Is the church profiting off homeless shelter?

[Spicy McHaggis]

I admit some of this is speculation but on the surface it looks pretty bad and really pisses me off.

The church is selling their property on 700 S. in SLC to the city (or county?) for a homeless shelter. It is currently a DI which has been there for decades. They are selling the land for over $4,000,000 which must be a tidy profit. Based on how old the building is, I don't imagine they paid much for it to begin with.

Now, considering the church claims to be lead by Jesus, why on earth aren't they giving the land away? Even better, why aren't they building the homeless shelter themselves? Would Jesus really have his corporation sell a property to house the homeless for over $4M?

Sorry for the rant but this is not acceptable to me. They are so PR driven, I can't imagine somebody at the COB doesn't see how bad this looks.

[LostGirl]

I agree it looks bad. They probably figure they are just selling a piece of land to the city and it doesn't matter what it will be used for.

Having said that I feel there is a big gap between our church and others that provide services on the ground to those most in need in the community.

[Hagoth]

It's called building the Kingdom of God on earth. Haven't you read the parable of the talents? They don't want to be unprofitable servants, even it its at the cost of being unservicable prophets.

[Red Ryder]

Jesus might be a real estate agent, right?

I can't recall any time the church has been associated with giving away anything other than guilt, shame, and old white shirts.

[achilles]

Come on, COB, you probably got the land for nothing. It's for a good cause. Just do the right thing and donate the land, OK? You can afford it.

[Just This Guy]

I would say they could donate it for a tax write off, but that isn't one of their concerns.

[Dravin]

Now, considering the church claims to be lead by Jesus, why on earth aren't they giving the land away? Even better, why aren't they building the homeless shelter themselves? Would Jesus really have his corporation sell a property to house the homeless for over $4M?

Back when I believed I used to think of Bishops and Store House orders as being our version of soup kitchens and homeless shelters, but when you stop and think about it they don't serve the same groups. Giving food potatoes and cheese is great if you have someplace to cook and store it. It's a decent system for helping the middle class and working poor (putting aside the strings that can be attached), but it doesn't help the homeless.

Could you imagine the good the church could do if they took all those missionaries they have wandering around pestering people and used them to volunteer at shelters and soup kitchens?

[dareka]

Now, considering the church claims to be lead by Jesus, why on earth aren't they giving the land away? Even better, why aren't they building the homeless shelter themselves? Would Jesus really have his corporation sell a property to house the homeless for over $4M?

I thought the same things when I heard the story on the news last night. Instead of selling the property, they should donate it, and donate $4M on top of that to convert it to the homeless shelter. Greedy b@#$%@#$

[Red Ryder]

Has the church ever fed or sheltered the homeless? Not in the traditional shelter and soup kitchen sense.

General question for everyone:

Did this bother you before your faith crisis? Or is this low hanging fruit we all grasp because it's an easy one to complain about?

Maybe I need to think through why I'm not bothered by a billion dollar organization not giving enough to humanitarian efforts. Perhaps because my expectations were low or misguided by Fast Offerings and the constant barrage of self reliance teachings.

Or maybe because I'm too many miles and rows of nice neighborhood homes removed from the homeless population?

Or maybe because I've dismantled the idea that Jesus runs this (or any) church? Or that his ideas are even relevant in 2017?

Or maybe because I've dismantled my once held trust in the church and it's leaders to do the right thing?

Or maybe because I'm just a cold hearted apostate who doesn't care what the church does with their money anymore since I've stopped giving them mine?

Or maybe it should bother me? I dunno...

[Linked]

I had the same issue when I read through the First Presidency Statement on Homelessness. It goes through and states a bunch of things that seem on the surface to be helpful, but then when you dig a little it is pretty clearly all spin, and the only group being served is the church. It is a disgusting use of marketing spin by a so-called religious organization.

Over the last decade, the Church has donated cash and commodities totaling more than $42 million to eight community and religious organizations that serve the homeless in Salt Lake City. There are dozens of partners that draw upon the Church’s food reserves at bishops’ storehouses on a monthly basis. In addition, the Church offers counseling services, employment training, job placement, and personal ministering to the homeless. To support the current efforts of city and county officials, the Church earlier agreed to sell its Deseret Industries facility at 130 East 700 South to Salt Lake City for use as one of three or four planned homeless resource centers. In addition, we are in active discussions with community partners to identify where the greatest needs exist and how the Church may offer additional help.

Maybe there is some real good in there, but it is swallowed up by the desire to make mediocre service seem commendable. In my opinion it is damning that the church has no soup kitchens or homeless shelters in the capital of mormonism which has a problem with homelessness.

[Linked]

Has the church ever fed or sheltered the homeless? Not in the traditional shelter and soup kitchen sense.

General question for everyone:

Did this bother you before your faith crisis? Or is this low hanging fruit we all grasp because it's an easy one to complain about?

