Finances of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are similar to other non-profit and religious organizations, where the principal source of funding comes from the donations of its members and the principal expense is in constructing and maintaining facilities.
When the church takes in more donations than it pays out in period expenses, it uses the surplus to build a reserve for capital expenditures and for future years when period expenses may exceed donations. The church invests its reserve to maintain the principal and generate a reasonable return and directs its investments into income-producing assets that may help it in its mission, such as farmland- and communication-related companies (see below).
The church has not publicly disclosed its financial statements in the United States since 1959.[2] The church does disclose its financials in the United Kingdom, where it is required to so by law.[3] These financials are audited by the UK office of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The church maintains an internal audit department that provides its certification at each annual general conference that church contributions are collected and spent in accordance with church policy. In addition, the church engages a public accounting firm (currently Deloitte & Touche) to perform annual audits in the United States of its not-for-profit,[4] for-profit,[5] and some educational[6][7] entities.
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After the U.S. government confiscated church property under the Edmunds-Tucker Act in 1887, the church fell into severe debt. The government had seized most church assets, including tithing money donated by members. As a result, by the time Lorenzo Snow became church president in 1898, the church was $2.3 million in debt.[8]
Snow reemphasized the principal of tithing (giving 10% of one's income to the church) and by 1907 the church was completely out of debt and since then has not used debt to fund its operations, even for capital projects.[9]
Most church revenue comes from tithes and fast offerings (donations made to support new buildings and needs of its members) contributed by church members.[10] Tithes donations are transferred from local units directly to church headquarters in Salt Lake City, where the funds are centrally managed.[11] It is estimated that about ten percent of its funding also comes from income on its investments, mostly direct investments.
Fast offerings are held locally and used in part to stock the Bishop's Storehouse, a local food bank used to feed the needy. Fast offering funds in excess of the local unit's needs are also sent to church headquarters to be distributed to other localities whose offerings fall short of their needs.
The church uses most of its financial resources to construct and maintain buildings and other facilities. The church also spends its funds on providing social welfare and relief and supporting missionary, educational, and other church-sponsored programs.[12] The church does not pay its local leadership. General authorities[13] and mission presidents[14], both of whom serve in these capacities full-time, can receive monies from the church in the form of housing, living allowances, and other benefits while they are on assignment. No funds are provided for services rendered.
The church builds additional chapels (structures used for weekly worship and for baptisms) and temples (structures used for eternal Marriage and ordinances) as wards and branches of the church are organized. On average, the church builds a little more than one chapel a day. The church built about 40 smaller temples between 1998 and 2001. Currently there are 130 operating temples, 7 under construction, and 14 announced (not yet under construction). (See List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
The church pays to maintain its chapels and temples around the world. These costs include repairs, utilities, grounds maintenance, and specialized custodial work. Members also assist with cleaning local chapels by providing general custodial work. These facilities are cost-centers for the church, and maintaining them represents a significant use of the church's income.[15]
The church operates a welfare distribution system, as it encourages members to seek financial assistance from family and church first before seeking public or state-sponsored welfare.[16] AgReserves Inc., Deseret Cattle and Citrus Ranch, and Farmland Reserve, Inc. are part of its welfare distribution system. Welfare resources are distributed by local bishops but maintained by the Presiding Bishop. See Preparedness. It also sends relief aid to victims of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and others around the world. The relief effort has been recognized through many organizations and political leaders, including the United States leaders in reaction to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort by the church.
The church also spends much of its money collected through tithing on missionary, educational, and other programs which the church considers to be within its mission. Although the families of Mormon missionaries (usually young men ages 19 – 21 or young women ages 21 – 23) generally pay $400 a month for missions,[17] additional general funds of the church support missionaries unable to pay for their own missions, mainly in less-developed countries. These missionaries are expected to repay the assistance they received when they are able to do so. Additionally, the church provides a mission office and mission home for each of its 340 missions and pays for television advertising offering free copies of the Book of Mormon, the Bible, church videos, etc. The church also owns and subsidizes education at its three universities (see Church Education). Throughout the world, it also supports Scouting programs for young men.[18] In addition, it supports its Seminary and Institute programs with tithing money.
The church tempers its cash expenses through the use of volunteer labor. As of 1995, the church's human resources department estimated that the 96,484 volunteers (not including 50,000 full-time missionaries) serving at the time contributed services with an annual value of $360 million.[9]
TIME magazine estimated in 1996 that the church's assets exceeded $30 billion.[1] This figure represents only one side of the balance sheet and does not include current liabilities for maintenance, although the church incurs virtually no long-term liabilities.[9] After the Time article was published, the church responded that the financial figures in the article were "grossly exaggerated."[19] Three years later, annual revenues were estimated to be $5 billion, with total assets at $25 to $30 billion.[20] Whatever the actual figure, about two-thirds of it is made up of non-income-producing facilities and the land they sit on, including thousands of meetinghouses and over 120 temples the church operates worldwide, as well as educational institutions (mainly Brigham Young University). The remaining assets include direct investments in for-profit businesses managed through Deseret Management Corporation. Although the church is a tax-exempt organization, its for-profit entities generate "unrelated business income" that is subject to federal, state, and local income and other taxes.
The church's holdings include:
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   | Mormon land holdings rise - JournalStar.com - Lincoln, Nebraska - Nebraska |
| | History - PCC History | Polynesian Cultural Center |
| | Mormon Inquiry article - Dave's Mormon Inquiry: LDS Revenues and Assets |
| | beneficialfinancialgroup.com - Beneficial Financial Group - Life Insurance, Investments, Retirement Salt Lake City Utah |
| | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Great Britain Financial Statements - Accounts Listing Page |
| | Catholic Church Finances - Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly . FEATURE . Catholic Church Finances . July 12, 2002 | PBS |
| | History of Scouting in the Church - History of Scouting in the Church |
| | Latter-day Saints in Very Deed - LDS.org - Ensign Article - Latter-day Saints in Very Deed |
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