Church Buys 41,554 Acres of Farmland in 8 States, Will Lease to Tenant Farmers

[2BizE]

Elder Pearson recently said that “the purpose of the church is NOT to feed the poor and needy of the world”.

Instead it appears the purpose of the church is to buy up all the real estate and farm land.

 

 

[webbles]

3 hours ago, Tacenda said:

I'm not too savvy about what the church does with the land. But after reading the following article, it looks like they lease it back to the farmer. Does that mean the farmer sold it to the church but can farm it and pay on a lease? Which bothers me. for good reason IMO. Could it be that the farmer couldn't keep up with the mortgage? If so, the church should just help them out.  But you know me....

https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/the-mormon-church-a-massive-landholder-just-expanded-its-2b-us-farmland-portfolio-across-8-states/#:~:text=Farmland Reserve%2C with its long,they said in the statement.

All the farms that were purchased in this transaction were already owned by a company that was leasing it to the farmers.  So none of these farms were farmer owned.  Everyone who is working on these farms were already leasing it.  The change is that now they will be leasing it from another entity.  https://www.farmlandpartners.com/ is the website for the company that sold the land.  They still have over 300 tenants.

[The Mean Farmer]

1 hour ago, 2BizE said:

Elder Pearson recently said that “the purpose of the church is NOT to feed the poor and needy of the world”.

Instead it appears the purpose of the church is to buy up all the real estate and farm land.

 

 

You should mention the context of that quote and the last part of it as well 

[rodheadlee]

At least they didn't sell all that farmland to China.

[rockpond]

On 10/12/2024 at 4:36 PM, The Mean Farmer said:

You should mention the context of that quote and the last part of it as well 

Isn't the context in the youtube clip.  Elder Pearson is teaching that temple work (covenant making for all of God's children) is the Church's purpose, not feeding the hungry.

Although, it feels like we could do both at the same time.

[The Mean Farmer]

15 hours ago, rockpond said:

Isn't the context in the youtube clip.  Elder Pearson is teaching that temple work (covenant making for all of God's children) is the Church's purpose, not feeding the hungry.

Although, it feels like we could do both at the same time.

 

 

The post I was responding to used a incomplete quote and with that said something that just isn't true.

 

2BizE quoted only the following  “the purpose of the church is NOT to feed the poor and needy of the world”

 

While being true that isn't even close to telling the whole story.

The FULL quote is:

“the purpose of the church is NOT to feed the poor and needy of the world, It will continue to do so at an accelerated rate”

 

 

This changes the context of what Elder Pearson was actually saying quite dramatically compared to what 2BizE quoted and said with it.  

Only part of the sentence was used to try and twist the truth.  What he actually said, and meant, was different.      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[smac97]

On 10/12/2024 at 3:34 PM, 2BizE said:

Elder Pearson recently said that “the purpose of the church is NOT to feed the poor and needy of the world”.

Wow.  He spoke in allcaps?

On 10/12/2024 at 3:34 PM, 2BizE said:

Instead

"Instead."

He said that?

On 10/12/2024 at 3:34 PM, 2BizE said:

it appears the purpose of the church is to buy up all the real estate and farm land.

 

Sure would like to see the entire video.

I suspect Elder Pearson was, in context, saying something similar to what Elder Bednar said here (on May 26, 2022, within a few days of Elder Pearson's remarks) :

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The basic purpose of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to help people learn about the nature and attributes of God — to love God, to become disciples of His Son Jesus Christ and to love and serve God’s children, said Elder David A. Bednar at the National Press Club.
...

“We believe God can change our hearts and make more of us from the inside out than we can ever make of ourselves,” said Elder Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “And we also believe that change many times is required from the outside in.”
...

Addressing journalists and others not familiar with the work, Elder Bednar spoke of the Church’s effort to lift and strengthen God’s children.

“Often, the world works from the outside in. Changing a person’s circumstances and environment may be considered the best method of changing that person. This approach certainly is important. …

“But God typically works from the inside out through a spiritual rebirth. If a person allows God to change his or her heart, then that person is empowered in remarkable ways to change his or her circumstances and environment.”

Elder Bednar said both temporal change — from the outside in — and spiritual change — from the inside out — are needed and useful in different situations.

The Church is intended to facilitate "both temporal change — from the outside in — and spiritual change — from the inside out."

Humanitarian and philanthropic efforts are necessarily part of that.

