It appears that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has donated millions to the new theater in downtown Salt Lake which is part of the City Creek
Downtown Rising Project. The new theater is an extension to the LDS Church's high end office building called 111 Main. The 100 million plus theater is interconnected and actually shares the same lobby as the Church's latest addition to City Creek building portfolio. I wrote about 111 Main Office Tower
here.
Below is a photo of the ribbon cutting gala event that took place last week.
In the photo below, is the cutting the
ribbon. The Eccles family were the highest donors to the building which the
theater is now named after. The family representatives are the ones holdind the giant scissors. Elder M Russell Ballard is also part of the ribbon cutting
ceremony and can been seen just to the left of the Eccles. The LDS Church is the listed as the third
highest donor. Hard to know for sure if the listing is in order of
donation magnitude,
but if it is, that would put the church’s donation somewhere between
$6,000,000.00
and $2,000,000.00 million dollars. I wasn't in attendance, but I wonder if instead of shouting
"Let's Go Shopping" the said in unison "Let's Go the Show".
Here is the list of the Top Five Listed Donors:
First Listed Donor (building named after)
George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation = $15,000,000.00
2nd Listed Donor
Delta Air Lines = $6,000,000.00
3rd Listed Donor
The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints Foundation and
City Creek Reserve, Inc.
4th Listed Donor
O.C. Tanner Company
5th Listed Donor
Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation = $2,000,000.00 million
As part of the three-day Grand Opening Celebration, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcasted their weekly "Music and the Spoken Word" from this new theater last Sunday on Oct. 23, 2016. The MoTab's radio and TV broadcast was the first time
in its 88-year history that the program originated from a Salt Lake
venue other than the Salt Lake Tabernacle or LDS Conference Center.
Ironically, the 2016-2017 Season tickets for the Eccles Theater are now on sale. Some of the shows include: Dirty Dancing, Kinky Boots and the less then flattering Broadway show, The Book of Mormon: the musical. So interesting that that the Church would donated tithing money to a venue that would play such shows instead of building homeless shelters and food kitchens. One day I hope to get an explanation on why the Church spends the widows mite on such things.
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Sidenote:
I was in Cedar City this past weekend and drove by the new LDS Temple that is being built. (See below on the left). The Church does a great job in finding the most exclusive areas and high end residential areas to build their Temples.
Not only do we have the serious issue of habitual "robbing of the poor" by the church once again; but we have it in the form of simultaneously advocating the clear demoralizing agenda of the adversary. This is a classic case of how the church continues to try to "serve two masters."
ReplyDeleteZion is described as a "City of Holiness" where the people dwelt in righteousness. Do they think a theater will exist inside Zion that will exhibit such filth as will take place in this new structure? If not, then why should they be in the business of advancing such a theater now? Shouldn't they be trying to raise us to behavior that prepares us for that which we seek to attain? Our church leaders claim to be Apostles and Prophets. Are they not supposed to be calling us and the world to repentance from such wickedness; not facilitating it's advancement?
How can the church claim to seek after all things that are virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy and have any part in things so vastly contrary to what is written in scripture. Is what will take place on this stage not glorying in whoredoms, adultery, fornication, perversions, lust and just about every other unholy and impure practice! (I'm referring to the examples of the three musicals referenced. Google "Kinky Boots musical" and see what I mean).
Why are they supporting this? They can't claim ignorance. Surely they know the type of theater produced on Broadway that would find it's way onto that stage. Is their rationale so that Salt Lake can be on the map as a city that offers it all? A hip place to visit? Are we once again going to claim it's a missionary tool to draw people to our city in order to be introduced to the gospel? Once again employing Babylon's tools to sell he gospel of Christ?
Or is the reasoning to enhance Temple Square by further surrounding the sacred edifice with the world's allurements? What's the purpose of such Babylonian enhancement? Is it so we can redeem the dead in the afternoon and sleep with Babylon in the evening? Honestly, they promote spiritual schizophrenia to an incomprehensible degree among anyone who honestly looks at what they say versus what they do.
Coincidently, just before reading your post, I was studying the book of Moses. The world is described just before God destroys it by flood: "And God saw that the wickedness of men had become great in the earth; and every man was lifted up in the imagination of the thoughts of his heart, being only evil continually."
What displays the imagination of the thoughts of mankind's heart more than what we put out for our entertainment on stage and film! This is perhaps the greatest display of our imagination as a people/culture, and reveals the true thoughts of our hearts. Truly it manifests our continual wickedness. The only thing worse than those that create such wickedness from their imaginations, are those who support it with their money as a source of personal entertainment. Any by so indulging, declare loud and clear the thoughts and imaginations of their hearts (while further robbing the poor themselves by spending $70 + a ticket to frolic in such depravity). All three of the shows mentioned are debauchery masquerading as art; for the sake of glorying in it.
This is a small example of the kind of moral hypocrisy exhibited by the Church that has opened my eyes to realize they have been walking a slow road to apostasy.
Thanks again. I would've missed this story without your blog.
3 Nephi 24:8-10 comes to my mind. They (not the people)have robbed God IN their tithes and offering. Lord speaking to the Priests (the ones in charge of the funds) and calls them out for not bringing them in the storehouse)
ReplyDeleteMy wife had the "Music and the Spoken Word" on this last Sunday, and I wondered why it wasn't in the Tabernacle or the Conference Center.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I've noticed that the MoTab Choir often has Military Bands perform with them, such as the Marine Corps band and the West Point Cadet band. A few months ago I saw of video of the Russian celebration of their victory in the Great Patriotic War (WW2)at the Kremlin featuring formations of tanks, rocket launchers, jets flying overhead and large formations of goose-stepping troops and thinking it was all very militaristic; seems we're becoming just as militaristic, not just at football games, but also in our MoTab broadcasts.
Another random thought; Nephi's and Lehi's dreams were somehow in error, there is not just one "great and spacious building", but now a plethora of them.
comment from Mike the Band Guy:
Delete"I am a music educator, and I teach high school band. I also performed with the 25th Army Band as part of my military service.
Please don't read too much into military musicians performing alongside the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
You run the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, and a poor one at that, when you equate great musicians performing alongside each other to so-called militarism of the LDS faith.
Our nation's premier military bands regularly tour the country and when they stop in the Salt Lake area, will take the opportunity to perform with one of the world's most renowned choral ensembles."