The soon to be Provo temple on stilts
While I sat in a business meeting yesterday in downtown Provo, I watched the construction of the new LDS temple (the former Provo tabernacle). Diggers and dump trucks were busy moving and hauling away dirt – my boys would have loved it! The construction workers were directing the trucks and doing all the other things you would expect on a construction site (minus the catcalls). I knew the outcome of all of this work would be a beautiful edifice that thousands of faithful Mormons would visit year round to do work for their own ancestors and/or complete strangers’ ancestors.
A “Villa” in Rosario
I never thought about the amount of money spent on temples until my mission in Rosario, Argentina. An investigator asked me how we, as a church, could spend so much money on our temples when there were so many people in need. I thought it was a valid question because I saw that need every day in Argentina. Every day. So like a good missionary, I went back to my apartment and studied in an effort to give her the best possible answer. I found nothing of substance. I used King David’s temple as an example of getting the finest things to construct his temple as an offering to the Lord, but that is all I could pull out of my missionary hat. “Only the best for the Lord” was my conclusion. But I just couldn’t make it work for me mentally because of the endless poverty I saw and smelled. My heart ached every day for those poor people living in unthinkable conditions.
“Let’s go shopping!”
Money, in regards to the LDS church, has become a sore spot for me particularly this past year when the church completed the highly controversial City Creek Center. An estimated 1.5 billion dollars (yes, that’s billion with a “b”) was spent to complete this mammoth project – the only shopping center being built in all of America at the time due to the poor economy. (Deseret News) Ever since the mall’s completion I have found myself questioning where the church spends its money and why. So as I watched all of the trucks and diggers at work on the new temple, I couldn’t help but wonder what the final price tag would be.
Let’s look at some numbers. The Washington DC temple is estimated to have cost 15 million dollars, back in 1974. (Wikipedia) Now, while it is one of the larger temples, it still gives you an idea of how much a temple costs. There are now 140 temples in operation, 12 under construction, and around 10 more scheduled for construction. The future Philadelphia Temple is said to cost an estimated 70 million to construct. (The Philadelphia Inquirer) In addition to building costs, the church also spends money on the production and distribution of temple clothes and garments. The Church recently signed a 5 year deal with Ancestry.com that will set them back just a mere 60 million dollars. The plan is for the two entities to work together to dig into the deep genealogical vaults of the Mormon church to digitize and index up to 1 billion new records.(KSL)
Not only do we spend a lot of money on temples, we also spend a lot of time doing temple work. Temple work includes indexing names, going to the family history library, and going through the temple to do the work for our ancestors and/or other people’s ancestors. Volunteers are responsible for making sure the temples run smoothly. Volunteers also assist patrons in the library. Additionally, volunteers on the ward level also help members with family history work. Hours and hours of time are spent on temple work. In the 1950s the church’s computer planning committee concluded that given the estimated 70 billion people who had been born on the earth, all LDS adults working in temples for eight hours a day, seven days a week, would not be able to keep up with world population growth, much less complete ordinance work for deceased ancestors. In other words, there is no way we can do the work to keep up with current deaths let alone go back and play catch up with those who have passed. New estimates of people that have lived on the earth are now at 100 -115 billion. Also you will see in the near future that the Church wants members to focus on doing work just for their relatives. This new program is called “Engage Effort”. Which means back in the day when I did baptisms for the dead as a youth I was baptized at least 30 times for complete strangers. This will not be the case soon as patrons of the temple will have to bring their own names and therefore less and less work will be done.
Washington DC LDS Temple
All of the money and time being spent on temples and temple work lead to the conclusion that the temple is the most important thing in the world for members of the church. I’m sure we can agree on that. Temple attendance is the goal we all work toward. It is the pinnacle of Mormondom. I can completely appreciate our faith connecting us to our ancestors. And I can appreciate how our faith has a back-up plan for those that didn’t hear the gospel during their lives here on earth. I can also appreciate knowing your family history. I can appreciate ritual. Likewise, I can appreciate having a place where one can go to feel peace, a refuge. But I can’t push this question out of my mind: At what cost? Which leads me also to wonder what Jesus would do.
“Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.” In this scripture Jesus was talking about “secondary burial,” which is where a family member gathered the bones of a relative who had been dead a year and then put it in an ossuary (a stone box for the bones). It seems what Jesus was saying here was don’t worry about the dead, or any other ritual for the dead, but go and take care of the living.
In 2009 the church created a fourth mission – one that we don’t really talk about. In fact if you search for “4th mission of the church” or “fourth mission of the church” on lds.org in the General Conference talks your results will be ZERO. The fourth mission of the church is Caring for the Poor and Needy. And while we do dedicate a Sunday each month to fasting and then offer the money we would have spent on those missed meals to the poor and needy, I have never been in a ward where this mission was every discussed anywhere.
When Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast last year I remember how touched I was to see all the volunteers in their yellow Helping Hands vests. The church is extremely organized and efficient when a disaster happens and we really focus on a project. But can we do more? I would shout YES! What if we “let the dead bury their dead” and we instead used those resources to take care of the living? Can you imagine the results? You should be able to imagine the results because where we have gone and helped, we, as a church, have done AMAZING things.
The growing inequality of the people on the earth is striking. In the early 1900s, the difference between the poorest and the richest people of the earth was 1:6. Now the ratio is close to 1:76. The stats are shocking from an international perspective.
Studies have shown time and time again that stats are not helpful in creating empathy. Perhaps it would be different if we brought those stats a little closer to home. Brad Walker is a public health physician in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is also a cofounder of the Liahona Children’s Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to solve the problem of malnutrition and illiteracy in the LDS community in parts of Ecuador and Guatemala. Dr. Walker is incredibly knowledgeable and I highly encourage you to check out his interview on By Common Consent here. The following are his researched stats:
- 80,000 active LDS kids suffer from chronic malnutrition. Malnutrition is often an issue that does not get enough attention. We often think of starvation as the big killer, but malnutrition often leads to death, and if not death, developmental delays that are passed from generation to generation. Girls who do not have enough iodine (which is very inexpensive) will not only be developmentally delayed themselves but will also pass the effects of their deficiency to their children with disastrous consequences that never seem to resolve but continually worsen.
- 900 active LDS kids die per year from the effects of malnutrition – that is 2.4 LDS children a day. I cannot express how haunting this statistic is to me. Bishops are limited in the funds that they are allowed to get and are required to rotate through families who are able to receive assistance. What are we doing? I can’t comprehend how even one child dies from a lack of adequate food when they belong to a church that has the means and the capacities that we have.
On a global scale, 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes every day. (breadoftheworld) That is one child every five seconds. A child just died after reading that sentence. If we add deaths related to unclean drinking water, the rates continue to rise. While international issues are complicated and long-term stability is often not under the control of the church, we can do more. We must not only look at the long-term systemic issues but also the immediate consequences of our lack of action.
