section 34.4

[sevfrance]

I have in our stake a unit leader and a High Council member who are not paying tithing - for several years. At the same time they declare themselves to be full tithe payers. I know that they both have income. I am privy to this information by reviewing the finacial records as the stake clerk. My question is should I bring this up to the stake president ? I am guessing he is not aware. Section 34.4 says not to discuss tithing status inappropriately. What is the correct action? Do I just ignore it ?

[russellhltn]

It depends on your situation. Assuming you're a ward clerk, you might want to talk to your trainer, the stake clerk.

Some people donate directly to Church Headquarters. It might be a "donation in kind" from a stock portfolio. (There are tax advantages in doing it this way - you dodge the capital gains taxes while getting the full value of the stock.) These type of transactions will not be reported back to the local unit. As such, it's entirely possible that these members are full-tithe payers while showing no transactions.

You're more likely to run across this in the "finically financially astute" level of members (who tend to become leaders) than the "wage slave" group.

[garystroble]

It depends on your situation. Assuming you're a ward clerk, you might want to talk to your trainer, the stake clerk.

Some people donate directly to Church Headquarters. It might be a "donation in kind" from a stock portfolio. (There are tax advantages in doing it this way - you dodge the capital gains taxes while getting the full value of the stock.) These type of transactions will not be reported back to the local unit. As such, it's entirely possible that these members are full-tithe payers while showing no transactions.

You're more likely to run across this in the "finically astute" level of members (who tend to become leaders) than the "wage slave" group.

Good advice, russellhltn. The OP said he was a stake clerk. Did you mean to say finically or did you mean financially?

[russellhltn]

Did you mean to say finically or did you mean financially?

financially

In the case of the stake clerk, I'd advise an informal chat with the stake president if these members don't seem the type to have investment accounts that they would be paying from.

[lajackson]

In the case of the stake clerk, I'd advise an informal chat with the stake president

If the stake clerk has a concern, I believe it would be appropriate for him to ask how a member would be a full tithe payer if there is no record of a donation. When I was a bishop I had a member who sent stock certificates each year to Church headquarters to pay his tithing in kind. The stake president had never heard of this and asked me about it when he saw the member had declared a full tithe but no contribution was shown.

Another indicator that everything is okay is to remember that the declaration is made in person by the member to the bishop, who would be in a position to ask if he was concerned about the declaration without seeing any contributed funds.

Besides tithing in kind, there are other ways for members to contribute without the ward having a record of the contribution. One simple (but not good) way is if the Church Account the member is using is not linked to his or her membership record number.

Another possibility is that the member is making Qualified Charitable Distributions from his or her Individual Retirement Account or 401(k) account. Those go directly from the IRA custodian to the Church and normally there is no record back to the local unit.

[sbradshaw]

In the past, it used to be possible (but not recommended because of the extra administrative work it created) for people to use bill pay for donations, where the bank would send a check directly to Church headquarters. I'm not sure if it's still an option, but that's another scenario where donations may not show at the stake or ward level.

All the various possibilities of what could be happening might make it easier for a stake president to bring it up and ask about it without feeling confrontational, if he feels he should.

This shouldn't need to be said, but to be clear for future readers of the thread, the clerk should not try to confront the ward leader or high councilor directly. Any inquiry should come from the presiding leader, in this case the stake president, according to his judgment.

[BrianEdwards]

Does anybody here know if this Tech Wiki page is still valid?
Donations to Church Headquarters
It's a nice "semi-official" reference for a leader who finds themselves in this situation, where they want some more details about how and why this is supported. I know the Tech Wiki isn't official info and may not be current, but it is still available online so I'm asking...

[lajackson]

Does anybody here know if this Tech Wiki page is still valid?
Donations to Church Headquarters

I believe it is. The Check part is correct and I have no reason to believe that the Wire section has changed.

[sbradshaw]

Does anybody here know if this Tech Wiki page is still valid?
Donations to Church Headquarters

I believe it is. The Check part is correct and I have no reason to believe that the Wire section has changed.

One minor inaccuracy I see is that as of a year or two ago, the Corporation of the President no longer exists. It's just "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (or "The Church of Jesus Christ").

[suomibrad]

How do I obtain a statement for donation in kind?