I gave this talk in sacrament meeting back in 2008. No wonder it was the last time I was asked to speak!
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Radio Free Mormon: 168: My Last Talk in Sacrament Meeting
I gave this talk in sacrament meeting back in 2008. No wonder it was the last time I was asked to speak!
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You made another small error in the EPA fund. They had over $125 billion last year. Following tech stocks, in which they are heavily invested, that should have ballooned to over $140 billion in February before losing 30% (if they did not pull out early), before rising back up from the end of March. It is impossible to estimate the fund right now. It could be anywhere from $110-160 billion depending on what they held and dumped. Many large funds have pulled out of the market to hold cash, so if the financial advisors at EPA are following that strategy, they could be sitting on $110 billion in liquid cash and secure ETFs. If they doubled down and invested more into strong stocks from quarantine, they could have recovered and even grown the fund over their prior ATH (>$150 billion). I highly doubt that the EPA fund has dropped to $90 billion, as you mentioned.
When this is put into context that for <$20 million ($0.02 billion) per year, childhood hunger and death from starvation could be eradicated among the members of the church (research the Bountiful Children’s Foundation), I find the lack of action from the church morally apprehensible.
These small details are not as important as understanding the vast wealth of assets of the church. I agree with other people who have estimated the total net worth of the church in excess of $500 billion. Since the church is organized as a sole proprietorship legally, this makes President Nelson’s net financial assets arguably greater than any person on the planet aside from Vladimir Putin.
Thanks for the correction, Zinrath!
You just made me think of a joke:
What’s the difference between RFM and President Oaks?
RFM admits it when he’s wrong!
Thanks for listening!
“…for <$20 million ($0.02 billion) per year, childhood hunger and death from starvation could be eradicated among the members of the church…."
Where did you get this number of "<$20 million," and how exactly would that work?
I didn't find anything about this at BCF.
I have a friend who says the “f” has lost its meaning, because it is used and abused so much out of context. I believe RFM could articulate convincing argument that another “f” word namely “faith” is over used out of context thus abused mainly in reference to and by religious communities. My experience with faith really expanded when I graduated from religion. Also, the term falling away from ones region. Just as you used the analogy of leaving the gravitational pull. I believe when people leave the gravity of their religion, graduate and go into the world taking what they learned in the discipline of their religion. And hold that religion as their all matre’ society will be more expansive and better off. Going back to the word faith, I see when religions use the word, it’s not faith; what they really mean is programming or indoctrination. Please talk about faith as an ” f” word. Thank you, Jay Larsen.
Great comments, Jay!
At least “faith” isn’t a four-letter word!
RFM
I gave a very different talk on the atonement just this last year. Although I was cut short (only 8 minutes left from about 15 which I was hoping to have. So the juiciest parts of my talk were cut out and simply stating that that the atonement completes us.
If anyone actually cares enough to dive in and take read… you may do so here (TLDR):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16Gxr7QWQQEupx40sWl1kRU346dyMLsopSuCPkE_qmuc/edit?usp=sharing
Thanks for sharing your talk with us, David!
This may be another instance of great minds thinking alike . . .