Now, food insecurity exists in the developed world too – 19% of those suffering are in the developed world. We need to improve the process for helping the poor in our own backyard. The food insecurity in Utah is very close to the national average. (USDA Economic Research Service) I find that shocking since we have welfare square and canneries and bishop’s storehouses. A friend told me a story about her Methodist mother who came to visit for Thanksgiving. They went to Salt Lake City the day before Thanksgiving and when they drove past Pioneer park (in -3 degree weather) they saw a huge line up of families – most with little kids – standing in the bitter cold waiting for food. My friend’s mother turned to my friend and asked, “What is wrong with your church? They can build fancy temples but they cannot feed the poor.” My friend had no answer.
Doctrine and Covenants 18 commands us to consider the worth of every soul. And while it is referencing bringing them to Christ through repentance, how is there anything more uplifting than saving a life? Jesus set an amazing pattern for helping to meet basic physical needs and then teaching the gospel. We must ask ourselves: Is there anything more uplifting than helping others? Is there a holier ground than where service is rendered? Does this scripture apply to us?
So what are possible steps we could take? I have some ideas…
1- We need to begin to discuss the fourth mission of the church.
We need to talk about it in our talks, in our meetings, in our classes, in our homes, and in our prayers. Have you heard about the fourth mission of the church? Did you even know it existed? I have been attending church for 38 years and had never once heard of the fourth mission of the church until I began doing research for this post. When I asked close friends about the mission, they too had never heard of it. On the flip side, I have heard plenty of talks on the importance of temples and family history.
2- We should consider service missions.
When I was on my mission in Argentina, we dedicated a maximum of four hours a week to service. What if we changed that to four days dedicated to service work? This would be an easy adjustment – a simple change in the missionary handbook to increase service hours. There are actually pilot mission programs right now in Northern California, Colorado and Texas that include more service hours. Awesome! Read about it here.
We could even take it a step further and offer missionaries the choice between a service mission and a proselytizing mission. Can you imagine the good that could be done? When we set our minds to it, we really do great things.
3- Balance temple and family history work with relevant and meaningful service for the living.
Temple service has an important place in LDS theology and in personal religiosity. But we need to find a balance in how we are encouraged to spend our time. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction…” (James 1:27) Caring for the Poor and Needy is religion in its purest form.
4- Tithing funds should be better used.
A lot of members are tapped out moneywise after paying a full tithe. They just can’t afford to give anymore. It truly is a sacrifice. I feel like these sacred funds and the interest these funds gain should be better used toward the fourth mission of the church. Right now, according to Mormon.org, tithing funds are used for:
- Constructing temples, chapels, and other buildings.
- Providing operating funds for the Church.
- Funding the missionary program (This does not include individual missionary expenses.)
- Preparing materials used in Church classes and organizations.
- Temple work, family history, and many other important Church functions.
- Education. (Which includes BYU, BYUI, including offsetting tuition cost)
If we could set aside some money for the fourth mission of the church we could do a lot! Most experts would agree that a dollar a day would provide the means to save a life – including much-needed vaccines and clean water. So let’s say that $365 would sustain one life for a year (let’s also assume that after a year, recipients would be healthy enough to be able to provide for themselves). Now, if we divide, say, 1.5 billion dollars (which just happens to be the amount of money spent on the City Creek mall*) by $365, we get 4,109,589. That is over 4 MILLION lives. The Liahona Children’s Foundation says it cost $50 to meet a child’s nutritional needs and an additional $50 to send them to school. That’s $100 to feed and educate a child. At that rate we could have saved and educated 15 million lives.
(*I know, I know – money for the City Creek Center came from interest gained on members’ tithing as well as other Church business ventures, not from tithing directly. But it is still the church spending money.)
5- The LDS church needs to show their books.
Show me the money!
The only way we can hold our leadership accountable for how church funds are used is if we know how they are used! Show us the books! “By common consent” is a phrase used a lot in the Doctrine & Covenants: D&C 20:63 (elders to receive license by vote of Church), D&C 20:65-66 (vote required for ordination in Church), D&C 26:2 (all things to be done by common consent), D&C38:34 (men to be appointed by voice of Church), D&C 41:9 (Edward Partridge to be appointed bishop by voice of Church), D&C 51:4 (transgressors to be accounted unworthy by voice of Church), D&C 104:21 (let all things be done by united consent), D&C124:144 (fill all these offices and approve of those names), and the big one – D&C 104: 71-72 (nothing to be taken from treasury except by voice or common consent of order), etc. All things must be done “by common consent.” In most countries outside of the USA, the church is required to open their books, holding it more accountable to the funds that are spent.
Below is an example of what was reported by the church in New Zealand in 2010. They are required to show their books. Pretty straightforward. (To read more about the numbers in New Zealand click here.)
“This is gold, two more people”
As I have engrossed myself in this essay, I’ve continually been reminded of the movie Schindler’s List. In the movie, the main character Schindler was able to literally buy Jews to have them work in his factories. By doing this he saved 1,200 lives. Toward the end of the movie when World War II was coming to a close, Schindler was among the 1,200 Jews that he saved from the concentration camps. Here is the dialog:
Schindler and Emilie emerge from his quarters, each carrying a small
suitcase. In the dark, some distance away from his Mercedes, stand all
twelve hundred workers. As Schindler and his wife cross the courtyard
to the car, Stern and Levartov approach. The rabbi hands him some
papers.
LEVARTOV
We've written a letter trying to explain
things. In case you're captured. Every
workers has signed it.
Schindler sees a list of signatures beginning below the typewritten text
and continuing for several pages. He pockets it, this new list of
names.
SCHINDLER
Thank you.
Stern steps forward and places a ring in Schindler's hand. It's a gold
band, like a wedding ring. Schindler notices an inscription inside it.
STERN
It's Hebrew. It says, 'Whoever saves
one life, saves the world.'
Schindler slips the ring onto a finger, admires it a moment, nods his
thanks, then seems to withdraw.
SCHINDLER
(to himself)
I could've got more out .
Stern isn't sure he heard right. Schindler steps away from him, from
his wife, from the car, from the workers.
SCHINDLER
(to himself)
I could've got more . if I'd just . I don't
know, if I'd just . I could've got more.
STERN
Oskar, there are twelve hundred people who
are alive because of you. Look at them.
He can't.
SCHINDLER
If I'd made more money .I threw away
so much money, you have no idea.
If I'd just .
STERN
There will be generations because of
what you did.
SCHINDLER
I didn't do enough.
STERN
You did so much.
Schindler starts to lose it, the tears coming. Stern, too. The look on
Schindler's face as his eyes sweep across the faces of the workers is
one of apology, begging them to forgive him for not doing more.
SCHINDLER
This car. Goeth would've bought this car.
