Another Article About Mormons In A Major Publication

[Fly Fisherman]

Here

[Mordecai]

It's a good article, it seems. Overall, it's positive. If you read it to the end, you find some input from a couple of ex-Mormons. Of course, Businessweek isn't about doing our missionary work, so I think that's to be expected. The one line suggests "only Mormons who pay tithing are allowed in the temple," which I think will lead to some questions by non-members... which is good.

[Daniel Peterson]

As I bishop of a singles ward, I gave temple recommends to more than a few people who hadn't paid a cent in tithing.

Ten percent of nothing is zero.

[Calm]

In fact, Mormons fall in the middle of the socioeconomic spectrum, their numbers perhaps skewed lower by recent converts who tend to be less educated and less wealthy, according to Furr and others. Even so, Latter-Day Saints are less likely than the general public to be in the lowest income bracket, according to the Pew Research Center.

I'd like to see a long term study to see if the longer one is in the Church, if one's educational and economic status tends to go up.

Schultz theorizes that the church's insistence on a middle-class appearance is PR to win mainstream acceptance and recognition as a Christian faith. "In religious and theological communities, Mormons are always pushed to the side," says Schultz. "If they're even considered Christian by the Christian majority, they consider that a huge gain. I think that's exactly why there's the pressure to put on this face.

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I find this unlikely and would like to know if he is just talking about appearance at church or overall. The "middle class" appearance he's talking about was part and parcel of the Church when it was mostly a Utah based church with a high majority where there was definitely no being pushed to the side.

It is unfortunate about the "classism" that was described...what should have been noted though was that the Church itself does not divide, but tries to remove this by disregarding such lines in terms of creating congregations.

Overall a good article, lots of good personal quotes letting Mormons speak for themselves.

I don't pay tithing and I have a recommend.

[cdowis]

As I bishop of a singles ward, I gave temple recommends to more than a few people who hadn't paid a cent in tithing.

Ten percent of nothing is zero.

Do you count them as full tithe payors, or exempt.