Quote

“But we have learned that a person with a new heart, a person changed from the inside out, serves and blesses family, friends, neighbors, congregations and communities in powerful ways,” he explained. “They learn to see each other for who they are and therefore treat each other accordingly.”

I think this change-at-the-individual-level emphasis is very important.  It is, I think, intended to facilitate the work of helping our fellow man.  I think it is that individual change and effort that ought to be the focus of our mandate to serve and the help the "poor and needy," considerably more so than using the amount of dollars donated to this or that NGO by the institutional Church as the primary  yardstick for measuring our fulfilling the missions of the Church.

Quote

This is how the Latter-day Saint faith community has expanded to all parts of the world, including the Middle East, eastern Asia and eastern Europe, he continued. “For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, drawing closer to God through our temple worship is life changing,” he said.

I agree with Elder Bednar here.  I suppose an endlessly regressive mindset might end up finding fault with the Church for spending funds on the temple, as such funds could be donated to NGOs.  But I think the Church has a broader perspective in view.

To be sure, I think the Church has recognized that it needs to improve, and it is improving. 

Quote

In addressing the journalists, Elder Bednar highlighted some of the questions Church leaders have received while participating in the Washington D.C. Temple open house.

“Some inquiries are focused on our beliefs and the temple, others pertain to the issues of our day — such as the role of women in the Church, race relations, and issues impacting our LGBTQ members and friends,” he said. “Perhaps most often asked is why do we now open the temple, if only members can enter after the rededication. The simple answer is that what we do in our temples is not a secret; it is sacred.”

Temples are much more than beautiful buildings, he continued. “The commitments we make in our temple worship help us to see beyond our own self-interest, self-centeredness and selfishness. Our hearts are changed and turn outward as we learn about God’s plan for our eternal destiny and happiness. Our love for God grows as we learn about the redeeming role of His Son, Jesus Christ, and our desire to love and serve our brothers and sisters increases.”

Speaking of women, Elder Bednar referenced the Relief Society and its 7.1 million members.

The Church, he said, has more than 31,000 congregations around the world, and each has a local Relief Society president. That’s 31,000 women — and most presidents have two counselors, a total of about 90,000 women — helping to lead and direct the work of the Church in their local congregations.

“All women and all men in our Church have responsibilities to teach, minister and serve our brothers and sisters,” he said.

On the issue of race, he said, the Church teaches that all people are beloved sons or daughters of God, who loves all of His children equally.

In reference to LGBTQ members and friends, Elder Bednar talked about the Church’s 2015 role in passing legislation in Utah to protect LGBTQ individuals from discrimination in housing, employment and other rights. “You also should know that at the federal level, we have been working with our LGBTQ allies to advance legislation of a similar nature,” he said. And the LGBTQ advocates support securing the freedom of belief that Church members hold so dear.

“We are proud to stand with our LGBTQ brothers and sisters — some of whom are with us today — in this important effort. It is hard work — and an objective worth fighting for. While we may not agree on everything, we surely are building a foundation of mutual respect and understanding.”

These are all wonderful contributory elements of the Restored Gospel.  It truly is for everyone.  That is so even though the Church is not an organization centrally focused on "LGBTQ" or gender or race issues (which are, nonetheless, meritorious matters to address).

Quote

Presently, the Church has almost 300 temples in operation, announced, in design or under construction. President Nelson has announced 100 of those temples in his four busy years as president of the Church. These beautiful structures are located in 74 countries.

“Temples, once they are dedicated, are reserved for Church members who are prepared to participate in our most sacred rites and ordinances. … These ceremonies lift, inspire, ennoble and change participants as they accept the individual responsibility to follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.”

I like that Elder Bednar is repeatedly emphasizing temples, which I think is one of the "weightier matters" referenced in Matthew 23.  "Judgment, mercy, and faith" are more important than "tithe{s} of mint and anise and cummin."  The former we ought to do, while not leaving the latter "undone."

Quote

Today, Church membership is almost 17 million worldwide, he said. “We have more than 31,000 congregations. More of our members live outside of the United States than within the United States. Church members speak over 160 languages. While we are growing in the U.S., our greatest expansion presently is occurring in Africa.”

In addition, he said, “the Church locks arms with the global community to eradicate hunger, administer lifesaving immunizations, provide wheelchair mobility for those who are immobile and train health care professionals to provide physical, mental and emotional support.”

