"WATER RESOURCES SPECIALIST: Individuals or couples with an engineering and administrative background in water resources and water rights are needed to serve Natural Resources Section of the Real Estate Division in the Physical Facilities Department at the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City. The individuals will assist in protecting the Church’s water rights in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, and Washington, and the other eleven (11) western states. The spouse would perform clerical or office support items, unless also qualified on water-related topics. A minimum of 32 hours per week is expected; length of service is negotiable (generally 18–24 months). A technical background in water resource issues in any of the eleven (11) western states is required. A professional engineering license as a civil engineer or other engineering discipline is desirable, but not necessary."

"Established in 1993, Hawaii Reserves, Inc. is a Hawaii-based corporation that manages properties affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints primarily located in the historic community of Laie, Hawaii. Laie's rich history is epitomized by the renowned Hukilau Beach, where the town's first commercial hukilau took place in 1948. Laie is also home to Brigham Young University-Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center, Hawaii's most popular paid attraction."

"HRI is the parent company for the Laie Water Company, which provides water to all of Laie. A pristine source of pure water from a basal aquifer deep beneath the ground provides the LWC with its water. Two pump stations draw approximately 1.2 million gallons of water per day from the aquifer for community use. The water crew installs, maintains and repairs approximately 120 fire hydrants, 700 water meters and all of Laie's water lines."

What has been the home of Boughton's Auto Salvage – a garage, junk yard and used-parts facility – is an important site to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (i.e., the Mormon Church), which has purchased the property for $2.1 million.

The Mormons believe that the area in Susquehanna County, NY, was home to Joseph Smith, and his wife, the former Emma Hale, from 1827 to 1830. Smith arrived in the area when working a silver mining venture. They also believe that their founder, Joseph Smith, translated the Book of Mormon there in 1829.

The parcel is next to another 124 acres that the church owns.

“We look to not only the spiritual but also the temporal, and we believe that a person who is impoverished temporally cannot blossom spiritually.”

The national anthem blared, and Henry B. Eyring, one of Monson’s top counselors, told the crowds, “Everything that we see around us is evidence of the long-standing commitment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Salt Lake City.” When it came time to cut the mall’s flouncy pink ribbon, Monson, flanked by Utah dignitaries, cheered, “One, two, three–let’s go shopping!”

"The [LD$] church also makes money through various investment vehicles, including a trust company and an investment fund called Ensign Peak Advisors, which employs managers who specialize in international equities, cash management, fixed income, quantitative investment, and emerging markets, according to profiles on LinkedIn (LNKD). Public information on Ensign Peak is sparse. In 2006 one of the fund's vice presidents, Laurence R. Stay, told the Mormon-run Deseret News, 'As we trade securities, all of the trading happens essentially with a handshake. . There's lots of protections around it, but billions of dollars change hands every day just based on the ethics of the group-that people know that they can trust each other.'"

"Hmm, my 89 year old father has been a Mormon his entire life. He has had medical problems the last 2 years and when we asked the church for help we got totally blown off.

"He did not ask for money just for help around his house or help getting to doctors appointments.He has paid his tithe no matter the hardship it has caused, the only thing the church does, is his home teacher visits once a month.

"My father use to help everyone in the ward, has donated 1000's of hours of his time at the bishops storehouse, we helped build the ward chapel 40 plus years ago and other church buildings... but ask for help and get squat."

the Mormon Church is poised to become the largest private landowner in the state.

AgReserves Inc., a Utah-based tax-paying affiliate of the church, is buying nearly 383,000 acres in northwest Florida from the St. Joe Co., according to a deal announced Thursday.

The price tag of $565 million includes the bulk of St. Joe's timberland in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty and Wakulla counties.

The church already controls the Deseret Ranches in Central Florida, which consists of about 290,000 acres spread over three counties. The new deal would push its holdings above 650,000 acres. That's more than the other Florida land heavyweights, including Perry-based Foley Timber and Land Co. (562,000 acres) and Plum Creek, a Seattle-based real estate trust with 448,000 acres, according to Plum Creek's website

"Zions's shareholders would have done much better if the bank - and others - had done things the old-fashioned way. It could have raised more capital by issuing common stock. When it needed additional deposits to finance loans it wanted to make, it could have offered higher interest rates. Both of those courses could have depressed reported earnings per share, and perhaps damaged Zions's share price. But they would not have led to the large losses that are being reported now."

"The roots of the problem go back to 2000. Deposits were not growing rapidly enough to allow Zions to meet loan demand from its customers. So it created a special purpose entity called Lockhart Funding. Zions made the loans, packaged them into securities and "sold" them to Lockhart, which was financed largely by selling short-term commercial paper.

As Clark B. Hinckley, a Zions senior vice president, told me almost six years ago, "It enabled us to essentially originate these loans and not have to keep tangible capital behind them. That sale to Lockhart was, for all practical purposes, a fiction.""

"You can rest assured that this church doesn't put its investments and its confidence in anything that isn't stable, honorable and (having) a record of performance and integrity,"

The Mormon Church plans to build a 32-story apartment tower and a public meetinghouse on a vacant lot next to the Vine Street Expressway, filling in a key piece of the no-man's-land that has long separated Center City and North Philadelphia's rebounding neighborhoods.

The private development by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints calls for 258 apartments, 13 townhouses, and retail shops at 16th and Vine Streets.

The meetinghouse will have a chapel, courtyard, multipurpose space, and a center to research genealogy, said Michael Marcheschi, senior real estate manager for the church's national special projects department.