BTW, while the LDS Church have an on record net worth of approximately 100 Billion,
The Catholic Church has a 2020 net worth of 30 Billion...
Food for thought.
BTW, while the LDS Church have an on record net worth of approximately 100 Billion,
The Catholic Church has a 2020 net worth of 30 Billion...
Food for thought.
That is somewhat inaccurate.Originally Posted by Lost River
The LDS net worth numbers came from the investment fund they have. It wasn't intended to be made public but things happen.
The Roman Catholic Church could not tell you their net worth even if they wanted to. Much of their wealth is in things that have never been evaluated because they would never be sold.
LDS are good at business and they are a wealthy organization, but they don't hold a candle to the Catholic Church. Bit of a head start there. The Catholic Church is not nearly as monolithic as LDS though, so that changes things. I suppose it depends on what you want to include.
The problem with LDS armed folks is that they may start a war in the future. If you recall the Starship Troopers movie, it was a Mormon settlement in Bug territory that provoked the asteroid hit on Buenos Aires. That made no sense. I don't recall in the book, if the Mormons started that war. In it, it was a nuke at the Bugs were a techno civilization, starships, energy weapons, etc.
Heinlein had a thing about Mormons. I googled it and their is a lot of discussion about that.
I suppose my fellow LE Brothers who are LDS were mistaken..
BTW, perusing the LDS Freedom forum can be enlightening if a person wants to gather perspective.
Here is a thread entitled
"LDS Tactical Training Center"
https://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=51016
The details of how the church worked out the deal for the security detail to do what they do is not my business or my concern. For all I know, every single one of them may be a reserve officer with full powers of arrest, and good on them.
It makes sense. There are lots of crazy people in this world.
BTW, one of my team guys I served with overseas was very devout LDS and we had a lot of time to discuss much of what I am discussing here. His plan was to go back after Iraq and serve the church in other ways. He was a great guy and he was going to be a huge asset for them.
One thing to keep in mind is that while I never converted I grew up in a very small community and spent more time going to LDS functions than probably any other type of community event, which is typical for rural Idaho.
Every school property I went to had an LDS seminary building attached to it.
I went to LDS Stake dances.
Dated LDS girls.
The very vast majority of my friends went on missions.
It was funny as by late JR high I could pick the 2 or 3 girls they would probably marry.
When RMs (return missionaries) came home it was like clockwork. Some went to the Y (BYU), some went to Ricks (Later BYU Idaho), etc.
Obviously I could not attend the weddings, and that is fine, but I was still happy to see my friends start their new careers and families.
My whole life has been surrounded by the culture.
The old CTR era, the whole works.
That is why I am as easy going as I am about things.
Seems smart and practical to me.
Beats the Peace Corps/Amnesty International methods that result in a booming hostage industry.
Your med's, you should start taking them again.
"And for a regular dude I’m maybe okay...but what I learned is if there’s a door, I’m going out it not in it"-Duke
"Just because a girl sleeps with her brother doesn't mean she's easy..."-Blues
OK,
Lets reel this back in again and look at this with a very neutral/objective perspective.
The LDS church is a 100 Billion dollar organization/business.
They have armed security for their top people and members, which seems prudent and reasonable.
Their security guys responded to potential local threat in their community.
When you have that kind of money/power, will their be some influence in government/politics? Yes, of course.
That is not exclusive to the LDS Church, the Catholic Church or anyone else.
What 100 Billion dollar organization would not?
If you had a religious leader who presided over 15-16 Million members of a church world wide, it only seems prudent to protect him from being killed, or the target of kidnap and ransom.
If I had ANTIFA/anarchists that were armed and looking for trouble show up in my small town, would I welcome those guys? Yep.
Would I stand alongside my LDS neighbors and defend my community if no other reasonable choices were available and we were backed into a corner?
You Bet.
How is it possible we are 12 pages in and nobody has recognized Nightvisionary and his Tier 1 LARP team??
Everything you have mentioned i.e. a 100 billion dollar org that sends people all over the world having armed security for their leadership and real training for people going overseas is reasonable.
However, comma, while the camo clad guys in these photos may be Mormons, that doesn't mean this particular group is an officially sanctioned organ of the LDS church.
I've heard China described as a "50 yard country" meaning everything looks impressive until you get within 50 yards and notice the little things that are not quite right. These camo guys are a "50 yard" tac team.
Given your description of official LDS security I'd be a little disappointed if these guys were an actual Mormon militia instead of a militia made up of Mormons.
They're Border Recon Bro, no nexus to the border.
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