pam Posted June 1, 2017 Report Posted June 1, 2017 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865681124/LDS-Church-will-return-tithing-donated-by-man-who-defrauded-5400-victims.html SALT LAKE CITY — The LDS Church will return $150,000 of tithing paid by a man who pleaded guilty to taking nearly $25 million from 5,400 victims. A former CNBC guest expert on wealth management, Curtis DeYoung of Draper, Utah, took the money from individual retirement accounts. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison last fall and ordered to repay the money. zil 1 Quote
Sunday21 Posted June 1, 2017 Report Posted June 1, 2017 Wow! I wonder why the church did this? So that the convicted fraudster would have more money to pay off the victims? Quote
my two cents Posted June 1, 2017 Report Posted June 1, 2017 @Sunday21 - The Church doesn't want dirty money. They don't want tithing on lotto winnings either. Vort, Backroads, mirkwood and 1 other 4 Quote
zil Posted June 1, 2017 Report Posted June 1, 2017 Personally, I think a study of the sacrifices and offerings outlined in the Old Testament can help one to gain an understanding of and more holy attitude toward our modern-day tithes and offerings. The Old Testament goes on at length about what, how much, why, attitudes surrounding, and the sheer holiness of the offering (once offered). If we view our own offerings this way, we begin to understand, among other things, that what we offer should be first (both in sequence and in quality), and that what we offer should be holy. How can a portion of stolen money be holy? Can any portion of stolen money be of the best quality? The Lord has said that gambling is not an honest or righteous way to obtain income. Can any portion, therefore, be deemed holy, or a worthy offering? Is it a sacrifice to offer to the Lord something you didn't work for? (I know some people will claim to work for gambling income, but I don't consider it honest work, and it seems the Lord doesn't either.) When one starts looking at these teachings, thinking of temple-recommend questions about honesty, and thinking about how one earns a living, and how one pays tithes and offerings, one starts to have a different attitude about these things, and hopefully makes improvements across the board. On the receiving end, those responsible for using tithes and offerings start to think about the appropriateness of their intended use. Sunday21, classylady, Backroads and 1 other 4 Quote
Guest MormonGator Posted June 1, 2017 Report Posted June 1, 2017 Classy move by the church. Very proud of them. Quote
NeuroTypical Posted June 1, 2017 Report Posted June 1, 2017 1 hour ago, Sunday21 said: Wow! I wonder why the church did this? Well, the church got sued. Tons of lawyers were involved, and the church made arguments in federal court, and participated in negotiated settlements, and all that. Sunday21 and Just_A_Guy 2 Quote
Guest Posted June 1, 2017 Report Posted June 1, 2017 4 hours ago, Sunday21 said: Wow! I wonder why the church did this? So that the convicted fraudster would have more money to pay off the victims? That isn't exactly the way it worked. The Church went through a process to determine what percentage of tithing funds from the man that period was most likely due to the fraudulent activity vs legal activity. This was complicated by the fact that the man's wife also paid tithing into the same household tithing account. The wife was not charged. Keeping this in mind, the Church sat with the court appointed "receiver" who would distribute any recoverable funds to the victims. The amount that the parties agreed on was $150,000 out of nearly $240,000. Quote
pam Posted June 2, 2017 Author Report Posted June 2, 2017 10 hours ago, my two cents said: @Sunday21 - The Church doesn't want dirty money. They don't want tithing on lotto winnings either. Actually there isn't anything official that we've been able to find that states the Church won't accept tithing on lotto winnings. Unless someone here can provide a reliable source to that. Quote
zil Posted June 2, 2017 Report Posted June 2, 2017 (edited) 9 hours ago, pam said: Actually there isn't anything official that we've been able to find that states the Church won't accept tithing on lotto winnings. Unless someone here can provide a reliable source to that. You're right, it does appear to be a cultural thing - I can't find anything on LDS.org which explicitly says that (though I too have heard it taught). Nonetheless, I would liken it to Cain's offering or to offering an "unclean" animal in OT times (giving something other than what the Lord instructed). It's akin to robbing a bank and then paying tithing on what you stole. Unless you told them, the Church wouldn't know and would accept whatever donations you give. But I think it follows logically: The Church teaches us not to gamble (including the lottery), therefore, the Church does not want tithing from gambling winnings (winnings it doesn't want you to have in the first place). ETA: Now I'm curious if HB1 has anything. Will have to ask my brother. Edited June 2, 2017 by zil Quote
Just_A_Guy Posted June 3, 2017 Report Posted June 3, 2017 The Church apparently reached a similar agreement in the Jeremy Johnson case. http://www.sltrib.com/news/5360384-155/mormon-church-returns-23m-of-convicted Quote
pam Posted June 6, 2017 Author Report Posted June 6, 2017 On 6/3/2017 at 10:48 AM, Just_A_Guy said: The Church apparently reached a similar agreement in the Jeremy Johnson case. http://www.sltrib.com/news/5360384-155/mormon-church-returns-23m-of-convicted I just saw that on ksl. You beat me to it with posting here. Quote
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