Jeff Green Outs Mormonism As Less Church and More Business

Jeff Green, the billionaire founder of the advertising technology company The Trade Desk and one of the wealthiest people in Utah, has resigned from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS] in a scathing letter in which he accuses the church of a misuse of its wealth and cites its stances on a range of social issues.

Green says that LDS leadership “is not honest about its history, its finances, and its advocacy” and that while “most members are good people trying to do the right thing” he feels “the church is actively and currently doing harm in the world.”

Green’s rebuke was outlined in a letter sent to LDS President Russel Nelson in which he says he has not been a “believing, attending, or practicing” member of the Mormon Church for more than a decade. The difference now is that he wants his name removed from all LDS records now:

“Although I have deep love for many Mormons and gratitude for many things that have come into my life through Mormonism, I have not considered myself a member for many years, and I’d like to make clear to you and others that I am not a member.”

Green, with an estimated net worth of $5.2 billion, joined a growing group of billionaires in signing The Giving Pledge, vowing to donate more than 90% of his wealth before or at the time of his death. His choice to leave the church is based on the fact that LDS “has been wealthy for many generations and yet doesn’t do nearly as much as it could.” The church uses its funds to buy real-estate and investments that add to its wealth, rather than using its money to help its members and it’s community.

“Given you claim to represent the will of God and act as a special witness of Jesus, the Mormon church should be doing more to help the world and its members with its wealth. Instead, I think the church has exploited its members and their need for hope to build temples, build shopping malls, cattle ranches, fund Ensign Peak Advisors investment funds, and own mortgage-backed securities, rather than alleviating human suffering in or out of the church.”

Even worse for Jeff Green in that he feels the Mormon Church “has strained and divided millions of families” through its stances on a range of social issues that have “hindered global progress in women’s rights, civil rights and racial equality, and LGBTQ+ rights.” He’s also donating $600,000 to the Utah-based LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Utah, with half of the funds going to scholarships for LGBTQ students in the state.

Green says deciding to leave was an “extremely difficult” process and took “several years of study and reflection,” but feels that remaining would have led to a “less fulfilling [and inauthentic] life.” He now wants “a life of honesty, morality, truth, and a desire to pursue a more socially just world—not because I desired a different lifestyle”:

“Whenever someone leaves a high-demand, insular religion—it brings some initial pain for all involved. I feel deep empathy for those who have been ostracized from the Mormon community or who choose to leave because of their beliefs, values, or even just who they are. Leaving almost always means losing some amount of family harmony. And those who stay feel loss and pain for those who have left, especially when in the believers’ minds, they are losing family forever. I live with this discomfort every day.”

At the end of the letter, Green requested his name be “permanently and completely” removed from LDS membership rolls:

“I am aware that the church handbook says that my resignation ‘cancels the effects of baptism and confirmation, withdraws the priesthood held by a male member and revokes temple blessings [but] my resignation should be processed immediately, without any 'waiting periods. I am not going to be dissuaded and I am not going to change my mind. I expect this matter to be handled promptly, with respect and with full confidentiality. 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 of the church.”

For its part, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not responding to Green’s letter.

And Jeff Green isn’t the first prominent Mormon to publicly criticized the church; in March, James Huntsman—the brother of former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.—filed a federal lawsuit against the church that accused the organization of using tithes for commercial purposes rather than for charity.

It’s not a church or religion or faith for those in positions of authority, it’s a business, and people who belong to this business, this cult, need to know that.