Why did I keep the car? Ten people,
right there, ten more I could've got.
(looking around)
This pin -
He rips the elaborate Hakenkreus, the swastika, from his lapel and holds
it out to Stern pathetically.
SCHINDLER
Two people. This is gold. Two more people.
He would've given me two for it. At least one.
He would've given me one. One more. One
more person. A person, Stern. For this.
One more. I could've gotten one more person
I didn't.
He completely breaks down, weeping convulsively, the emotion he's been
holding in for years spilling out, the guilt consuming him.
SCHINDLER
They killed so many people .
(Stern, weeping too,
embraces him)
They killed so many people .
From above, from a watchtower, Stern can be seen down below, trying to
comfort Schindler. Eventually, they separate, and Schindler and Emilie
climb into the Mercedes. It slowly pulls out through the gates of the
camp. And drives away.
Poverty in Argentina
This was such a powerful part of the movie. After reading the transcript of what Schindler said, I couldn’t help reflecting on a General Conference talk given just this last October called “Temple Standard” (you can read it here). This talk went over how temple construction is extremely meticulous. An example that was given was regarding a window that was just a hair off – “one-eighth of an inch (3 mm) crooked.” Direction was then given to the contractor that the window would need to be replaced because it was not “temple standard.” Mormon 8:37 reads: “For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.” This General Conference talk was hard to swallow knowing how that energy and money could have saved a life or many lives. How many lives to replace that crooked window? How many lives for that chandelier? How many lives for that golden Moroni? How many lives? “Whoever saves one life, saves the world” – just imagine if we saved 4 million lives. Let’s do this!
Jesus, once again the master teacher, asked Peter, “do you love me?” The exchange is clearer in Greek. Jesus was asking Peter if he loved him with his whole soul. Peter answered, yes, but in a less committed way. So Jesus kept asking until Peter was grieved and finally understood that Jesus required his whole heart. I feel that is often how we approach serving the poor; we do it with only part of our soul. But Jesus is calling us to feed his sheep – physically, right now! There was a BYU forum a few years ago featuring the president of Walden Media. He said something profound that I will try to paraphrase: If we are striving to follow God, eventually what breaks God’s heart will begin to break our hearts. And in that space, God can plant a seed that will allow us to use our voices, our bodies, and our love to truly change the world. Maybe we as a people can catch the vision of President Grant when he wanted “a system that would … reach out and take care of the people no matter what the cost.” He said he would even go so far as to “close the seminaries, shut down missionary work for a period of time, or even close the temples, but they would not let the people go hungry.” (The Sanctifying Work of Welfare, H. David Burton)
Pablo
Born and raised in Northern California, Pablo received his education at Ricks College and BYU with a BA in Spanish, minor in PE Coaching. Pablo served his LDS mission during the years 94-96 in Rosario, Argentina. He now runs a skate shop and batting cages in Orem, UT. He's married and has 4 boys.
All posts by Pablo
Paul, this is probably one of my favorite posts that I have read on your blog. Thank you. This is a big issue for me and one that pulls at my heart strings a lot. It has made me question so much regarding the church because of our lack of focus on those that need it so much. We are so worried about the dead when there are so many living that need so much help. There is so much more that the church could do….
Yes and we can be very good at it too!
This is one of the best posts I have read on this site. Very revealing and thought provoking. It has caused me to look at my own actions with a different lens. Do I love others enough to share my great blessings? Do I believe that God will provide for me if I give away what I have? My selfishness may grieve the Lord more than the poor person’s poverty, because poverty isn’t permanent, but selfishness could be. Well done, and thank you. Peace and Love.
Thank you for this. It expresses inchoate thoughts that have been percolating in my mind for the last several months.
I’m glad you like it Phil!
Moving and powerfully written! Loved the scene from Schindler’s List. I do not see how we can continue to ignore the prophetic voice of the BOM condemning what we are doing. Mormon 8:35-39.
Schindler, really brings it home for me… it is the perfect example how much we can do.
I agree. It hit me in what seemed so obscene when I read an Ensign article. In what was supposed to be a very faith promoting story, it detailed a poor African who took their gold fillings out of their teeth and gave to a GA to build temples with.
It was supposed to be an “Ahh, that was so moving” sort of thing that makes us get the check book out and happily give more. To me, it gave me such feelings of shame. Shame that I belong to a very rich organization that takes gold fillings out of the mouths of the poorest of the poor, and uses it as a way to ask others to give also. That seems so obscene to me. It’s shameful.
The poorest of the poor shouldn’t have to feel the guilt of the character from the movie, the rich should be feeling it. Just the stipend that is given to a GA every year is probably more than the African person in the story will earn in a lifetime.
That’s pretty messed up.
Ron I just added this scripture to the blog. I can’t believe I missed it.
Wonderful piece. I have often reflected on these things. I may not be able to control what the Church does, but I am a part of it, and I can do something. I started a blog called No Poor Among Them where a friend and I highlight LDS Humanitarians who are working to alleviate poverty in the world. It is humbling to see these people taking our fourth mission seriously. Brad Walker of the Liahona Children’s Foundation was my first interview.
Dave awesome!!! I’m going to check it out. I would love for you to do a post on our blog to get more attention to what you are doing.
Let’s make it happen!
email me at pdiablo2 (at) gmail.com
Dave I am in love with your blog.
That’s great! You may be the first one! If you have any orgs or content you’d like us to add let us know. nopooramongthem@gmail.com
Dave,
You need to do a post for us.
I’ll email Paul and see what we can figure out. Thanks!
There is much about this I agree with. By the way, according to news stories, the church disclosed that the Philadelphia Temple would cost them 70 million to construct. They said that publicly as part of their battle to have the right to build it.
1st, let me disagree. I don’t mind that their books are closed, though you make a strong scriptural argument against it. I don’t mind that they build beautiful Houses to the Lord. And I don’t even mind the City Center, though I wish it hadn’t been so expensive. They felt they had to insulate Temple Square from being in the center of slums.
But I 100% agree that more should be done for the needy. I wish the missionaries did more in the community. I wish we gave away more money to the needy, beyond what occurs at Bishop’s Storehouses and such. I wish we made a greater effort. I live only 200 miles from the devastation in OKC from the tornado and hope we are called upon to go help clean up. The church is wealthy beyond measure and the true numbers would probably be a disincentive for some to stop giving a tithe. But if we have the resources, we should be out there doing more and giving more.
I would say if they knew their funds were being spent in a way that they approved of, like helping bring clean water to people, I don’t think they would stop giving at all. In fact, I would say they would be more inclined to give more.
I had a meeting with my Stake President last night and I asked him about his thoughts on this issue. I shared my concerned and asked him about the “common consent” regarding the treasury of the church. I asked how we could sustain by common consent what isn’t seen or known.
