I have had several discussions with people on the subject of tithing over the past few days as it has been part of the landscape of issues surrounding the recent summons of LDS Prophet Thomas S Monson on charges of fraud in the UK.

Heart and Sole

One aspect that I point out is that, unlike other churches which regularly publish financial reports, there is no accountability to the LDS church members of how tithes are used and directed once they are donated to the Church. The church publishes no such records, which is somewhat unique among charitable or religious organizations. The KKK even used to publish it’s financial records for goodness sakes!

The church exists as a trademark of the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. as a Corporation Sole, the single member of that corporation is the current Prophet and President Monson and he owns and directs all church resources – tithes, property, holdings, etc. (see an unverified text of the articles of Incorporation here) As such members surrender all rights and accountability of donated funds and the president is not required to make those financial records public.

Other churches typically operate under constitutions and bylaws which guarantee members certain rights and include provisions for reporting of finances. This holds leadership accountable and has the effect of minimizing or mitigating abuse.

A Prophet Responds

When asked about the Church’s lack of financial reporting by a reporter in 2002, Then Prophet Gordon B Hinkley responded as follows:

REPORTER: In my country the…we say the people’s churches, the Protestants, the Catholics, they publish all their budgets, to all the public. HINCKLEY: Yeah. Yeah. REPORTER: Why is it impossible for your church? HINCKLEY: Well, we simply think that the…that information belongs to those who made the contribution, and not to the world. That’s the only thing. Yes.

It is noted that church members do not receive any such report. At the end of each year members receive a report of how much they themselves donated, which is used for tax purposes, but there is no report of the full donation income of the church, nor a budget of how the church spends those funds. Generous people might say that this is simply an oversight in the Prophet’s response to this reporter.

A Mormon Trusts

So it is part of the accepted experience of being a tithe paying member of the Mormon church that when you donate – you trust that the inspired men at the head of the church will use those sacred funds as the Lord directs.

When I ask members why such blind trust should be given, I am usually met with statements that would appear to accuse me of not trusting the Lord’s anointed to be honest in their financial dealings. Believing that there should be accountability in the Church leadership is equated with the implication that one of the Apostles or Prophet would either be corrupt in their financial dealings or could be deceived – both of which assertions are tantamount to speaking ill of the Lord’s anointed.

Even if a member working in the church administration were to discover embezzlement or fraud by one of the Church Leaders – they have been taught that it would be wrong to criticize the leader. Apostle Dallin H Oaks stated:

“It’s wrong to criticize leaders of the church, even if the criticism is true.”

(Dallin H. Oaks, PBS Interview 2007 )

In 1987, Apostle Russell M Nelson also taught:

“Evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed is in a class by itself. It is one thing to depreciate a person who exercises corporate power or even government power. It is quite another thing to criticize or depreciate a person for the performance of an office to which he or she has been called of God. It does not matter that the criticism is true.” (Russell M Nelson “The Canker of Contention” Ensign, Feb 1987 Lds.org)

Covenant not to Criticize

One may wonder where this deep restriction on criticizing church leaders comes from. During temple ceremonies, church member currently promise never to reveal or discuss certain things. I will not mention or describe any of that. One of the things that they are told in the Temple, without promising never to reveal, is a charge to avoid all “evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed.” They covenant with God to obey this restriction on criticism of church leaders. Mormon’s take their covenants very seriously.

No accountability leads to… ?

In such an organization there is not only no reporting of finances to the members, but there is active suppression of criticism, enforced by covenant in the Temple. While in government or business this type of non-accountability would by all accounts inevitably lead to abuses, in the Mormon church members consider it a part of fulfilling their commitment to God and an expression of faith in God to place such trust in their leaders to handle the temporal affairs of the church.

The other side

Remarkably, given this lack of institutional accountability, there is actually a great deal of preaching and teaching of individual accountability and stewardship in the church. See the guide to the scriptures on Stewardship and Accountability for numerous scriptural examples.

The difference in the Mormon church is that accountability is always in one direction. The member at the lowest level is accountable to the president of his quorum or to the Bishop for worthiness issues. People in auxilliary callings are accountable to the bishopric who are in turn accountable to stake authority. These are then accountable to area authorities and so on all the way up to the Prophet. There is never accountability in the opposite direction.

Conclusion

A church that adheres to the Christian principle of “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matt 23:11) understands that when those who administer the worldly affairs act as servants – this abasement is not just in word but also in deed. They then, as servants, are held accountable to those whom they serve – the members of the church whose charitable donations they have stewardship over.