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April 1, 2011 (CFN Financial News)- The Corporation of the President
(dba The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) launched its
first day of trading today under the symbol 'CULT' on the New York
Stock Exchange marking the first time ever that a US based religion
has gone public.
Early trading was mixed as the issue started the day at 36.26 but lost
steam in early trading losing 16 points in the first hour of light
trading. Analysts expressed concerns over the organization's business
model which some predict can't survive the loss of tax exempt status
and is projected to run losses into the foreseeable future.
Despite dire predictions, trading strengthened mid-morning as buying
in the Mountain Time zone accelerated and trading became more active.
Analyst LaVerl Smith from Zions bank, the only bank tracking the
stock, was extremely bullish on the offering "I know that this is the
only true stock and that by buying this stock I will receive returns
in the last days."
Institutional investors showed little interest in the company however,
activity from individual investors surprised some analysts. A large
number of small transactions served to boost the stock to 47.50 by mid
afternoon as Mutual fund companies such as Fidelity and TR Price
reported thousands of retirees liquidating their 401(k) accounts to
purchase the stock. Larinda Allred of Sandy Utah was one such investor
who cashed out both her 401(K) and her husband's life insurance policy
so that she could purchase 10,000 shares of CULT. "My Bishop told me
about this investment opportunity during a special interview at
church. I'm putting my life savings into this stock because after
talking with my bishop and praying about it I felt a very special
feeling. I know this stock is the only true stock on the face of the
earth. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
Support for the stock evaporated in late afternoon trading due to
several large transactions during the final minutes of trading. The
stock plunged over 47 points to close at 0.19 as a small number of
very large sell orders were received on the floor. Trading records
indicate that 15 key insiders in the church hierarchy all placed
orders to sell once the price topped 46 netting a staggering total of
7.4 billion in profits for those 15 individuals.
After the close of trading officials at the New York stock exchange
announced that the stock will be delisted as it has fallen below $1
per share and no longer meets the requirements for trading on the
NYSE. Attempts were made to contact the LDS church for comment.
However, we were told that church officials are away on personal
business in an disclosed country that has no extradition agreement
with the United States.
| Be honest about the church's history. Stop excommunicating and "disfellowshipping" scholars who present you with mountains of scientific and historical evidence that Joseph Smith was an imaginative fraud and the BoM is a hoax. Repeal the 132nd section of the D&C and admit polygamy was a mistake. Apologies for the slander and mistreatment of Blacks, Gays and Women by the church. Welcome back into full fellowship excommicationed members whose only sin was to criticize the church or wrote about the history of the church. Allow criticism of church leaders , be human. If you are unwilling to do anything to show that the church has changed your words ring hallow and their is no reason for us to believe them. You weren't really speaking to those of us who left anyway were you, just saying words to flock to calm them about all the members who have the church. |
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| Article sates: "President Thomas S. Monson invited "the less-active, the offended, the critical, the transgressor" Sunday to come back and "feast at the table of the Lord and taste again the sweet and satisfying fruits of fellowship with the Saints." Wow, instead of using negative terms like "the offended, the critical, the transgressor", how about using more accurate terms to describe people who left like "intellectual, vocal, critical thinker, and spiritually progressive"? Oh yeah I forgot, many of these people didn't leave...they were kicked out for simply voicing their views and/or questioning historical issues within the church. Instead of having a "feast at the table of the Lord and taste again the sweet and satisfying fruits of fellowship with the Saints", I feel, it would have been much more of an accurate description to state "stay away from the table of the Mormon Church and it's judgmental members. Don't keep eating the B***S*** they try to jam down your throat at every turn." Monson's speech is just further evidence, the Mormon hierarchy and many devout members "just don't get it." As much as I love my friends and family who are LDS, I feel every wardhouse is simply a "non-thinking ghetto |
The Book of Abraham is a scriptural text for some denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. According to Joseph Smith, Jr., the movement's founder, it is "a translation of some ancient records....purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus".[1]
The work was originally published in 1842 in the Latter Day Saint movement newspaper Times and Seasons[1] together with facsimiles of vignettes from the papyrus and Smith's explanations of them. In 1851, it was republished in England as part of the Pearl of Great Price, which has been included in the canon of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1880.[2]
For many years the original papyri were thought to have been lost. In 1966 eleven fragments of the papyri were found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and are now designated the Joseph Smith Papyri. Both Mormon and non-Mormon Egyptologists examined the fragments and concluded that they are portions of common funerary texts, dating to about the first century BC, and contain no reference to Abraham, bearing little resemblance of Smith's interpretation. As such, their discovery amplified the long standing dispute concerning the authenticity of the Book of Abraham.
