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One way to “agitate for change” is to work to change the law.
This.
In the case of financial transparency, I favor an approach to require ALL non-profit organizations, as a condition of remaining non-profit, to disclose how they use the donations they receive – although I absolutely am open to an exception for churches, for multiple reasons. Also, fwiw, I am FAR more concerned about that issue when it comes to the rules of becoming and remaining a non-profit organization than I am about the LDS Church as one such organization, especially since the NFL and NCAA, for example, are non-profit organizations.
The NFL as a non-profit organization?! That can make my blood boil FAR faster than financial transparency for the LDS Church.
I think that is a fair response Roy. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
I’ve always been bothered (even as a TBM) by how American-centric a lot of church policy remains. It’s a strong evidence to me that the LDS church is not “the only true church” nor the only church with Jesus at its head. When policy and process are shaped by American culture and law I wonder why God would shape a church to suit the minority of his children rather than the majority.
I don’t think American law justifies the church hiding its finances behind it. I don’t give a toss about American law.
But if the only way the church books will be crowbarred open is by USA law being changed then I do hope someone will change that law.
I appreciate that I contribute with little to no ‘right’ to know how the majority of funds are spent. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still want to.
One fact to clarify in this: the for-profit side of the Church’s holdings are not used to subsidize humanitarian assistance directly. In other words, the beef that comes off the large cattle operations of Ranch Management Corp. such as Deseret Land and Livestock does not go into Church distribution channels for bishop’s storehouses or other humanitarian needs. It is sold on the beef market for profit. The food products that go into the Church’s distribution network come from the old remnants of the Stake Farms. Those farms were bought and run from Tithing and humanitarian funds. They are not run for profit, but rather for humanitarian uses in Church canaries, packing plants, etc. I’m not directly in the Ag business, but I’ve got several good friends who have worked on both the for-profit Ranch Management Corp and Farm Management Corp side, as well as the humanitarian side. They are wholly and completely separate. Having said all that, the new half-billion dollar ranch and farm will likely not contribute a red cent to humanitarian causes, unless the Church is folding the profits from it into those uses. But of course, we don’t know whether they do or whether they don’t. As SD mentioned early in the thread, my ward’s total annual budget is less than 40% of what I alone contributed in tithing last year, and I’m just an average tithe payer in my ward. I’d like to know a bit about how all that operates.
Thanks for that info, Kumahito. It’s good to know.
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