By Daily Mail Reporter
|
The Mormon church is outraged with the latest cover of Bloomberg Businessweek magazine which parodies their prophet?s mission and sends up the lucrative nature of the organisation.
The cover illustration satirizes the moment when Mormons believe John the Baptist bestowed the priesthood on Joseph Smith, the faith's founding prophet.
On the cover, John the Baptist tells Smith, 'and thou shalt build a shopping mall, own stock in Burger King, and open a Polynesian theme park in Hawaii that shall be largely exempt from the frustrations of tax ...'
Smith replies, 'Hallelujah.'
Controversial: Commenting on the vast financial holding of the Mormon church, the cover illustration satirizes the moment when Mormons believe John the Baptist bestowed the priesthood on Joseph Smith, the faith's founding prophet
Michael Purdy, a spokesman for the Mormon church, told?Deseret News that the cover is ?in such poor taste it is difficult to even find the words to comment on it.?
?
The cover accompanies Caroline Winter?s article, How the Mormons Make Money, which details The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints? huge financial holdings, including a $2 billion mall in Salt Lake City and a $1 billion ranch in Florida. ?
The article states that the LDS church owns a wide variety of business including media companies, an agricultural company with 1 million acres, and a hospitality business.
The LDS church also owns an insurance firm with assets of $3 billion and an impressive real estate portfolio, according to the article.?
Enterprising: Among The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints? financial holdings is a 2 billion mall in Salt Lake City, pictured, and a $1 billion ranch in Florida
With money also being made through an investment fund and a trust company, the LDS church is worth about $40million, a study cited in the article suggests. It also takes in $8 million annually in tithes, says the study.
Despite its wealth, the LDS church donates less than one per cent of its annual income to charity, according to a study cited in the article.
Mormon blogger Joanna Brooks described the article as a 'generally balanced and straightforward assessment of LDS Church finances and enterprises.' However, the mocking cover belies the article Brooks said. ?
'Trying to sell a few magazines, Businessweek destroyed an opportunity for a serious discussion,? said Brooks.
A statement issued from the LDS church on Thursday evening said people who try and estimate the Church?s income and how it is used charitably ?rarely capture the whole picture.?
Purdy described the ?bias and speculative nature? of the article to the LDS church-owned Deseret News.
?It is narrow and incomplete, omitting, for instance, a good deal of information given on how church resources are used,? he said.
The statement highlighted that Mormons began as a poor, persecuted religion isolated in the Utah mountains so built their own businesses because no others were around.
They also pointed to volunteer work running employment? services and welfare programmes.
The Church insisted that the tithes go towards building new houses of worship and allowing the ?the church to carry out its religious mission across the world.?
?
mass effect 3 launch trailer yelp huntsville al channel 2 news adrienne bailon yelp stock honda classic
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.