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The Mormon Church kept their $100 BILLION investment fund a secret over fears that it would discourage members from tithing Login/Join 
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ne...no-longer-tithe.html

Officials of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints kept the amount of their $100billion investment reserves a secret in case public knowledge of their massive wealth might discourage members from tithing.

The Wall Street Journal reports that word of the Mormon Church's stockpile came after a whistleblower complained to the Internal Revenue Service that the fund, named Ensign Peak Advisors, had collected billions.

'Paying tithing is more of a sense of commitment than it is the church needing the money,' Roger Clarke, the head of Ensign Peak said.

'So they never wanted to be in a position where people felt like, you know, they shouldn’t make a contribution.'

Officials admit that the fund's total size is a kept tightly under wrap since Ensign Peak depends on tithing from it's 16million followers worldwide.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must pay 10 percent of their income each year.

The firm was founded in the 1960s during financial hardships, but transformed under Clarke's guidance to bring 'the investment department into the 20th Century.'

Ensign Peak Advisors' assets reportedly total between $80billion and $100billion in 2019, eclipsing Harvard University’s endowment at around $40billion.

Officials declined to disclose the church's annual budget or how much is given to Ensign Peak, but the estimate for the main areas of expenditure equal to around $5billion.

Holdings are said to include $40billion in U.S. stock, investment in prominent hedge funds like Bridgewater Associates LP and timberland in the Florida panhandle, according to current and former employees.

Despite the church's expansive outreach, they are not obligated to publicly report their finances or tell members.

However, David Nielsen's whistleblower report has mounted pressure for the church to adopt an air of transparency - something it hasn't done in decades.

Nielsen's report alleged Ensign Peak made no charitable donations despite being considered a tax-exempt charity.

He also said the firm illegally used tax-exempt donations to bail out two failed business ventures during the recession, specifically a life insurance company and construction of the City Creek Center.

Officials have denied any wrongdoing, with presiding Bishop Gerald Causse saying: 'It’s not an expenditure. Tomorrow we can sell it and it will come back with a return.'

Apart from public reporting, the church does not tell business partners how much money they and Ensign Peak employees sign lifetime confidentiality agreements.

Former employees say current staff are not longer privy to the firm's total assets and hardly know what the money is intended for.

'We’ve tried to be somewhat anonymous,' said Clarke.

A former employee said at occasional lunch meetings between Ensign Peak and the ecclesiastical arm, questions regarding the money's purpose would be brought up.

It was so amorphous,' the employee said.

'It was always, "When we have direction from the prophet." Everyone was waiting, as it were, for direction from God,' they added.

According to Clarke, the $100billion savings is meant to be used during tough financial times.

As the church continues to find followers across the globe in places like Africa, where members aren't able to donate as much, Ensign Peak's finances can help continue basic operations.

As Christopher Waddell, a member of the ecclesiastical section that oversees the firm as the bishopric, said: 'We don’t know when the next 2008 is going to take place.'

During the Great Recession, officials say they didn't touch any of the reserve money and instead cut their budget.

The Nielsen said he heard Clarke say the second coming of Jesus Christ, which Mormon's believe will be preceded by disasters, as another reason for Ensign Peak's existence.

Clarke says they must have misunderstood his meaning, saying: 'We believe at some point the savior will return. Nobody knows when.'

'We don’t have any idea whether financial assets will have any value at all. The issue is what happens before that, not at the second coming,' he added.

Donations from members are able to cover the church's budget, allowing any surplus investments to be placed in Ensign Peak.

Another official said the church doesn't publicly reveal their assets because 'these funds are sacred' and 'we don’t flaunt them for public review and critique.'
David Nielsen (pictured) complained about the Ensign Peak to the IRS in a whistleblower report
+4


The majority of Ensign Peak's money comes from returns on existing investments, not member donations, Clarke said.

In recent years, the fund has gained 7 percent annually and from 2012 to 2014, the fund grew from around $40billion to $60billion.

