Tag Archives: LDS

BUSTED: Security Exchange Commission Charges The Mormon Church of Hiding Billions of Dollars

BUSTED: Securities and Exchange Commission Charges The Mormon Church of Hiding Billions of Dollars

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The SEC has charged the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its Investment Management Company for failing to disclose $32 BILLION in assets & creating thirteen shell companies to hide those assets.

The Church along with Ensign Peak Advisors had come under scrutiny for failing to disclose the full extent of their financial holdings. It was revealed that Ensign Peak Advisors had accumulated a staggering $100 billion in assets, a fact that was not disclosed to the Church’s members or the public.

Via SEC website:
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Ensign Peak Advisers Inc., a non-profit entity operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to manage the Church’s investments, for failing to file forms that would have disclosed the Church’s equity investments, and for instead filing forms for shell companies that obscured the Church’s portfolio and misstated Ensign Peak’s control over the Church’s investment decisions. The SEC also announced charges against the Church for causing these violations. To settle the charges, Ensign Peak agreed to pay a $4 million penalty and the Church agreed to pay a $1 million penalty. “We allege that the LDS Church’s investment manager, with the Church’s knowledge, went to great lengths to avoid disclosing the Church’s investments, depriving the Commission and the investing public of accurate market information,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

A $5 million fine for hiding 32 BILLION.

That’s not even sofa cushion money to the anti-LGBT Mormon Church

BYU Threatens To Arrest and Discipline Students Who Protest anti-LGBT Rules.

BYU Threatens To Arrest and Discipline Students (Again) Who Protest Anti-LGBT Rules.

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Let’s begin this with a quick history recap of past Brigham Young’s dangerous and deadly anti-gay rhetoric and “rules”.

Believe it or not before 1962 BYU was actually a “live and let live” type of college, the few lesbian and gay students who had attended though deeply closeted seemed to have no problems on campus. But on On September 12, 1962, the “live and let live” policy was officially eradicated. Spencer W. Kimball (Quorum of the 12), Mark E. Peterson (Quorum of the 12), and Ernest L. Wilkinson (BYU President) addressed the university and introduced the new university policy: “…we [do not] intend to admit to our campus any homosexuals. We do not want others on this campus to be contaminated by your presence,

Homosexuality is an ugly sin, repugnant to those who find no temptation in it, as well as to many past offenders who are seeking a way out of its clutches. All such deviations from normal, proper heterosexual relationships are not merely unnatural but wrong in the sight of God.

Spencer W Kimball

In July 1964, Spencer W. Kimball spoke to institute faculty, calling homosexuality a “malady”, “disease”, and asserted it was “curable [through] self-mastery”. On January 5, 1965, Kimball again addressed the BYU student body, equating homosexual “desires and tendencies” to “petting”, “fornication”, and “adultery.” He also professed that it was a “damnable heresy” for any homosexual person to claim, “God made [me] [this] way.”

Five gay, male students died by suicide in 1965 on campus. And unfortunately over the years more followed.

But it get’s worse.

In 1967, BYU administration took control of the Honor Code and Honor Committee (now called Honor Code Office). That following year, a recorded 72 students were expelled under pretenses of “suspected homosexual activity”

In 1973 BYU’s university-sanctioned electroshock aversion therapy was reported for the first time. These were mentioned by BYU psychology professor Allen Bergin in a July 1973 New Era article, justifying the actions by claiming that homosexuals were “psychologically disturbed persons.” university-sanctioned electroshock aversion therapy was reported..

This TORTURE continued through the 1976 thesis/experiment by BYU clinical psychology professor, Max Ford McBride, which used 17 gay, male students and subjected them to “positive visual stimuli” (nude images and pornographic videos of women) with no consequence and “negative stimuli” (nude images and pornographic videos of men) accompanied by high-voltage shocks to their genitals and sensitive areas of the body, as well as induced vomiting and odor aversion. The shocks reached an intensity of 4.5mA, the equivalent of a powerful stun gun. Sources suggest this practice continued on BYU campus until 1983.

Brigham Young University and the Mormon Church didn’t stop there. Conversion Therapy Camps, spying and purging students & faculty, fighting tooth and nail against same sex marriage. It goes on and on and all of i tax free!

Fast forward to 2022 and BYU is still at it.

