The International Olympic Committee in Budapest votes overwhelmingly for Salt Lake City as the site of the winter Olympics in the year 2002. Utahns are divided about the economic benefits/losses, and some Mormons have misgivings about the long-term secularization of the city that the Olympics will cause. However, many see this as an ideal opportunity to preach Mormonism directly and indirectly to tens of thousands of visitors in a short time. LDS headquarters technically remains neutral about this "political matter" during the five-year promotional effort. However, the Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee's legally required financial statement shows that during its final year of operation alone, the committee received $100,000 from the LDS church's "associated business" Intermountain Healthcare, and $100,000 from the Deseret Foundation (arm of the LDS Hospital). The hospital subsequently denies that it is officially involved in a transaction by which an "anonymous" party channels donations through the Deseret Foundation.
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
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