LDS church worth

[Levin]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

I don't even have a clue what that reference means.

That you primitively think the Church has gold bullion in vaults, and you want to know where it is so you can steal it like Butch Cassidy would/did

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by Levin

That you primitively think the Church has gold bullion in vaults, and you want to know where it is so you can steal it like Butch Cassidy would/did

Isn't it hidden in caves in the hills above Santaquin?

[BlueHair]

Originally Posted by TripletDaddy

I have always wondered if there were truth to the notion that the church really pays for everything up front.

Why would you hand someone 1.5B in cash up front? makes no sense. You get no yield on that money in the interim. I can see the Church not undertaking a capital investment without sufficient funds in their coffers before launch.....but the way the picture is painted, the Church shows up at the construction site on Day 1 and writes a $1.5B check, paying everything up front.

They wouldn't pay for it front. It would be just like any other project. You pay the sub-contractors when their portion of the job is done. If project takes 3 years to build, you would pay over three years. I doubt the church takes out loans. To get a loan, you have to state your value, and the church is very protective about their finances.

[jxncoog]

My limited understanding of Church Construction, having worked for 2 firms who have contracted for church construction work including Temples....there is no up front payment. For an owner to pay up front would be ridiculous (no offense to your comment) as it would eliminate any leverage for them to get the work completed no matter how noble the construction firm is.

[FMCoug]

Originally Posted by jxncoog

My limited understanding of Church Construction, having worked for 2 firms who have contracted for church construction work including Temples....there is no up front payment. For an owner to pay up front would be ridiculous (no offense to your comment) as it would eliminate any leverage for them to get the work completed no matter how noble the construction firm is.

I don't think anybody thinks that. The question is whether they have commerical consturction loans and/or long-term financing vs. cash reserves to pay with. They are clearly not paying draws to the subs until work is done.

[jxncoog]

Yeah, I couldn't tell you who is the signee on a check for a payment for a construction draw, but I know they pay on time all uncontested funds....generally a great client to work for.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

OK, but if it's dispersed amongst various entities for things like regulatory capital requirements, then it's not really "cash available", is it?

The cash which is held for regulatory capital requirements isn't cash available, but why would you assume most of their cash fits that description? The church isn't involved in many enterprises that have those kinds of regulatory requirements.

[FMCoug]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

Precisely. Given what I have read about the church, I just don't think they are leveraged.

If anything, they are self-leveraged. I could see the lender for these projects being a church-owned investment company for example.

This is what they do for insurance. DMBA, which is the insurer for employees, church activities, etc. is a wholly owned subsidiary. So they are self-insured, but it works the same as any other insurance company would.

[T Blue]

The church frequently "borrows" money from themselves.

If they have a project coming up that will need extra finances they will go and borrow the $$$ from one of their many entities, this allows them to be self supportive and also pays themselves interest vs. borrowing from some other public or private investment firm.

I have heard from reliable sources that there truly is some gold bullion and old Mormon gold coins being held in a vault at the mouth of big cottonwood canyon; but I wish you the best of luck getting the gold out of there, as it is almost like fort knox to get into that area.

Something about the old spanish gold being stolen by the indians from the spaniards on their way to Mexico, and being traded to BY because the indians were friendly to the mormon settlers who had use for Gold, as the indians had no use for Gold, but did need items the settlers possessed.

Fascinating stories abound about the old spaniards Gold, and Rhodes lost mines, and Indians massacreing Spaniards who were transporting Gold to Mexico, and trading it to the early Mormon settlers.

[Solon]

Originally Posted by T Blue

Fascinating stories abound about the old spaniards Gold, and Rhodes lost mines, and Indians massacreing Spaniards who were transporting Gold to Mexico, and trading it to the early Mormon settlers.

+ Brigham's Bees