Bishop Christopher Waddell defends the Mormon church's handling of its vast holdings | 60 Minutes 

Yep!

If your church is true, then research cannot harm it. Please, please read the CES Letter. I love you as a fellow human, but it is my duty as a Christian to let you know that the book of Mormon is absolutely provably false. Go out and research the book of mormon against what the Bible says. The book of mormon teaches an entirely different God and Jesus than what the Bible states authoritatively. I love you, this isn’t meant to insult you, but you are being led astray and it hurts my soul. I’m an ex-member, raised in the church. I know how you feel. Your whole life is centered around this church. To leave the church would be to leave your life, but this isn’t true. It would be starting a whole new life based in the true Jesus Christ of the Bible. It would be setting yourself free from one of the greatest achievements of Satan, the mormon church. The LDS church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Scientology are all horrible establishments that are direct enemies of salvation. I pray that God allows you to see. Amen.

@@globofgreen I don't have the burden of proof, you do -he who who alleges must prove. I did my research, and I received my confirmation that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, is God’s true kingdom on the earth, and that the priesthood with all the keys of the former dispensations have been restored once again and the current president of the Church holds those keys held by former patriarch prophets in the past and those of the gathering of Israel. And this is true regardless of where I stand in my relationship with the Church. I stand by my commitment that I will continue to pay tithing and other donations in the church, beyond the required 10%, and my family also, as well as millions of other Latter-day Saints. We want the Church to grow its funds and acquisition of properties until the second coming. Why? So the work of salvation and exaltation can remain in force and unhindered because it is the greatest of all works being done in this dispensation as well as past.

Same! I'm thrilled for the future.

So you believe that Jesus would say, “Yes, hoard that wealth! Save it for a rainy day!! Do not use it to help humanity! No way! Use a little of it here and there to build temples, which only a fraction of a percent of people can enter, and which do not provide any sort of relief to the poor and the needy. This is what money raised in my name is for and I love it.”

Same. You’ll notice a lot of anti Mormon rhetoric instantly judging an organization of millions of people what to do with money and listen to what this man said in the video. Literally like he knows exactly what would happen.

you mean you stand with the church the organisation and not the church the people who are suffering?

@@ZelphBallard-bg9mt be specific because it sounds like you are a child. "well what about this other thing?" people suffer all over the world. I think its a well known fact that government agencies all over the world throw money at a problem and nothing comes of it but corruption. Even Elon said he would send a bunch of money to Africa if it would cure world hunger and what do ya know that all fell through because its not as simple as money.

If your church is true, then research cannot harm it. Please, please read the CES Letter. I love you as a fellow human, but it is my duty as a Christian to let you know that the book of Mormon is absolutely provably false. Go out and research the book of mormon against what the Bible says. The book of mormon teaches an entirely different God and Jesus than what the Bible states authoritatively. I love you, this isn’t meant to insult you, but you are being led astray and it hurts my soul. I’m an ex-member, raised in the church. I know how you feel. Your whole life is centered around this church. To leave the church would be to leave your life, but this isn’t true. It would be starting a whole new life based in the true Jesus Christ of the Bible. It would be setting yourself free from one of the greatest achievements of Satan, the mormon church. The LDS church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Scientology are all horrible establishments that are direct enemies of salvation. I pray that God allows you to see. Amen.

Same. I've been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for my entire life and I've never once been concerned how finances were being handled on any level. I'm proud those who have been selected to lead the Church have apparently done such a great job providing us the financial stability to do so much good. Nearly everyone I know (not all, of course) feel roughly the same way. It's dishonest for 60 Minutes to portray the general membership of the Church as they did.

Yeah, that whole response was an absolute dumpster fire.

And thats why they are frugal with it instead of just blowing it without clear vision or understanding BECAUSE its people sacrifice out of faith kn the Lord. Respect for those funds is due.

Your testimony must have been non-existent from the beginning. How quickly people turn on Jesus and our Father and then expect to get into the Celestial Kingdom because they think bringing harm to something that does a lot of good. By the way, Father does not need your money but you need His blessings.

@@MichaelJones-lh1ug too bad neither god nor Jesus are real so you’re just wasting your time and money…

@@MichaelJones-lh1ug what a bunch of junk. it's a cult y'all. a very discreet one that is blasphemy to Christianity .

@@MichaelJones-lh1ug I feel sorry for you.

​@@MichaelJones-lh1ug This is actually so rude :|

no they were dishonest in how they managed the money NOT prudent and yet they see that they have done no wrong

We donate money to the Church after paying taxes, and I trust the Church to use the money much more efficiently and for much better purposes than the government. As to "profit", is anyone abusing this money? It's being used for thousands of relief projects on a global scale and many, many more instances of assistance to Church members and friends in need on a local level.

