Yesterday, an article surfaced about a complaint against the Church to the IRS. The claim states that the Church has amassed a corpus of about $100 million dollars and is engaged in financial wrongdoing. The twin brother of the so-called “whistleblower” states that it’s not an attack on the Church and he merely wants “transparency” about how the Church spends tithing money.
Idiot.
There is one key thing to understand this story: “former employee.” Nobody in the media asks why this person is a former employee. Did the person become disaffected? Did he read the deceptive “CES Letter” and get his testimony shaken? Is he homosexual and resentful against the Church’s policies on gay marriage? The media never questions the motives of a “whistleblower” when it fits their narrative. If this person were well-intended, not a malcontent with an axe to grind, he would understand the doctrine, the history, and the projected arc of the Church’s future.
Doctrine: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the literal kingdom of God on Earth. It has been appointed by revelation to lead the construction of the New Jerusalem, a holy city, a place of refuge for people of goodwill. This holy city will be built on the North American continent. The Church is financed today primarily by tithing and fast offerings. Tithing is a donation of ten percent of the members’ increase. That term “increase” leaves it up to the member to define. Does it mean ten percent of a salary? Ten percent of profit? Ten percent of an increase in net worth? It is the member who decides this.
Fast offerings are freewill offerings made for the value of two skipped meals a month. A brief, 24-hour fast by members healthy enough to join in the practice raises money that bishops use for immediate needs. If someone in a congregation is about to have their lights turned out or their home repossessed, the bishops can offer direct assistance. Bishops help with unexpected medical needs, car repairs, temporary unemployment, and various emergencies that are short-term. For long-term problems, other Church resources can enable families to adjust and deal with those situations using a mixture of assistance types.
Tithing generally supports building Church infrastructure. It provides for the construction of meetinghouses, temples, seminary buildings, and the operating costs of the organization (wards, missions, visitors’ centers, Brigham Young University, etc.) while fast offerings are used by various unit levels for assistance of the needy. If a ward has a surplus of fast offerings, then after a time, it gets allocated to stakes, and then to the general Church level for distribution elsewhere. Tithing also builds the network of bishop’s storehouses around the world as well as Church farms, ranches, and other production facilities. In short, the Church gives away a lot of money. It can only do this if it is financially strong and stable.
History: The revelations given to the Church tell us where this New Jerusalem will be built. Tithing is a spiritual law that requires sacrifice. It is an application of the law of consecration. In the nineteenth century, members of the Church practiced consecration in organizations called united orders. The overarching system called the United Order is administered by the leaders of the Church. It was not a a system of “community of goods” as practiced by various other communalistic groups of the period like the Quakers, Amanans, Oneida Perfectionists, etc. The United Order operates off of shared surpluses.
The United Order did not equalize wealth, but was used to eliminate poverty.
In practice, the Church (Kingdom of God) acted as a buffer to economic downturns. It helped provided employment opportunities and negotiated with employers, like the railroads, to prevent layoffs, loss of jobs, etc. when financial situations would have otherwise resulted in unemployment for thousands. The monies accumulated in the system provided for basic needs and prevent starvation and homelessness. When it was most widely established, nearly 80,000 members lived under the system in the 1870s. When the nation experienced the Panic of 1878, Latter-day Saints were hardly touched by the crisis because of the United Order.
The Future: Latter-day Saints have a prophetic legacy that tells us what is going to occur. There is a great body of prophecy that has been given that is not contained in scripture, which is nevertheless true. From this body of literature, we understand that the United States is going to collapse. Civil war will come again. There will be violence, unrest, and people will have to flee their homes for places of safety. The stakes of Zion will be among those places of safety. Ultimately, the New Jerusalem will be the gathering place for those refugees by the tens of thousands.
Think of the story of Joseph in Egypt. It is a metaphor for the Church. Those seeking spiritual and physical sustenance will travel in to “Egypt,” to the refuge in the mountains of the West, to find it. We are “Joseph,” the one with prophetic foresight and preparedness.
Summary: Although our “whistleblower” obviously can’t see it, the Church has been preparing and continues to prepare for these eventualities. Our mission is to save souls spiritually and temporally. The time is coming, and is perhaps very soon, that the prophecies will be fulfilled and the Church will step up to fulfill this role. If it is true that the Church has $100 million stockpiled for this, it is probably not enough. There needs to be even more.
In Noah’s day, an ark was necessary. Building it probably appeared to be an unnecessary expense to Noah’s critics. Nevertheless, Noah obediently completed the project. In our day, the Church will be the ark for the faithful. Don’t critique. Celebrate that someone is listening to God’s voice and is preparing diligently for that which is to come.
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Update 12/22/2019: I waited a day before publishing this, anticipating that there was more to the story to come. I was right. The original “whistleblower” is now backpedaling, stating that his twin brother (his “evil twin,” right?) is the one who leaked this material. However, the MSM narrative machine has kicked in and it is using the opportunity to kick the Church. Please note that nobody publishes stories about how rich Jews are, how many of them are influential in international banking, precious metals, and the diamond business. The MSM also ignores or spins articles about the Vatican’s corrupt finances, the earnings of which go back to antiquity and includes profits from slavery. Nevertheless, the corrupt MSM jumps all over the chance to attack Mormonism. Qanons, does this pattern look familiar? Logical thinking. Why do they attack Latter-day Saints in the same manner that they attack the anons?
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