Huge day for me - going to Jesus mall for first time

[_hobo1512]

"I pity the fool, fool!" Mr. T.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FPGJrzzq_I

You should take pity on yourself.

Don't you get tired of being a hypocrite?

[_sock puppet]

What the church wants to do with the money is their concern.

Whose concern? Who are they whose concern it is? Isn't the "church" the collection of all those who are members?

You, why me, are suggesting that 'they' of whose concern this is are the "church" and that the "church" is the COB, not the entirety of its membership.

[_Chap]

What the church wants to do with the money is their concern.

Whose concern? Who are they whose concern it is? Isn't the "church" the collection of all those who are members?

You, why me, are suggesting that 'they' of whose concern this is are the "church" and that the "church" is the COB, not the entirety of its membership.

Ah yes .. that famous interview with the German reporter 2002 in which Gordon B. Hinckley contrived to leave the same message that 'the church' felt entitled to keep the information to itself, while giving the misleading impression that this expression referred to the tithe-paying membership rather than just to the tiny number of men at the top:

REPORTER:

YES. ANOTHER CRITICS ABOUT FINANCES, I READ IN DIFFERENT MAGAZINES THE RUMOR THAT YOUR CHURCH IS VERY WEALTHY, AND I'D LIKE THE NUMBER OF 30 MILL…BILLION DOLLARS, US DOLLARS, WHAT DO YOU RESPOND?

HINCKLEY:

THAT'S SOMEBODY'S GUESS. THAT'S JUST A WILD GUESS. WELL, THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, THIS, YES…IF YOU COUNT ALL OF OUR ASSETS, YES, WE ARE WELL-OFF. BUT THOSE ASSETS, YOU HAVE TO KNOW THIS, ARE NOT MONEY-PRODUCING. THOSE ASSETS ARE MONEY-CONSUMING. THOSE ASSETS, INCLUDING MEETING HOUSES, CHURCHES, THOUSANDS OF THEM ACROSS THE WORLD, THEY INCLUDE TEMPLES, THEY INCLUDE UNIVERSITIES, THEY INCLUDE WELFARE PROJECTS, THEY INCLUDE EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES, THEY INCLUDE ALL THE MISSIONARY WORK, THEY INCLUDE HUMANITARIAN WORK, THEY INCLUDE ALL THESE THINGS WHICH USE MONEY. WHICH DON'T PRODUCE MONEY. THE CHURCH IS…THE INCOME OF THE CHURCH COMES FROM THE CONSECRATIONS OF THE PEOPLE, WHO TITHE THEMSELVES, PAY THEIR TITHES, THE ANCIENT LAW OF THE TITHE IS THE CHURCH'S LAW OF THE MANSE. AND THAT'S WHERE THE MONEY COMES WHICH OPERATES THE CHURCH. IF YOU LOOK AT OUR BALANCE SHEET, THAT SHOWS ALL THE FACILITIES THAT WE HAVE, AND THE PROGRAMS WE CARRY, WE APPEAR VERY WEALTHY. BUT YOU MUST REALIZE THAT ALL OF THOSE PROGRAMS CONSUME MONEY, THEY DON'T PRODUCE IT. THAT THE MONEY WHICH WE USE COMES FROM THE CONSECRATIONS OF THE PEOPLE.

REPORTER:

IN MY COUNTRY, THE…WE SAY THE PEOPLE'S CHURCHES, THE PROTESTANTS, THE CATHOLICS, THEY PUBLISH ALL THEIR BUDGETS, TO ALL THE PUBLIC.

HINCKLEY:

YEAH. YEAH.

REPORTER:

WHY IS IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOUR CHURCH?

HINCKLEY:

WELL, WE SIMPLY THINK THAT THE…THAT INFORMATION BELONGS TO THOSE WHO MADE THE CONTRIBUTION, AND NOT TO THE WORLD. THAT'S THE ONLY THING. YES.

(By the way, isn't it neat the way he states that the Church's capital assets are not income-producing, and that all the income comes from tithing? That is breathtakingly misleading - or was the 'non income producing asset' bit a prophetic utterance referring to the likely performance of the Great and Spacious Mall?)