@@00Fisher00 Homelessness in this country is at an all time high and I haven't heard a thing from the Mormon Chruch not a peep. Since they have such vast resources how come they're not using them en masse? There are millions of americans in need of help so where are they ? They appear to be better hoarders than benefactors right now.

@@00Fisher00 Small government, big church! Wonderful world view. No wonder this country is in ruins...

@Seymour Butts the church helped my dad and I several times with rent when we were broke so we wouldn't go homeless, so I'm not taking your statement seriously

​@@00Fisher00 The funds at Ensign Peak, at the time the whistleblower came forward had only been used for commercial purposes, not humanitarian or even the operation of the Church. In 22 years of accumulation to billions of dollars, those funds that are supposed to be used for charitable purposes has only been used to bail out the Church's now defunct insurance company, and the help the City Creek Mall.

you mean the church money that at one time was actually disclosed during the typical accounting during conference ... and then magically we get a finance guy getting up there and saying its all above board and yall have to believe me

@@ZelphBallard-bg9mt you missed the point

Haha best comment on here lol

Except the Force is not with them.

They care enormously about members. I see it all the time. He didn't sideline the question; he answered it. I've seen a fair amount of what the Church does with donated funds, and it gives me great confidence and hope.

@@00Fisher00 They care enough to cover up sexual abuse of the little ones and excommunicate those who throw light on it. They could not even get the 2 volumes of testimonies by the victims and hid behind the dress of a PR she-minion!

@@00Fisher00 To paraphrase Carl Sagan- Once we're bamboozled enough, it’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back. I would add that the same holds true for religion. They use the words of an ancient text, written by men who were arguably mentally ill, to frighten and intimidate people into believing they'll be tormented forever if they don't subscribe and pay dearly to a certain church hierarchy. One would hope that your Mormon organization would do some good with all that money they're raking in. Problem is, they've not reported their billions in financial holdings to the IRS, which violates their tax exempt status.

The local members are on average very caring. The upper echelons it's harder to say. But the Church says "by their fruits ye shall know them", and hiding money in shell accounts seems like bitter fruit to me.

@@benthomas9776 Some people who profess to be religious leaders use donated money for their own direct benefit, and I think anyone is justified in questioning that sort of thing. That is not what happens in the Church of Jesus Christ. Those who are general authorities of the Church now spent many years dedicating hours and hours of unpaid service, showing very personal care to a lot of people while still managing full-time careers and families. When they were asked to give up their professions, they did so, letting go of any personal goals within those professions and giving up their income. They now receive a living allowance from the Church that is not impacted by the amount of donations coming in. Their service to the Church is now full-time, and though it's less personal at times, they have a hugely positive impact on a large number of people. Those who have been managing Church funds have done their best to protect them, and it's clear that they made mistakes according to SEC guidelines, for which a settlement has been paid and through which they have learned. I taste no bitterness in their selfless and dedicated service.

I have 3 questions. Are you familiar with Alma 30:33? How do you square Alma's stance with the current "unpaid clergy" general authorities who each receive a compensation package worth over $250,000 per annum? Why do you think all 100+ male general authorities receive this financial compensation while the 9 female general officers in charge of primary, relief society and young women receive not one dollar or senine?

@@davidcrook4361 Don't expect an answer, David.

@@davidcrook4361 absolutely correct - no paid clergy yeah right. And does a general authority really need that much compensation when you have church members with way less income who pay tithes and work their butts off in their second jobs (oops I mean callings). And you get these members who see that as a 'badge of honor'

​@@davidcrook4361first off, making it a gender issue is disingenuous. Thats a misfire misdirection and you know it. Second, I have relatives that have or do now receive that stipend and it's absolutely the right thing to do. They aren't being paid for what they do. Most general authorities don't even receive the stipend because they're financially secure on their own. Those that do need the help wouldn't have a house, food, transportation, clothing, etc. without the help. I'd be happy to support them with my donated tithing or fast offerings but, to be safe, the stipend money comes from the taxed for-profit entities of the Church. And it isn't as high as you seem to suggest it is.

Are you actively in the church now? Just curious.

It's heartbreaking when you find out that the church, who is supposed to be the most trustful in your life & for your eternal salvation, aren't following their own teachings. Their M.O. seems to be 'Lying for the Lord' or "Sometimes the truth just isn't useful". It's such a break of trust when you're able to actually dig in & find out the truth.

