The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Ensign Peak Advisers Inc. and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints agreed to pay $5 million in penalties to settle charges against the investment fund operating inside the nonprofit entity of the church.
Read MoreA former employee of a $100 billion investment fund owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has submitted a memorandum to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee about the operations of the Salt Lake City, Utah, based Ensign Peak Advisors Inc. The 90-page memorandum obtained by ReligionUnplugged.com “summarizes evidence of false statements, systematic accounting fraud, private inurement violations of the Internal Revenue Code and other federal statutes and a ‘Klein conspiracy’ by Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc. (‘EPA’) and others.”
Read MoreAfter years of persecution culminating in the assassination of its founder, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints migrated from Illinois to Utah in the mid-nineteenth century. Since then, the churchhas helped build the state into a religious and economic stronghold with Salt Lake City as its crown jewel. Now, the crown jewel is in peril.
Read MoreIn response to reporting by ReligionUnplugged.com and The Washington Post in 2019, a prominent former LDS Church member filed a federal lawsuit last week against the LDS Church seeking to regain more than $5 million in tithing he gave the church. The 2019 reports exposed that the LDS Church had amassed a $100 billion secret investment firm and used member tithes without their knowledge. The IRS has not confirmed whether it is investigating the church.
Read More(REVIEW) New true crime series “Murder Among the Mormons” tells the story of 1985 Salt Lake City bombings connected to the LDS Church.
Read MoreEnsign Peak Advisors, the investment firm connected to the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints, started filing a quarterly 13F form on Feb. 14, 2010, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates publicly traded companies and other financial firms. Its initial filing revealed EPA had $38 billion in stocks and mutual funds at the end of 2019, including $1.5 billion in Apple and Microsoft. The firm had nearly $1 billion worth of shares in Amazon and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, as well.
Read MoreWhile the latest statistics from the LDS Church show a slight growth in membership worldwide, much of the growth is coming from abroad. Polarization and inflexibility prevent growth more than controversy, religious scholars say.
Read MoreThe Mormon church has combined and updated its handbook, a portion of which had previously remained off-limits for lay members. Several changes relate to LGBTQ members, while the church remains firm in its support for only traditional marriage.
Read MoreThe Media Project staff, board and members worldwide submitted nominations for the best efforts in religion journalism that we admired most in 2019.
Read MoreSince launching in February, the Religion Unplugged team has been thrilled with our readers’ responses. We’re also proud to have won an Editor & Publisher award in our first year for best culture and entertainment news for websites under 1 million monthly views. Thank you for reading!
Read MoreThe 74-page document filed with the IRS and obtained by Religion Unplugged shows that Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc. saw owned assets under management grow to more than $100 billion from $10 billion in the past 22 years, fueled by a mix of investment strategy and tithe money from church members. The complaint may be the most important look at LDS finances in decades, a window into one of the wealthiest religious organizations in the United States and world.
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