Send in the Mormons!
By Randy Gage
So we’ve been discussing whether you can be prosperous if you’re not wealthy. And what a spirited and insightful discussion it’s been! Kudos to you guys for participating fully. Last post we talked about the situation in Haiti after the earthquake and I threw out the sacrilegious idea that I wanted spiritual leaders and charity directors who were rich.
Let me explain my thoughts on this more…
I’m sure you remember the abject and complete failure of the government in response to the Hurricane Katrina situation in New Orleans. I got to experience that same scenario when Hurricane Andrew created a swath of destruction through South Florida.
The well-meaning government bureaucrats were completely unprepared, untrained, and frankly, incompetent to help the people that needed it. Compare that with the Mormons…
One of my friends in the hardest hit area was Mormon. His phone was down, but he still had voicemail and spotty cell phone service and let me know he had lost the roof on his house. So I threw my tools in the car and made my way through the destruction to his home, about 24 hours after the hurricane.
Imagine my shock when I drove up and found a new roof on his house and stacks of lumber in his yard. He opened the door to reveal racks of bread, stacks of relief supplies, and enough food for 1,000 families. I asked how this all came to be.
He explained that volunteers from his church had arrived two hours after the storm. They had tire repair kits so they could make it through the roads even when the government vehicles couldn’t. They brought flatbeds full of lumber to repair roofs. They had truckloads full of food. Because he was a deacon in his church, they brought him a list of the names and addresses of the entire congregation, and put him in charge of getting relief to them all, as well as helping the other neighbors.
Why could they do this? Because they were prosperous.
Most weren’t billionaires or even millionaires. They were doctors, dentists, plumbers, carpenters, executives and many other professions. But the church had taught them about prosperity. They tithed, saved money, avoided debt, and planned ahead for emergencies.
So when the storm was forecast to hit Florida, they closed their businesses, took time off from work, drove from all over North America to Orlando and waited to see exactly where it would land. And as soon as it passed, they immediately went to the area and were providing help, three weeks before the government was up and running.
Now we could talk about other aspects of the Mormon religion and I have. (Ever since this experience I’ve said if it weren’t for the rules against pre-marital sex, drinking, drugs and swearing, I’d definitely be a Mormon!) But one thing I can tell you is they do a wonderful job teaching their flock about money and material things.
Quite a contrast to many other religions…
The Mormon Church is wealthy because they teach their people to be wealthy, and this creates a source of funding to support and grow the movement. The Vatican is wealthy because they teach their people that it’s spiritual to be poor. Big difference from a prosperity standpoint.
The Mormons teach prosperity and help their people on how to manifest it. The Vatican wants gold-plated plumbing for the Pope, but admonishes you to live like a pauper. Pretty hypocritical.
Which begets the question that if your area was destroyed by a natural disaster, who would you want helping you? Which then takes us back to our original question…
Can you be prosperous without money? We’ll pick up there again on the next post. In the meantime, please keep the dialogue going.
-RG
