Utah’s Richest Native Rips Mormon Church in Letter Announcing His Resignation as Member – By AJ McDougall (The Daily Beast) / December 20, 2021
“I believe the church is actively and currently doing harm in the world,” Jeff Green wrote, saying he’d be departing the faith “immediately” and taking 11 family members with him.
Utah’s wealthiest native son, who pledged last month to give away at least 90 percent of his wealth, has formally broken ties with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, excoriating the organization on its hoarded wealth and civil-rights record on his way out the door.
In an explosive 900-word letter sent Monday to LDS President Russell Nelson, Jeff T. Green lambasted the Mormon church, saying that while he believed most members were “good people trying to do right,” he also believed “the church is actively and currently doing harm in the world.”
“The church leadership is not honest about its history, its finances, and its advocacy,” Green, a former Mormon missionary and Brigham Young University graduate, added. “I believe the Mormon church has hindered global progress in women’s rights, civil rights and racial equality, and LGBTQ+ rights.”
Accordingly, Green’s next major donation will be $600,000 to Equality Utah. In his letter, Green noted pointedly that “almost half of the fund will go to a new scholarship program to help LGBTQ+ students in Utah,” including any who “may need or want to leave [Brigham Young University].”
