Church Finances and the CBC

[Mormorrisey]

So some interesting news. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's signature investigative news show, The Fifth Estate, has put together a piece on the church's finances, and it will broadcast this coming Thursday. This is a big deal.

The Fifth Estate is like Canada's version of 60 Minutes. Now, granted, I used to be a huge fan of the show some years ago, and it's not as good as it used to be, but it's still a big deal. Apparently the episode will show up a couple of days later on the CBC's home page for free viewing, and once it does I will post a link, but somebody on reddit posted a tik tok teaser link, and here it is:

https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comme ... e_churchs/

It looks like it has Ryan McKnight in it, so looks like they've done their homework. Can't wait to see it! I'm not entirely sure if U.S. residents will be able to access it, but I'll post the link anyways to give it a shot.

[moksha]

The link doesn't seem to be working. Does this mean the Church has purchased Canada and shut it down?

[Linked]

Thanks for the heads up, looking forward to it.

[2bizE]

“They’re a business dabbling in religion.”
Yep.

[stealthbishop]

Sounds interesting. Thanks for the heads up on this!

[moksha]

Does anyone know how we could watch this with an American-viewable link?

[Phil Lurkerman]

There is an overview article here.

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6630190

[Linked]

There is an overview article here.

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6630190

Thanks for the link, great overview. It looks like there is nothing new or surprising to people who follow this, but getting it in front of a wider audience is great. It really feels like the church keeps telling people that they are doing great charitable things, just trust us, it's in more needy places, see we submit ourselves to regular vigorous audits and everything is legal.

[Mormorrisey]

There is an overview article here.

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6630190

Thanks for the link, great overview. It looks like there is nothing new or surprising to people who follow this, but getting it in front of a wider audience is great. It really feels like the church keeps telling people that they are doing great charitable things, just trust us, it's in more needy places, see we submit ourselves to regular vigorous audits and everything is legal.

Thanks for posting that link, usually the overview is pretty close to the actual segment. And if it is, I'm a little disappointed. This episode was touted as the Canadian version of the Ensign Peak "whistleblower," and, just, no. Can somebody be a whistleblower if the information was made public by the Canadian Revenue Agency (our IRS)? Many of us have known this information for nearly a decade, and while one can debate the ethics of what the Church is doing, it is most certainly legal.

My only hope is that members start to question the lack of transparency of these transactions, but that's really it. I got stuck at work, so I can't watch it tonight but as soon as the link is posted on the CBC website I will post it here. Hopefully there is more in the show than what appears in the review.

[moksha]

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2092146755788

[Mormorrisey]

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2092146755788

That's it! Thanks, moksha!

Still, after reviewing it, a tad disappointing and not really whistleblower-y. Although, after talking about it, Sis M said that some people might be upset because they think tithing should be used for, you know, building Canadian temples, meetinghouses and Canadian needs. That led to a great talk about the church and lack of transparency over not just finances, but sex abuse cases, the second anointing, etc. So maybe if these discussions are happening all over the country, its a good thing!

[Zeezrom]

Live in Canada and this was an early shelf item. Believe I discovered in 2013 the same Canada revenue website which showed LDS donations going to BYU. Seemed very shady at best and certainly not what the one true church would do. Seeing Bednar at the press club in DC with his arrogance in full display was just annoying. The Q15 are not prophets but leaches on taxpayers and hard working church members.

Agree 100% with the members wanting their tithing money refunded. It was given under threat of damnation and not used how I thought it would be. However can’t be bothered with joining a class action suit—hell will freeze over before anyone will pry a single penny out of their cold dead greedy fingers.

[moksha]

Seeing Bednar at the press club in DC with his arrogance on full display was just annoying.

Imagine if the Washington Press Corp had viewed this Canadian broadcast prior to Elder Bednar speaking.

[Hagoth]

Believe I discovered in 2013 the same Canada revenue website which showed LDS donations going to BYU. Seemed very shady at best and certainly not what the one true church would do.

I remember a follow-up after all of the church janitors had been fired. The money saved by not paying people to clean the churches in Canada, as I recall, was almost exactly the same as the amount as a charitable donation made by the Canadian arm of the church to BYU. We only know about it because Canada's requirements for transparency of charitable organizations is stricter than in the US. It is similar in the UK, where we saw how the money donated by LDS members to a special fund declared to be specifically reserved for the victims of the Indonesian tsunami was simply transferred to the church's general fund in Salt Lake City. Follow the money.

[Mormorrisey]

Can someone smarter than me post a link to no 1 saint's post in the Doctrinal Discussion section about the report from Down Under and the church's misrepresenting of charitable donations?

After reading it, the Australian news groups are working with the CBC to illustrate how the church is misrepresenting its charitable giving, and this CBC story is just part of the puzzle. They are looking at this problem on a global scale, and THAT'S the story that is significant.

I knew there had to be more, and no 1 saint has the goods in that post. Can't wait to read more of this stuff!

[wtfluff]

...
post a link to no 1 saint's post in the Doctrinal Discussion section about the report from Down Under and the church's misrepresenting of charitable donations?
...

https://newordermormon.net/viewtopic.php?p=92005

[Mormorrisey]

...
post a link to no 1 saint's post in the Doctrinal Discussion section about the report from Down Under and the church's misrepresenting of charitable donations?
...

https://newordermormon.net/viewtopic.php?p=92005

Thanks, fluff! At one point I had figured this out, but now I'm old, cantakerous and unwilling to change. Sounds like the church I belong to!

[moksha]

60 Minutes Australia has this new broadcast called Mormon church accused of ripping off taxpayers by millions of dollars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFddArTfjhQ


The Church would probably argue that all the other Australian churches lack the Wall Street business savvy to pull such a move off.

[Hagoth]

60 Minutes Australia has this new broadcast called Mormon church accused of ripping off taxpayers by millions of dollars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFddArTfjhQ


The Church would probably argue that all the other Australian churches lack the Wall Street business savvy to pull such a move off.

I hope we will be blessed with a story like that on the One And Only True 60 Minutes.