The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the potential to do $7 Billion a year of charitable work by allowing members to donate their tithing money to Local and International Charities instead of Salt Lake City. Let me explain how.

In 2019, a whistleblower revealed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had assets that had amassed in a fund called Ensign Peak. This fund was holding $100 Billion.

That was over a year ago. The church launched initial responses, the members worries were seemingly assuaged, and not much else has changed.  However, there are some of us, as members of the church, who have not been assuaged. The amount of money the church has amassed, off the back of our donations, does not sit well.

LDS prophet Joseph F. Smith, prophesied in 1907:

“I want to say to you, we may not be able to reach it right away, but we expect to see the day when we will not have to ask you for one dollar of donation for any purpose, except that which you volunteer to give of your own accord, because we will have tithes sufficient in the storehouse of the Lord to pay everything that is needful for the advancement of the kingdom of God. … That is the true policy, the true purpose of the Lord in the management of the affairs of His Church.”

We are seeing that day.

We understand tithing as a principle is biblical, it's shown in Malachi:

"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings."

Not wanting to rob God, but not wanting to contribute to a fund which is just growing and growing, what options do we have?

May I suggest this alternative to the current paradigm:

The church receives $7 Billion a year in Tithing. The operating budget of the church (made up of tithing money) is $6 Billion, and the extra $1 Billion is put into savings. These savings have notably grown into the $100 Billion sat in Ensign Peak.

The Ensign peak fund grows by $7 Billion a year.

This means the church could replace the tithing income with the profits from Ensign Peak and continue to function exactly as it does now.

So what would we do with our tithes?

Well, we could continue to donate them, but to local and international charities instead. 

"In the early days of this dispensation, Church leaders counseled members to build up Zion by emigrating to a central location. Today our leaders counsel us to build up Zion wherever we live."

Why not apply this principle to tithing as well?

That's $7 Billion of extra charitable work that could be done each year, all over the world!

Compare this to the $2.2 Billion in charitable work the church has done since 1985, and I hope you will agree, the church has massive potential to do good with the tithes of their members beyond that which they have actually achieved.

That is why I am petitioning the Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to allow members to pay their tithes to local and international charities.

To strengthen communities, serve God by serving others, and build Zion where they live.

To allow $7 Billion more good to be done in the world every year.

I hope you will join my petition.

Thank you.

Sources:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-mormon-church-amassed-100-billion-it-was-the-best-kept-secret-in-the-investment-world-11581138011​

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-f-smith/chapter-31?lang=eng​

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/mal/3?lang=eng​

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/mormon-church-has-misled-members-on-100-billion-tax-exempt-investment-fund-whistleblower-alleges/2019/12/16/e3619bd2-2004-11ea-86f3-3b5019d451db_story.html​

https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2019-03-02/lds-charities-was-involved-in-over-2800-projects-during-2018-heres-a-look-at-their-worldwide-impact-4450#:~:text=Since%201985%2C%20LDS%20Charities%20(the,19​

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/true-to-the-faith/zion?lang=eng​

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-of-jesus-christ-finances