So says Hoax
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865657898/LDS-Church-welfare-humanitarian-efforts-average-40-million-per-year-apostle-says.html

Let's see... $40,000,000 from an alleged membership of 15 million means less than $3 per member/year.

Yet TBMs will come here and tell us that TSCC is he leading giver of humanitarian aid in the world.

Doesn't a lot of that figure include the value of volunteers doing service? Like 4 hours per week per missionary at some hourly rate?

No, read the article. That does not include "value of volunteers doing service." That's not even given a dollar figure. Did you even read the article or did you just starting running off at the mouth before informing yourself?

The latter, but it was just jogging off at the mouth.

Forty million a year on the income it takes in is chump change, honest...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-07-18/how-the-mormons-make-money

>First among its for-profit enterprises is DMC, which reaps estimated annual revenue of $1.2 billion from six subsidiaries, according to the business information and analysis firm Hoover’s Company Records. Those subsidiaries run a newspaper, 11 radio stations, a TV station, a publishing and distribution company, a digital media company, a hospitality business, and an insurance business with assets worth $3.3 billion.

>AgReserves, another for-profit Mormon umbrella company, together with other church-run agricultural affiliates, reportedly owns about 1 million acres in the continental U.S., on which the church has farms, hunting preserves, orchards, and ranches. These include the $1 billion, 290,000-acre Deseret Ranches in Florida, which, in addition to keeping 44,000 cows and 1,300 bulls, also has citrus, sod, and timber operations. Outside the U.S., AgReserves operates in Britain, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. Its Australian property, valued at $61 million in 1997, has estimated annual sales of $276 million, according to Dun & Bradstreet.
The church also runs several for-profit real estate arms that own, develop, and manage malls, parking lots, office parks, residential buildings, and more. Hawaii Reserves, for example, owns or manages more than 7,000 acres on Oahu, where it maintains commercial and residential buildings, parks, water and sewage infrastructure, and two cemeteries. Utah Property Management Associates, a real estate arm of the church, manages portions of City Creek Center. According to Spencer P. Eccles from the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the mall cost the church an estimated $2 billion. It is only one part of a $5 billion church-funded revamping of downtown Salt Lake City, according to the Mormon-owned news site KSL. “They run their businesses like businesses, no bones about it,” says Eccles.

>In addition, the church owns several nonprofit organizations, some of which appear to be lucrative. Take, for example, the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC), a 42-acre tropical theme park on Oahu’s north shore that hosts luaus, canoe rides, and tours through seven simulated Polynesian villages. General-admission adult tickets cost $49.95; VIP tickets cost up to $228.95. In 2010 the PCC had net assets worth $70 million and collected $23 million in ticket sales alone, as well as $36 million in tax-free donations. The PCC’s president, meanwhile, received a salary of $296,000. At the local level, the PCC, opened in 1963, began paying commercial property taxes in 1992, when the Land and Tax Appeal Court of Hawaii ruled that the theme park “is not for charitable purposes” and is, in fact, a “commercial enterprise and business undertaking.” Nevertheless, the tourist destination remains exempt from federal taxes because the PCC claims to be a “living museum” and an education-oriented charity that employs students who work at the center to pay their way through church-run Brigham Young University-Hawaii.

>“There are religious groups that own radio stations, but they don’t also own cattle ranches. There are religious groups that own retreats, but they don’t also own insurance companies,” says Ryan Cragun, a sociology professor at the University of Tampa and co-author of the recently published book Could I Vote for a Mormon for President? “Given their array of corporate interests, it would probably make more sense to refer to them as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Holdings Inc.”



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2016 05:47AM by SL Cabbie.

One trick the church uses to drive up its "dollar figure" when telling others how charitable they are is to include the estimated value of donated goods they send over. So lets say there is an earthquake in Nepal and the church sends over 1 million dollars in aid. They don't send 100 million in actual cash. What they do is send over a load of goods from DI, stuff like socks, cloths, coats, what have you. All of that stuff the church gets for free from members, but they tag an estimate value to it and POOF... The church just gave a million bucks away.

This is why I stopped giving to DI.

How much $$$ do they RECEIVE for humanitarian aid???

There is no questioning the unique size and scope of the church welfare program. Just the calculated and sustained response to Katrina- something even other churches commented on. I work at the bishops storehouse in the major city near my home. Dry goods, fresh vegetables/fruit and dairy roll out weekly in all directions. Give credit where it is due....

Gatorman

+10,000

Why are you calling it a Hoax? Are you saying it is fabricated?

That isn't indicated by the Deseret article. Even if it's less than $3 per church member, it is still nothing to sneeze at.

Hold the Kleenex. :)

I think "Hoax" was a reference to the fact that it was D. H. Oaks who said it.

Got it. Tankoo. :)

In 2014 the Seventh Day Adventist church gave 291 million in humanitarian aid! Mormon church must try harder! How much did it spend on maintaining and building new Temples lasy year? I bet much much more than 40 million dollars! The Mormon church obviously thinks more of the dead than the living!

Mormons' view of helping the poor is pointing out to them that they just need to work harder, and it's their own fault. For some maybe that is helpful? for most, probably not. Also there is a culture within the COB of trying to save the bretheren money, and how sacred all the money is. So sacred that they don't even want to help people with it (which is actually why there is money in the first place?).

They would rather spend millions on 13 minute seminary movie segments, and temples for dead people, and the payroll to support the bureaucracy within the media department. I could tell you recent stories about that, that I've heard within the last few weeks. Living deep within Utah, there aren't many secrets that are kept.

