u/_-4twenty-_

Utah Patients Coalition was the driving force behind 2018’s Proposition 2 in Utah, which legalized medical cannabis.

We are in need of volunteers of all kinds.

Many thanks!

I’m devastated. My heart is aching.

I was raised in Utah, but joined the military straight out of high school. That meant picking up and moving every couple of years. Then when the military chapter of our life ended, we moved back to the Wasatch, my mountains.

I love my home and the little community I built. I love the mountains so much. They’re a part of me.

But the Great Salt Lake is dying. She’s going to take everyone down with her.

My husband, an Army retiree, has never smoked a day in his life and has COPD because of something he was exposed to during his many deployments. The air here is already dangerous to breathe and exacerbates his cough.

He’s not even from here, he followed me here. I already feel like I took a fish out of water and put him inside of a bowl in a landlocked state and now there are fewer and fewer places where my merman can stretch his fins.

Pretty soon it’s going to be untenable.

I never imagined Utahns would be weather refugees. I’m already so homesick. I don’t want to leave, but what other choice is there?

My parents divorced when I was 7. My dad left the state and my mom moved us into her old ward, where we were related to almost everyone. The ward was one of the oldest in the state; the oldest people in the ward were children of the original “pioneers”. When Brigham Young sent them south, some of the branches on the family tree planted roots and never left.

Some of their descendants still haven’t left.

The old Relief Society hens talked about me like I wasn’t there. That was the first time I ever heard the word “bastard”.

“Mom, what does bastard mean?”

“It’s someone who was born out of wedlock.”

I was born out of wedlock?!?

One Sunday, I followed my mom into her Sunday School class, where they were talking about the law of chastity. I didn’t understand everything that was said, but I caught enough.

1. Whatever my mom did was just as bad as murder.
2. Consequences are forever.

In that moment, I understood the people in that room saw me as a manifestation of my mother’s sin. Sure, my dad sinned, too, but he was a Southern Baptist. Their kind do that sort of thing.

I was in the new ward for less than a month before I turned 8. I understood that meant I reached the age of accountability. Apparently, children before the age of 8 are without sin.

Other children, that is.

I was born a sin, I never had the luxury of innocence.

But I could start all over with a clean slate. My birthday fell the day after fast Sunday, so I had to wait until the next month to get baptized.

And it was excruciating.

I was already 8, so I had reached the age of accountability and I couldn’t be cleansed for an entire month. What if something happened to me before then?!?

I felt existential dread every day until I was baptized.

No child should feel like that.

With data centers popping up all of the state, each requiring millions of gallons of water to operate, the drought will only get worse.

Last year, Los Angeles burned as badly as it did because the firefighters didn’t have water. In English class, we called that “foreshadowing”.

Your vote must matter or those with the power wouldn’t be trying so hard to deter you from voting. They want to make it as inconvenient for you as possible. Don’t let them.

Make sure you’re registered to vote and that you’re signed up for mail-in ballots. Don’t let the propaganda fool you; voting by mail is secure.

1. Tampering with mail is a felony.
2. Voter fraud is a felony.
3. Using the U.S. Postal Service to commit voter fraud is a felony.

We need to prosecute those who are committing fraud instead of making voting harder for everyone else.

(I tagged this for spoilers in case anyone wants to talk about significant plot points.)

I just finished the series for the 1st time. I tried watching it before and couldn’t get into it because I didn’t think BoJack was a realistic protagonist. But now I get it.

My sister is BoJack … aside from the money and mansion overlooking Hollywoo. She’s what BoJack would be without the 1990’s residual checks.

My sister is nearing 50, but is still the 20 year old crashing on people’s couches, doing drugs, stealing money, and cheating with her friends’ significant others. But unlike BoJack, she’s dragging her children down with her and there’s nothing I can do about it.

She was constantly involving everyone in her drama, but she didn’t want our help, she wanted our money. Just like BoJack, most everyone I know went no contact with her. It was just too much.

I miss the sister I used to know. She has spent almost 5 decades on this planet and has nothing to show for it. She doesn’t even have a compelling character arc, just devolution and devastation. By the time she figures her shit out, it will be too late.

Do you have a BoJack?

I’m keeping this post vague for privacy reasons, the person is cishet and doesn’t use they / them pronouns IRL.

A friend of my partner’s invited us over for a get together. For clarity’s sake, let’s call them Scout. Scout’s cousin, ExLax, showed up unannounced and crashed the shindig. ExLax brought a weird vibe with them. They kept bringing up inside jokes they had with Scout with no attempt to include us in their conversation.

