Posted on 05/02/2010 5:39:16 PM PDT by Colofornian
From the article: But organizers saw the involvement of the LDS Church as crucial, given the level of fraud perpetrated in its ranks and what many perceive as its muted response to the problem. "I think more needs to be done" by the church, said Francine Giani, a church member and executive director of the state Department of Commerce. "A couple of years ago we saw a statement that was read over the pulpit that I was happy about, but we should see more and we should see it often." In a written statement, LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter said church leaders have been warning members for years about the dangers of fraud and get-rich-quick schemes. "These messages have been delivered over the pulpit in General Conference, in official letters from church leadership, and in articles found in official church publications," he said.
From the article: Barbara Bowden knows the pitch all too well. She and members of her family invested about $1 million with a former LDS bishop, mostly because of his standing in the church. "Bill Hammons reached a great deal of people in the church, and I know he did perpetuate the fact that he was a bishop or had been a bishop and that was first and foremost your reason for trusting him," said Bowden. Hammons of St. George is facing trial this year on 10 felony fraud-related charges for allegedly helping bilk dozens of people out of tens of millions of dollars. Hammons, who denies he knowingly participated in a crime, was the largest fundraiser for VesCor Capital, the entity associated with what appears to be the biggest financial fraud case in Utah history. VesCor owner Val E. Southwick, who is serving a lengthy prison sentence for his role, displayed LDS symbols in his Ogden office, and was known to sometimes push his Mormon temple recommend across his desk at potential investors. Southwick has been excommunicated, the church confirmed on Friday.
But that doesn't seem to slow them down with 'solutions'
/johnny
When will the Lds church wake up and take a more assertive leadership role?
No church or state wants it’s minions financially educated. Too troublesome. Better they get fleeced ( by others of course ).
God is not Santa Claus. Where do they get this stuff? Not from the Bible.
I was one of the lucky young returned missionaries that was hired after college by Xerox Corporation in 1967. I was sent to the San Francisco branch in Mountain View California. I was able to ascend very quickly in the corporation because of the church training of selling concepts. Selling copiers was very easy. Ethics was another matter.
As a young manager I sought out and hired several RM’s because of the belief that RM’s were already trained to sell, which they were. Then I noticed a certain attitude that was sort of like the Romney approach which in my opinion lacks ethics. Seems like nothing matters but getting the order. I too had that opinion sorry to say. And as long as you bear fervent testimony everything is right. I left the church thirty years ago.
So the LDS Church teaches you salesmanship techniques without ethics? Why do they do that? I’ve never heard of any other religion that teaches sales.
Just saying that my perspective is slightly different than your question. If out of context you are asking whether ethics is an issue I would say that most likely the young ascending salesmen in the corporate world are doing everything they can to be accepted and use all the methods to make the deal. If their ethics differ and they need to fudge a bit they will.
Young Mormons are no different, however are way ahead of the game because of their ability to handle concepts.
The "milk before meat" video of a Mormon class, shows how Mormons are taught to sell their religion and avoid revealing truths at too early a stage to potential converts.
Many times you'll find someone with a background in one of the many non-LDS Mormon groups who wends his way into an isolated stake, and next thing you know he's sold millions of dollars of life and casualty insurance ~ and then he/she disappears!
Other times it's one of the fellows from the older (circa 1702 for post Scandinavian appearances) congregations flying under the name Church of the First born. (NOTE: do not rely on the SPLC definitions of these groups ~ they are so wrong on so many counts it's unbelievable ~ they want to restrict the non-Mormon related COTFB to just the 19th century Laestidians ~ which is bizarre).
Some COTFB frauds against LDS folks have been limited to the standard bad-insurance deal. Others are more serious. Warren Jeffs' family come to mind as probable COTFB types who moved in on some isolated but otherwise wealthy independent non-LDS Mormons and turned them into a regular gravy train for the Jeffs and a couple of other families under the title FLDS.
That deal was the rough equivalent of how Mr. Howell, calling himself "David Koresh" took over a small SDA (Seventh Day Adventist) denomination ~ one of his grandmothers claimed COTFB affiliation in the Tulsa area, and he endedup being taken out of business by Bill Clinton whose baby daddy was a member of another COTFB group in Arkansas (which gives you some links to REAL Gypsies and REAL traditional scams).
Isn’t this the Prosperity Gospel that many Evangelicals follow??...real question...saw some guy on religion TV talking about “seed money” and the like...magritte
That was my favorite. What was its title again?
Which Bible do you use? Mine says:
Malachi 3:10 "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
You may interpret it differently, but the text is there...
It keeps getting pulled from youtube, but someone here has a link, perhaps Elsie.
(For the Mormons? Yes!)
And they got it direct from their founder:
"And if ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall hae the riches of eternity: And it must needs be that the riches of the earth is mine to give: (original LDS "Book of Commandments, Chapter XL, vv. 33-34 (Now D&C 38:39) (Joseph Smith, Jan. 1831)
"Awake, O kings of the earth! Come ye, O, come ye, with your gold and your silver, to the help of my people, to the house of the daughters of Zion." (Smith, D&D 124:11, 1838)
"And send ye swift messengers, yea, chosen messengers, and say unto them: Come ye, with all your gold, and your silver, and your precious stones, and with all your antiquities; and with all who have knowledge of antiquities, that will come..." (D&C 124:26, 1838)
For traditional Christians, it was more "Come all ye faithful" (Christmas hymn). For Smith it was, "Come ye, with ALL your gold and silver."
Yea, its the “name and claim it”, stuff. Disgusting.
Wow.
What are you talking about?
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