Why are Mormons so successful? | Brown Pundits

What followed was the decade of the new millennium we have already surveyed. Mormons seemed to be everywhere, seemed to be exceptional in nearly every arena, seemed to have moved beyond acceptance by American culture to domination of American culture. At least this was what some feared at the time.

But Mormons did not dominate the country. Far from it. Remember that they were not even 2 percent of the nation?s population as of 2012. True, they were visible and successful, well educated and well spoken, patriotic and ever willing to serve. Yet what they had achieved was not domination. It was not a conspiracy either, as some alleged. It was not anything approaching a takeover or even the hope for a takeover

Few observers seemed to be able to explain how this new level of LDS prominence in American society came about. They reached for the usual answers trotted out to account for such occurrences: birth rates, Ronald Reagan?s deification of traditional values, the economic boom of the late twentieth century, a more liberal and broadminded society, even the dumbing down of America through television and failing schools. Each of these explanations was found wanting.
The Mormon Machine
The truth lay within Mormonism itself. What the Saints had achieved in the United States was what Mormonism, unfettered and well led, will nearly always produce. This was the real story behind the much-touted ?Mormon Moment.? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had risen to unexpected heights in American society because the Mormon religion creates what can benevolently be called a Mormon Machine? a system of individual empowerment, family investment, local church (ward and stake level) leadership, priesthood government, prophetic enduement, Temple sacraments, and sacrificial financial endowment of the holy Mormon cause.

Plant Mormonism in any country on earth and pretty much the same results will occur. If successful, it will produce deeply moral individuals who serve a religious vision centered upon achievement in this life. They will aggressively pursue the most advanced education possible, understand their lives in terms of overcoming obstacles, and eagerly serve the surrounding society. The family will be of supernatural importance to them, as will planning and investing for future generations. They will be devoted to community, store and save as a hedge against future hardship, and they will esteem work as a religious calling. They will submit to civil government and hope to take positions within it. They will have advantages in this. Their beliefs and their lives in all-encompassing community will condition them to thrive in administrative systems and hierarchies?a critical key to success in the modern world. Ever oriented to a corporate life and destiny, they will prize belonging and unity over individuality and conflict every time.

These hallmark values and behaviors?the habits that distinguish Mormons in the minds of millions of Americans? grow naturally from Mormon doctrine. They are also the values and behaviors of successful people. Observers who think of the religion as a cult?in the Jim Jones sense that a single, dynamic leader controls a larger body of devotees through fear, lies, and manipulation?usually fail to see this. Mormon doctrine is inviting, the community it produces enveloping and elevating, the lifestyle it encourages empowering in nearly every sense. Success, visibility, prosperity, and influence follow. This is the engine of the Mormon ascent. It is what has attracted so many millions, and it is the mechanism of the Latter-day Saints? impact upon American society and the world.

Mormons make achievement through organizational management a religious virtue. It leads to prosperity, visibility, and power. It should come as no surprise, then, that an American can turn on the evening news after a day of work and find one report about two Mormon presidential candidates, another story about a Mormon finalist on American Idol, an examination of the controversial views of a leading Mormon news commentator, a sports story about what a Mormon lineman does with his ?Temple garments? in the NFL, and a celebration of how Mormons respond to crises like Katrina and the BP oil spill, all by a ?Where Are They Now?? segment about Gladys Knight, minus the Pips, who has become?of course?a Mormon.

Mormons rise in this life because it is what their religion calls for. Achieving. Progressing. Learning. Forward, upward motion. This is the lifeblood of earthly Mormonism. Management, leadership, and organizing are the essential skills of the faith. It is no wonder that Mormons have grown so rapidly and reached such stellar heights in American culture. And there is much more to come.

I would also add ceterus paribus not imbibing is probably a huge factor for the rise of any ethno-religious group. That couples with the right sort of educational software, inbuilt group networking dynamics (meeting every week or couples of weeks) primes certain religious minorities to the top.

Case in point of course are the Baha?i in pre-1979 Iran who really ascended and scaled the heights of Iranian society, which seems to have some lasting resentment towards them. Reading this article about Mormons brings to mind a question I?ve been pondering myself on Baha?i material success (obviously the vast majority are in the developing world and much more needs to be done to help them) particularly on the eve of Baha?u'llah?s birthday (starting from sundown tonight). Personally as long as traditional values are updated (rather than say junked) they can be a very powerful motor in the modern world towards a material definition of success (which ironically many of them would aspire to the spiritual definition of success).

Finally since I?m on a borrowed Mac (from Her Indoors herself) I will say this that success is a mindset and is a drive. I usually counsel people, who are looking to become ?successful?, to first sort out their values and philosophy and what they actually want to achieve (what does ?becoming rich mean? if you are just going to blow and waste the money etc).

Source: http://www.brownpundits.com/2012/11/11/why-are-mormons-so-successful/

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