Bought Yahoo wrote: ↑Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:48 pm
When I was a bishop I had practically unlimited access to money to support the poor. I provided support for members and nonmembers alike. I served as the Transient Bishop for two years -- a stake wide calling. Lots of drug addicts and homeless people coming through my stake. I provided support and put them up in apartments. I remember providing support for a former Primary President's counselor of mine who became a meth addict and lost her children to her ex husband. She was living in her car turning tricks.
On on occasion, a member of the County Board of Supervisors called me directly and asked me to provide support for two married ex-CHP officers who were not members of the Church but who had cashed out their pensions for a losing speculative investment. I did it.
Of course, I didn't go crazy and give what was asked merely because it was asked. And I tried to steer them first to the bishop's storehouse. About 50% of the time, I was told that the applicant declined to go to the storehouse to pick up food and so I didn't provide money for food.
And I, as a personal matter, never provided money to make a mortgage payment. Some of those requests were crazy -- $8000 on an underwater home. Instead, I would provide money to pay what would be a reasonable rent. Some of the people my ward supported were on support for the entire time of my calling -- seven years. And, some of them I would consider to be able-bodied. They just didn't want to work.
But I would provide advice. I would advise members to walk away from their homes if the mortgage was higher than its value. ("My wife won't accept living in a lesser home.") I would advise members to surrender their cars to the bank. ("I don't want the hit to my credit.") I would advise young married couples to go first to their parents for support.
I bought cars. I spend several thousand dollars for a car for a non-member coming out of prison who was married to a member. I paid for new dentures. I paid for medical procedures. In addition to the normal stuff -- food and rent.
I had the occasion to review the contribution patterns of other bishops, and saw that one bishop paid $40K in one year to one family, which family later turned against the Church.
The amount of wealth the church has had nothing to do with what I could spend.
And nobody ever questioned my expenditures. Nor did any training session I ever had with the stake president give me any "guidelines." I do recall, however, that the Church had some sort of review process for medical procedures, requiring the bishop to access public funds after a certain amount was spent. I never ran up against that limit.