Abused Finances

(Elder Thomas S. Monson, “Yellow Canaries with Gray on Their Wings,” General Conference, April 1973)

The Mormon Church has abused its finances, which was prophesied long ago (see Proof 6).

Proof 1 – No Transparency

Proof of this abuse is the lack of transparency and accountability. Other churches post their finances online (see, for example, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, which is larger than the Mormon Church), so why not the LDS Church?

Proof 2 – Multi-Million Dollar Temples x 300

All ordinances performed in Temples were previously performed outside, in small rooms, or houses. There is no requirement that they be performed in multi-million-dollar buildings.

Proof 3 – Church Fined $5 Million

  • Over 650,000 instances of untrue, incorrect, or incomplete information. (The Widow’s Mite,: SEC Order, Summary, & Timeline, page 13)
  • Russell M. Nelson was president (2018) when the fraud was exposed and chose not to fix it (2 LLC Business Managers resigned because of this) (p. 15)
  • $5 Million dollar civil penalty against the Church was the largest ever in U.S. history (p. 17)
  • The phrase “the church relied on legal counsel” is meaningless as they were informed of the wrong doing and did it anyway (p. 20)
  • First Presidency knowingly lied on 12/17/19 when it claimed it complied with all laws “governing our donations, investments, taxes, and reserves” (p. 21)
  • Church leaders ’caused’ EP’s violations by approving the use of shell LLCs solely for the purpose of filing the mistated Forms 13F, an effort to avoid disclosing Church assets (p. 22)
  • SEC Charges The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Its Investment Management Company for Disclosure Failures and Misstated Filings

Proof 4 – Church Financing Sports Teams

How does funding multi-million dollar sports teams fulfill the Church’s mandate to care for the poor and flood the earth with The Holy Book of Mormon? They’d get more exposure for less cost by paying for advertisements at sporting events of all kinds around the world.

Proof 5 – Church Leader Salaries

  • For 2023, we calculate $157,847 per year in living allowance, or $167,657 in taxed salary equivalent, offered to the Church’s 123 General Authorities
  • With health & insurance benefits, free vehicle, per-child allowance, and 0% interest loans, total compensation is roughly $259,000
  • General Authority base living allowance is 65% above Utah’s median household income and in the top 10% relative to all Utah households
  • We estimate a total of ~$31 M in compensation for 2023 (https://widowsmitereport.wordpress.com/comp/)

It’s a double standard and a form of “grinding the faces of the poor” when only the top echelon gets handsomely paid at the expense of members, but the local leaders who serve in the “trenches” don’t. For those who feel called to serve full-time, why can’t they? And be paid like other church ministers?

Proof 6 – Known and Prophesied

And the Gentiles [LDS Church] are lifted up in the pride of their eyes
and have stumbled because of the greatness of their stumbling block
that they have built up many churches  [& temples] nevertheless they put down the power
and miracles of God and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and
their own learning that they may get gain and grind upon the face of the poor.
(2 Nephi 26:20)

Proof 7 – Financing the Enemy

Also

 

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