Jeff T. Green, thought to be the wealthiest person hailing from the state of Utah, recently wrote an open letter to Russell Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), announcing his resignation from the church along with 11 family members and a friend.
"I believe the Mormon Church has hindered global progress in women's rights, civil rights and racial equality, and LGBTQ+ rights," Green's 900-word letter stated.
Although the Mormon Church has made modern efforts to publicly atone for its past policy positions, the church has funded anti-LGBTQ initiatives, including a 2008 ballot measure to overturn same-sex marriages in California. The church also has a long history of demonizing people of color. Official LDS policy banned Black people from entering Mormon temples until 1978.
Green also blasted the church for having "more than $100 billion in assets" but "not doing more to help the world and its members." He mentioned that poor Mormons often donate to the church "expecting the blessings of heaven."
"The church has exploited its members and their need for hope to build temples, build shopping malls, and cattle ranches ... rather than alleviating human suffering in or out of the church," Green wrote.
"After today, the only contact I want from the church is a single letter of confirmation to let me know that I am no longer listed as a member," his letter concluded.
Green is a divorced father of three children. He is also CEO of The Trade Desk, an advertising tech firm that is estimated to be worth at least $4.9 billion, according to Forbes financial magazine.
In his letter, Green said he would donate $600,000 to Equality Utah, the state's largest LGBTQ organization. Almost half of the funds will go towards a new scholarship program to help LGBTQ students in Utah, including those who want to leave Brigham Young University (BYU).
BYU is a Mormon university in Provo, Utah. Its student honor code forbids students from influencing "others to engage in homosexual behavior or promoting homosexual relations as being morally acceptable."
Despite its history, LDS has more recently tried to soften its public stances on racial and LGBTQ issues.
In 2015, some LDS leaders helped pass a "Utah compromise" law that prohibits anti-LGBTQ discrimination in housing and employment while carving out exceptions for people with sincerely held anti-LGBTQ religious reasons.
In 2018, LDS announced a $9.25 million partnership with the NAACP, a Black advocacy organization.
The partnership included $3 million to fund scholarships for Black students, a $250,000 fellowship to help fund trips to Africa to learn about the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and $6 million to fund three years of humanitarian aid for the underprivileged in six U.S. metropolitan areas, the Associated Press reported.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