He reminded me that the books are viewed by accounting officials from top to bottom and are approved by their standards. The issue is brought before us at conference and we are asked to sustain their findings by raising the right hand. So in other words, they are keeping the “by common consent” doctrine by having their books examined and having the members sustain the review by professionals.
I get that this isn’t going to satisfy you but this is what the church’s position is. He agreed by the way, that the church should and is doing more to help others. He pointed to justserve as a pilot program that is expanding that should create more opportunities for service.
Just because the books are done according to industry standards of accounting in no way means that it is what they should be doing with the funds for the Lord’s one true church. No transparency…no common consent…
Garrett, when the 1st presidency stands before the body of the church in Conference and reports that this accounting firm reviewed the books and found them to be in order, you are given the right to oppose when he asks, “any oppose by the same sign”. That’s the common consent.
I agree with a great deal of this post, but the church would contend that transparency and common consent are not mutually exclusive. Because you don’t see the numbers doesn’t mean that nobody sees the numbers.
Not everyone got to see the gold plates either, though some did. We can believe or not believe our leaders.
Simple answer of just opening the books… nothing wrong with common consent.
Compare the church outside the USA like New Zealand that are required by law to show the books. We need that here. We stopped doing it because we started making money. I need to do a post when exactly we stopped doing it.
But how brave of you to discuss this with your SP. Good work.
I think my definition of the slums is very different. For me it is an issue of opportunity cost.
Jason,
Greg Prince recently did a post for us that I think you would love:
http://rationalfaiths.com/sea-of-change/
Jason,
Do you really see a shopping mall as the only buffer available to separate the Temple from slums? A park or green space would also serve the purpose. Alternatively if the Church really wanted every member to have an affordable way to enter the temple they could use a portion of each stake center. The pay to play method of gaining Celestial glory makes me sick.
I’m not defending the construction of the City Center and in fact, I have never even seen it. However, I’m sure the thought behind its construction was to revitalize and clean up the downtown area around temple square. Sure, there was probably other, more cost effective ways to address this concern of theirs.
way more different ways to do it that wouldn’t be in the billions.
Paul, this is an amazing post! Thank you!
But for a little push back. You recognize the need for connecting with ancestors and family history work. While temples right now are probably used more for work for the dead and not living ordinances, how can we save money by changing that? Build even smaller temples? Use chapels to perform living ordinances, and thus reducing travel expenses for millions of members of the church? What’s a solution to that problem?
Jon,
In Buerger’s book “The Mysteries of Godliness” he spoke about the idea during McKay’s time of a “floating temple”. It was a boat that would dock at different ports for a space of time and people could do temple work there. He also proposed the idea of making part of the Stake Centers tranformable so endowments and other rituals could be performed.
Jon all good ideas.
I read an argument from a former member now critic of the Church who dissected a figure once used at General Conference. It was said that from 1985 to 2009, the church gave 327 million in cash for relief aid, and another 884 million in supplies, etc.
The church probably takes in about 8 billion per year, assuming 4 million of the 15 million tithe, and their contribution is 10% of $20,000 ($2000/year). Maybe that’s guessing high but some people (like Romney’s and many others) give way, WAY more than that.
When you stop to consider the church gave only 1.1 billion in aid over a 25 year period, or 44 million a year, it does seem small.
In fairness, this figure probably doesn’t include the bishops who paid rent and utilities for a member of their ward. It might not include food given from the bishop’s storehouse. It probably doesn’t include the fact that BYU operates at a loss so more can attend, or that they have other schools they operate throughout the world. And it certainly doesn’t include the millions of man hours they donate.
Still, it goes to the article Paul wrote where I think the church can and should do more to help the needy.
“In fairness, this figure probably doesn’t include the bishops who paid rent and utilities for a member of their ward. It might not include food given from the bishop’s storehouse. It probably doesn’t include the fact that BYU operates at a loss so more can attend, or that they have other schools they operate throughout the world. And it certainly doesn’t include the millions of man hours they donate.”
This is a valid argument. However, all of the money paid out as fast offerings is simply the church returning funds that its members paid in. It is money that could have easily been kept by the members to actually pay their bill instead of paying tithing and then asking for money back to make ends meet. The millions of man hours…those are all from the members…time and money donated by the members. Oftentimes members are donating their own money for things outside of tithing and fast offerings for things where the church could easily fund it as well. But instead, they choose to stockpile their money in rainy day funds. The whole argument that CIty Creek was helping to insulate Temple square and everything else doesnt make sense. SLC was far from deteriorating to the point that a mall was needed like that…and everyone knows that a mall is not the best way to reviatalize anyway. There are so many things that would have done a better job and been more efficient. There are many many many communities all around the world that needed “revitalized” so much more than SLC.
All about balance and opening the books for me.
Jason – I just found this scriptures in my studies this morning.. For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted. Mormon 8:37. Tough not to apply here.
Good stuff Paul! Enjoyed it!
RG3 is reading my blog?!?!?! HOLY HELL!!!!
I hope your knee is fine RG3 🙂
I remember hearing about the 4th mission a couple of years ago and thinking, “Yes! Finally!” But I haven’t heard a thing about it since.
I feel some discordance with the idea that temples are supposed to be the finest of buildings, with no crooked windows. I guess that is supposed to be an offering to the Lord? But, I’d much rather that we, as a church, focus on what the Lord has actually ASKED us to offer. You know: broken hearts, contrite spirits, and something about giving all we have unto the poor (law of consecration? what?). Call me crazy, but it seems like temple ordinances would be just as meaningful (more meaningful?) if done in more modest buildings.
2 Nephi 28:13 “They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries…”
I love this post so much. Thanks, Paul.
What if we were not known for “temple building people” but known for our amazing soup kitchens!
indeed.
I wonder what kind of soup kitchen $4 billion would build…? I wouldn’t even mind if they put some kind of fancy fountain in there somewhere.
Maybe even a spa here and there…
And those Relief Society sisters know how to cook a mean soup. Let’s do it.
No doubt!!!
FYI, all the great work the church does with disaster relief comes from the church Humanitarian Fund, not from tithing, not from fast offerings.
The church tends to overstate the amount donated when it counts the value of all the man-hours contributed. That is value that came from the individual members, not from church headquarters.
Yes Rebecca! The members are always willing
I agree wholeheartedly about the extravagant expenditures on temples, especially when so very few people actually do research on family history or attend the temple. From what I have read, as a FHC director, only 4% of the membership, if that, actually are involved in doing any family history. I attend the temple, 100 miles away, maybe once or twice a year, and have no intention of increasing that. While I like doing research for my own satisfaction, and I like helping others do it, members really are not committed to this mission of the church, and it pains me that so much is spent on a futile endeavor which doesn’t really matter to most LDS.
Carolyn when you do go, how packed are the sessions?