The United Methodist Church, through its disaster relief arm, UMCOR, spends more than $60 million a year on global disaster relief alone. This does not include community projects within the USA. The UMC strives to give away one quarter of all funds donated to the church. And the UMC does not demand 10% of your income.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=10278

I am highly unlikely to ever join a church again. However, I respect the United Methodists for being so open and generous. I see them doing more for the community than other religious organizations as well. The Mormon church should look to them for an example of generosity. The Mormon church abuses its members with tithing, senior missions that the seniors pay to work for the church, 2 year missions of young men and 1.5 year missions for young women all at their own expense. The $40 million is nothing - just $3 per member per year. They should be ashamed.

"The $40 million is nothing - just $3 per member per year. They should be ashamed."

Remember about 15 years ago when Gordon B. Hinckley boasted that the church had donated (IIRC) $138 million in humanitarian aid over ten years? At the time, the church had about 10 million members. So that worked out to about $1.38 per member per year.

Also, let's keep in mind that the church itself doesn't actually donate any money; the members donate the money. The church is merely the collector and dispensor of the money. The church is like some of these charities which boast of how much money they contribute to various causes, but the money is actually donated to them through fund-raising efforts.

Bill Gates alone has given $28 Billion to charity since 1997 (when his foundation was started).
Let's see...that's 19 years, and $28 Billion, coming to about $1.5 billion per year from one person. Or about forty times what the entire LDS church gives per year.

The morg should be ashamed of crowing about that.

Be sure that $40M isn't cash out the door. In TSCC's eyes, anything they send out is "humanitarian."

All they have to do is "value" their ghostwritten Monson or Uchtdorf books (or old hardbacks of "Miracle of Forgiveness" for that matter) at $20 each – they have Dieter's picture on the covers for fetch sakes! they have to be worth at least that! – then ship out two million books.

Presto! Humanitarian aid to boast about to the press, *and* royalty income to the GA crowd! Win-win!

Is that just too cynical for all you lurking Mormons out there?

One Thing is clear: as long as COB can manipulate numbers without disclosure let alone outside audits or oversight, they will.


Does a/the 'true church' need a PR budget & minions? I.Don't.Think.So

They can brag about giving $40 m, but then they hide their books. We have no idea if this is true, what they define as "humanitarian aid", and what percentage of their income that is.

If I gave $10k out, that would be pretty generous. If Romney did that, that's chump change to him.

The total yearly revenues for TSCC have generally been estimated to be in the $4 billion dollar range. If they are donating $40 million to aid and charitable causes yearly, that equals 1/100th of total revenues to charitable causes. If TSCC members donated the same proportion of their income then TSCC would be in a world of hurt.

grendel Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ... that equals 1/100th of
> total revenues to charitable causes. If TSCC
> members donated the same proportion of their
> income then TSCC would be in a world of hurt.


Yes, and if a member only gave that proportion, they wouldn't be welcome, certainly not at the temples.

“Our humanitarian aid is given without regard to religious affiliation, because we want our missionary teaching to be received and considered without influence from force or food or other favors,"

Oh...that's why their volunteers are asked to wear brightly colored Mormon helping hands vests and why they have stake PR specialists that try their best to get all of their good deeds in the media. It has nothing to do with missionary efforts. ;)

If 1 million TBM gave 40 dollars in one year, that is 40 million a year.

This is like Monson putting a buss token in the Salvation Army bucket.

Members that make 400 a month pay 40 in tithing for just 1 month.

“Our humanitarian aid is given without regard to religious affiliation, because we want our missionary teaching to be received and considered without influence from force or food or other favors"

Force? I can understand the "food or other favors" language, as folks in need might accept missionary teaching in order to get humanitarian aid, but what does he mean by force?

When the mormon church gives charity to non-members, you'll see that the media is usually near-by, making a story of it. Also near-by, you'll find the missionaries, working the room.

Another thing, shouldn't the church lead by example and pay ten percent of their revenues to real charities? Right now, they're setting a one percent example to the rest of us. Even if they can't afford to keep all of their ward buildings open and have to go in to debt to do it, they should pay ten percent, yadayada.... it's good fire insurance.... the heavens will open to them if they do it. Right now, they're stealing from the lord.

azsteve Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When the mormon church gives charity to
> non-members, you'll see that the media is usually
> near-by, making a story of it. Also near-by,
> you'll find the missionaries, working the room.

This is an important point. I suspect (but can't prove, since the church refuses to open its finances to public scrutiny), that much of their claimed "charity" is assistance given to church members. Self-supporting kinda stuff. Only given to the worthy among themselves.

Frankly, I think all non-mormons in the country should have one standard reply anytime TSCC makes any kind of financial claim or statement:

"Since you refuse to open your financial records to public examination, we can give your statement no confidence whatsoever. Your claims about how much you give to charity, or how much you did or didn't spend on a mall, etc. are all unverifiable and therefore worthless. They mean nothing until you open your fiances to public view."

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have given billions and they are atheists. Atheists are an independent lot and give individually, not through organizations.

% Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow, you appear to be very good at math. I bet
> even you can figure out that $40,000,000.00 is
> 100% more than any private 501(c)(3) atheist
> organization gives to anybody or anything.

As good as your research, maybe?

UNICEF
Doctors Without Borders
Oxfam

These organizations don't require that one register as an atheist, nor do they send tens of thousands of self-supporting "missionaries" to take the most from the least among us.

Please. The only comparison that can be made should leave TSCC wallowing in their filthy (selfish) rich shame.