said all of this money is for the second coming of Jesus.
OK, suppose that Jesus comes back to bring paradise and happiness to his true followers...what does he need money for? Why would he need even a dime to make that happen, let alone one. Hundred. Billion. Dollars.
To let my Star Trek Nerd show in a quote: "What does God need with a Starship?"
I'm an exmormon and my shelf broke around the time that the news about the $150 billion dollar hoard came out. The really terrifying thing is the sheer amount of money the makes every year. I did some napkin math back then and if 30% of the church pays tithing(about 4,999,099 people) at the US minium wage($7.25) with a 20-hour work week, then the church gets about $3,769,320,646 per year in gross tithing. Even if most of it goes towards operations and management, $3,769,320,646 is a hell of a lot of money to get completely tax-free.
churches being shady? I am shocked😮
lol but seriously I love these types of videos
Glad to see you talking about this subject. I used to work for a land title database company, and so I know -- the LDS church owns properties all over the southwest. They have even paid in gold for properties.Oh! and before I forget, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Even covered with coffee ☕️ you’re still the cutest creator on UA-cam!
As a 17 year old who is still active in the church because I can’t leave yet, this literally kills me. I know my church is bad, but thinking about 5 year old me who was so excited to give 3 dollars to the church, is gut wrenching. I was so happy that my money would help people, would build temples, would support the missionaries.
And even as an atheist, knowing this now crushes my heart.
For someone with $100 thousand, the equivalent of the $5 million fine is a $3 fine
Glad you covered this, I personally probably never would have found out! I went to a high school which was majority mormon as an atheist, and I could tell the whole thing was weird, but this is crazy. Keep it up, you're doing gods work!
Also, as far as churches', and not just Mormon one, tax exempt status, if the law were followed, they should lose this, but the tax laws on churches are nearly never enforced in the US, and churches can get away with damned near any violation of financial and tax laws. Because Jesus.
Hello Professor! I was 15 when I first heard this album. I bought it, on vinyl, from a shop my then-girlfriend was working in. I still have it, and still love the excitement, and exhilaration, contained in these few songs.
To record an album of this magnitude...in 36 hours...is mind-blowing...yet these guys did it. It really is stunning.
Thanks for producing such solid, entertaining content, in a world of half-arsed click-bait.
As an ex Mormon I had to do a double take… I see lots of Mormon stuff in my feed, but I was surprised and happy to see you covering it!
A good way to imagine billions is aircraft carriers. a new US aircraft carrier costs 14 Billion. 285 Billion is enough to build a carrier 5 cruisers, an attack sub and to operate them for 2 years. most of the cost is in the 75 planes and the 25 Million per day operation costs
It occurs to me that public companies have shareholders that they are answerable to. Those shareholders have access to the financial statements of the company and are able to comment and criticise how the company is run in meetings if they wish. It’s a shame that an organisation supposedly run for the good of its members and the community is less transparent than a for-profit company. And, that it is allowed to be.
Happy birthday Emma! This video just highlights one of the many reasons I don't play with religion anymore. As you said, there is no such thing as and ethical billionaire.
been putting off watching this because my sister, who is still Mormon, was over for two weeks, and my mom already thinks I'm corrupting my siblings. so glad to see this talked about!! I haven't identified as Mormon for almost a decade now but I still have the occasional faith crisis and this was one of the major ones. for a long, long time I believed that the church def wasn't for me but that it made a lot of people happy so I'd leave it alone, but this was a turning point. Mormons claim to have a red phone to god, basically; though they're cagey about it if asked directly, members are taught that the top leaders occasionally personally see Jesus. I was taught there's a special room in the Salt Lake temple where prophets go to talk to god, and I mean really talk. Joseph Smith claimed he saw and talked to Jesus and God face to face and Mormons keep up the idea that it's real. BUT IT CAN'T BE. the Jesus I believed in would have never directed a church to hoard wealth while people were homeless and starving, and a Jesus who would direct religious leaders to hoard wealth instead of building shelters and helping the poor isn't one I want to follow. there are people living on the very streets of Salt Lake City while hundreds of church buildings in Utah alone sit empty most of the time. most of them even have a kitchen and showers already. add a washer and dryer and have some bedding available and so, so many people could have a temporary place to stay, get a warm meal, wash up, and clean their clothes. and yet my mom has disowned me twice by restricting access to my younger siblings (there's a 15 year gap and 20 year gap between me and my youngest two siblings, so one is still a minor and one only just turned 18) because I don't believe in this anymore. it kills me.
I don't think most people comprehend what a billion actually means...
I could pay you $1 every SECOND of the day, and if I had to give you $1 Million it would take me about 11.5 days.
Now, if I had to pay you $1 BILLION, it would take me 30 YEARS!
Now think of 100 Billion... over 31,000 years....
NO ONE should ever have that kind of money and power.
I think you got your maths wrong. I work it out as “only” 3,000 ish years.
Worth noting of course the US minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, so paying out $1 per second is almost 500 minimum wage employees for that time.
I hope anyone going in for temple recommend interviews this year tells their bishop they won’t answer questions about tithing because they don’t measure their personal contributions in percentages either.
The Mormon has been grifting their followers for years, also their member participate by selecting other Mormon businesses to do business with even when there are cheaper or better options. They try to keep the money in the family so to speak.
A few years ago, I came across a job posting for the Mormon peanut butter factory. Among the requirements is that you be a "Temple-worthy Mormon". Which means, amoung other things you thithe 10% to the church.
They do donate product to the local food bank. But the food bank has to round up volunteers to package it. (Probably boxing the jars, not sure.)
Given what happened to David, I think it's safe to say the LDS church has fully made the transition to full cult.
Hoarding immense amounts of money and claiming it's for "charity" when the charity in question is a pittance and/or directed at members of the group, while the accumulation of wealth just continues...is actually pretty common behavior for mainstream large religious organizations. The LDS church in their misbehavior isn't an outlier here, unfortunately. (That's not a defense of the LDS church.)
Oh it was cult from the very start with Joe Smith’s complete fabrication of The Book of Mormon, complete fabrication…
I can verify, it’s absolutely always been a cult. When you drill into parishioners that you need to be sealed in the temple in order to be a family forever, you get people using your dead mother against you when you leave the church. It’s pretty messed up, and I’m really glad people are leaving.
As someone who has left the Mormon church, I'm really glad to see you talking about this! Hopefully with more and more people talking about it more and more people still in the church will realize the unethical and hypocritical things that the church is doing.
My former cult Jehovah’s witnesses are doing the same thing. They will not tell their members how much money they have. They also move money around to pay legal bills in their CSA cases.
Yep. And current JWs will never question where the money is going, because they're convinced that the 9 leaders of Watchtower speak for Jesus, so how could they possibly do something wrong?
Thanks!
Sorry I'm late, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMA! 🎉🎊 🎂🎈
I don't have much to say on Mormonism, not being Mormon and never having been one, or the IRS, but I can tell you it infuriates me that a religious organization has that kind of wealth and isn't helping anyone but themselves. In the US, we're facing a housing crisis, and it's worse in my state (New Jersey) than most other states. I'm one of the homeless, yet one of the luckier ones (I'm living in a motel with my boyfriend). If you don't believe that qualifies as homeless, do some research, because it is one of four types of homelessness. I have mental and physical health problems. Things are getting worse in the US, with homelessness getting worse, inflation going up, pay rates not nearly enough to cover expenses, and technology replacing people in employment.