Thursday, February 13, 2014

Mid-level Corporate Theocrat Spills The Beans, Gets Fired

(okay, not really fired, but this is all in good fun.  Read on...)

Recall in the blog on Monson's Groomed Sales-Force (Taming of the Shrewd revisited) that at the very end I calculated the cost a family pays for the "blessing" of sending their son or daughter on a mission to provide free sales-labor?

This is about $4800 per year at current expected donation rates. (If I have the current value at $400 per month correct--anyone have better figures?  Let's adjust it for the upfront costs of  $2000 to get ready and other extras as well.)  A typical mission can cost upwards of $12,000 for everything.  For senior couples, that seems to be about $20,000 - $30,000 per year.  For example, at the LDS corporation #1 rated paid theme attraction in Hawaii, the Polynesian Cultural Center:



...they have a whole gang of senior couple missionaries.
See http://www.polynesia.com/current-missionaries-volunteers.html

On another page, they also state:
"Openings for voluntary (non-paid) service missionaries at the Polynesian Cultural Center...Living expenses per couple are estimated between $2,000-$2,500 per month."

Yep, the church gets free labor from couple missionaries to staff its theme park, the #1 paid attraction in Hawaii (according to them).

Now, this tidbit comes from a mid-level executive (1st counselor) in the Pacific Area Presidency of the LDS Corporation.  Interestingly, it's only available on the Australian country variant of the LDS site.  It's an inadvertent admission printed on the LDS website, which may get taken down when they fire ("release") Elder Pearson from his mid-level position.  Ok, he's not fired. Elder Pearson (former CEO of Ingenix, Inc., a subsidiary of United Health Group) is a member of the 1st quorum of the 70, a position which usually goes until age 70.  He spilled the beans and in light of the Mormon Corporation fraud case, it has new meaning and problems for them.
"a young man who faithfully serves a mission will likely marry in the temple and raise a righteous family. His children, and their children, will also likely grow up to be active faithful members of the Church. In three generations that young returned missionary’s posterity will probably account for over eighteen active adult tithe-paying members."
I'm not sure if Pearson really knows this or is speculating here.  But I bet there's some truth behind it.  Think about that line that in three generations each returned missionary will "account for over eighteen active adult tithe-paying members." 

This doesn't include the converts.  This is purely just a statistic on the RM getting home as  a completely life-long dedicated Mormon, getting sealed, having babies, who have babies.     That assumes each couple has an average of three kids.  I think at current birth rates it might be lower than 18.  I think closer to 2x2x2 = 8.  Whether it's 8 or 18, the point is, the church corporation really does see this as a game of increasing tithe-payers.

What would 8 - 18 full tithe payers pay per year into the system?  Assuming that each couple earns an average income (currently around $50,000 in the US) that would be between $200k - $450k per year.  If only half were active, that's $100k - $225k per year.

Over a lifetime, that's millions of dollars from their initial investment to train the missionary into a shrewd salesperson.

If we extend this hypothetical calculation to the near 80,000 missionaries currently serving (as linked in the former blog), that ends up being income of $16 billion to tithe with only 4 full tithe-paying couples after three generations.  Over each decade for each household, that's a sum of  $16 billion in tithing in futures.  Now, the existing full-tithing membership is at least ten-times the missionary force, so we can expand the base by that order and the result is each year, the total LDS membership is donating $16 billion in tithes.   I wish I could invest in a Mormon stock market and pay for my personal retirement on betting the LDS corporation futures.  They have a great gig going.

In defense against the Mormon corporation fraud case, I have a lot of Mormons that tell me that their church is not a money-minded corporation and the gospel is not about money collection. 

Let me ask: Why do the Mormon leaders collect more dollars per member than just about any other Christian church?  What does this mid-level corporate officer admission really tell you?  Are you sure your gospel isn't about money?

This investment is from the church corporation requiring  the originating missionary to pay his/her own way at $6000 per year.  That's a huge return on investment.

No wonder they lowered the age to 18 on males in early 2013.  They get a lot of return if they can move them out of their parent's home in high-school and into the missionary training center almost immediately.  Not much chance for the teen to go wayward living on his/her own.

Here's the screen capture of that talk, just in case it disappears.

(click on the above to zoom in)


It's no wonder they can afford to buy yet another big business investment, in downtown Philly no less.

See  http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/real-estate/2014/02/mormon-church-to-build-32-story.html

and

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140213_Mormons_to_build_32-story_tower_in_Center_City.html



17 comments:

  1. Elder Pearson came to my home, along with my Stake President, while in town for a Stake Conference. The reason for the visit was that I had decided that the church was not true and my Bishop couldn't talk me out of it.