Clarke says Ensign Peak does not borrow money, invest in industries that Mormons oppose -like alcohol, caffeine, and gambling - and warns members about going into debt.

The church also created an intricate system of more than a dozen shell companies o make stock investments harder to track.

This was done so church members couldn't mimic what Ensign Peak was doing in an effort to protect them from mismanaging their own funds with misleading information.

Neuburgh Advisers LLC, one of the said shell companies, held hundreds of stocks in companies like Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

Members have begun to question the church on finances, including why it was kept a secret for so long, where the money goes and if tithing should be still be practiced.

Carolyn Homer, a member in Virginia, chose to tithe less and give more to other charities after learning of Ensign Peak.

In the Book of Mormon, God denounces churches that value wealth above helping the poor.

She said: 'When I hear members of the church say, "It’s none of your business how wealthy we are,’" that to me is echoing the very scripture we revere, and not in a good way.'

Since the Nielsen's complaint, members have been divided on tithing and how the church handles finances.

Lasi Kioa, a 61-year-old immigrant from Tonga and a lifelong church member, told WSJ: 'They use it well. They help other people. They build the church. I believe in that.'

Member Sam Brunson, a tax law professor at Loyola University, would like to see the church use the $100billion to help the needy.

'They could go a good way to eradicating malaria, or fix Puerto Rico’s electrical grid,' he said, adding that the church could possibly change the way they approach tithing and have members donate to charity instead.

Tax lawyers have debated whether Ensign Peak violated any laws as Nielsen claims, but Brunson doesn't think so.

Despite it being frustrating, he says the church's actions are legal.

He said: 'I’m a stakeholder in the church, and society has some stake in the church too. Even though I’m willing to tithe blindly, I would like to see what’s happening with that money.'


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Posts: 12516 | Registered: January 17, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Doesn’t their book say something about nothing good is done in secret? Guess they don’t practice what they preach.


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Posts: 3955 | Location: Northeast Georgia | Registered: November 18, 2017Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Tinker Sailor Soldier Pie
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Being a non-Mormon, I honestly couldn't care less.


~Alan

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Posts: 30280 | Location: Elv. 7,000 feet, Utah | Registered: October 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Spread the Disease
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quote:
Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Being a non-Mormon, I honestly couldn't care less.


If money didn’t equate to power, I’d feel the same.


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-- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. --
 
Posts: 17228 | Location: New Mexico | Registered: October 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just because you can,
doesn't mean you should
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I suspect all the larger churches do the same thing.


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Posts: 9434 | Location: NE GA | Registered: August 22, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Nosce te ipsum
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Clearly the church needs to step up the size of donations. To keep them in scale with the endowment. Get a few billionaires into the fold, surrendering 10% of their net worth every year ...
 
Posts: 8759 | Registered: March 24, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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They ain't got nothing on the Catholics. Those are rookie numbers compared to the Vatican.
 
Posts: 2464 | Location: WI | Registered: December 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
sick puppy
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Being a non-Mormon, I honestly couldn't care less.


Being a Latter-day Saint, I honestly couldn't care less.



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Posts: 7546 | Location: Alpine, Ut | Registered: February 17, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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It would have an affect on how benevolent I felt if I knew that what I considered significant would be much less than a drop in the bucket.


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Posts: 5679 | Location: Ohio | Registered: December 27, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by PorterN:
quote:
Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Being a non-Mormon, I honestly couldn't care less.


Being a Latter-day Saint, I honestly couldn't care less.

Yeah... how dare they be good at investing and saving money. It would be way better if they were in the red Big Grin


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Posts: 3170 | Registered: February 27, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Res ipsa loquitur
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https://www.ksl.com/article/46...yee-in-irs-complaint
FWIW, a few years ago, I was shown the pay scale for senior church leadership. I was surprised how low it was compared to other non-profit organizations pay scales that I have seen. It was well below the private sector and even many state government jobs.


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Posts: 12427 | Registered: October 13, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
women dug his snuff
and his gallant stroll
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Now I know how the Mormons can continue building ugly mega churches all over the place.
 
