According to Milken's site:
The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities index tracks the economic performance of approximately 400 US metropolitan statistical areas (MSA). It uses an outcomes-based set of metrics—including job creation, wage gains, and high-tech GDP growth—to evaluate the performance of these cities relative to one another.
Milken lists the Tier 1 top 13 large city rankings. Latter-day Saint-dominated areas nabbed a total of four of the top 13 including the top spot which goes to Provo-Orem, Utah. In Tier 2 small cities, it nabbed a total of three, including the top spot of Idaho Falls.

Large Cities:

1 - Provo-Orem, UT
4 - Salt Lake City, UT
6 - Boise, ID
7 - Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
9 - Ogden-Clearfield, UT

Small Cities:

1 - Idaho Falls, ID
2 - Logan, UT-ID
4 - St. George, UT

Members of the Church make up only about two percent of the population in the United States. However, places that are member-dominated are wonderfully prosperous.

This is not a coincidence. So, what is the connection? Well, it isn't hard to put the facts together. Here's my assessment:The Church's teachings and the people who put them into practice naturally result in prosperity.

It's not rocket science folks. Values like a full day's work for a full day's pay, live on less than you earn, avoid the evils of the dole, don't be idle, get out of debt and stay out of debt, self-reliance, live on less than you earn, education is worth sacrificing for, get all the education you can, etc. result in prosperity.

There is more at work. For example, when I was young, it appeared to me that the social problems went up when the area went down in members of the Church and the social problems decreased when the population of Latter-day Saints went up. I still think this is true.

The gospel of Jesus Christ really does solve social problems. It really does have the key to prosperity.

There is enough objective evidence out there that you can't really deny it.


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