As a temple worker who has spent a lot of time there, I’m torn by this too. On the one hand, I love that the temple is a beautiful place where members can come together, meet and worship on an equal footing, regardless of their station outside those walls. Everyone is dressed pretty similarly and even the poorest of the poor can enjoy being in that beautiful place.
I’m also in the EQ presidency and one of the few endowed members in my little branch full of African immigrants. I’ve had to teach about the temple and didn’t shy away from asking the question of why we build these big, immaculate chapels and temples in poor areas of the world (as well as here). Is it ostentatious and off-putting? Or inspiring? In my experience, even among the poorer populations, people see it both ways.
Another question is: as the percentage of Mormons living outside of developed countries continues to grow, will tithing receipts be enough to continue to building & operating Western-style chapels and temples throughout the world? I think it’s pretty well understood that rich-country members subsidize the Church elsewhere, though it’s unclear at what point that imbalance would potentially force some operational changes.
But I agree that books should be opened up again. They were made public until a “build it & they will come” chapel construction spree led to deficits after 1959 that Henry Moyle wanted to hide. I don’t doubt that current leaders want similar protection from criticism of their spending habits and priorities. But all stewards must give an accounting, and if they truly are being led with a prophetic mantle, then leaders should be able to justify their decisions to the membership, not just God.
For the record: growing up I was very unsure if I wanted to serve a proselyting mission and didn’t do so until after finishing college – at which point I was tired of focusing on myself and felt the need to serve others. I’d have definitely jumped at the opportunity to do a full-time service mission though.
Great insight thank you Spencer.
I do agree that we could get even more missionaries out if they knew they were going to do a service mission.
Paul, enjoyed your article, thanks for thoughts
Brad!! Thank you for your work you do! We would love for you to post on our blog to get the word out and to raise funds. My mother is Guatemalan and it touches my heart that you are helping my people!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsUXMk3KsIY
The link above is for a video that was posted on youtube. I think it fits this subject very well
I watched the video and I thought it made a good argument. I am concerned though at the implication that the Church or its leaders are straying away from Christ or are apostatizing. The video referenced a quote given many years ago that said that half of the church would stray away and that SLC would become a wicked place. That might indeed by true but I’m not about to suggest that the General Authorities who authorized City Creek be considered as leading us astray.
Yes. This.
A temple was recently built in my city. Many people I know went through the open house and came back and commented to me on how extravagant it was, perhaps expecting me to defend it. I couldn’t, and surprised many of them with my response. I wish the money was spent elsewhere – at the local homeless shelters, and employment support programs. I drive past it several times a week, and each time it reaffirms my belief that “consecrating time and talent to build up the kingdom of god” means supporting humankind and helping provide everyone with opportunities and the essentials.
For this reason, I redirect a lot of my “tithes” to other organizations, and give more time to agencies that resonate with my personal interests in international development than I do the Church. I don’t believe this is me shirking my duties as a faithful church member at all, as some I’ve had some people imply that I am.
You are ok in my book Maddie!
Dallin H. Oaks spoke against the practice of giving to charity in lieu of tithing in his April 1994 talk. I don’t begrudge those who give to meaningful charity but I don’t endorse doing that instead of tithing.
While I agree that the church should do more for the sick and the needy throughout the world, I’m not in favor of taking the decision out of the hands of the General Authorities and spending my own tithing as I see fit, rather than giving to them to do what they see fit.
I’m ok with her giving because, well she is giving.
Great article!
In addition to the money itself, I never really thought of the opportunity costs of the labor which goes into servicing temples.
LDS people are very generous with their time. So it seems a shame that it should be wasted just to keep people busy and obligated to show up to fulfill their responsibilities. So why not create some sort of online labor market in which those without callings can make meaningful contributions, similar to Amazon’s Mechanical Turk? Online callings, if you will. With such an array of talent among the members and the increasing convenience of online coordination, it seems like the church could provide impactful service opportunities even for those who are geographically separated from those who actually NEED service.
That’s a great idea Josh!
This was a wonderful, heart wrenching, thought provoking work of art. Thank you for your thought and effort.
There are just a few questions about things you say. You use the fact of searching for ‘fourth mission’ on lds.org bringing up nothing. Well, searching for first, second, or third mission also just bring up stuff about Paul’s missions in the New Testament. If you search for a real term, like ‘caring for the poor and needy’, you actually get a wealth of links from times past and from the relative present.
My other question was on City Creek. You use 1.5 as what the church provided. I keep hearing 4 billion thrown out. They’re both huge numbers, but very very different nonetheless. Do they represent different things? Also, a few other elements of City Creek mitigate the cost, for me. The thousands of workers/workers families who received steady work during a deep recession was not trivial. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, still receive the benefit of employment through City Creek. And, if there is a positive financial return from this investment, it at some point will free up more funds for the kind of work you eloquently argue for here.
But regardless of these last small points, I have been deeply moved by what you’ve written.
I originally had 4 billion… but I couldn’t get a reliable source and I wanted to be responsible in my research. Thank you for your comment. Yes of course there are benefits to spending 1.5 or 4 billion dollars. But those benefits go to a certain small amount of people in a certain small area. The cost and risk are too great for what we can really do. We can save lives. We can do better, much better.
Paul, if the Church followed your priorities and the mindset put out in your articles, I would have some second thoughts about leaving. Not too many, but some. Please continue the good work to help an organization with so much potential become a beacon of charity, justice, and rational faith.
Cheers,
Wulf
Thanks Wulf!
What a well thought out article. Balanced and compassionate, yet brutally honest. I recently did some research on the amount the church spends for students’ tuition at BYU, BYUI and BYUH. It comes to about $500 million per year for the 35,000 students. From the BYU website, we learn that our tithing subsidizes 70% of these (arguably) wealthy, white kids’ education. Conversely, tthe church reports to having given 1.2 billion in aid since beginning humanitarian services. I think that is about $60 for each of us–ever. 1.2 billion is less that it spends every 2.5 years at BYU. We need to make sure that more tithing money is being spent on the fourth mission. To do anything less would be heartbreaking.
Bonnie! Thanks so much for your comment. I was going to mention BYU but I didn’t have any numbers.
Bonnie,
Please, please, pleae write a post for us about that.
This is beautiful. And perfect. I really appreciate how you offer concrete suggestions and ideas. Too often the bloggernacle is filled with complaints and few solutions. Well done, Paul. And I LOVE the Justserve program. Thanks for the link.
If Jesus came to visit today he wouldn’t go to the temple (or BYU or the Church Office Building.) He’d be under the freeway over-pass or at the women’s shelter or, perhaps, the prison. . . Also, isn’t the well-recognized, oft-quoted “Pride Cycle” typically about a 200-year turn?
