The history of tithing shows that it has grown over time to require more of church members. It has grown to be required for a temple recommend, and reinterpreted to mean ten percent of your income. It has been expanded to include everyone, not just those who have means. It has been tied to the …
Tag Archives: Ensign Peak Advisors
Ensign Peak Advisors Withdrawls, Religious Tax-Exemption, And Lack of Charitable Work
The Ensign Peak Advisors controversy centers on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or rather the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, doing business as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, using a tax-exempt investment fund to manage hundreds of billions of dollars derived …
Does Tithing Break the Poverty Cycle?
The cycle of poverty is a vicious trap where a parent’s poverty affects the lives of their children. Families in poverty often have limited resources, which makes it difficult to escape. Some examples of self-reinforcing disadvantages that can trap families in poverty include: Lack of financial capital, Lack of education, Lack of connections, Poor health, and Low working …
Facts vs Beliefs – No Limit At All On What Church Is Required To Teach Or Not Teach
The LDS Church Corporation is currently involved in many many lawsuits. One such is a RICO case, where the church is being accused of behavior more similar to an organized crime network, like the mafia, than a religious institution. What is RICO? A RICO case refers to charges brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt …
Mormon Leadership Perfects Priestcrafts
![“[Nehor declared] unto the people that every priest and teacher ought to become popular; and they ought not to labor with their hands, but that they ought to be supported by the people... Alma said unto him: Behold, this is the first time that priestcraft has been introduced among this people... were priestcraft to be enforced among this people it would prove their entire destruction. Therefore thou art condemned to die.” - Alma 1 | The Book of Mormon | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Nehor-declared-priests-ought-to-be-supported-priestcraft-Alma-1-The-Book-of-Mormon.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1)
The Book of Mormon explicitly condemns the practice of priestcraft, defining it as preaching or setting oneself up for personal gain and not genuinely seeking the welfare of the community, or “Zion.” According to these verses, those who engage in priestcraft labor for money or self-interest, rather than out of love and charity for others. …
Donated Tithing Funds vs Earnings on Invested Tithing
The church repeatedly states that no tithing money is used for its business purposes, like funding the City Creek Center or bailout money for church-owned insurance company, Beneficial Life. The church is surprisingly secretive about finances and has not publicly disclosed any financial statements in the United States since 1959, that’s 65 years and counting. The …
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Let’s Go Shopping – City Creek Center and Tithing
City Creek Center is a large, upscale shopping center in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, that opened in 2012. It spans over 20 acres and features retail stores, restaurants, office spaces, and residential units. The development is notable for its retractable glass roof, pedestrian sky bridge, and an artificial creek running through the property, making …
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Nothing to Hide?
President Gordon B. Hinckley, top leader of the Church (1995-2008) addresses several issues related to the church’s history and practices in an interview on Christmas Day in 2005. The interview covered many topics but here we’ll look closely at what he said about polygamy and fundamentalist Mormons and church history and transparency. Polygamy and Fundamentalist …
LDS Giving Machines: Charitable Fascade GasLighting The World
The Giving Machines are a charitable initiative by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Giving Machines are vending machines that allow people to “purchase” items such as food, clothing, and hygiene products, which are donated directly to those in need through other charities. People can select specific items from the machine, pay for …
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Mormon Church Ripping off Millions of Dollars from Australia
![“Accusations of lightening the pockets of the Australian tax office by 400 million dollars. The church's members claim very generous tax benefits, while other religions in Australia go without. It's alleged the Mormon books are actually being cooked in a massive tax dodge. Handed out on doorsteps around the world, [The Book of Mormon] promises to answer all of life's great questions. But we're throwing open a set of books the Mormons would rather nobody reads – their financial books.” - Mormon Church Accused of Ripping Off Taxpayers by Millions, 60 Minutes Australia | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/60-Minutes-Australia-cooking-the-book-of-mormon.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1)
The Mormon church wants everyone to read the Book of Mormon, but it will do nearly anything to keep anyone from reading their financial books. 60 Minutes Australia did some investigative reporting and alleges that the Mormon church is ripping off hundreds of millions of dollars from the Australian government in tax evasion. In many …
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Don’t Pray About A Mission! Dumb Question!
Elder Kevin W. Pearson gave an address as a “Rising Generation” fireside in Bountiful, Utah where he made a respectable of himself spouting nonsense. He shouted at the young men the advice “Do NOT pray about whether or not you should go on a mission!” calling this a “Dumb Question!” Is he worried about the …
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Will the Church Ever Have Sufficient To Stop Requiring Tithing?
