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Nullarni t1_j6v11yy wrote

Mormons out west seem to be target by schemes like this and pyramid schemes as well. I think it is because they tend to be a tight knit community, who puts too much trust in other church members. I lived in Utah for several years and I saw multiple friends and coworkers get sucked into “multi-level marketing” schemes. It’s very discouraging to see. The people running these schemes are preying on people’s hope and desperation for a better life.

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molotovzav t1_j6v2r9l wrote

I think it's also since their church is essentially run like a ponzee scheme mixed with a real estate racket when it comes to tithing and what the church spends money on...it's easy for them to fall victim to the same scheme, often ran by the same people. There's a lot of Mormons in the top brass of mlms too.

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SofieTerleska t1_j6vpmm9 wrote

Yes, I lived in Utah as well and Mormons in general tended to center their social lives around their ward a lot more than most other churchgoers do now -- I would say they're more like the average mainline Protestant or Catholic was fifty or sixty years ago in that they often live in neighborhoods with coreligionists, attend the same church, go to the same stake events etc. It's not surprising that they're more susceptible to this, but I don't think it's their particular doctrine that makes them susceptible, it's the social closeness and reliance on each other. And yes, I sat through many a Mary Kay presentation, but nothing like this. I would have thought that promised rate of return was a bit much even for the average Utah County resident.

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imregrettingthis t1_j6wopq7 wrote

Mormonism is basically a giant MLM scheme. Why wouldn’t you think that factors in?

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