Around the world, the Church assists in digging wells and providing clean water, a common and critical need in poorer parts of the world.

Kinda hard to square this with your suggestion above regarding the Church's "purpose."

Quote

In 2020 and 2021, in response to supply issues experienced during the pandemic, 2,800 truckloads of commodities from the Church’s storehouse system were delivered to nearly 400 food banks, homeless shelters and other charitable organizations across the U.S. This equated to more than 82 million meals for those in need. Outside of North America, the Church works with local grocery chains to help provide food to members in need.

“As an organization, our humanitarian efforts are guided by our commitment to live God’s second great commandment, to love our neighbor,” he said.

In 2021, the Church supported 135 mobility projects, such as wheelchairs, in 57 countries and territories; hosted 3,000 blood drives resulting in 100,000 units donated; and assisted seven major immunization campaigns, including significant financial donations to help UNICEF take COVID-19 immunizations to dozens of countries, he added. 

And last year, Church members donated millions of hours of volunteer service, including labor at Church farms, orchards and canneries, and participated in charitable service projects in 85 countries and in community service projects following natural disasters.

Same here.

Quote

In addition, he reported, the Church has more than 91,000 missionaries serving around the world, primarily young men and women.

“Missionaries teach the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others on their spiritual journey to become more like the Savior,” he said. “Every missionary learns the life-changing lesson that he or she is part of something greater and more important than self.”

Missionary work is an integral part of the Church's mission.

Quote

A core tenet of the faith is the importance of education, he added.

“Interestingly, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the few religions where the more education you receive, the more committed you are to the religion. Pew Research found over 80% of Latter-day Saint college graduates describe their religion as ‘very important.’

“We give significant attention, energy and resources to educating our youth. All secular and spiritual education fall under the umbrella of our Church Educational System, and nearly 1 million student learners are enrolled.”

Education is a pretty important component of the Church's mission.

Quote

Elder Bednar continued that the basic beliefs of the Church fuel the enthusiastic interest of its members in genealogy. “Learning about one’s ancestors was once reserved for a small, often older, population,” he said. “Today, a hobby has turned into a vast worldwide pursuit.”

And family history.

Quote

Concluding, Elder Bednar said he has tried to describe a few of the things “we cherish and strive to do as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

He then addressed one final question: Why do the members of your Church do all of these things?

“Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is far more than passive belief or assent,” he said. “Faith in the Savior is a principle of action and of power. Faith is evident in our priorities and how we live. 

“As we learn and live according to the teachings of Jesus, we are blessed with capacity, power and strength beyond our own. Our hearts are changed, we change from the inside out, and we become new creatures in Christ.”

To be clear, he added, Latter-day Saints do not believe their works save them, adding that only the grace of Jesus Christ can enable God’s children to overcome the many negative influences of the world. “But our faith does actuate the spiritual responsibility to work, bless and serve. We do not seek blessings only for ourselves. Rather, the blessings we receive enable us to serve other people more efficaciously.”

"{T}he blessings we receive enable us to serve other people more efficaciously."

Yes.  Yes.

The institutional Church has an important role to play in humanitarian efforts, but humanitarian efforts are not the sole purpose of the Church.  Elder Bednar really emphasizes this point here:

Quote

Elder Bednar noted that while he highlighted many aspects of the Church’s humanitarian outreach, the Church is primarily not a humanitarian organization.

“We are the Church of Jesus Christ, reestablished or restored upon the earth in the latter days in preparation for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do all of these things because, as His disciples, we love Him and want to follow His example in our lives.”

And there it is: "{T}he Church is primarily not a humanitarian organization."  I find it odd that this is a controversial statement.

Our primary purpose and objective is not to solve world hunger, or climate change, or champion animal rights, or provide free healthcare or education, or oppose Russia's aggressions against Ukraine, or any other goal, however laudable they may be.  We are, fundamentally and first and foremost, "the Church of Jesus Christ, reestablished or restored upon the earth in the latter days in preparation for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ."  Everything else is derivative of that.

I greatly appreciate the efforts of the Church to help both its members and others.  I am likewise happy to hear that its "humanitarian expenditures have doubled in the past five years," and that "we believe they are going to increase fast."  And as I have no expectation that the Church is perfect, I fully expect it to continue to improve and grow.

Thanks,

-Smac