Uchtdorf violates Church policy on political neutrality

[IHAQ]

Despite LDS Church rules against top leaders contributing to political candidates, federal campaign reports indicated that popular Latter-day Saint apostle Dieter Uchtdorf made 13 donations last year and early in 2021, totaling nearly $2,300, to Democratic Party funds and candidates, including Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.

Uchtdorf confirmed in an emailed statement Friday that the donations were made by his family “using an online account, which is shared by our family and associated with my name.”

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2021/03 ... -uchtdorf/
It would be interesting to know who, specifically, he means by "his family". And did he know ahead of time this was happening and gave his approval? Who's money was used? Etc. He has two children, 6 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. One assumes the list of suspects is very short. And what does he mean by "online account" - a shared bank account? an email account? I think members who pay his stipend deserve to know a lot more than this Bill Clintonesque response.

Any Uchtdorf contribution would violate the faith’s stated political neutrality policy, which declares that the church’s “general authorities and general officers … and their spouses and other ecclesiastical leaders serving full time should not personally participate in political campaigns, including promoting candidates, fundraising, speaking in behalf of or otherwise endorsing candidates, and making financial contributions.”

He regrets “such an oversight on my part,” the affable German said in his statement. “I fully support the church’s policy related to political donations from church leaders.”

I wonder how the FP will handle this...I'm guessing it will be swept under the carpet and Uchtdorf will never serve in a FP again.

In the separate FEC filings, the 80-year-old Uchtdorf, who became an apostle in 2004, is listed as “not employed,” “self-employed” or “retired.”

This is a great way to avoid paying tax on his paid, full time, lifetime Church employment.

[Res Ipsa]

I don't think the FEC filing is evidence of tax avoidance. Because churches are tax exempt, they aren't required to withhold income as other employers are. As a result, for tax purposes, they are treated as self-employed. Full information: https://www.taxslayer.com/blog/ultimate ... ministers/

[Shulem]

Despite LDS Church rules against top leaders contributing to political candidates, federal campaign reports indicated that popular Latter-day Saint apostle Dieter Uchtdorf made 13 donations last year and early in 2021, totaling nearly $2,300, to Democratic Party funds and candidates, including Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.

Apostles of the Church are more familiar with LDS Church rules than all other members of the Church, especially members who have served in the capacity of First Presidency, such as Uchtdorf. Why? These officers of the Church are the ones who make the rules and sign off on them as they continue to sustain, modify, and adjust the rules of the Church under their leadership. There is no excuse for an apostle (General Officer of the Church) for not being totally aware of the Rules of the Church! They sign off on the rules and commit to strictly abide by the rules while serving in the position in which they are entrusted.

13 donations totaling $2,300 is 13 instances of ignoring the rules and is not just an oversight but a habit. It could have just as well been double that amount or even triple, and would demonstrate the same blatant disregard for Church Rules. Uchtdorf has been shown to break a major rule that General Officers of the Church are sworn to abide and did it 13 times!

There must be a penalty for this. He broke the rules. What's the penalty? The entire body of the Church has the right to call upon the leadership of the Church to exact a penalty upon the rule breaking General Officer of the Church. Uchtdorf is accountable and must be punished. Breaking rules isn't just an oversight -- it's breaking rules and a thorough investigation should be undertaken to ascertain if these acts were done intentionally.

[Shulem]

Uchtdorf confirmed in an emailed statement Friday that the donations were made by his family “using an online account, which is shared by our family and associated with my name.”

Family means the family under his household with him PRESIDING over the entire family and acting as the Chief Financial Officer of the family -- one who is directly responsible for the funds in which he maintains.

The online account can only be accessed via a PASSWORD. How many people in Uchtdorf's family have access to that password whereby they can transfer money? Did his wife do it it? Does his wife know the password? Children? Just who in the family is transferring money in Uchtdorf's name without his knowledge?

I think Uchtdorf was aware that money was being transferred from his account in his name. I think an investigation would prove this to be the case. He knows the password and he (or a family member authorized by him) pressed the button to transfer funds. This happened 13 times!

[Shulem]

He regrets “such an oversight on my part,” the affable German said in his statement. “I fully support the church’s policy related to political donations from church leaders.”

He regrets an oversight? I think he just regrets that he got caught. He is lying. He does not fully support the church's policy related to political donations from church leaders and neither does he ensure that members of his family who share in the benefits of his account support the policy.

The entire Uchtdorf family has been caught with their pants down and papa Uchtdorf is guilty of mishandling funds and improperly dispersing those funds in a manner inconsistent with the rules laid down by the General Officers of the Church.

