Mormons, Politics and Your Money

When I first moved to Idaho I noticed the sheer number of Mormons and Mormon-owned businesses in the area.  I went looking for a job and was asked repeatedly "what Ward I went to" when I lived in California.  When I responded I wasn't LDS, the interviews stopped.  Repeatedly.

I went to work for a car dealership.  I lost sales because I wasn't Mormon, and my deals would be handed over to an LDS salesman to keep the customer happy and to 'keep his money in the church.'

When I say keep the money in the church, it is because tithing is a requirement of the LDS faith.  So much so, that when I went to an Idaho bank to open an account, they (a mormon-owned bank, I know this now) had a 'direct-tithe' option where 10% of my direct-deposited paycheck would automatically go to my church.

It boggled my mind.

Originally being from California, I was well aware of the Proposition 8 campaign on marriage equality, and the major push from the LDS Church to make sure it passed (thus making same-sex marriage illegal).  Mormons and the Mormon Church gave massive amounts of money and ran TV ads in California to 'protect family values' and whether you agreed with them or not, the odds are YOUR MONEY was helping make that happen.

Why?  Because of the sheer number of businesses either owned by the LDS Church itself, or owned by prominent Mormons who tithe and donate regularly.

Have you ever stayed at a Marriott hotel?  Purchased doTERRA or Young Living oils?  What about the Melaleuca company?  Ancestry.com?  Purchased a pair of Oakley sunglasses?  If so, you're putting money in the pockets of Mormons, and thus the LDS Church.

Here are a handful of links showing Mormon-owned businesses, as well as businesses owned by the LDS Church itself.  Yes, a non-profit, tax-exempt church owns for-profit companies.  Let that one digest a bit...

This link isn't just to pick on the Mormon profit-machine faith but to make you realize where your money is going.  When you spend your hard-earned cash, find out where it goes.  Remember the Chick-Fil-A fallout from a few years ago?   People disagreed with the owner's political agenda so people boycotted the business.

Why stop there?  Look at the regular places you shop and the regular brands you buy.  Follow the money trail.  Are you contributing to a political or ethical message you disagree with?

I know a decent amount of good, friendly Mormons.  But I know more asshole xenophobic, I-know-better-than-you, 'Jesus will be resurrected in the USA' Mormons, and I try to make sure my money doesn't go to further their religious or political causes.

Where is your money going?