Let’s review the basis of what may come to be known to future generations as “MORM-SCAM.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has set up a complex organizational and accounting structure where, at the behest of insiders, money flows with no visibility to its members or the public.
Senior church management are apparently routinely not allowed to review the extent and dynamics of the faith’s slush funds. (See the Dec. 22 Salt Lake Tribune story on Apostle Boyd K. Packer and Ensign Peak Advisors.)
DeLoitte and Touche, the so-called independent auditors, have been talked into not actually examining the books, relying instead on a testimonial from one of their Mormon employees that everything is “on the up and up.”
If we substitute some names, say, Arthur Andersen for DeLoitte and Touche and use another "E"-word in place of Ensign Peak, perhaps ENRON, an analogy comes into view. What’s going on here looks and smells a lot like what went on in Houston 20 years ago.
In my view, The church and the tithe-payers can and should be just as naive and trusting as they want to be about this situation. I question whether this creates an obligation that should extend to the taxpayers of Utah.
Perhaps we do need to save up to have a party at the resurrection (as one church spokesman has suggested) and do some other good works someday soon (maybe.)
Maybe, when he gets here, Jesus will have misplaced his ATM card and need some walking around cash.
I’d prefer not to wait though. I’d like to see the state of Utah conduct a tax audit of the church’s remittances and compliance with Utah law. In the words of Ronald Reagan’s old Christmas joke: “With so much poo-poo, there must be a pony in here somewhere.”
Stephen C. Pace, Salt Lake City