Almost one year after LGBT students lit up Brigham Young University’s “Y” sign in rainbow colors to show support for LGBT equality, BYU has passed new rules to discipline or arrest any students who protest against the school’s anti-LGBTQ teaching and all it’s rules in general.

The university’s new rules define a demonstration as “an event that occurs on university property that is not sponsored by the university in which two or more people gather to raise awareness about, or express a viewpoint on, an issue or cause.” This includes “marches, memorials, parades, picketing, leafletting, signature-gathering, rallies, sit-ins and counterdemonstrations,” BYU also states that student protests may not “contradict or oppose church doctrine or policy”, nor are they allowed to “deliberately attack or deride” the church or its leaders.

After all these years of Brigham Young University not only discriminating but TORTURING it’s gay students it still remains open, receives government funding and the Mormon Church tax exempt.

And everything old is new again.

The Mormon Church Releases Statement Opposing The LGBT Equality Act

The Mormon Church Releases Statement Opposing The LGBT Equality Act

Gay News Domestic & U.S. Politics, Religious Morons and Anti-Gay Idiots, , , , , , ,

The leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka The Mormons) released a statement Monday morning opposing the Equality Act which would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to protect LGBT Americans over concerns regarding their “religious liberty”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is deeply concerned that the ongoing conflicts between religious liberty and LGBT rights is poisoning our civil discourse, eroding the free exercise of religion and preventing diverse Americans of good will from living together in respect and peace. Lawmakers across the nation, including members of Congress, are working to enact or strengthen laws that ensure LGBT persons fair access to important rights, such as nondiscrimination in areas like housing, employment and appropriate public accommodations. The Church is on record favoring reasonable measures that secure such rights.

At the same time, we urgently need laws that protect the rights of individuals and faith communities to freely gather, speak out publicly, serve faithfully and live openly according to their religious beliefs without discrimination or retaliation, even when those beliefs may be unpopular. This includes the right of religious organizations and religious schools to establish faith-based employment and admissions standards and to preserve the religious nature of their activities and properties.

This does not represent a change or shift in Church doctrine regarding marriage or chastity. It does represent a desire to bring people together, to protect the rights of all, and to encourage mutually respectful dialogue and outcomes in this highly polarized national debate.

Conflicts between rights are common and nothing new. When conflicts arise between religious freedom and LGBT rights, the Church advocates a balanced “fairness for all” approach that protects the most important rights for everyone while seeking reasonable, respectful compromises in areas of conflict. The Church affirms this as the best way to overcome sharp divisions over these issues. The Church supported the 2015 “fairness for all” legislation in the Utah Legislature that successfully protected both religious freedom and LGBT rights in employment and housing and that has helped facilitate greater understanding and respect.

The Equality Act now before Congress is not balanced and does not meet the standard of fairness for all. While providing extremely broad protections for LGBT rights, the Equality Act provides no protections for religious freedom. It would instead repeal long-standing religious rights under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, threaten religious employment standards, devastate religious education, defund numerous religious charities and impose secular standards on religious activities and properties. The Church joins other religious organizations that also strongly oppose the Equality Act as unbalanced, fundamentally unfair and a path to further conflict.

The Church calls upon members of Congress to pass legislation that vigorously protects religious freedom while also protecting basic civil rights for LGBT persons. It is time for wise policymakers to end this destructive conflict and protect the rights of all Americans.

What the LDS Church fails to or “forgets” to mention is that religious discrimination is already protected under the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion (or lack of religious belief) in hiring, firing, or any other terms and conditions of employment. The law also prohibits job segregation based on religion, such as assigning an employee to a non-customer contact position because of actual or feared customer preference. But they have no problem by wanting religious organizations and religious schools to discriminate by establishing faith-based employment and admissions standards.

Hypocrites.

BUSTED: Security Exchange Commission Charges The Mormon Church of Hiding Billions of Dollars

Mormon Church Won’t Oppose Utah’s Gay Conversion Therapy Torture Ban

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Salt Lake City’s Fox 13 News :

A bill to ban conversion therapy for LGBT children is set to be unveiled in the Utah State Legislature. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told FOX 13 it will not oppose the bill, which could give it a boost on Capitol Hill.