200 year cycle is about right…
“In the 1950s the church’s computer planning committee concluded that given the estimated 70 billion people who had been born on the earth, all LDS adults working in temples for eight hours a day, seven days a week, would not be able to keep up with world population growth, much less complete ordinance work for deceased ancestors.”
I’ll buy that for the 1950s.
“In other words, there is no way we can do the work to keep up with current deaths let alone go back and play catch up with those who have passed.”
Whoa, huge logical jump here. Based on the large increase in the number of temples and members I don’t think we can make an assertion like this without doing the math.
And no, I’m not doing the math right now.
I’m not doing that math either, ha! Other than the Provo temple and some of the Utah temples, what other temples are packed every session? I remember doing a sessions in Oakland, American Fork, San Diego, Las Vegas and seeing hardly anyone there. So even though there are more temples I would argue that they are not very well attended. But again a big logical jump without numbers. I just don’t see us catching up or staying current with the work. We still have China and India to tackle. China! But yes, I would need to do the math and have some real numbers to compile, which just isn’t going to happen on my end.
Excellent article. Compassionate. Fair. Honest.
I mentioned the “fourth mission of the church” the other day and got confused stares back. I have heard it mentioned just once in a leadership meeting since its introduction.
The temple is beautiful. We clothe it with the very best we have because it is an offering to the Lord. But does anyone doubt that if the wealthy young ruler or anyone else had offered Christ a beautiful robe or a home that he would have given it away?
But now for some practical pushback. Would St. Paul’s Cathedral, St. Peter’s Bascilica or other beautiful religious structures still be in existence today if simple, functional structures were erected?
The excesses of the Catholic and Anglican church are sickening, but they also serve to attract people with means to give. Nobody helps the poor like the Catholics. In my community, we have many homeless shelters, soup kitchens, hospitals and schools that exist to serve the poor. Building something inspiring and lasting has helped the Catholic church to help others? Have they hurt them along the way too? Of course. But no church serves the poor like the Catholics. As wonderful as our storehouses and fast offering programs are, we don’t even come close.
You bring up great points and I think there is a balance there that needs to be reached. It would be nice to be known not just as a temple building people, but a poor helping people. I think that is the message of the gospel and that is what is so attractive about the gospel. “Is there any holier ground than when service is rendered?”
I’ve given a lot of thought to this post you authored Paul. While I agree that more funds should and could be redirected to help the poor and the needy, I’m uncomfortable about a few things.
Temples are suppose to be built to withstand the millennium. It is literally the House of the Lord, so I don’t take issue with the idea that they are so beautiful and ornate. Besides, they only build about 5 of them a year.
I wish the church used resources better than they did to construct the City Center but I’m reminded of the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants where the Lord says, my ways are not thy ways. Perhaps they knew something we didn’t.
And lastly, I’m uncomfortable by the suggestions made by some that the General Authorities are not in keeping with Christ’s teaching by building such buildings. I don’t agree that they are leading us astray by closing their books. The implication that the Savior would be angry about this isn’t what I believe at all.
Just like missionaries serving at 18, or women saying the prayer at church; doing more for those who have less is something they might embrace in the future. I hope that is the case. But until then, the church is no less true than it was before.
Jason – “But until then, the church is no less true than it was before.” I would categorize this as black or white thining. I have found in my life that things are not black or white. There are a lot of GREY areas. If we can let go of that right or wrong mentality, I think we can see a person or an organization that does good, can also has some faults. I feel like I have presented some honest questions and I applaud what the church has done, with an invitation to do better in some areas. We just can’t build malls or 70 million temples when people are starving, even our own people, my LDS people in Guatemala are malnourished. We can do better. We should never pass the living to help the dead.
BY COMMON CONSENT – it is in our scriptures. OPEN THE BOOKS. It is the only way to fulfill what has been revealed “by common consent”. This doesn’t exist if the books are not opened. How do we suppose to keep our leaders accountable? Or anyone? How does common consent work when we have no idea what is going on?
It is OK to be uncomfortable with some things! As soon as you get humans involved with anything, things can get a little messy. But we progress, make changes, let women pray, give the blacks the priesthood, etc. So my advice would be get comfy with being uncomfy. To summurize Holland – God has been dealing with imperfect humans since the beginning.
I’m hopeful for the future. The JustServe program I hope goes world wide and if it does we can do a lot of good there. A LOT. If we had a service only mission option, you would see an even BIGGER mad dash to put the papers in.
Big hugs.
I’m missing the link to the justserve program. Where is it?
Here you go http://www.justserve.org/
Bummer it is nowhere near me. Really cool. Thanks for passing this on.
I think there is a big meeting coming up next month – hopefully it is about this and about expanding the program.
And you are welcome
An excellent, EXCELLENT piece, Paul. Very thought provoking.
You bring to my mind a video just posted a day or two ago by another online friend that includes a sobering fly-through of the City Creek mall with verses from the Book of Mormon superimposed upon it. I have hope that your post and this video combine to inspire our fellow Saints to give more thought to the Fourth Mission of the Church:
This video was posted by someone else on this thread. I think it’s wrong on so many levels to assert that the LDS church is apostatizing from Christ because they built the City Center. Perhaps it wasn’t wise but to suggest or imply they are not in keeping with the Gospel is wrong. There is even the comment on the video about how many Saints in the last days will fall away. Are we suggesting that the Brethren who authorized City Creek are no longer inspired?
It’s wrong. You don’t have to like the expenditure and but it’s wrong to suggest that the LDS church is falling away from Christ.
There is a balance there… To suggest the brethren can make errors is just fine, well because they can and will in my opinion. And they will be the first to tell you that. Holland – God has been dealing with imperfect men since the start.
Paul, you write a great piece here and I find you raise some good questions. I have never seen the City Creek Mall so I cannot say one way or the other. I remember President Hinckley speaking in opening of Conference about purchasing the mall and protecting the integrity of the area. I wonder if rents are collected from the spaces used by retail shops and if those rents would offset the cost of the project? I hate to see anyone in need it breaks my heart so I hope for the 4th Mission.
Yes I’m sure they are trying to get every penny back on the investment.
That’s a lot of pennies…
150,000,000,000 pennies.
Paul, out of love and respect for the poor that I worked with in Africa, thank you so very much for this wonderful blog.
Returning to North America after spending so long among the poor of the earth created huge culture shock for me – we have so much. My husband and I live on just over $30,000 a year and that is very low compared to so many others living among us, yet compared with the extreme poverty of the Saints in Africa, we are stinking rich.
“City Creek Reserve is spending more than $1 million a day on construction, and the project ultimately will cost around $3 billion, said Chris Redgrave, a KSL executive who also chairs the Salt Lake Chamber’s Can-Do Coalition, which is looking for ways to jump-start the downtown economy.”