@@Selene13zz The 1st Presidency and Presiding Bishop, per the Church Handbook, are candidates for church discipline. There was a dude in my ward (congregation) who also committed financial fraud… he worked in insurance and was cooking the books to get victims higher payouts. Acting as Robinhood, one might say. HE was disfellowshipped.. but the first presidency? Rules for thee, not for me.

@@phillisob I made the sad and difficult decision to cease association with the church when I concluded it seemed more like a man-led than god-led organization.

​@@bob15479 I would think so but there does seem to be a discrepancy here, doesn't it? My dad was a bishop for about a decade & we talked about how strict the rules were for handling church finances. He was great with members but this stressed him out a lot, since he was a psychoanalyst & not a financial person. I think he would have been a bit of a Robinhood too otherwise because we had so many members that were in need. It's hard not to think why the 1st Pres & Presiding Bishop wouldn't be subject to the same transparency & scrutiny as the lower leadership. Especially when it comes to paying their fair share of taxes to the government & "in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.” I won't hold my breath, though.

"Secret" can have a negative connotation, but financial confidentiality is normal. The restored Church of Jesus Christ is definitely acting like a church, but a wise church that saves and invests funds so that after spending a lot to help people, it stays strong and can continue to operate.

@@00Fisher00 the church does many wonderful Christ-like things and overall is a wonderful organization. However the misleading and very secretive tactics the church used and got fined for by the Security Exchange Commission don’t look good. Just be honest about the money the faithful members have donated and don’t try to be sneaky and hide it from the government. Read the SEC settlement statement with the church. It’s very telling.

When? How many have offshore accounts???

Why? We (members of the Church) have already paid taxes to the government; even though the government uses the money poorly, we fulfill our legal obligation. We want to be able to donate from our own money to an organization that we know will use it well.

Money Shmoney! Nothing matters more than truth and the freedom people are endowed with from God. Money means very little to nothing.

@@00Fisher00 not the LDS church. You get a tax deduction for tithing and the church is not utilizing funds available for good works. This is tax free bulk accumulated wealth being used for for profit businesses. If you want your money to be charitable give it to an actual direct help charity of your choice.

@@kellyreilly-robinson2130 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is using donations for a lot of good purposes and I have seen many of them. The Church also saves and invests money in order to increase its ability to maintain operations during times of economic difficulty (such as the recent global pandemic) and still contribute to worthy causes (such as thousands of relief projects during that pandemic). For-profit businesses have people at the top who become more wealthy when the business does better, whereas Church leaders do not see that financial increase and are only serving in their positions because they were asked to give up lucrative professions. I am fully supportive of the many good things God does through the Church and of the people who manage donated funds.

In helping people on both local and global levels, all the time.

@@00Fisher00 Indeed, but against Mormon wealth, they give even less than you do when you throw a quarter to a beggar at a traffic light to buy some peace of mind!

@Hobgoblin well that's just not true, but because what you said is flattering to stupid people, you git some likes.

@@hobgoblin1976 That's not accurate. The Church of Jesus Christ contributes substantially in multiple ways, and when totaled up it's even more impressive given that the number of donating members is relatively small.

Except you don’t know that. You don’t know unforeseen economic or growth circumstances of the church

@@utahman112 Go read the widowsmite report and do some research.

@@utahman112 They can already run everything in the church on their interest and still have a billion dollars left over afterwards, without taking in a single penny of tithing. The total church assets is estimated at $257B and in 20-30 years at current trends, they'll be a $1T company. When will they have "enough?"

@@yorgasor it’s not up to us to decide. If you study lds history you can see multiple instances where the church was in deep financial distress. Living the law of tithing is a biblical commandment. I’m grateful to belong to the church and have the opportunity to pay tithing, I know with no doubt that my life and my family have been blessed from living the law of tithing. It’s not always easy but I know that I have been watched over and protected. The church has done so much good in the world and will continue to do so and I’m grateful to be a part of witnessing it.

@@utahman112 I have studied more church history than you can imagine. One particularly worrisome piece of church history happened shortly after Utah gained statehood. The church finally regained their assets after the government seized much of it for violations of polygamy law, and they really got deep into investing in industries. They promised to avoid interfering in politics, but just a few years after gaining statehood, they convinced the legislature to install apostle Reed Smoot as senator. Congress refused to seat BH Roberts just a couple years earlier because he was a polygamist, so they used Reed because he was one of the few apostles who was a monogamist. Congress held trials for a few years to see if they were actually abiding by the rules they promised to gain statehood (no polygamy, no political intervention, etc) and it was found they were violating all of them. However, they were able to coerce enough positive testimony from nonmember Utah businessmen who knew that they would be out of business with a single word from church leadership. People who were joint investors in all these industries the church was getting involved with were powerful and influential, and lobbied on the church's behalf, and Smoot got seated. June 11, 1906 Report from a majority committee on the Smoot hearings: “Notwithstanding the plain provision of the constitution of Utah, the proof offered on the investigation demonstrates beyond the possibility of doubt that the hierarchy at the head of the Mormon Church has, for years past, formed a perfect union between the Mormon Church and the State of Utah, and that the Church, through its head, dominates the affairs of the State in things both great and small. Even back then, the church held incredible influence with its money and power, and was able to seat Smoot in spite of the above findings. And back then, it was just a tiny fraction of what it has now. I'm actually not concerned if the church doesn't know what to do with all of its money and influence it gets them. I'm more worried they actually do know what to do with it, and they're not telling anyone until it's too late.