Posts: 10823 | Registered: August 12, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Charmingly unsophisticated
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How do you think they're gonna afford to build the Nauvoo?


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Posts: 16172 | Location: Harrison, AR | Registered: February 05, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Tinker Sailor Soldier Pie
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quote:
Originally posted by bigwagon:
They ain't got nothing on the Catholics. Those are rookie numbers compared to the Vatican.


Big Grin



~Alan

Acta Non Verba
NRA Life Member (Patron)
God, Family, Guns, Country

Men will fight and die to protect women... because women protect everything else. ~Andrew Klavan

"Once there was only dark. If you ask me, light is winning." ~Rust Cohle
 
Posts: 30280 | Location: Elv. 7,000 feet, Utah | Registered: October 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Go ahead punk, make my day
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quote:
Originally posted by AllenInWV:
How do you think they're gonna afford to build the Nauvoo?
Big Grin Big Grin Big Grin So many little things make that show EPIC, the LDSS Nauvoo included.

 
Posts: 45798 | Registered: July 12, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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If they have 16 million people donating 10% of their income every year and they only have $100 billion, they need to find some better money managers.
 
Posts: 6319 | Location: CA | Registered: January 24, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
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quote:
Originally posted by AllenInWV:
How do you think they're gonna afford to build the Nauvoo?


Big Grin

That should cover the cost of magic underwear too.



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Posts: 12555 | Location: Down South | Registered: January 16, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
hello darkness
my old friend
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The Mormons I know don't seem to care. They have faith in their leadership and feel their donations are well spent for their communities. Its their business.
 
Posts: 7720 | Location: West Jordan, Utah | Registered: June 19, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Don't Panic
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As I understand this article ( and the one that ran today in the WSJ) the LDS underspent their tithings, ran their operations on less than current receipts and invested the difference.

Their investing has done well, and they haven't gone on a spree and blown the investment gains.

My take is, that's good investing and proper fiduciary activity. Good for them!

RE: keeping the number under wraps. Probably good strategy, given the likely effect on human nature. It's going to be harder to get people to donate when they will be mentally comparing the drops they are supposed to be tithing to the big bucket that money will go into.
 
Posts: 14995 | Location: North Carolina | Registered: October 15, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Conservative Behind
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quote:
Originally posted by BB61:
https://www.ksl.com/article/46...yee-in-irs-complaint
FWIW, a few years ago, I was shown the pay scale for senior church leadership. I was surprised how low it was compared to other non-profit organizations pay scales that I have seen. It was well below the private sector and even many state government jobs.


About 15 years ago, I was attending a church. One Wednesday night, I was surprised to find that the entire service was going to be devoted to going over their financial statement. As soon as I entered the main auditorium, the ushers were handing out these detailed, multi-page statements. I turned to the last chapter which discussed disbursements, and was shocked to find out the following:

The senior pastor's salary was $180,000.00, and his benefit package included a $2000.00 per month housing allowance, full medical, eye, dental, car, and insurance coverage. The church had also gifted him a brand new, very expensive luxury car that year.

The executive pastor (the senior pastor's best friend from college) enjoyed the same salary and benefits package.

The youth pastor (one of the senior pastor's sons-in-law) enjoyed the same salary and benefit package.

The senior pastor had two brothers, and one sister. Each of them received $60,000.00 per year.

The senior pastor had three daughters who were each married. So, the three daughters each received a salary of $60,000 per year, and the other two sons-in-law also received $60,000 per year.

I couldn't believe my eyes! Really, I was shocked. The senior pastor's name was Howard, so from that moment on, I have referred to that "church" as, "Howard Corp."

That organization sponsored one missionary, and they had contributed $36.000 to his efforts.

I feel about the folks who attend that church the same way I feel about folks who vote Democrat. Both groups continue to support organizations that are quite obviously corrupt.



I found what you said riveting.
 
Posts: 10694 | Location: SF Bay Area | Registered: June 06, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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