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705341784/Salt-Lake-City-high-rise-is-ready-for-occupancy-on-Main.html
Another 2 billion was spent in beautification of downtown SLC. Have any of the leaders been to a township in one of the undeveloped countries? That’s where you would find Jesus and it wouldn’t just be to teach them the gospel. He taught the gospel in the Sermon on the Mount and recognized the peoples’ need to eat also. Why Salt Lake City?
Do you have a reference for the 2 billion spent on beautification? Would love to put that in the post.
As a Perpetual Education Fund beneficiary and now living in Mexico, my home country, I don’t know if I necessarily agree with the writer’s approach. Yeah, there’s a huge need and striking levels of poverty in the world. But I think the Church has it right when it says all we need is education. Ripping Moronis off our temples may have fed me for a good six months, but having been able to go to BYU because of the generosity of PEF donors has completely changed my life for good. I am a business owner in my home country, employing individuals from my own people, allowing them to learn and serving clients around the world. We need to get rid of that simplistic vision of giving our goods to the needy. While effective and necessary in times of emergency, the best solution is, and will always be, beyond money and physical goods. It has to do with the way we share our knowledge and contribute to make people’s lives better. My two cents.
The Philadelphia temple is estimated 70 million to build. How many PEF loans do you think could be made with that money? How many stories like yours do you think we can have if we didn’t spend 70 million on that temple?
Or better yet…how many PEF loans could be made with $1.5billion? A whole lot more. On top of that, if you are looking at PEF loans, the church does not loan out any of the actual donations that come in. They are loaning out the interest from the member donations and sticking the actual donations into another rainy day fund. How much in rainy day funds does the church actually need…and why not have the members keep a little more in their pockets so they can actually afford to have their own rainy day funds…
The PEF donors are members, not the church. These are donated on top of paying 10%. The members are always willing with their time and money. I am addressing the church’s use of the funds.
There are some problems with your thinking…..
1) Heavenly Father oversees EVERYTHING the church does. The building of temples is by HIS direction.
2) When the scriptures talk about “by common consent” it is talking about when we sit in a meeting and are asked to agree or disagree on anything — like someone receiving a calling. Remember, the church is under HIS direction…we have a voice but the final decision is HIS to make.
3) the responsibility to aid the sick and the poor lies upon the shoulders of the members of the church. Like “every member a missionary”….how many have the opinion that “we have missionaries for that” so they don’t do any missionary work – not even when it comes to doing their visiting/home teaching to help re-activate or maintain activity in the ward. Home/visiting teaching is where we, as members, have the opportunity to ask, “is there anything you need help with?”….if this question is not asked or, worse, if the person being asked is too prideful to answer honestly then how are we to get them help? And don’t even get me started on how many members actually do their home/visiting teaching! I can’t tell you the last time I’ve seen a home/visiting teacher let alone even known whose list our family was on…..
4) imagine how much more the Lord could do in the world if EVERY MEMBER was a full tithe payer? Anyone who sees paying tithing as a burden does not understand the law of tithing nor do they understand how Heavenly Father works miracles.
5) the church is not responsible for taking care of everything….Jesus was talking to the PEOPLE not the church. How much would the world change if each member did 1 act of kindness each and every day? Instead, what I tend to hear, is “no one’s helping me why should help someone else?”….BECAUSE THERE ARE BLESSINGS TO BE HAD and Heavenly Father cannot give blessings to those who do not earn them – despite how many he’d like to give just because he loves us.
6) Doctrine and Covenants 138:48 “Foreshadowing the great work to be done in the temples of the Lord in the dispensation of the fulness of times, for the redemption of the dead, and the sealing of the children to their parents, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse and utterly wasted at his coming.”….yes, it saddens me that less than 4% are carrying this burden just as it saddens me that around 50% pay a full tithe….perhaps each member needs to re-evaluate themselves and set some goals to do better.
7) we’re told in the scriptures that if the prophet tries to lead the members astray he will be smitten where he stands….
FINALLY….you are treading in dangerous waters by telling the LORD what He should be doing. You lack information and understanding of how the Lord runs HIS church….instead of telling the General Authorities – who receive direction from the LORD – how things should be handled, perhaps you could make some changes of your own and work on how much you do for others.
We are currently living in Mexico and the poverty is challenging to say the least. The class system that has been present for generations is hard to understand BUT we look for ways to help as many as possible. We provide work to five people EVERY WEEK so they can give more to their children. We purchase our food from local markets instead of shopping at Walmart (and yes there’s a few nearby – we live in a large metropolitan city), we take the opportunity to attend the temple monthly (my husband and I take turns going with our 12-yr-old), we pay a full tithe EVERY MONTH….we pay fast offerings and give of our time and talents. I guess what I’m saying is this….as I read your very long post all that came into my mind was, “Judge not”….the piece of the picture that you hold is VERY small compared to the picture that Heavenly Father holds. I will continue to place my faith in HIM and to put my life into HIS hands….He does far more with it than I could ever do with Him!
Thanks for your comments, I’ll reply to each of these:
1 – Yes, but he works through imperfect people to do his work, always has. “..imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it.” (Elder Holland “Lord, I Believe” 2013 GC). With humans you get errors, no way around it.
2- By Common Consent – we don’t know the numbers so we can’t agree or disagree on ANYTHING.
3- Yes it does, and we do. We fund the PEF, we have been asked to give more to the mission funds all this while paying our tithing. The members are more than willing to give of their time and money and already do. The Church is going to build a new temple in Philadelphia. It will cost 70 million. Do we really need to pay that much? This is the question I am asking in this post.
4- I pretty sure I never called paying tithing a burden. So I don’t need to address this
5- Again, the members are very willing with their money and time to help out.
6- Yes the work is important, but in these piece I’m asking for balance. BALANCE – nothing too crazy.
7- Please refer to #1 Your stance if very black or white. There is GREY, trust me.
Your conclusion – Thank you for calling me to repentance, even though you have no idea how much I do or give to the poor.
Thank you for what you do there in Mexico. You are an example of what I was talking about in #3. The members like you are more than willing to give of their time and talents. I applaud you for your efforts. Keep on the good fight down there in Mexico. The mexicans have a special place in my heart.
I painted a pretty good picture. Building a mall for 1.5 million I actually need to change it to 3 billion. Building a temple for 70 million. Really does it need to be 70 million? Really a mall? You have seen the poverty in Mexico. I don’t know how you can realistically justify these cost. Explain to one of our own members that is malnutured that we can’t help him because well, there are some rich white people in SLC that want a mall in downtown.
Angela,
We are taught in the church that our leaders are fallible…that they have flaws…they they can make errors. However, in reading your post the conclusion can be made that you think the leaders of the church are infallible, that they cant make a mistake, and that they are always correct since God is directing the church and the “final decision is his to make.”
