NEW YORK CITY – The humanitarian efforts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the sole focus of a United Nations meeting Thursday.

The meeting was part of the U.N.’s Nongovernmental Organizations Relations and Advocacy section’s Focus on Faith series. Titled “Discovering Mormonism and Its Role in Humanitarian Assistance,” the meeting brought together representatives of the church and U.N. members to talk about the work the church has done throughout the world.

“Charity is more than aid,” said Sharon Eubank, director of Humanitarian Services and LDS Charities. Referring to a story about the church’s humanitarian efforts after World War II, she said, “It emphasizes dignity, human worth, cooperation, unity, sacrifice and the assurance that no one is too poor or too disabled or too marginalized to contribute something of value.”

LDS Charities, which is self-funded by donations and relies mostly on volunteers, provided $84 million in assistance to people in 130 countries in 2013, according to Eubank. The program reaches millions of people worldwide through its vision care, wheelchair distribution, immunization, neonatal resuscitation, and clean water programs, to name a few.

The church partners with other NGOs like Rotary International, Islamic Relief, Catholic Relief Services, World Health Organization and U.N. High Commission for Refugees, among others.

“Faiths and religions are central to achieving common goals and transformational change,” Eubank said.

Elder Phil Colton, a government relations representative to the U.N. for LDS Charities, said the meeting was part of the organization’s efforts to watch for issues that might impact the church and its members throughout the world and build bridges with U.N. ambassadors.

“I wanted to tie in what we do — LDS Charities and our global initiatives — with what the UN does,” Colton said.

The granting of NGO status to LDS Charities was a big step for the organization because it allowed it to present in such U.N.-sanctioned venues and give input to U.N. ambassadors when appropriate. At the Focus on Faith event, Colton discussed U.N. humanitarian programs that parallel the efforts of LDS Charities.

“(It’s to) take our goals and objectives and introduce them into the world hoping the world will become a better place,” Colton said.

The irony of this is if the mormons actually took a little time to research the charter and mandate of the UN, they would not have anything to do with them. Let's just say their values do not line up.

I would be interested in knowing what really brought to pass the meeting.

I'm guessing LDS, Inc. lobbied for it as another opportunity to push its propaganda.

emanon Wrote:
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> “(It’s to) take our goals and objectives and
> introduce them into the world hoping the world
> will become a better place,” Colton said.

What he should have said.

(It’s to) take our goals and objectives and introduce them into the world hoping the world will become a better place for LDS Inc. and our efforts to homogenize the world into a cult of Joseph Smith, not unlike Muslims.

So TSCC gave about $6.00 per member of record in aid to 130 other countries. Put this way, it's not very impressive.

As pointed out in another thread, that monetary value is in ASSISTANCE, not dollars. So, for example, all that crappy no-value clothing donated to Deseret Industries gets sent to Haiti, and they posit some over inflated value equivalent to these items as XYZ dollars.

And as it turns out, the new Relief Society leader got to speak. Ostensibly, not to tell about the church's real estate holdings I'm sure, or the fact it makes $7 billion a year in tithing revenue but doesn't give much to charity.

I only wished other people there questioned her about Elder Cordon's statement about forcing poor people to pay tithing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxD8EnWxtrg&t=262s

when did the charities division become an NGO? Is that why russia enacted their recent law and missionaries there have become 'volunteers'? Russia does not allow in NGO's from foreign countries as it considers them spies and agent provocateurs for their respective governments.

NGOs always have a political view, even when they are meant to be apolitical and unbiased. They are frequently used to foment attitude change in populations. Being an NGO is equivalent to other NGOs like the clinton foundation, or the gates' foundation, etc.

These particular 'organisations' are a way to infiltrate other countries at grass roots level, and have a strong lobbying position at home. It is how the EU changed opinions in eastern european populations whose governments had applied to join the union - the union had to sell their '4 freedoms' to the formerly communist populations. Becoming an NGO is similar to gaining world-wide accreditation for your organisation which will eventually hold ever increasing political influence, even if individual citizens never hear of the organisation as it is the political masters in the world who count (eg, the UN). The church is moving ever forwards towards their goal of world domination - it has joined the 'big boys' now.

Sorry to sound alarmist but I do wonder why one part of the church applied for - and received - NGO status. The only reason I can conceive of is to increase political gain and to impress the membership with 'new' UN approved humanitarian accolades (seeking the praises of mankind).

Does anyone else think becoming an humanitarian NGO is the direction the church wants to take as it's membership eventually dwindles to naught? It has to protect it's interests and prepare for the future, doesn't it?