Members owned those corporations not the church, at least get your facts correct before spewing your garbage.

Their "mission," apparently, is to accumulate as much moolah from their members as possible so as to carry on with their mission. Circular reasoning, and utterly reprehensible.

She definitely could have had more information and interviews. This was her bombshell moment. She should have shared the leaked documents and more about the shell companies. More about the donation amount from average members. Etc

I'm sure the church had to agree to the questions or no interview. Her hands were tied on what could be asked

@@Doxxylover616 If those are the terms then where is the 'investigative' in 'investigative journalism'. Does the suspect get to agree on the questions the cops can ask before he is interrogated? If true, what a corrupt system. 😕

He is the Presiding Bishop, that is his title. It's not CFO. The Presiding Bishop is in charge of handling all temporal affairs of the church.

@@elderinisrael great clarification thank you thank you!!!

@@elderinisrael complete falshood: stop lying, deflecting, weaseling, and in every regard, spewing BS. Waddell is a member of the Presiding Bishopric. Along with Budge and Causse, he is DIRECTLY responsible for every red cent that comes in or goes out. "Temporal Affairs?" STFU, @elderinisrael. Those three are the money-men. Save that "Temporal Affairs" bullsh*t for the non-members, BROTHER. Mealy-mouthed politicians like Waddell and folks like YOU are why we have poor reputations. The LDS Church IS true, but it is and has been in the grips of greedy con-men since the day Joseph Smith died.

@@Arkangeler No, @elderinisrael is full of sh*t. You are 100% correct in your statement that he is CFO. FACTS. STRAIGHT TRUTH. HE IS. "Temporal Affairs?" GTFOH. What @elderinisrael MEANT to say is that Waddell is one of three dudes that make up what's called The Presiding Bishopric and are DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for managing the Church's finances. EVERY RED CENT. Don't fall for the BS propoganda terms like "temporal affairs," lol. I'm a Church Member. Born and raised in the Uintah Basin.

@@elderinisrael a rose by any other name. Temporal = assets/finances. I just want to make sure other viewers realize that he is not like a bishop in other churches, despite the name.

What wrong has been done by the Church saving money like it counsels individual people to do?

@@SeekingAlfalfa There are many poor people who donate to the Church and many who receive aid from it. The story of the widow's mite highlights the virtue of generosity from even the poor. I grew up eating free food from the Bishop's Storehouse, which is like a supermarket where nothing has a cost. I have seen many instances of people receiving assistance according to their needs. I cannot speak for other organizations, but the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does a lot of good for a lot of people while managing money in such a way that it can sustain the good programs.

@@00Fisher00 There are horribly underfunded youth programs, there are janitorial staff that were laid off, there are extremely poor people who have been told they need to give money to the church before they feed and clothe their kids. There are people who are prevented from seeing their children married because they can't afford to pay tithing to a $250B+ organization that doesn't need their money. If people saved money like the church, they would save up a big war chest before starting to give the church 10% of their income.

@@00Fisher00 I’m sorry friend but It’s not really worth arguing/debating. There’s many issues I have with the church leadership and I’ll leave it at that. Hope you have a good day though.

@@yorgasor The Church provides assistance to people in need in multiple ways. I have lived through it and seen it in the lives of many others. You're simply not taking a fair or realistic look at things.

It is pretty silly to use pejoratives like "cult" in reference to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

@@00Fisher00 using “cult” may have been to indicate their comment is sarcastic. still, i cant really tell if this is sarcasm or not🤷‍♀️

@@mylie6181 I have heard the word used many times in careless reference to the Church of Jesus Christ. I hope to get people to think about what they're saying, because once they do, they see that it's not an appropriate descriptive term at all. In this case, the original commenter was making an unjustified derogatory remark in addition to the sarcasm, and I'm content to advise them about their mistake.

​@@00Fisher00 It is a cult, a Christian cult.