Is tithing a forever part of the Mormon church? Or will there be a day when it will have enough funds in the bank and in the “rainy day fund” that it will direct members that it is no longer required to enter the temple? Will the church go as far as to ask members …
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Does President Nelson Talk With God? Do Any Church Leaders?
Russell M. Nelson would have us believe he is in direct conversation with Jesus and with God the Father. Neil Anderson recounts a story from Wendy Nelson (Russell M. Nelson’s second wife) on his Facebook page which details Russell M. Nelson’s frequent practice of receiving revelation. It’s so frequent that he keeps a lined yellow …
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Where Does Mormon Tithing Go? Read the Fine Print
The short answer is we don’t know. We can’t know where tithing goes for sure because the church doesn’t and won’t share that information. This is despite the fact that church president Gordon B Hinckley stated when asked why the church wasn’t transparent as is required in many countries. He said that that information belongs …
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Mormon Excuses for Zero Financial Transparency
The Mormon church is famously secretive (or confidential) with it’s financial disclosures. They say as little as possible about it and are even known to hide money from the IRS and SEC in filing the required tax forms illegally. They’ve been busted by a whistleblower recently and the SEC came looking – they were able …
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Mormon Church Relatively Meager Humanitarian Efforts
The church brags about how much they give and donate to humanitarian efforts and welfare. But on the other hand, they do their best to hide how much they don’t give. They have hundreds of billions of dollars siphoned from tithing donations, which they invest and use to purchase real estate and operate their for-profit …
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Whistleblower News Prompts Vacant Responses from LDS Corp
The popular news program 60 Minutes released a segment on its program discussing the obscene wealth of the church and the whistleblower complaint filed by David Nielsen. His complaint alleges that the Mormon Church claims to behave as a non-profit charity, but in reality, is a for-profit corporation pursuing investments and investments. The church never …
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60 Minutes Transcript: Whistleblower David Nielsen Speaks Out After Reporting the Mormon Church to IRS in 2019
The show 60 Minutes broadcast a segment about the Mormon Billions. Sharyn Alfonsi follows up with whistleblower David Nielsen who resigned from his position at Ensign Peak Advisors and wrote the whistleblower report in 2019. Since then, the Mormon church has been fined 5 million dollars by the SEC for illegal filing practices, but Nielsen …
Why the Mormon Church Hid Billions of Dollars of Investments?
The Mormon church was recently charged with fraud and reached a settlement with the SEC agreeing to pay five million dollars. Their chief infraction was failing to properly file and misstating in filings they did submit about the church investments with the church-owned investment company Ensign Peak Advisors. The fraud reached all the way to …
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Church Finances: Follow the Prophet, He has the Money
Hinckley made it clear that the church doesn’t share financial statements because the information belongs to those who made the contribution. Since 1959, Church finances have not been disclosed to the public, and we can see that church leaders have actively tried to hide finances from the public. Even so, there are disclosures that can …
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Stop Paying Tithing and Challenge the Tax Exemption Status of the Mormon Church
Tax time in the US and as people are leaving the church, they are receiving real blessings. In many countries, donating money to a charitable organization is tax deductible, meaning this decreases your taxable income. This is a perk to tithing for some people, it can save you some money on your taxes, though not …
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What does TSCC mean when referring to the Mormon church? TBM? PIMO? MFMC?
There are many many acronyms in the nomenclature of the Mormon church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has come up with many nicknames for parts of the organization or even doctrines, most of which are acronyms. Some of these are “official” acronyms while others have simply developed naturally over time. It should …
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Development of Mormon Tithing – From Meager Origins to Ensign Peak Billions
Members of the Mormon church are required to pay the church a tithe. This tithing is understood to be ten percent of the member’s income. This is the same for children who earn $5 for mowing the lawn to wealthy lawyers and doctors in the church. The church makes much of the sacrifice and blessings …
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Whistleblowing On the Mormon 100 Billion “Rainy-Day Fund”
David Nielsen, a former Ensign Peak portfolio manager, shared with his twin brother Lars about the shady practices and massive amounts of money the Mormon church, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have in investments. Together the brothers compiled information and reported it to the authorities at the SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) …
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LDS Church’s Misstated Filings to SEC Approved by First Presidency
For the past week, the church has been all over the news. Not for something they will want to draw publicity. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the Church has been fined $5 Million for using shell companies to obscure the size of its investment portfolio. On February 21st, the SEC issued a …
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