Thank you for your comment. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not mix tithing donations with money earned from its business ventures. Tithing donations are sacred funds that are used for very specific purposes. Elder Dallin H. Oaks explained,

“The Lord has directed by revelation that the expenditure of his tithes will be directed by his servants, the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the Presiding Bishopric (see Doctrine & Covenants 120). Those funds are spent to build and maintain temples and houses of worship, to conduct our worldwide missionary work, to translate and publish scriptures, to provide resources to redeem the dead, to fund religious education, and to support other Church purposes selected by the designated servants of the Lord.”

Income from the Church’s businesses are used for other purposes. Essentially, the business assets that The Church of Jesus Christ has today are outgrowths of enterprises that originated in the pioneer era, when the Church was the only organization that could provide the necessary capital to start up certain businesses that were essential for people living in such a remote area. Throughout the years, the Church has sold off, donated or discontinued many of its business ventures. It has held onto several that directly serve the needs of the Church. For more information on the business ventures and how that money is used, see President Gordon B. Hinckley’s October 1999 General Conference address “Why We Do Some of the Things We Do.” President Hinckley said,

“Are these businesses operated for profit? Of course they are. They operate in a competitive world. They pay taxes. They are important citizens of this community.”

Money from the business income, not tithing, is used for the living allowances given to General Authorities and was also used to pay for the City Creek project in downtown Salt Lake City. (See above article as well as President Hinckley’s October 1985 General Conference address “Questions and Answers” and December 2006 Ensign article “Church Releases Plans for Downtown Salt Lake.”) The Church takes its fiduciary responsibility very seriously. President Hinckley said,

“When it comes to the financial circumstances of the Church, we have all funds carefully audited. We have a corps of auditors who are qualified CPAs who are independent from all other agencies of the Church and who report only to the First Presidency of the Church. We try to be very careful. I keep on the credenza behind my desk a widow’s mite that was given me in Jerusalem many years ago as a reminder, a constant reminder, of the sanctity of the funds with which we have to deal. They come from the widow, they are her offering as well as the tithe of the rich man, and they are to be used with care and discretion for the purposes of the Lord. We treat them carefully and safeguard them and try in every way that we can to see that they are used as we feel the Lord would have them used for the upbuilding of His work and the betterment of people.”

Albert,

Thank you for your comment. The scriptures teach that tithing is 10% of our surplus. (See Doctrine and Covenants 119: 1-4.) Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught,

In the Lord’s commandment to the people of this day, tithing is “‘one-tenth of all their interest
annually,’ which is understood to mean income.” The First Presidency has said, “No one is justified
in making any other statement than this” (First Presidency letter, 19 Mar. 1970, quoted in
the General Handbook of Instructions, 1989, p. 9-1; see also Doctrine & Covenants 119).

It’s ALL from tithing ! The “investments” fund comes from extra tithing funds, nobody already donating 10% of their paycheck is writing checks for billions of dollars to give to the Church investment portfolio, they write those to their own portfolio…

The “modest living stipend” paid to the G.A.s exceeds $10,000 per month, not counting the all-expenses paid living (you can find recent proof with a web-search). Bishops used to be paid (D&C 42:71~73 & D&C 51:14) but now work half-time for free…

Mike ~ Be careful to study the correct modern doctrine about tithing, which comes from D&C 119. Tithing is to be paid based on your surplus, not on your paycheck ~ see verses 1, 4, and 5. Verse 4’s “interest”, does not mean “income”, if you look it up in ANY dictionary. In older dictionaries, or at: WebstersDictionary1828.com, you’ll find that “interest” in the context of these scriptures, and in the definition of the word itself means “profit, or surplus”.

Paying 10% of your income as tithing is only correct to pay when and if “income” means “profit”, which is one of it’s definitions. Not “gross”, not “net”, not “adjusted” – “net-net” after all of your just and reasonable bills and expenses for your self and your family are met. (The talk in the video is just flat-out wrong.) Then, from what you have left over, your surplus, you tithe 10% of that, and make other charitable donations, savings, capital expenses, as you see fit from your remaining surplus.

Abram, the First Tithe-payer, the “Friend of God”, paid tithes out of “his riches which God had given him more than he had need”, not from his sheep or his income, but from his surplus spoils of war. (See your LDS Bible, page 798, JST Genesis 14:39)

Ancient Mosaic Israelites paid tithes on their “increase”, not on their “income”. They are “cousin” words; but an ear of corn with 300 kernels, and a germination rate of only 1 in 3, yielding a stalk with an average of 3 ears, means that 1 ear of corn yielded 300 new ones. “God gives the increase”, all you have to do is plant and harvest.

Livestock like sheep, goats, cattle are fecund, a herd of 100 will usually yield about 30 that live a year to be tithed, even after feeding your family. “God gives the increase”, all you have to do is keep them from wandering into the wolves from the pasture.

D&C 119 shows that a properly figured (low) tithing is only to run the church and expand Zion, NOT for charity. That’s what your fast offerings, and other charity offerings from your surplus are for. The Church is not the charity, it’s People are…

And, No, the Church stopped publishing it’s income and expenditures in… 1958. Nobody outside the top knows how much comes in ($6 Billion to $8 Billion a year estimated) or how much goes out or where ($3 to $5 Billion on the City Creek Mall alone…) We are all in the dark, blind. But, when you pay your tithing the Lord’s way, it takes out the regret.

The Church has given well over a billion dollars to relief in the past couple of decades. You can read all about that here: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/topic/humanitarian-services

This is inaccurate. I don’t know where the money to pay LDS leaders (above the local level) comes from (i.e., tithing or Church investments), but they are indeed paid for their service. From FAIR (Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research):

“Some members of the Church are unaware that at least some General Authorities do receive a modest living stipend. While it is true that some Church leaders receive a living allowance while they serve in a given position, it cannot be said that the Church has a professional ministry in the traditional sense.”