$400 per month I believe. [EDIT to be in line with what 2jedis says below - she would know since she was actually paying it.]
Plus provide clothing & a bicycle (in areas that require a bike.)
Missionaries receive some level of allowance back to spend on necessities like food - how much depends on the area - I believe we got $150 a month in AZ in the early 90s. In many areas is it reported that the family has to send additional money to cover necessities.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2012 05:40PM by bc.
They probably get corporate and tons of air miles. Additionally, the church's corporate credit cards are probably air mile cards. I'd be surprised if their transport costs were very high.
Ugh. I am SO convinced that this is a huge money-making operation for the church. Even more than a goal of indoctrination or converts, it's a profit generating operation.
Sister missionaries lived in my home with me. During that time, each missionary STILL had to pay the monthly fee even though I did NOT charge TSCC rent. The mission offered to pay $75 per month in utilities, but I declined. Living in my home was at absolute NO COST to TSCC, but the missionaries still had to pay. Plus, the missionary's allowance worked out to about $4.00 per day for food.
That makes me want to vomit. Even if they did pay $75 for utilities, that still means that out of the $400 a month, only $162 is mission expense, where does the other $238 go? I don't buy the office, logistics, gas costs, MP costs, that's all factored into the church's expenses, for which they claim is covered by tithing. I don't believe the whole "balancing out the more expensive missions" story. The currency exchange and varied costs of living does that on its own. It's no surprise that they started pulling people out of European missions a couple years ago and replanting them in 3rd world or developing nations.
It's no wonder they lowered the missionary age for men and women. More missionaries, more money for the church. Even if they only made $50 net per missionary (which is way lowballed), and they only have 50k missionaries out (again, low figure considering the huge influx of missionaries they will be sending out), that's still $2,500,000 PER MONTH. That's $30,000,000 PER YEAR, just making $50 per missionary, with only 50k out.
Buying all the needs for a mission, clothing, personal items, medical exams and vaccinations, dental work, scriptures and books, passports, visas, and whatever I am missing will run well over $2ooo, and that's before they get to the MTC. Bikes are often purchased after arrival at the mission. If the dental work includes getting wisdom teeth removed which is mandatory, that's another big expense if you don't have insurance, which we did not. My daughter was missing a vaccination, she got it at the MTC and we got the bill $58....lovely....the church is so generous. We send our children free of charge to sell their product and they can't even pay for a mandatory vaccination, not that I expected them to.
They billed YOU for her vaccination? I'm speechless...after you were already paying tbem for the privilege of her selling for them, as you put it. I wonder what would have happened if you just hadn't paid it.
Our son's mission stopped paying for prescription meds partway through the mission. He was trying to pay for his asthma meds out of his pitiful allowance. Once we found out, we made sure he had money for them.
We were TBM, so we just put money in his account. He was in England, so on the national healthcare. We have insurance for him as well. It only amounted to a $20/month copay, so why so chintzy?
I think they would have written it off. My son had an injury on his mission, he was out of the country and insurance companies dont insure those missionaries, the church has to cover. We were asked if we could pay the $1500 bill, I said no, and we never heard any more about it.
I think there are plenty of people who add to the general missionary fund on their tithing slips without needing to. That means there is even more surplus $ money.
I have to do Lamaze breathing when I read this stuff. Nothing make me madder than the exploitation of our children. And that's what it is. It's surprising they aren't selling their blood while their in the MTC.
It is a human rights violation and wittyname's comments shocked me and also struck me as true. Missions are another profit center and LOOK--they just upped the anti by allowing even younger teens to go on missions. They will make a profit on this trafficking even if they don't make a single baptism.
Wonder if they will be interviewing the young girls for masturbating details when they have them under their control?