Retailers set sights on Mormons' pocketbooks

On a shelf at Wal-Mart's Sandy store on State Street — next to a line of jewelry boxes and figurines — sits a 15-inch statue of the Angel Moroni, boxed and ready for holiday shoppers, many of them predictably members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who recognize the Book of Mormon character as the figure perched on more than 100 LDS temples worldwide.

Complete with removable trump, it's touted by the packaging as "a unique keepsake to brighten any decor" that "makes an especially thoughtful gift. . . . The statuesque pose of the hornsman gives an essence of revelry. A great addition to your precious collection."

While many may well be turned off by the hawking of one of the faith's signature symbols — made in China for Wal-Mart and selling at $19.86 — there are few better clues about the growing market for LDS products, and the money to be made from some 12 million Latter-day Saints. Once considered a tiny niche market, the church's rapid growth in the past two decades portends more targeted marketing by both LDS and secular retailers to an ever-growing audience.

The sculpture — now marketed by the world's largest retailer — provides some context for both the rapidly growing LDS product market and the potential challenges it poses for both retailers and the church.

LDS Church spokesman Dale Bills said "several different versions of Angel Moroni sculptures that appear atop church temples are legally protected images. But at press time, it was uncertain whether Wal-Mart has a licensing agreement" with the church to reproduce the image.

As to what LDS leaders think about such efforts, "the church does not endorse commercial products or services. Promoting business ventures or investment opportunities is not allowed in our buildings or our meetings."

Bills emphasized that members "make their own decisions regarding purchases of commercially produced products or services designed to appeal to Latter-day Saints."

Latter-day Saints may notice Wal-Mart's Moroni differs from LDS versions. First, the figure appears to be wearing a tennis visor. Further, the description on the box touts the statue's "bronze" finish and the sense of "revelry" the "hornsman" invokes. The Moroni atop LDS temples is gold and plays a trump — instead of a horn — to spread the gospel, not to party.

Sociologist Rodney Stark, a University of Washington religion researcher who has studied the growth of the LDS Church, has called Mormonism the "next great world religion" and predicts its membership will swell to 267 million members by 2080. Numbers like that are not lost on marketers always looking for new customers.

And Latter-day Saints don't have to look far to find additional evidence.