Two Studies Find Depression Widespread in Utah Study Calling Utah Most Depressed, Renews Debate on Root Causes By RUSSELL GOLDMAN March 7, 2008—
The still waters of the Great Salt Lake run deep -- and dark.
Take Wendy, a 40-year-old teacher and mother of three from Utah County. To all appearances, she led the perfect life. Just as she was expected to, she went from high school cheerleader to Mormon missionary to wife and mother.
"But life has a funny way of not being perfect," she said. "Three years into my marriage my husband was drinking, using drugs and stepping out on me.
"I knew I was depressed and needed help, but there is a stigma about depression in this area," said Wendy, who asked that ABCNEWS.com not use her last name. "People think it's a sign of weakness. It means you're not capable of being a good mother or wife or teacher."
Wendy's secret is Utah's secret. The postcard image of Utah is a state of gleaming cities, majestic mountains and persistently smiling people. But new research shows a very different picture of the state, a snapshot of suicide and widespread depression.
A recent study by Mental Health America, the country's oldest independent mental health advocacy organization, ranked Utah the most depressed state in the country.
Another survey released last week by drug distribution company Express Scripts found that residents of Utah were prescribed antidepressant drugs more than those of any other state and at twice the national average.
According to MHA, some 10.14 percent of adults in Utah "experienced a depressive episode in the past year and 14.15 percent experienced serious psychological distress. ... Individuals in Utah reported having on average 3.27 poor mental health days in the past 30 days."
The reason for Utah's mass depression, however, is unknown.
"The truth is, we don't know why," said Dr. Ted Wander, spokesman for the Utah Psychiatric Association.
Neither study was broken down by gender, but nationally women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depressive disorders as men, experts told ABC News.
Psychiatrists point to several factors that could contribute to Utah's high levels of depression: limited mental health resources, restricted access to treatment as a result of cost, poor quality of resources and a varied list of other factors, including an underfunded educational system and a culture deeply rooted in the Mormon faith.
"Availability to resources, a lack of professionals and barriers to treatment, including the ability to pay all drive up instances of depression," said Dr. Curtis Canning, a Logan-based psychiatrist and former president of the Utah Psychiatric Association. "But there is also -- especially when it comes to women and girls -- a cultural factor."
Seventy percent of Utah's residents are Mormon. When Express Scripts issued its first national survey of prescription drug use in 2002, it sparked a heated debate across Utah about what, if any role, the church played in the state's high dependence on antidepressants such as Prozac and Zoloft.
"In Mormon culture females are supposed accept a calling. They are to be constantly smiling over their family of five. They are supposed to take supper across the street to an ill neighbor and then put up with their husband when he comes home from work and smile about it the whole time. There is this sense that Mrs. Jones down street is doing the same thing, and there is this undercurrent of competition. To be a good mother and wife, women have to put on this mask of perfection. They can't show their tears, depression or agony," Canning said.
"Obedience, conformity and maintaining a sense of harmony" are unspoken but widely recognized behaviors, which all contribute to what he calls "the Mother of Zion syndrome."
When Wendy first started seeking professional help and was put on Zoloft 10 years ago, she felt the sting of shame even from her own family members.
"Marriage and family are so important that there was a huge amount of pressure to make things work. I was supposed to try harder, and buck up and that would make me happier and keep my husband from abusing me," she said.
"There are expectations from the community, but mostly from other women," she said. "It doesn't come down from the church necessarily, but it's passed from mother to daughter. My family was reluctant to see me taking the drugs, but since seeing me at my worst, they now encourage me to take my meds."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, however, says the high number of prescriptions is a result of people receiving the drugs they need in Utah more than in other places.
"I don't think it's clear that there's a crisis in Utah," said Brent Scharman, a psychologist and the assistant commissioner of LDS Family Services, a church network that provides counseling. "You've got one camp that says there is more depression and another camp that says we just have more consumers." Scharman said studies on organized religion and depression found that religious people were generally happier than nonreligious people, and that held true for Mormons.
"It always boils down to the issue of what influence the LDS lifestyle has on the depression phenomenon," he said. "Non-LDS and some LDS people say this is a kind of driven lifestyle and that we push too hard and smile too much. But studies show, and those living it out see, that religion is good support. It creates a positive network and helps people get through crises and deal with long-term problems.
"Are there people who feel 'I'm not living up to the LDS ideal,' or 'I'm not living up to my family's expectations'? Absolutely, there is no question. But having done counseling outside the LDS community, I saw people there, too, who were depressed because of perfectionism," he said. "I wouldn't say it is any worse here than in more diverse communities."
The MHA study evaluated information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., and factored in suicide statistics to determine each state's "depression status."
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Utah has twice the national average of anti-depressant use and Utah is 70% Mormon. DO THE MATH!