The bill is being carried by two Republican lawmakers: Rep. Craig Hall, R-West Valley City, and Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton. The gay rights group Equality Utah has scheduled a news conference on Thursday to discuss the bill.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has in the past suggested people can “overcome” homosexual feelings. But the faith now says it does not believe sexual orientation can be changed. The Church also does not support same-sex marriage, but allows gay or lesbian members to remain in their ranks so long as they are celibate.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has in the past has done more than just “suggest” that one  could overcome homosexuality.

The Mormon Church has backed and promoted many conversion therapy “camps” and programs some even being held at Brigham Young University that have damaged and pushed gays and lesbians to suicide.

The Mormon Church Releases Statement Opposing The LGBT Equality Act

The Mormon Church Doubles Down On It’s Anti-LGBT Stance

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In his General Conference address to the body of the Mormon Church, President Dallin H. Oaks reiterated the position of the Church’s anti-LGBT stance on same-sex marriage and “gender confusion” as outlined in a 1995 “revelation.”

“The Family: A Proclamation to the World” was issued 23 years ago; its words still apply today, Oaks said in his remarks.

“Our knowledge of God’s revealed plan of salvation requires us to oppose many of the current social and legal pressures to retreat from traditional marriage or to make changes that confuse or alter gender or homogenize the differences between men and women. We know that the relationships, identities, and functions of men and women are essential to accomplish God’s great plan.”

Oaks went on to talk about the opposition the Church faces when it stands firm on these social issues and of course “Satan” cane into the mix.

“Our positions on these fundamentals frequently provoke opposition to the Church. We consider that inevitable. Opposition is part of the plan, and Satan’s (the Adversary’s) most strenuous opposition is directed at whatever is most important to God’s plan. He seeks to destroy God’s work,” he said.

“He also seeks to confuse gender, to distort marriage, and to discourage childbearing—especially by parents who will raise children in truth,” Oaks said.

Although the Proclamation presents no new doctrines or policies, it provides an official statement of the church on gender and sex.

Doctrinal assertions

  • Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.
  • The family is ordained of God and central to God’s plan.
  • All human beings are created in the image of God.
  • As a beloved spirit son or daughter of Heavenly Parents, each person has a divine nature and destiny.
  • Gender is an essential characteristic of human identity before, during, and after life on Earth.
  • “In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan.”
  • “Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.”
  • God will hold parents accountable for the way in which they fulfill responsibilities to their families.
  • “Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.”

Items of counsel

  • God’s commandment to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.
  • Sexual relations are sacred and properly take place only between a man and a woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.
  • Procreation is divinely appointed, and therefore life is sacred and an important part of God’s plan.
  • Parents have “a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children.”
  • Parents’ responsibilities toward their children include rearing them “in love and righteousness,” providing “for their physical and spiritual needs,” and teaching “them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens.”
  • Happiness and success come through following the teachings of Jesus and through “faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”
  • “By divine design fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.”
  • “Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.”
  • “Fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.”
  • Citizens and officers of government should “promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”

Warnings

  • Those who commit adultery or “abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God.”
  • Disintegration of the family will bring “calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.”

 

 

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The Mormon Church Releases Statement Opposing The LGBT Equality Act

Mormon Leader Once Again Reaffirms LDS Church’s Opposition to Gay Marriage and Parenting

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Mormon leader Dallin H. Oaks, a member of a top governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,  reaffirmed the Mormon stance against same-sex marriage and reminded followers watching around the world that children should be raised in families led by a married man and woman no matter what becomes the norm in a “declining world”  during a church conference Saturday.

“We have witnessed a rapid and increasing public acceptance of cohabitation without marriage and same-sex marriage. The corresponding media advocacy, education, and even occupational requirements pose difficult challenges for Latter-day Saints,” Oaks said. “We must try to balance the competing demands of following the gospel law in our personal lives and teachings even as we seek to show love for all.”

Oaks also told members of the nearly 16-million member faith watching around the world that the religion’s 1995 document detailing the doctrine — “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” — isn’t’ a policy statement that will be changed.

A year ago, church leaders updated a website created in 2012 to let members know that that attraction to people of the same sex is not a sin or a measure of their faithfulness and may never go away. But the church reminded members that having gay sex violates fundamental doctrinal beliefs that will not change.

