Fun fact, mormons working for the CIA are given a special… I forget the internal name for it, so lets call it… indulgence. They’re allowed to break whatever doctrine they deem fit, no spiritual or organizational consequences, on account of they’re doing our Heavenly Father’s work on earth don’t you know.
Go digging anywhere in this country and you’ll find em. But in Idaho, it’s a little bit more than ‘some’. We have the highest number of hate group members in the country.
True on the United States… but capitalism? The church doesn’t have too firm a stance on economic systems. That kind of thing usually gets thrown under “worldly matters”. There’s some historical experiments with church-led socialism, which get talked about as a failure because it was “too soon and people weren’t/aren’t ready for it”.
And in the 20th century, Utah actually had quite a lot of social safety-nets and structures for aid, mostly organized through the Relief Society. But… key word there is “had”. The Relief Society is not the organization it once was. Market forces corrode all things and now, functionally, the church acts more as a tax-free hedge fund more than anything. But that’s not given much ideological emphasis. It’s not given much emphasis at all, really.
What really squares the circle here is “personal revelation”. Members are encouraged to pray on things and follow their instincts, because that’s God letting you know what you should do. Effectively: believe what you like so long as it doesn’t directly contradict church teachings. So the sort of member that would choose a CIA career is also the sort of member who thinks God acts through the market and prosperity is a sign of being right. There’s a lot of membership who think along those lines, but you also get some crunchy hippy-lite mormons who are more interested in food pantries.
the LDS has an investment fund of over $100 billion dollars that they pay zero taxes on. Massive organized churches do alms and charity to help their members, but they are anything but socialist.
Fun fact, mormons working for the CIA are given a special… I forget the internal name for it, so lets call it… indulgence. They’re allowed to break whatever doctrine they deem fit, no spiritual or organizational consequences, on account of they’re doing our Heavenly Father’s work on earth don’t you know.
And when I say the Mormons are probably the greatest threat to a revolution in the states, people act like i’m growing a second head
Doubtless true on a national level, but here in Idaho, I’d take the Mormons over the panhandle any day.
Yeah, on a local level there’s always some dyed-in-the-wool klan-types
Growing up in Wisconsin, it was basically everywhere that wasn’t Milwaukee or Madison
Go digging anywhere in this country and you’ll find em. But in Idaho, it’s a little bit more than ‘some’. We have the highest number of hate group members in the country.
Not surprised
Mostly White, mostly rural, lax weapon laws
Perfect place to set up your militia
That’s because Mormonism sees itself as the state religion of the United States specifically and Capitalism in general
True on the United States… but capitalism? The church doesn’t have too firm a stance on economic systems. That kind of thing usually gets thrown under “worldly matters”. There’s some historical experiments with church-led socialism, which get talked about as a failure because it was “too soon and people weren’t/aren’t ready for it”.
And in the 20th century, Utah actually had quite a lot of social safety-nets and structures for aid, mostly organized through the Relief Society. But… key word there is “had”. The Relief Society is not the organization it once was. Market forces corrode all things and now, functionally, the church acts more as a tax-free hedge fund more than anything. But that’s not given much ideological emphasis. It’s not given much emphasis at all, really.
What really squares the circle here is “personal revelation”. Members are encouraged to pray on things and follow their instincts, because that’s God letting you know what you should do. Effectively: believe what you like so long as it doesn’t directly contradict church teachings. So the sort of member that would choose a CIA career is also the sort of member who thinks God acts through the market and prosperity is a sign of being right. There’s a lot of membership who think along those lines, but you also get some crunchy hippy-lite mormons who are more interested in food pantries.
the LDS has an investment fund of over $100 billion dollars that they pay zero taxes on. Massive organized churches do alms and charity to help their members, but they are anything but socialist.