Two weeks ago, I wrote a column, not coincidentally, about feeling uneasy after paying my tithing: December is the season of individual tithing settlements for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and what I find unsettling is that the church, unlike many other religious denominations and charities, never explains what it is doing with my donations. I would very much like to know — not just for my own benefit, but because accountability is as important for institutions as it is for individuals.
Yet the church has not released a substantive financial statement in 60 years. "I think the church stopped making disclosures in 1959 because it was on the brink of financial disaster," I wrote in my earlier column, "as its final report indicates, it outspent its income by $8 million that year."
Read Full Article »