BUSTED: Security Exchange Commission Charges The Mormon Church of Hiding Billions of Dollars

Today In Irony: Mormon Church Bitchslaps Kim Davis: “We Shouldn’t Be Having Culture Wars Over Same-Sex Marriage”

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Mormon Church Kills LGBT bill

Anti-gay Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis is having a very bad week.  First the rabidly crazy Westboro Baptist Church picketed her fat ass earlier this week in Kentucky for being a “fake Christian and adulterer” and breaking the law, And now the squeaky clean anti-gay Mormon Church has publicly denounced her.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports:

Kim Davis, a county clerk in Kentucky, cannot use her Christian faith as a justification for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gays, a high-ranking Mormon authority said Tuesday. Public officials “are not free to apply personal convictions — religious or other — in place of the defined responsibilities of their public offices,” LDS apostle Dallin H. Oaks said in a speech in Sacramento, Calif. “A county clerk’s recent invoking of religious reasons to justify refusal by her office and staff to issue marriage licenses to same-gender couples violates this principle.”

“First, parties with different views on the relationship between church and state should advocate and act with civility,” Oaks said. “We all lose when an atmosphere of anger or hostility or contention prevails. We all lose when we cannot debate public policies without resorting to boycotts, firings and intimidation of our adversaries.” Next, he said, compromise should be the goal. “On the big issues that divide adversaries on these issues, both sides should seek a balance, not a total victory,” Oaks advised. “For example, religionists should not seek a veto over all nondiscrimination laws that offend their religion, and the proponents of nondiscrimination should not seek a veto over all assertions of religious freedom.

A message from the Morom Church who brough us Prop 8 and has lost over a million followers due to its past stand on lesbians and gays.

One Million Moms Have The Boy Scout Rainbow Blues (With Special Guests: The Mormons!)

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Boy Scouts

 

Monica Cole, head of Three Old Biddies and a Computer aka One Million Moms, is all verklempt  over the fact that the Boy Scouts of America have officially relaxed their rules against gay adult Scout Masters.

“As 1MM predicted, the Boy Scouts of America has dropped its ban on homosexual adult leaders. This means men who are attracted to males are now welcome on campouts in intimate proximity to boys. Last week, the BSA’s National Executive Board approved the new policy on a 45-12 vote. This follows a vote just two years ago to allow homosexual boys to join the ranks. The BSA has made its decision; now make yours by taking these immediate actions: 1. If you are in scouting, or have a son or grandson in scouting, show your convictions by resigning from the organization. Your dropped membership will send a strong message that your values are steadfast, faithful and unchangeable. 2. If your church charters a scouting unit, contact the pastor and scouting committee members. Urge the church to drop the charter based on the truth of God’s word and Christian values. 3. Find an alternative to the BSA. 1MM strongly recommends the Christian-based Trail Life USA program.”

Yes the “Christian-based Trail Life USA program”.  You know the one that uses Sieg Heil as a salute.

Meanwhile the Mormon Church whose LDS chapters comprise about 15% of the BSA’s total membership has it’s magic undies in a bundle and has issued a press release in which they threaten to end their relationship with the Boy Scouts over the end of the ban on openly gay leaders even though the BSA put in a religious exemption that would still allow religious sponsored troops to discriminate against gays.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is deeply troubled by today’s vote by the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board. In spite of a request to delay the vote, it was scheduled at a time in July when members of the Church’s governing councils are out of their offices and do not meet. When the leadership of the Church resumes its regular schedule of meetings in August, the century-long association with Scouting will need to be examined. The Church has always welcomed all boys to its Scouting units regardless of sexual orientation. However, the admission of openly gay leaders is inconsistent with the doctrines of the Church and what have traditionally been the values of the Boy Scouts of America. As a global organization with members in 170 countries, the Church has long been evaluating the limitations that fully one-half of its youth face where Scouting is not available. Those worldwide needs combined with this vote by the BSA National Executive Board will be carefully reviewed by the leaders of the Church in the weeks ahead.

Quite a tantrum from a group that has just been given the go ahead to continue discrimination. And thats mostly because if they have to do it by themselves, alone, everyone will see. They can’t be satisfied unless discrimination is universal and they can hide among all the other bigots.

Over Hyped Strawman LGBT Anti-discrimination Bill Clears Legislature in Utah, Discrimination Bill Pending‏

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Mormon

 

After a much over-hyped PR spin Bill SB296 passed he Utah House on Wednesday. The bill itself to will enact Utah’s first statewide non-discrimination protections for the gay and transgender community, while providing safeguards for religious liberty. (ie. MAJOR Religious exemptions)

The bill itself, which bears a close resemblance to the recently failed and much criticized version of ENDA has been much hyped by many major LGBT organizations because to quote Zach Ford of ThinkProgress: “It may be the best Bill that could pass there.”

