JANA RIESS IS a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who stopped paying tithes to the church. She took issue with the church’s lack of transparency in its use of tithes. While no financial scandal is associated with the LDS Church, some people are concerned.

The church has stockpiled over $100 billion in stocks, property, and other investments. Even though it donates $1 billion a year to help those in need, is that enough? Should the church do more? What can we learn about the relationship between God, money, and the church? Keep reading as I share my thoughts on the matter.

Table of Contents

• Inside the LDS Tithing Settlement
• Accountability Within the LDS Church
• LDS Church Collects Massive Amounts of Money
• LDS Prepares for the Second Coming
• A Warning from the Book of Revelation
• The Need for Christian Financial Help
• Recap
• Questions
• Find Out More

Inside the LDS Tithing Settlement

The LDS Church holds its members accountable for paying their tithes. Every December, the church practices what’s called a tithing settlement. These are meetings between church members and a bishop. Members declare whether they will be “full” tithe payers during the sessions. A full tithe payer commits to paying the church 10% of their income.

I wonder if the meeting with the bishop is intimidating on some level. Imagine telling a bishop you won’t “give God” 10% of your income. At any rate, it seems this process works for LDS because it helps keep the treasury full. The question is this: Should the church be held accountable for the tithes it collects?

Accountability Within the LDS Church

It seems like there’s a double standard when it comes to financial accountability. In Riess’s article, Why I Stopped Tithing to the LDS Church, she mentions the disclaimer printed on the tithe envelopes. Here’s the message:

I find it interesting how the church clarifies that it can do what it wants with your money. However, it wants to make sure its members commit to paying their tithes. It’s like the church’s position is this:

“Tell us what you’re going to do with your money, but don’t question how we will use your donations. Because once we get those tithes, it’s our money. It’s our money, our business.”

LDS Church Collects Massive Amounts of Money

The LDS Church’s approach to collecting tithes is lucrative. The church has over $100 billion in stocks, property, and other holdings. This is a lot of money by any standard. On the one hand, the church practices good financial stewardship.

On the other hand, having all this money may have a downside if you don’t know what to do with it. Riess says the money is “stockpiled.” In other words, LDS isn’t doing enough with the funds. It appears the money is being hoarded and not being maximized to support charitable activities.

The LDS Church donates over $1 billion a year to humanitarian efforts. The issue is whether the LDS should do more with its $100 billion surplus. Riess believes the church can do more to “alleviate suffering.” Well, there’s always room to do more. There’s no doubt about that. Again, it all comes down to a matter of transparency and accountability.

What’s the church’s goal? Is it to amass as much wealth as it can? Is it to raise as much money as possible to serve God’s people better? Is it a combination of both?

LDS Prepares for the Second Coming

One of the Latter-Day Saints’ beliefs may explain why the church stockpiles millions of dollars. According to Riess’s article, the church holds the money until the Second Coming. Let me be upfront. I haven’t researched the church’s Second Coming approach to storing tithes. With that said, it sounds a bit odd to me.

The Bible says Christ is returning for his bride (1 Corinthians 15:23; Revelation 19:7). There’s no mention that he’s returning for a rich or poor church. Do they think Jesus wants to come back and collect the church’s billions? Christ is not coming back to view a church’s stock portfolio.

A Warning from the Book of Revelation

Right now, I’m thinking about the church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:17). The church was materially wealthy but spiritually bankrupt. I’m not saying the LDS Church is poor spiritually. What I am saying is you can’t justify stockpiling money based on the return of Jesus. Most important is the fruit a church produces, which goes for any church, not just LDS.

A church’s wealth isn’t indicative of its righteousness. The Book of Revelation says the church must remain faithful to Christ. An example is a church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:8). They may not have had the church in Laodecia’s wealth, but they had a heart for Christ. So, Christ isn’t focused on the church’s balance sheet but on its heart (Revelation 3:10-12).

The Need for Christian Financial Help

LDS knows what it takes to accumulate wealth. You don’t generate $100 billion without being financially savvy. To this point, I ask: Why not teach the congregation how to prosper financially? Over the years, I’ve pointed out many problems associated with churches pushing tithes and promoting the Prosperity Gospel.

One of my criticisms is that churches don’t equip their members with financial literacy, tools, and resources. I don’t know if the LDS Church provides that type of education. The point is a wealthy church can offer its congregation practical steps for getting out of debt, saving more money, and increasing their income. It’s just a thought.

Recap

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is wealthy, with over $100 billion in assets. It gives over $1 billion to worthy causes a year. The church sits on most of this money while waiting for the Second Coming. Additionally, it reserves the right to use the funds at its discretion. This approach to church finances made one LDS member, Jana Riess, stop tithing to the church.

Riess’s concern centers around the church’s lack of transparency and accountability. Members meet with a church bishop every December to discuss their status as full tithe payers. In other words, the church wants to know whether a member will pay 10% of their income. This is called a tithing settlement. Supposedly, it helps keep members accountable for their financial support to the church. The question is: Who’s holding the church accountable for how the money is used?

Even though there’s no sign of the church misusing the donations, it seems it isn’t using enough funds to help people in need. Because of this, Riess stopped paying tithes to the LDS Church. However, she does tithe to other charitable organizations that provide transparency regarding the use of donations.

Questions

1. Should the LDS Church (and other churches) provide members with detailed reports on how they spend financial resources?

2. Do you think a church with over $100 billion should be spending more than $1 billion on humanitarian efforts?

Find Out More

Discover the hidden truth about tithes the church doesn’t want you to know. Click here.

Source: Why I Stopped Tithing