Posted by:
Tom Phillips
(
)
Date: January 14, 2013 03:06PM
Periodically posts appear decrying how little of its income the Church spends on humanitarian aid especially when compared with other churches.
Well, I think it is far less than has been previously reported. I actually consider it is nil, zip, nada 0% of tithing.
Let's start with the generous viewpoint. On this (RFM) site there is an archived thread described as "Jan 2012 The Mormon Church's humanitarian aid now amounts to $6.73 per member per year - from an official Mormon publication. Humanitarian Aid"
Eric K provided this data for a 25 yer period
http://www.providentliving.org/welfare/pdf/WelfareFactSheet.pdfHumanitarian assistance rendered (1985-2009)
Cash Donations $327.6 million
Value of Material Assistance $884.6 million
They are claiming to have given some $1.2 billion during a period when they received say $125 billion in tithes (at a steady $5 billion per annum). Only 1%
However, this is not true, the Church spent NONE of its tithing income on humanitarian aid if its "Gospel Principles" manual is to be believed.
This manual gives a breakdown of what tithing covers and what is funded by "other offerings"
Gospel Principles (2011)
Tithing
Tithing is used by the Church for many purposes. Some of these are to:
1. Build, maintain, and operate temples, meetinghouses, and other buildings.
2. Provide operating funds for stakes, wards, and other units of the Church. (These units use the funds to carry out the ecclesiastical programs of the Church, which include teaching the gospel and conducting social activities.)
3. Help the missionary program.
4. Educate young people in Church schools, seminaries, and institutes.
5. Print and distribute lesson materials.
6. Help in family history and temple work.
(N.B. No humanitarian aid included above)
Other Offerings
Fast Offerings. Church members fast each month by going without food and drink for two consecutive meals. They contribute at least the amount of money they would have spent for the meals. They may give as generously as they are able. This offering is called the fast offering. Bishops use these fast offerings to provide food, shelter, clothing, and medical care for the needy.
(N.B. No humanitarian aid included in fast offerings unless you take it as caring for the needy by the bishops. Even if that were true, the money doesn't come from tithing but additional offerings of the members through going without food.)
Other Donations.
Church members may donate to other efforts of the Church, such as missionary work, the Perpetual Education Fund, temple construction, and humanitarian aid.
At last, here it is in "Other Donations". Therefore the $1.2 billion claimed to be spent on humanitarian aid, over a 25 year period, came not from tithing but from additional donations by members. One can presumably, therefore, surmise that NIL came from the tithing funds.
One can, of course, be pernickity and say the administrative costs associated with these other donations and disbursements came out of tithing. If true, it would still be a very tiny amount indeed. Actually the Church "calls" humanitarian aid missionaries to administer these matters. Such missionaries serve at their own expense although the Church may pay for some office space, travel expenses and paper clips.
Bottom line, it is disgusting, as pointed out by Eric K, that the Church claims to spend so little on humanitarian aid compared with its tithing income. It is even more despicable that they don't even pay the little they claim. It is the poor faithful members who pick up the tab, on top of their tithing, generous fast offerings, missionary donations, perpetual education fund, temples etc. etc,
How clever they are - truthful they are not.