    Pearson didn't want to listen to my reasons and thoughts (my Stake President was much more friendly). His main concern was that my family not follow me out. He looked me in the eye with that General Authority sternness and said that I absolutely needed to raise my children in the church. it was the only way to keep them safe and was the most important thing. He reiterated that a few times, pausing and staring at me as though I would break down under his authority. It was strange.

    Reading the article you link to gives me more insight into his view of the world and motivations. Thanks!!

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  2. When I came home last year it was still pegged at $400/month. It may have gone up, but if it has, I haven't heard of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Missionaries from my Utah ward also pay $400 /mo.

      Delete
  3. Yep. Thats why my grandparents went to Switzerland. They could afford it and probably one of very few who could.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mix this with the average income/location of temples and it only strengthens your argument. http://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/ozfpk/temples_all_about_the_money/

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  5. You are taking Elder Pearson's talk out of context, which is so typical of people who have a set agenda. Pearson's whole remark was to point out the loss of members, not the loss of money, regardless of how you are twisting it into something sinister.

    First, you complain about the money that Missionary Presidents make, then you are rapping the church because they require missionaries to pay their way. You are going to find reasons to rap the church because YOU HAVE to, you are the fulfillment of prophecy! LOL

    >>>>>Hilary/Beaufort!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Regardless of what the "whole remark" was about, the quote used for this blog is still not invalidated by the whole.

      That the mission presidents are paid, living with nice houses, gardeners, maids and more, the missionaries paying their own way live in near poverty many places. That only reinforces the issues raised here and elsewhere.

      What I see from this Hilary is denial because belief and faith are more important than facts.

      Delete
    2. Wow Hilary, that is some pretty good mental gymnastics you are demonstrating. It wasn't "loss of members" as you stated Mr. Pearson wrote "Loss of Tithe-paying members" there is absolutely a difference between the two which is why your brain jumped right into cog-dis and started performing damage control, and in typical TBM form you attack the person that simple reported the message.

      Delete
    3. Tweadel, Tweadel, Tweadel, how quickly you forget how much my posts bother you...sigh, remember, you've not allowed some of the posts to go through...oh, and don t forget your other favorite troll...Beaufort!

      Delete
    4. Todd, and you've ignored the contradiction.

      Guess I'm not a typical TBM since I have no idea what it means. And first there has to be some serious damage present in order to control it and there is NO danger of that happening.

      >>>>>>Hilary/Beaufort

      Delete
  6. Hilary, your nuttier than squirrel shit!

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  7. "Hilary, your nuttier than squirrel shit!" Ha, ha, ha...your so funny! Guess you'd recognize it because you spend time rolling around in it. LOL

    Don't forget to address Beaufort too!

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  8. Stepsons mission in 2010 cost $14,000 when all was said and done. However, he had skipped ahead a year in school. In the big picture it cost him thousands of dollars more in education because he took out loans. We told him we would give him $12000 for school or mission, but we couldn't do both. He chose mission. It set him back two years plus. He's now almost 30, and still paying for it. He has a few more years before he'll be out of debt. The blessings just keep pouring in. He now has 3 kids and a wife. Wife is VERY educated but refuses to work, even though she could be making about $150,000 a year. They live in a teeny tiny apartment, with no car. This is their choice. I refuse to hear any whining. They also pay their tithing. It makes me puke.
    The good thing is DH is on the same page with me. We will not rescue them as long as they give money away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oops, that should have read in the year 2001.

      Delete
  9. The influence of at least a select group of Mormons in the Jodi Arias murder trial in Phoenix, Arizona is staggering. The media lynch mob was created by their hours and hours and hours of appearances on HLN. All of them repeating the same two or three stories designed to paint Jodi as "creepy", then speculating, and many outright about Jodi Arias in order to keep Travis in the "light". Just how far did their influence go, and why? Those are some big questions I've been asking for about a year now.

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  10. Ooh, I am so offended! How stupid is this? Most Mormons are not blind that this is a corporation. As a nonprofit vice president, I recognized that any religion that needs to last needs money to operate. As an RM, I was never in the dark. Have you seen the windows of heaven? Tithing is what keeps the church operating. I pay because I believe the men that run the church better than any other nonprofit organization. All live pretty modest lives and give all they havbe to the church. When you can do that, then you can criticize all you want. Yes you can still be faithful and pay tithing and know what's going on. We are nit as stupid and naive as you think!.

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  11. I am a convert to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at age 12. At the time my mom raising seven children by herself was given everything she needed to help us survive by the LDS church. Now as an adult married to a doctor fairly wealthy I am more than willing to give my time talents love for Jesus Christ and this beautiful church He has established. The church promotes love, goodness, service, charity, blessing the lives of everyone it touches!

    ReplyDelete