@@00Fisher00 It is a mere, objective description.

you mean the golden tablets that no one physically saw, the golden tablets where the writing could easily be misfigured because they were well .. gold, you mean the golden plates where their actual weight would have meant that joseph smith was superman in order to run home with them and fend off attackers and thieves .. the plates which were taken up by the angel never to be seen again ... those plates???

@@ZelphBallard-bg9mt Multiple people physically saw the gold plates, and their weight did not require Joseph Smith to be Superman. To the first commenter, no, the donations given to the Church of Jesus Christ have nothing to do with the gold plates that contained the record of the Book of Mormon.

That's why you're poor

^Per the Mormons you are a lost tribe of Israel lol

As a Native American, I agree with you Allen.

@Allen Hinton Don't understand.. what is BS?

​@@stephanl6279we are all part of a lost tribe orlf Israel, what's your point?

“Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time! But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, but somehow just can't handle money!” ― George Carlin

@@flingtown yaa 😂👌👍

We're just being the missionaries of truth that the church taught us to be. Problem for the church is they don't like the actual truth!

Thank goodness, because someone needs to be brave enough to expose the Church's hypocrisy, deceit, and harm.

Elder Maxwell is full of it. Vilifying those who have escaped the church is standard operating procedure in any cult. Ex-members paid their dues and have every right to lecture, expose, and bring darkness to light.

And that $5M was the highest fine ever charged against *any* corporation or church for misappropriating funds, by a magnitude of 100 (or thereabouts). That amount shouldn't be dismissed like it has been.

@@Selene13zz can you provide a link to support this statement? When did the SEC rule that funds were misappropriated?

The Church does pay taxes on any and all for-profit endeavors. You also don't seem to understand what happened with the SEC...

I find the exact opposite to be true.

@@00Fisher00 You have absolutely zero evidence. So there is that!

There's no "nerve" being displayed here. Financial confidentiality for individuals and organizations is normal.

And they mostly pumped the numbers. They started counting the money members give to each other (fast offerings) which they didn’t used to count as “humanitarian aid”

@@bob15479 they also started counting hours ministering, and proselytizing as part of the billion dollars per year they're claiming to be giving in humanitarian aid. The real number is closet to about 50 million dollars per year, which may seem like a lot but it's approximately one tenth of one percent of the total amount of tithing they receive.

Regardless of the percentage, I’d say giving billions of dollars of humanitarian aide is a pretty amazing thing wouldn’t you? Who else does this? Which good work are you condemning them for? The church operations benefit millions of people. Private money is always kept confidential.

@@ironeagle9850 private money is not always confidential for organizations or this size. Businesses and nonprofits this size must publish financial info. It’s just religions that don’t have to.

@@bob15479 Why has tax policy exempted religions from financial disclosure? Regardless, the question is whether the funds are used prudently. What other private organization donates billions to charitable purposes? We’re talking about BIG charity here. Big charity is a function of significantly bigger treasury.

"Cult" isn't a very good descriptive term, and especially not for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

That's because it is. I left recently.

@@00Fisher00 You really need to study the B.I.T.E. model. Do you even know what that is? If not, I suggest you look it up. You are being played, my friend.

@@maryvallettakeith6146 Yes, I know it, and it's not applicable to my religion. I'd be happy to discuss it in length and in detail with you, even though it's a bit tiring to keep explaining to people.

The implication is that people are not adequate until and unless they believe the Book of Mormon to be true. If you don't come to know its true, you haven't prayed enough, haven't studied enough, aren't humble enough, aren't sincere enough, etc. You don' t "feel the spirit"? You must be unworthy. It's a cheap shaming tactic.

@@xapimaze I’ve never encountered a serious critic of the church who is well versed in the Book of Mormon and has thoroughly studied the issues surrounding it

@@utahman112 Well, I don't qualify to be called the first. I've read it around a dozen times end-to-end. But, it was always in a religious context, never in a scholarly one. I have read things written by others on the topic of the BOM, both for and against. I'm just one person trying to understand the world, not a scholar.

@@xapimaze I commend you for having studied more than most, however, there are copious amounts of research constantly being churned out by scholars in the church that supports claims made in the Book of Mormon and extinguishes claims made against it. For decades one of the main arguments against the Book of Mormon was the mention of cement in the Book of Mormon before cement was found archaeologically dating to Book of Mormon times. I’ve spent my whole life studying the Book of Mormon and ten years studying attacks and claims made against the book and they don’t hold, none of them do. If you’re sincere in your interest in the book, tad r callister does a great job debunking the most common claims against the bom in his book “a case for the Book of Mormon”. Check it out