It is ironic that you stated at the end “I guess what I’m saying is this….as I read your very long post all that came into my mind was, “Judge not”.” And yet the entire comment you made was judging Paul on his post, judging members for not paying their full tithes, judging members for not being 100% temple goers, judging members for not doing their HT/VT every month, judging Paul personally when you know nothing of what he does to help others, etc.
Out of the park, Dude, in fact into the stratosphere!!!
Thanks dude – Ang cleaned up this essay big time!
I was discussing with my sister in law the other day that I would prefer my children have an experience similar to a mission that is more focused on serving those in need. I’d love for them to go to Africa to build wells or schools or teach English somewhere or work in an orphanage or something.
On another note, having a relative working for the church (at a temple), it has been very interesting to see how much extra time some employees put in (especially when they are working at the temple in a paid position) unpaid largely because of an attitude of a miserly church. (ie instead of working a normal day time shift as was outlined in the job, if there was a storm this person would come in for a few hours to plow, then go home for a few hours and come back and plow again all to avoid overtime.)
I’ve also heard a lot of the cost figures on just day to day maintenance (light bulbs, flowers, re-upholstery, repairs, etc.) and know that they have SO SO many volunteers. One person in my parents ward was a volunteer temple engineer. They had a couple of paid engineers and then this guy would go and work for a few hours every day as well.
I remember going and planting flowers on temple square as a YW service day. I’ve seen youth painting the fence around my temple. We have members clean the churches. Most genealogy work is done by volunteers/missionaries. Most people running the temple day in and day out are all volunteers so that the church doesn’t have to pay many employees. Members constantly buy things for their various callings and often don’t request reimbursement.
I applaud cutting costs and involving members who want to volunteer, but I have a hard time when you have all of that going on and are building an unnecessary high end mall. I have a problem when church employees feel an obligation to give extra time to their employer without financial compensation… when they are required to essentially be “on call” despite having set hours in the name of avoiding overtime.
Great points Paul. I would love to see the church more focused on service and see them giving more.
Paul, thank you for this post. I love how the Holy Spirit and light of truth work. Both my brother and I have been stirred deeply over the months following the completion of the City Creek Mall which may well have cost between $2B – $5B to build (remember it ran over budget). We both have concluded that laws which shield Churches from publishing their finances need to be revoked and the Church must publish detailed records of the dispensation of all funds especially of the secular holdings and perks given to Church leaders. “Trust but verify” is the rule. I’ve felt the same things about “common consent” which I believe is not used at this time except to sustain Church leaders where the outcome is always unanimous. I cannot fathom a membership that would approve the expenditure of any money for a shopping mall if it were put to a sustaining vote ESPECIALLY if members were given choices. I hope that what I am witnessing in you and others in my small circle of acquaintances is the start of a grassroots movement for reform.
Having recently come across a bunch of disturbing historical information about the church, I no longer want my 3 sons going on proselytizing missions but I would gladly send them to do a service mission under church direction. I only have 3 years until my oldest turns 19, so I’m doubtful this will be a choice by then. If ever. Thank you for sharing your thoughts so well!
PDX – thank you. I would my children to go on a service mission too. I have 11 years to go, so hopefully that will be available.
Hi Dear, are you actually visiting this site on a regular
basis, if so afterward you will without doubt get pleasant experience.
First of all, I’d like to commend Paul for writing this blog on this difficult subject. I also commend the many voices here who support his questioning of how the Church’s money should be spent. As a convert from Mexico, someone who has seen and lived poverty but also as someone who thanks to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the amazing blessings related to my membership I’m very much out of that circle. Last month, while talking to my sister in Mexico, who is not member about issues of money, she replied in a very candid manner: “Alejandro, what are you talking about? You’re the rich one of the family!” Something as honestly dispute but of course that’s her opinion. However thinking on her remarks I have come to realize that indeed, my affiliation with and activity in the the Church has improved my life in every sense, professionally, financially, intellectually, socially and all of this has happened without the need for changes in the Church. In fact, I support 150% what the Church does with the money it receives which BTW, is not Paul’s money or my money because once I give it is no longer mine: it’s the Lord’s and I fully support those men and women who he calls to use it as He would.
Like Jason, I understand the reasoning behind the construction of City Creek, which was to create a buffer zone around the Temple and beautify it’s surroundings, as per feeding the hungry and clothing the poor I am also a first hand witness because I was once an employee of the Welfare Department of the Church. Paul and all of those who seem to support him in questioning, should go and volunteer at the many Bishop’s Storehouses around the world. I’ve done it in Utah but also in Peru and Mexico. Have you done it Paul and company? What’s with this Schindler’s list guilt trip? Rodrigo seems to have had the same experience like me. I didn’t study at the Y because of the PEF, but I saw it working in the lives of many in South America recently while working for almost three years there.
Then, speaking about the Temples, do we know if the wise men’s gifts to Jesus were later donated to the poor? To me it’s interesting that we think only the dead benefit from temple service. I don’t want to be judgmental but I wonder it Paul’s supporters go frequently to the Temple. If they’d do, they’d know what kind of goodness it brings to a person’s soul and how much good results from that person to his/her neighbors near and far. People come out of the Temple ready to continue to do good, at least that’s what happen to me.
Lastly, let’s not forget the following Scripture passage pertaining to Jesus and the poor,
“Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying: ‘To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.’
When Jesus understood it, he said unto them: ‘Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. FOR YE HAVE THE POOR ALWAYS WITH YOU; but me ye have not always.” (Matthew 26:6-11).
Now my beloved friend, go ahead and argue that passage of the Bible and try to interpret it to your convenience but let it be known that the Church is doing much more than you or I know. There are charities which existence is justified to pass alone what the LDS Church donates, furthermore, the Church has elevated entire communities from dire poverty through employment at it’s ranches and business, many of which aren’t LDS, just check the City Creek. The idea that a plate of beans will end poverty is nonsensical. You elevate people through the Gospel first, which teaches people to seek betterment, then you educate, elevate, mentor and guide, and lastly, you provide them with gainful employment. That’s what Pres. Grant meant and did during the Depression. Yes he fed the hungry so that they’d have the strength to work and earn, not as alms but as a tool of recovery and self improvement.
Once again, well written blog, although a bit misguided, but that’s your privilege, which I respect.
Thank you for your point of view. Thank you for taking the time to read and post here. The questions I am trying to impose is, how much is too much? When does it become too much? The Church does a lot of good work, a lot. It is a force for good. I do not say that there is no value in temple worship. These were never the questions. These same questions I raise here, are the same questions we need to ask ourselves. Thank you for your help amongst the poor.
As to the scripture – we can go back and forth amongst the scriptures and pick them a part so they align with our point of view and apply them to that same manner. It is hard for me to swallow how much we pay for these temples, when there is so much need in the world today. I believe we can balance that out and I suggest ways we can do that in the post.
I’ve never thought of things in that way before. Thank you for the essay.
And that last paragraph – well done!