Maybe I need to think through why I'm not bothered by a billion dollar organization not giving enough to humanitarian efforts. Perhaps because my expectations were low or misguided by Fast Offerings and the constant barrage of self reliance teachings.

Or maybe because I'm too many miles and rows of nice neighborhood homes removed from the homeless population?

Or maybe because I've dismantled the idea that Jesus runs this (or any) church? Or that his ideas are even relevant in 2017?

Or maybe because I've dismantled my once held trust in the church and it's leaders to do the right thing?

Or maybe because I'm just a cold hearted apostate who doesn't care what the church does with their money anymore since I've stopped giving them mine?

Or maybe it should bother me? I dunno...

I didn't think about it before my faith crisis, but I think it would have been a shelf item. I was under the impression that the church was a decent sized player in humanitarian aid, and I lumped the homelessness in SLC in with that. I was also unaware of the depth of the homelessness in SLC. I live in the suburbs...

[Korihor]

Do the homeless pay tithing? No
Then why would the church care about them?

[Korihor]

Has the church ever fed or sheltered the homeless? Not in the traditional shelter and soup kitchen sense.

General question for everyone:

Did this bother you before your faith crisis? Yes, but not as much as now. Or is this low hanging fruit we all grasp because it's an easy one to complain about? Just because it's low hanging doesn't dimish it.

Maybe I need to think through why I'm not bothered by a billion dollar organization not giving enough to humanitarian efforts. Perhaps because my expectations were low or misguided by Fast Offerings and the constant barrage of self reliance teachings. I was taught the church does a lot. Now I see the members do a lot, but the chruch skirts by on minimal amounts done to be qualified as christian.

Or maybe because I'm too many miles and rows of nice neighborhood homes removed from the homeless population? I am as well. But I am actively making plans to participate in caring for the homeless. This has become an issue to me since my faith crisis.

Or maybe because I've dismantled the idea that Jesus runs this (or any) church? Or that his ideas are even relevant in 2017? This is true for me

Or maybe because I've dismantled my once held trust in the church and it's leaders to do the right thing? I still hold them to a standard they profess even if I know their hearts are far from it.

Or maybe because I'm just a cold hearted apostate who doesn't care what the church does with their money anymore since I've stopped giving them mine? Yes

Or maybe it should bother me? I dunno... Maybe a little. The Mesa food bank recently had a freezer break down and they lost 21,000 lbs of food. Should we care and/or help out? I dunno.

[Emower]

Has the church ever fed or sheltered the homeless? Not in the traditional shelter and soup kitchen sense.

General question for everyone:

Did this bother you before your faith crisis? Or is this low hanging fruit we all grasp because it's an easy one to complain about?

Maybe I need to think through why I'm not bothered by a billion dollar organization not giving enough to humanitarian efforts. Perhaps because my expectations were low or misguided by Fast Offerings and the constant barrage of self reliance teachings.

Or maybe because I'm too many miles and rows of nice neighborhood homes removed from the homeless population?

Or maybe because I've dismantled the idea that Jesus runs this (or any) church? Or that his ideas are even relevant in 2017?

Or maybe because I've dismantled my once held trust in the church and it's leaders to do the right thing?

Or maybe because I'm just a cold hearted apostate who doesn't care what the church does with their money anymore since I've stopped giving them mine?

Or maybe it should bother me? I dunno...

This did bother me long before my faith crisis. I resolved it by using a lot of gymnastics about faithful stewards, teach a man to fish, planning for the future, blah blah blah. I saw plenty of poverty where I grew up, and I saw plenty of church assistance coming from the ward and the stake. But it bothers me much less now that I have stopped giving my money to them. It bothers me now in an academic sense and not on a personal level.

[Thoughtful]

I know of specific individuals panhandling near the SLC temple who have been offered jobs by the church.

My ward does a rotation at a soup kitchen (once a month).

It's a drop in the bucket. But it is something.

[Spicy McHaggis]

I know of specific individuals panhandling near the SLC temple who have been offered jobs by the church.

My ward does a rotation at a soup kitchen (once a month).

It's a drop in the bucket. But it is something.

That is good to hear.

[tryingtogetitright]

One of the news reports said that there was an informal bargain that the church would make a generous donation after the sale went through. So in my mind, if they do that, they were simply helping to maximize what the shelter would have from state contribution (that is the source of the payment to the Mormon church for the property).

[Wonderment]

I can't recall any time the church has been associated with giving away anything other than guilt, shame, and old white shirts.

Red Ryder FTW !! Truer words were never spoken.

[Spicy McHaggis]

One of the news reports said that there was an informal bargain that the church would make a generous donation after the sale went through. So in my mind, if they do that, they were simply helping to maximize what the shelter would have from state contribution (that is the source of the payment to the Mormon church for the property).

The cynical bastard in me wants to say I'll bet the donation comes from one of the profit centers in the church.....have to get a tax break.

I hope I'm wrong though.