which version of the book of mormon is true? the one that joseph translated word for word using a stone in a hat? or the edited, revised and re-branded version that we have in the church today? Also, just because we were to assume that the book of mormon is true, that does not mean ipso facto that the modern LDS Church is true, or that the men who lead it today are apostles and prophets. Almost every major doctrine revealed by Joseph Smith has been abandoned, modified or 'disavowed' by the modern church over the past 200 years. We can see no evidence of continuing revelation in the modern church, unless you want to count minor changes in church policy such as changing the meeting block or lowering the age of missions as "revelations". Where was the divine inspiration in the first presidency's decision to to lie to the Federal Government for two decades in order to conceal its stock portfolio from the SEC, or to hoard $150 billion in a hedge fund and keep it secret from the membership of the church? Where was the inspiration in the ill-fated November, 2015 handbook exclusion policy that resulted in a mass exodus from the church and required a public retraction by the first presidency a few years later? The proposition that the Book of Mormon is the 'keystone of our religion' is a red herring, because it distracts from the real questions about the legitimacy of the modern church's claims of divine authority. Several other churches also believe in the book of mormon. obviously, that does not make all of them 'true', in an objective sense. By the same token, the LDS church cannot claim to be true simply because the book of mormon is true, anymore than the Catholic church can claim to be 'true' simply because the bible is true.

They have turned so much of the green cash into blood and they are holding onto it like most people these days

Churches got the opioid market going way back in China

Is that a joke? Mind control? Please be serious.

@@00Fisher00 only joke I see here is you. Quit defending these pedophiles and live your own life.

The church has a tight hold on members by holding your family members hostage if you don't pay you can't have your family after you die. Family members chose their church over family with the belief the church is true. Members pay tithing to have access to the temple which is a guarantee you will be sealed to and can be wity family in the afterlife. If family leaves church or doesn't pay tithes, they are told they will be in a lower kingdom in heaven and won't be with their families because they weren't worthy to go to the temple, because they didn't pay tithes.

The extortion here cannot be understated.

@@upwherethesundontshine5602 Frankly, that's ridiculous. Either a person believes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being led by God, in which case they are confident that donations are used well, or they don't believe that, in which case no one could hold anyone "hostage". In decades of worship in the Church, I've never heard any statements like what you've said.

@@DontDieSenpai There is no extortion at all.

@@00Fisher00 church members who aren’t caught up on tithing can’t get a temple recommend, and those who fail to be caught up on tithing are threatened to be denied from the celestial kingdom, therefore risking the possibility of not being with your family in the afterlife. That’s 100% extortion.

Not true

@@sbdno10 The Mexico Area President told my mission that out of 1M Mexican members, around 125,000 were active. This held true for the congregations I served in. Most members on the ward lists do not associate with the church or consider themselves Mormon. Most churches purge their membership rolls. The church doesn’t, it keeps people on the rolls until they are assumed dead. While it’s not a “lie” to say the church has >10M members, it could certainly be deemed a misrepresentation.

The Widows Mite report is a great resource for the best estimate we have for membership, and the keyword is “active”. There are over 4 million considered active members, and the roughly 13 million other members are inactive in various categories. One of the reasons it’s important for those that really want to leave to remove their records from that church, so they can’t include it in their reports and give an impression they’re more relevant than they are.

And, they make it difficult to remove your name from the membership roles (notarized form must be submitted to church headquarters, followed by counseling from local leaders before you name is finally removed) and, they count inactive members who no longer attend don't remove names of inactive members from their membership list until they reach 100+ years old. So yeah, the church is totally OBSESSED with inflating its membership total as they see this number as confirmation that the church is god's one true church.

It's not a lie at all to list numbers according to membership records. That's the number that is easy to count. One could separately consider the number who regular attend Sunday worship services or the number who make donations. That latter number is likely closer to 4 million than 17 million; it's a relatively small group of donors, which makes it all the more impressive that the Church of Jesus Christ can manage money so well as to gain on investments while helping people in need locally and supporting so many major relief projects worldwide.

He originally questioned the issue and QUIT! He obviously was disappointed in the actions of the company he was working for. They were being deceptive and breaking the law but you’re worried this dude wants money. Even if he gets zero cents they broke the law.

He has to split it with lawyers… it’s a 3-7 years-long process… he had to become a public figure… he will now face threats and likely be unemployable in the field. All for around half of 10-30%. Remember, 30% is the max. He could end up with as little as $150,000, which is probably about 1 year’s salary when he worked for the church.

He rightfully should be, any future career in this field is at stake at this point. Honestly, I bet he was already well off.

$30B is just stock assets. It’s $100B+ just in ensign peak holdings, there are other church assets too.

Plus a significant portion of that 17 million members number are inactive members or those who left without removing their records, and most of those people don't pay tithing.

