THE MORMON MAFIA?

Illustration by Brandon Bird

With all the opinion that has been past around in the past week surrounding the comments made by  Rev Robert Jeffress calling the Mormon faith, "a cult". I think it is  applicable to write about something that somewhat applies to the stew that mixes politics and religion.The basis of this post comes from articles that were written for CNBC’s website, and Business Week magazine. Even though the articles have nothing to do with Mitt Romney's political race, I do think that these articles could change the outlook that many have when it comes to  Mormons. I think its safe to say that many have a certain idea of what people think a Mormon is, and who Mormons really are.

One of the ideas portrayed in the articles,  is the tie between young men serving missions, and the adapting those skills into the business world. According to CNBC, in summer of 2010," 31 graduates of Brigham Young University (BYU), a Mormon stronghold, will work at Goldman and Sachs. That is the same number as those from the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania." Those familiar with this group of Mormon businessmen jokingly referred to them as the "Mormon Mafia". Many influential people in business,and political sphere (John Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Jet Blue CEO David Neeleman, Jon Huntsman..among others)  can tie many of their successes back to having acquired skills on their LDS missions that would later help them become future political and business leaders. As the article states: “When you’re selling religion door-to-door,” one hedge-fund manager, who is a Mormon, told CNBC, “it makes every other business enterprise easier in comparison.”’

The article published in business week, states: “The Mormon Church is 181 years old, and its adherents compose less than 2 percent of the U.S. population, according to a 2009 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS). Yet Latter-Day Saints hold, or have held, a seemingly disproportionate number of top jobs at such major corporations as Marriott International (MAR), American Express, American Motors, Dell Computers (DELL), Lufthansa, Fisher-Price (MAT), Life Re, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Madison Square Garden, La Quinta Properties, PricewaterhouseCooper, and Stanley Black & Decker (SWK).”

My hopes are that these articles, have at least in a small way, changed the public opinion as to who the Mormons are. In my opinion, we are a productive, hard working ,group of individuals who believe in God, and are not afraid to say it. With the upcoming political events, the next year will be an exciting time for us “Mormons”, and I can only hope that we will not back down from who we are and what we believe.


And as for us being a "Cult."... Come on, get it right we are a "Mafia"

The links to these articles are below:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/37872991/Mormons_Wield_Influence_in_Business
http://www.businessweek.com/magazin