https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-a ... ent-188304Latter-day Saints typically get their first glance — either in-person or via camera — of a newly called Young Men general president when he’s sustained at general conference and makes his way to the front of the Conference Center to sit with the other general Church officers.
This year, of course, was different.
When President Steven J. Lund was announced during the April 2020 general conference as the man selected to help guide hundreds of thousands of Aaronic Priesthood-age males across the world, he remained seated in the living room of his Salt Lake Valley home.
Still — despite the pandemic-related restrictions that kept President Lund and thousands of others from gathering in the Conference Center — the longtime youth leader felt immediately connected and sustained by the legions of young men he now serves.
“It was a little different to be sustained virtually,” he told the Church News. “But it was a wonderful tender mercy to be surrounded by my family when I was sustained.
Brother Steven J. Lund
Brother Steven J. Lund Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
“And everybody in the room raised their hand to sustain me,” he said, laughing. “So that was a plus.”
Who is this guy? I hear you ask...
So what do Nu Skin Enterprises do? I hear you ask...After claiming a law degree at BYU, he worked as a lawyer before eventually becoming president and CEO of Nu Skin Enterprises. He is currently the company’s executive chairman of the board of directors and recently completed five years as a regent of the Utah System of Higher Education.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nu_Skin_EnterprisesNu Skin Enterprises is an American multilevel marketing company that develops and sells personal care products and dietary supplements under its Nu Skin and Pharmanex brands.[4] Nu Skin was founded in 1984 in Provo, Utah.[5] The company originated in the United States and began its first foreign operation in Canada in 1990. One year later, the company began operations in Asia with the opening of Hong Kong.[6] In 1996, the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company markets its products in 54 markets through a network of approximately 1.2 million independent distributors.[7]
But Nu Skin must be legit and above board for the Church to call their Executive Chairman to serve with the Church's young men? I hear you ask...
But the products are good though, right? I hear you ask...In the early 1990s, Nu Skin was investigated by the states of Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan over allegations of misleading marketing practices.[9] Ultimately, in 1992 the company settled with five of these states, admitting no wrongdoing but agreeing to pay the states' investigative costs, refund disgruntled distributors, and revamp its promotional practices.[21][22][23][24] The Connecticut Attorney General did not agree to those terms and sued Nu Skin, however, charging the company with misleading its distributors and operating a pyramid scheme.[9][25][26] Nu Skin admitted to no wrongdoing or violation of law and paid Connecticut $85,000 for consumer-protection programs as part of a settlement.[27]
In 1997, the Attorney General of Pennsylvania sued Nu Skin, alleging that the company operated a pyramid scheme through a subsidiary, QIQ Connections. The Attorney General's office alleged that distributors paid for the right to market technology services that did not, in fact, exist. Nu Skin discontinued the QIQ subsidiary, allowing those who had paid QIQ to transition to Big Planet, another Nu Skin interest marketing Internet technology. The president of Big Planet described the pyramid-scheme allegations as a matter of "a few distributors who in their enthusiasm have been overzealous in some of their marketing activities."[8]
In 2010, Nu Skin was listed among Forbes "100 Most Trustworthy Companies".[28]
In 2012, Stanford University sent a cease and desist letter to halt the use of the name of one of its researchers in Nu Skin's advertising claims.[29] Stanford later released a statement regarding its long-standing, research-based relationship with Nu Skin explaining that the letter was sent to Nu Skin as a request by Stuart Kim a professor at Stanford. Kim requested in the letter that his name be removed from Nu Skin's marketing materials as he is no longer involved with research funded by Nu Skin. The letter did not, however, recognize the existing research relationship between Stanford and Nu Skin. Stanford apologized for any misunderstandings that may have resulted.[30]
Also in 2012, Citron Research issued a report "stating that Nu Skin's sales model on mainland China, the fastest growing market in direct-selling, amounted to an illegal multilevel marketing scheme."[29] Nu Skin dismissed the claims, calling its sales model in China "kosher" and stating that it had no plans to change its business model in China.[31] In January 2014, the Chinese government announced that it planned to investigate Nu Skin for allegedly operating an illegal pyramid scheme, causing the company's stock price to weaken. At least one analyst[who?] is optimistic about the outcome.[32] Following the investigation, it was announced in March 2014 that the Chinese government would fine Nu Skin for approximately $540,000 dollars due to illegal sales as well as making false product claims.[33]
In February 2014, a securities fraud class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah against Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired the common stock of the Company during the period from July 10, 2013, to January 16, 2014.[34]
As an aside, are anti-aging supplements the kind of thing a believer in eternal life should be selling?The Pharmanex LifePak Anti-Aging supplement was tested by ConsumerLab.com, and was reported as failing the overall review due to failing to clearly indicate its total Vitamin A content per Food and Drug Administration requirements.[35]
So the Church calls a less-than-squeaky-clean beauty product MLM scheme Executive Chairman to serve as a key influencer on its young men...hmmm