Money does matter, and the Church of Jesus Christ uses donated funds very well. I've seen a lot of what donations do, and it's a lot of good. Your accusations are misplaced.

@@00Fisher00 these aren't accusations. They are material facts. They church doesn't even donate 1 percent of the interest off their investment earning interest, to charity annual. It's a racket. They made me pay my birthday money each year from age 3 to 7, to a program called "pennies by the inch", for primary Children's Hospital so that other kids like me won't die as it would be my fault if I didn't donate to save their life. I was forced ro donate, via guilt trips, to friends of scouting my whole life, despite NOT being allowed to participate in scouting myself, as a girl. I was told, since age 7 to prepare for baptism by donating to tithing and fast, until just a few years ago, to remain worthy and show my dedication to Jesus that I was keeping my baptismal covenants, and to be worthy to enter the temple to marry and keep my husband, and to show continued worthiness to enter the temple and be a member in good standing. After a car accident and Brain injury, i wasn't able to work and couldn't pay my bills. I didn't pay tithing at this time. The Bishop texted me and told me I needed to pay tithing. He helped me with food. I asked him what I pay tithing from as I didn't have income, I was raking in thousands in medical bills and living off my savings. He demanded donations anyway. I borrowed money from my dad to pay tithing to get the bishop off my back. I was a conformist and didn't want to cause trouble. I wasn't even bringing in an income. It was sick he asked me to in the first place but even more gross knowing that the church is hording billions and could have helped me in a very challenging time. I have paid to send off missionaries. Paid to feed missionaries. Paid for ward party meals and funeral meals. I have given thousands of hours and hours of free labor, cleaned toilets, cleaned the temple, working in factories using vacation time from work, worked at the storehouse and worked as a child on the churches farms without pay. And then when I became disabled and needed help the church directed me to the state for help and said point blank, we don't have the resources to help you as our ward has many needs and donations from fast offerings is NOT sufficient. They didn't help me. I am still disabled and living alone. And so I know what I am talking about when I say extort its members including children. I lived it. I see it. The church does it to others...while hoarding billions. Once you donate any money, as required to be in good standing, the church assumes it their own property and can buy a strip club if they want to. Or a City Creek high end housing and mall plaza, for profit. Or they can buy a Marriott Hotel in Hawaii. Or pay millions annually to educate General Authority children. Or pay Mission Presidents and temple presidents and their family's a salary, stipents, all expenses paid plus medical, incidentals, eating out, for a maid and cook, a car, gas card and free education for all their children, airfare for their family to visit, and more. From the disabled persons mandatory tithing.

Yes.

It actually wasn't. It was started by a conman. And this is the evidence to prove it.

😂

Pyramid scheme

Wow, such judgement with no knowledge of anything at all. Where do you people get your thoughts and ideas from? Oh, I forgot, sorry. The other side.

The most crooked people I've met in my life are Utah Mormons.

@@MichaelJones-lh1ug They broke the law. Lots of us DO know and have followed their corruption closely.

​@Michael Jones there are many "sides" here. Many ways to approach criticism of the church. This is merely the tip of an enormous iceberg. If you openly and honestly ask questions, if you have humility, then you must admit the wrongs of the church. Anything else is either the burying of heads in sand or an attempt to rationalize anything unsavory away.

Nope. She gives 10%.

What are you, an unemployed sociologist? And did you write 3 after smoking a joint?

And…you’d be wrong.

@@auggiedoggiesmommy1734 who is wrong?

I’m sick of the US government’s wasteful practices and oftentimes wasted taxation used as a red herring for what-aboutism in defending the church’s dishonesty and greedy stewardship of funds.

@@bob15479 I'm riled of taxation being the end result of every conclusion when people conclude the church has been dishonest. The fact is you worship the state

Facts, and nothing but facts 😂

You mean all the smart, well-educated people? Absolutely.

@@maryvallettakeith6146 woahhh

@@maryvallettakeith6146 no my first comment was correct 😂 and why y’all tryna beat a dead horse, they fined us 5 million. IRS are all good now 😂

@@MrMahazestar some of the ones that leave the church just don't stop. Like if you leave you leave. Most of them just can't stop being negative. Like I'm a half a church member and I'll never bad mouth the church. Some of these inactive and excommunicated are outrageous

We're already taxed before we donate to a wonderful organization that uses our donations to help people.

​@@00Fisher00 facts

AMSR for Mormons. The rest of us call it cultspeak. And thanks for the info. I didn't know that about Waddell, yikes.

He sounded just like Mitt Romney.