S.B. 296, however, is far from a perfect bill. It contains a lot of provisions that are unique to the legal climate of Utah that would not translate elsewhere. Given the ubiquitous presence of the Church of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) in Utah, it may be the best bill that could pass there — and is thus better than no protections. Though it does contain some interesting new ideas that could be adapted elsewhere, it is by no means a model for other states to consider.

For example, the bill only protects LGBT people in employment and housing; it does not address public accommodations (e.g. how businesses treat customers). Thus, as a civil rights bill, it pales compared to the more universal protections afforded other classes like race at the national level. It also falls short of the wider array of protections offered by many other states, and the kind of proposals activists hope to soon see introduced in Congress.

The bill also exempts any employers that constitute “a religious organization, a religious corporation sole, a religious association, a religious society, a religious educational institution, or a religious leader, when that individual is acting in the capacity of a religious leader.” Religious leaders are specifically defined as somebody who is an “authorized representative” of a religious organization. The exemption also extends to any corporation or association that is an affiliate or subsidiary of such a religious organization. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA), which is quite prominent in Utah because of LDS support, enjoys its own specific exemption

And now after all the trumpeting and priase from the Human Rights Campaign and Equality Utah who seem to be the only LGBT people in Utah thrilled about this straw-man “anti-discrimination bil” that protects the Mormon’s more than our own community, the Utah legislation is ALSO advancing a seperate “religious freedom” bill (SB297) which allows the church and its related entities to NOT have to recognize ‘LEGAL’ same-sex marriages and allow public employee to discriminate against by refusing to provide equal access to government benefits.

What a royal clusterfuck. And all brought to you by our LGBT organizations who are willing to accept crumbs so it looks like they are doing something.

BUSTED: Security Exchange Commission Charges The Mormon Church of Hiding Billions of Dollars

The Mormon Church Will Back SOME LGBT Rights If Religious Folk Get Exclusions Because We Are Mean To Them

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Mormon Church Kills LGBT bill

 

Via Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate:

In at least one big and bruising culture-war battle, the Mormon church wants to call a partial truce. Convening a rare press conference on Tuesday at church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Mormon leaders pledged to support anti-discrimination laws for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, as long the laws also protect the rights of religious groups. In exchange, the Mormon church wants gay rights advocates — and the government — to back off. “When religious people are publicly intimidated, retaliated against, forced from employment or made to suffer personal loss because they have raised their voice in the public square, donated to a cause or participated in an election, our democracy is the loser,” said Elder Dallin Oaks, a member of the church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles. “Such tactics are every bit as wrong as denying access to employment, housing or public services because of race or gender.”

Let me be fucking crystal clear here. The Mor(m)on Church is in no position to negotiate, let alone to negotiate from any position of strength.

After spending MILLIONS of dollars to fight LGBT rights. After ruining countless lives by sending gay and lesbian Mormons to “re-education camps”, using shock therapy, and in some cases even lobatomizing gay men. They have the nerve to try to strike a deal now that their “righteous” facade is crumbling and people are truly seeing how hateful and evil they are by saying: We still want to oppress you, but we’ll try to be nicer about it and give you some limited recognition as human beings.

If you ever needed the definition of a “STRAWMAN” this unadulterated  BULLSHIT from the LDS church is it.

Openly gay Utah State  Sen. and founder of Equality Utah,  Jim Dabakis who sent out a statement saying:

“I am proud that the LDS Church has seen fit to lead the way in non-discrimination. As a religious institution, Mormons have had a long history of being the victims of discrimination and persecution. They understand more than most the value and strength of creating a civil society that judges people by the content of their character and their ability to do a job. Since serving as a Senator, and as the only LGBT member of the Utah legislature, I can say one of the joys of the job has been to meet and enjoy the company of LDS officials. I know that together, we can build a community that strongly protects religious organizations constitutional liberties and, in addition, creates a civil, respectful, nurturing culture where differences are honored and everyone feels welcome. Now, lets roll up our sleeves, get to work and pass a statewide Non-Discrimination Bill.”

Just goes to show you that even gay democrats can be disgusting self-loathing quislings too.