ExLax asked Scout, “Do you remember that cat?” They both broke out laughing like it was the funniest thing ever.

I love cats. They are so communicative with such big personalities. I couldn’t wait to hear the hilarious cat story.

It was not hilarious.

They put it in a duffel and played catch with it.

The cat walked away, physically uninjured.

I didn’t think it was funny and said as much. I asked Scout’s partner what they thought of it. They laughed and said they’ve heard the story before. Everyone at the table acted like I was a damp blanket.

On the way home, I told my partner I don’t want to hang out with Scout anymore. My partner says what they did is in the past and I’m over-reacting. But they are still laughing about it.

AIO?

The so-called Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes Jesus created Earth.

The Great Salt Lake is dying. The data centers use excessive amounts of water. If the Mormons are representatives of Jesus, why isn’t the church speaking out?

Money is the only logical answer.

How did you know where to turn left on UT83?

There are allegations of the LDS church committing tax fraud in Canada and Australia. I'm adding the United States to the list.

In February 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fined the LDS church for violating federal laws regarding required disclosures:

>The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Ensign Peak Advisers Inc., a non-profit entity operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to manage the Church’s investments, for failing to file forms that would have disclosed the Church’s equity investments, and for instead filing forms for shell companies that obscured the Church’s portfolio and misstated Ensign Peak’s control over the Church’s investment decisions. The SEC also announced charges against the Church for causing these violations. To settle the charges, Ensign Peak agreed to pay a $4 million penalty and the Church agreed to pay a $1 million penalty.

Why did they do that?

>... the Church was concerned that disclosure of its portfolio, which by 2018 grew to approximately $32 billion, would lead to negative consequences. To obscure the amount of the Church’s portfolio, and with the Church’s knowledge and approval, Ensign Peak created thirteen shell LLCs, ostensibly with locations throughout the U.S., and filed Forms 13F in the names of these LLCs rather than in Ensign Peak’s name. The order finds that Ensign Peak maintained investment discretion over all relevant securities, that it controlled the shell companies, and that it directed nominee “business managers,” most of whom were employed by the Church, to sign the Commission filings. The shell LLCs’ Forms 13F misstated, among other things, that the LLCs had sole investment and voting discretion over the securities. In reality, the SEC’s order finds, Ensign Peak retained control over all investment and voting decisions.

Source: https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023-35

Alternate source: https://archive.ph/2hYqg

The LDS church settled with the SEC, but the information contained in the report has greater implications that are beyond the SEC's jurisdiction. The IRS is the entity that regulates taxes in the United States; they determine whether a religious institution qualifies for tax exemption.

>The First Amendment prohibits the Government from restricting the free exercise of religion. The courts have held that the First Amendment provides for an absolute freedom of religious belief. However, actions undertaken due to religious beliefs are subject to government regulation when those actions implicate a compelling government interest. Religiously motivated conduct that violates federal, state, or local law may be restricted or prohibited entirely. [emphasis mine]

Source: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/atg_religious_orgs.pdf

Alternate source: https://archive.ph/akqPf

The SEC determined the LDS church violated federal laws, this fact, in and of itself, is enough motivation for the IRS to revoke the LDS church's IRC § 501(c)(3) tax exemption.

But there is more.

The Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gets its IRC § 501 (c)(3) tax exemption because it is a public charity per IRC § 509(a)(1) / IRC § 170(b)(1)(A)(vi). Ensign Peak Advisors gets its tax exemption because it is a type III supporting organization per IRC § 509(a)(3). Type III supporting organizations cannot act independently of their parent organization -- they must act in accordance with their parent org.

All IRC § 501(c)(3) tax exempt organizations (including religious organizations) have an organizational and operational test they are required to pass. If they fail to pass either of those tests, they will lose their tax exemption.

IRC § 509(a)(3) Supporting Organizations cannot have that much sitting in accounts collecting interest. "Substantially all" of their money must be spent on charitable activities. They are not allowed to save it for a rainy day. Ensign Peak Advisors fail the operational test and deserve to lose its tax exemption.

Because Ensign Peak Advisors fails their operational test, the LDS church fails, too.

If you are so inclined, please write a letter to the IRS and explain The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their supporting organization, Ensign Peak Advisors, fails the operational test required of all tax-exempt organizations and should pay taxes like every other investment firm.

https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/irs-complaint-process-tax-exempt-organizations

Alternate source: https://archive.ph/2Hr3w