Your bias is showing. He's merely speaking calmly--that's it. And while he does know quite a bit about finances of the Church of Jesus Christ, he's under no obligation to disclose information; financial confidentiality is normal, both for individuals and for organizations. It's his responsibility to be prudent. You might want to examine your reasons for the unwarranted bias that is skewing your perception here.

@@00Fisher00 "while he does know quite a bit about finances of the Church of Jesus Christ..." Really? REALLY? He's one of three money men that know EVERYTHING about the Church's finances. Get a grip. And "biased?" No BASED. I know exactly how MY Church runs. Been in it my entire life. Uintah Basin born and raised. My church is ran by finaciers, money-men, and the money-changers in the Temple. FACTS. It's been distorted, twisted, and hijacked by creeps like Waddell. When the Lord Returns, he will dispense justice. He will clear out the Temple.

@@jaygosev3589 I'm not saying he's ignorant about Church finances. I'm saying that organizations don't have obligations to disclose all of their financial information. It makes perfect sense that the Church of Jesus Christ would save and invest money, and it makes perfect sense that the Church would make use of people who are capable in matters of finance. When I see how much good the Church is doing, particularly during difficult economic times such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic, and I see that the Church is still operating like normal despite many expenses, I am glad that Church finances are being managed so well. I see nothing "distorted", "twisted", or "hijacked". I see prudent financial management that does a lot of good. I'm sorry you choose to not see that.

What half truths are you talking about?

ha! ha! ha! "saints"?? 'true'?? yea, right... God doesn't deal with "church" nor church names. he deals with the heart, soul, mind and obedience to Him.

He's not lying at all. Saving and investing money is not obscene, especially when it allows the Church of Jesus Christ to support many relief projects and continue operating normally. You should look into the many good things that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does to help people.

@@00Fisher00 They should help more since they are hording over 100 billion dollars, whatever they are doing it clearly isn't enough.

@@PureBleachFilms What basis do you have for saying such a thing? Really--I challenge you to qualify your statements in any way. You have no concept of the Church's operating expenses, the Church's financial history and lessons learned from hard times, or the enormous amount of good the Church is doing in the world. The "hoarding" you mention is better described as simply "saving", and it's being done appropriately so that the Church can continue doing the many good things it does, rather than going bankrupt in the effort and losing its ability to do good. Members of the Church have donated these funds voluntarily, and we are happy to see the money used well. It is wrong for you to unjustly accuse others of deceit, especially when you're doing so from a position of utter ignorance about what they're actually doing. Would you like for me to explain the many good things the Church of Jesus Christ does? I would be more than happy to. You can also take a look at the Church Newsroom channel to see some of the major projects being undertaken and some of the large donations the Church makes to partner organizations. See what the Red Cross and UNICEF have to say about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. An accusatory stance toward the Church simply isn't justified.

He need that new bugatti

@@Twig3382 Leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ don't use Church money that way. They don't profit from added donations or the Church's returns on investments.

Actually, the church does give to the needy members

@@Sam-ps8zz read some of the comments in all the videos posted by 60 Minutes. The church members were NOT taken care of. Plenty of Mormons commenting on these videos. It's shameful what they have done.

@@deettekearns9092 the exceptions are often the loudest voices

@@Sam-ps8zz - Sure, you keep thinking that. It's not a church, it's a cult. No religious organization should require money to partake in faith.

@@Sam-ps8zz actually I know of plenty of members who went to their bishops and were totally dehumanized by them after asking for assistance, and some getting turned away. Its interesting that members are scrutinized for their faithfulness in tithing and when it comes to asking for assistance they are again scrutinized - tell me where the love of god is in all of that

Keep singing "All is well, all is well", Carroll. Your unfounded arrogance and that of the church is it's undoing. Not exemplifying the teaching of Jesus, being contradictory, teaching fallacies, and being no better than other faiths which Mormonism claims are apostate has exposed the church for the 19th century fabrication that it is. What does it profit a church to gain the world, but lose its soul? The church is souless and unfulfilling. Members have had enough.

More proof that religions use fear and intimidation to keep the members in line and continue forking over their tithes and offerings in order to ensure their salvation and a place with their all-powerful and loving God. If they don't, they'll suffer a "final doom of never-ending torment." That's called extortion.

@@ga6589 Sucks you feel so slighted by the Lord. Makes me sorrowful for the situation. Accountability to devine truth received will always feel uncomfortable and offensive to those who have rejected it. "It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities." Josiah Stamp

@@Arkangeler I do not feel slighted by your Lord, because I do not believe in myths or fairy tales. You've been indoctrinated and I feel sorry for you.

What about the people who quote provably false scriptures?

@@xapimaze The Book of Mormon is the true word of God and is another witness of Jesus Christ.