Spiritual Money Laundering

Post by **_Mercury** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 12:49 am

So bob is a Mormon. he gives ten percent of his wages to the Mormon corporation.

Bob believes his money is going to valuable causes. In a way, some of it is. But some of it also goes to stock purchases and other assets that then are in turn invested in for profit businesses.

Not too clear on the exact ledger-specific details, but lets look at the practice that's got me so pissed at the church and maybee you all can fill in some of the blanks:

First, the Mormon corporation does not make money out of thin air. It takes in a huge ammount of funds from tithing and its farms, etc.

This money is then put into real estate investments sometimes called temples and church buildings. This is where I believe the first, direct spirtitual money laundering occurs. Why the push for more temples in usually very exclusive communities? land speculation drives up prices. Higher prices mean more funds to borrow against. Mor efunds to borrow against means more money from the bank.

What we are seeing in the SLC mall is I speculate the culmination of the temple building push by Hinckley where a proper levbel of return has come around in which equity is available to be pulled out of temple real estate.

Post by **_Mephitus** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 6:31 am

Im fairly curious. As a tax free organization, arent they legaly responsible for publicly showing their accounting? Im VERY curious as to WHY they can keep that status without accountability for where they put those funds, or even how much comes in?

Post by **_harmony** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 6:49 am

Sono_hito wrote:Im fairly curious. As a tax free organization, arent they legaly responsible for publicly showing their accounting? Im VERY curious as to WHY they can keep that status without accountability for where they put those funds, or even how much comes in?

They are audited by the government for the tax-exempt part. Supposedly this money is not coming from there, but from the for-profit businesses the church owns. As long as they pay their taxes on the for-profit, there is no reason for the government to complain. And I'm very sure they pay all their taxes. If they don't give the government a reason to require them to open the books, the government won't. Which is why the church always settles all lawsuits out of court: they do NOT want the government requiring them to submit their books to the courts.

Post by **_Gazelam** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:10 am

Just my 2 cents. The Las Vegas Temple was not built in a nace neighborhood. As a matter of fact, a wealthy real estate developer offered the church Large sums of money to build it in a neighborhod he was developing, and they turned him down, stateing that the Temple location was givne by revelation, and they had to build it there. The nice homes around it now came later.

Post by **_Brackite** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:44 am

Hi Gaz,
Isn't the Las Vegas Temple just to the east of the city of Las Vegas. I remeber going to the Las Vegas Temple Open House back in December of 1989. It seemed like the Las Vegas Temple was kind of in a nice area back then when I went there to the Open House.

Post by **_Mercury** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:51 am

Gazelam wrote:Just my 2 cents. The Las Vegas Temple was not built in a nice neighborhood. As a matter of fact, a wealthy real estate developer offered the church Large sums of money to build it in a neighborhood he was developing, and they turned him down, stating that the Temple location was givne by revelation, and they had to build it there. The nice homes around it now came later.

WTF gaz, I lived in that "not very nice" neighborhood. There were houses right acrost the street from the temple that were going in a higher price range. As I recall, my parents paid a good amount for the house we lived in. More to the point, we paid a great deal and got a good loan. But I still always examined the neighborhood because I would drive there once every month for doing endowments or officiating in baptisms and confirmations. I was going there from my early adolescence to my early adult life. Keep in mind I am a native of that damned city, so I know well enough.

Its where I proposed to my wife. So don't tell me it was in a s****y part of town. Because it was not. You can go to the county records online if you wish.

Post by **_Gazelam** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:16 am

Well I know that down near Nellis its not nice. My crackhead sister had a trailer near there,and it was pretty much the "hood". I do recall back then a few custom homes closer up towards the mountain. I'll have to go up and see where the neighborhood changes.

Post by **_Mercury** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:22 am

Gazelam wrote:Well I know that down near Nellis its not nice. My crackhead sister had a trailer near there,and it was pretty much the "hood". I do recall back then a few custom homes closer up towards the mountain. I'll have to go up and see where the neighborhood changes.

Admit it Gaz, you really lied about the neighborhood. Or are you not temple worthy?

Post by **_Gazelam** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:32 am

I wasn't temple worthy for a long time. So its been quite a while since I've been up there. I got my recommend just recently, but have been working too much to make it up there. (haven't even been to church in 3 weeks)

But you know what I'm talking about. Driving from Nellis up towards the Temple, where woud you say the change takes place, because around Nellis, that's a rough neighborhood. I got Married there in 93. Now the guy that owns the Review Journal has a house up there, but that's just in that general area, in the custom home neighborhood. How far from there is the bad neighborhod, 1/2 mile? I know its not far down the hill.

Post by **_Mercury** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:34 am

Gazelam wrote:I wasn't temple worthy for a long time. So its been quite a while since I've been up there. I got my recommend just recently, but have been working too much to make it up there. (haven't even been to church in 3 weeks)

But you know what I'm talking about. Driving from Nellis up towards the Temple, where woud you say the change takes place, because around Nellis, that's a rough neighborhood. I got Married there in 93. Now the guy that owns the Review Journal has a house up there, but that's just in that general area, in the custom home neighborhood. How far from there is the bad neighborhod, 1/2 mile? I know its not far down the hill.

that's not near the temple. Its a 13 minute drive if your speeding from the trailer trash part of NLV to the temple. You hit the good houses about eight to ten blocks away. As ylou get to the temple your running into houses that sell in upwards of 600,000.