When my son was a teenager he sincerely wanted to be a cowboy. When we moved to Melbourne, Florida his opportunity came. Deseret Ranch, owned by the Mormon Church, was about 30 miles away. Scott wanted to apply for a summer job, knowing full well how challenging this work would be. Since my car was his only mode of transportation at the time, it was a bit challenging for me as well. I would have to make the daily 120 mile commute. So it was with mixed emotions that we gave him the okay to apply.
If you would ask most folks, "Who owns the most property in Central Florida?" 99 percent of them would say Disney. Not so, Deseret Ranch sprawls over three Central Florida counties. With its 300,000 (that's three hundred thousand) acres it's the largest cattle ranch in the country.
And now we're being told that the Mormon Church is buying an additional 400,000 (that's four hundred thousand) acres in Florida's panhandle. The Mormons will then own 2% of Florida.
To my knowledge, the ranch has been good for Florida in a number of ways. The Mormons are excellent ranchers. And they must have terrific senses of humor what with the wildly popular "Book of Mormon" just wrapping up it's run here in downtown Orlando.
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