reflexzero wrote:It smells like... cutbacks.
Church leaders have set themselves up so that they have no accountability to the tithe paying members other than to get up and make general statements that all is well and that funds are accounted for. How strange or odd indeed it would be if the leaders were to stand up and bring to the attention of the church that there are some serious financial conditions now facing the church and that cutbacks are now in order. Nope, this isn't going to happen because church leaders have created a mindset and image of not telling the members what's really going on. This has been going on for generations, more or less. painting a rosy picture is what the church does to build faith.
It could well be that getting rid of the pageants will free up funds which can be used or diverted elsewhere. I think a telltale sign that the church is having a hard time keeping up with expenses is when they sell off land holdings, especially in Florida. Watch for whole sections of land being sold. This will be an indicator that the church is having to tap into its resources to keep up the current façade. Building temples and maintaining them is going to be very difficult to continue. But the church owns a lot of property so they will be able to carry on for quite some time. But the writing is on the wall. Mormonism is in decline and that means donations are as well.