Can someone explain to me why the LDS Church (or other churches) also has a for-profit corporation? What do they do with the profits?

Justin,
Go read "Great Basin Kingdom". That is the only way you will get a truly comprehensive answer to why the Church has a for-profit arm.

The LDS church has two separate entities. They have the church part that is all the religious part of it. But they are involved in many businesses and those are the ones where they pay taxes on them. I really don't know about profits, I know that there are countries that are poor and may not be able to maintain their temples and such. Also, the church is always sending relief to areas that have had major disasters.

The Church may indeed send a few million $$ to humanitarian projects but when was the last time it spent $1.5 - 2 Billion (cost of the City Creek project) on humanitarian projects?

The LDS Church spends millions in humanitarian aid every year; the thing is the church does not announce the aid it is giving out. The Federal Government's Red Cross has a list of all who are willing to give aid in times of disaster and the LDS Church is at the top, #one spot.
I know there are going to be nay Sayers so what we know the truth and so does God and the people who get help and that is all that matters and if you don't like it then you go out and find ways to help those in need.

Millions of dollars? Hmmm, it also counts members time as volunteers as 'capital dollars'for the majority of dollars. So the figures you read and are told are not quite millions. Wheat and rice to thousands are a few bucks. Ammenities donated by corporations should not be counted. I ask you where are the millions donated? Would like to see the accounting.

Brigham Young entered the Great Salt Lake Basin with the early saints and commerce bagan;to support their needs and wants.Many of these enterprises grew to what we have today as a for profit coroporate structure.They were sucessful. Deseret News is one example. ZCMI would be another.Financial Institutions another.From what I know any profits made by the church today help pay administrative costs such as some salaries and living expenses and do not come out of tithing funds paid by its members world wide.Part of keeping investments secure is the constant rebuilding and up grading of those investments. City Creek is one of those investments.What would happen if the entire downtown area decayed?The church has the foresight and wisdom to do the right thing for all the citizens of this great american city.