Uchtdorf should be removed from his position. He cannot be trusted and has violated a sacred trust.

[Shulem]

This shyster (bastard apostle) will do what he wants and bend the rules to suit his own purposes. Look into his eyes and you sense a feeling of mistrust and a darkness that leads to deception. This man is not an honest man.



I'll kill you if you get any closer

[Gabriel]

Despite LDS Church rules against top leaders contributing to political candidates, federal campaign reports indicated that popular Latter-day Saint apostle Dieter Uchtdorf made 13 donations last year and early in 2021, totaling nearly $2,300, to Democratic Party funds and candidates, including Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.

Uchtdorf confirmed in an emailed statement Friday that the donations were made by his family “using an online account, which is shared by our family and associated with my name.”

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2021/03 ... -uchtdorf/
It would be interesting to know who, specifically, he means by "his family". And did he know ahead of time this was happening and gave his approval? Who's money was used? Etc. He has two children, 6 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. One assumes the list of suspects is very short. And what does he mean by "online account" - a shared bank account? an email account? I think members who pay his stipend deserve to know a lot more than this Bill Clintonesque response.

Any Uchtdorf contribution would violate the faith’s stated political neutrality policy, which declares that the church’s “general authorities and general officers … and their spouses and other ecclesiastical leaders serving full time should not personally participate in political campaigns, including promoting candidates, fundraising, speaking in behalf of or otherwise endorsing candidates, and making financial contributions.”

He regrets “such an oversight on my part,” the affable German said in his statement. “I fully support the church’s policy related to political donations from church leaders.”

I wonder how the FP will handle this...I'm guessing it will be swept under the carpet and Uchtdorf will never serve in a FP again.

In the separate FEC filings, the 80-year-old Uchtdorf, who became an apostle in 2004, is listed as “not employed,” “self-employed” or “retired.”

This is a great way to avoid paying tax on his paid, full time, lifetime Church employment.

Was he donating in his capacity as apostle or as a "German Aviator""?

Screenshot_20210312-170815_Chrome.jpg (242.22 KiB) Viewed 1671 times

[IHAQ]

Here's what happened:

The FEC’s website reports 11 donations over a four-and-a-half-month span for a total of $2,086.67 to three candidates, a political action committee and the Democratic National Committee. The Deseret News initially reported an additional two donations for another $200, but an FEC spokesperson advised that all donations listed as made to ActBlue are accounted for in other reported contributions.

The listings show four contributions totaling $1,000 to or earmarked for President Joe Biden’s campaign. The first two of those donations was made through ActBlue on Aug. 23, 2020.

An additional $250 contribution was made on Nov. 15 to the Biden Fight Fund, a joint fundraising committee authorized by Biden for President and the Democratic National Committee. That same day, a $250 donation listed in Elder Uchtdorf’s name went to the DNC and was earmarked for the Biden Fight Fund.

The giving switched gears in December to the U.S. Senate runoff races in Georgia.

On Dec. 19, the donor provided the first of three contributions to Raphael Warnock’s campaign for a total of $378.33. The person also gave $208.34 in two donations to Jon Ossoff.

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2021/3/12 ... -elections

11 donations over a four-and-a-half month period is not an oversight.

Here's what Uchtdorf said:

“These donations were made by our family using an online account, which is shared by our family and associated with my name,” said Elder Uchtdorf, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in a statement provided to the Deseret News. “I regret such an oversight on my part. I fully support the church’s policy related to political donations from church leaders.”

He's working hard here to try and give an answer but really say nothing.

So, let's say this is something like a Dieter Uchtdorf PayPal account that he has given the password to his "family" so that they can all spend on it. Firstly, who does he mean by "family" - just his wife Harriett? Or his two kids, or his 6 grandkids, all of them? Secondly, where does the money come from to pay the bill for this PayPal account? Dieter only has one source of income - his modest stipend. Would a modest stipend cover a family spending pattern where $2,000 isn't noticed across four-and-a-half months? I think that's the worst case for the credibility of the Church - that one of their Apostles is so wealthy from his Church income that he can operate an open-season spending account for his family that he doesn't even check what's being spent.
That he doesn't check what is being spent is clear, because this story only broke because someone spotted his name on a SEC website and reported it. He either didn't spot the spending (assuming he didn't know about it), or chose not to come forward and proactively explain the "oversight". Perhaps he did and the Church told him to keep quiet.

The optics on this are terrible. Trump supporting members will now be thinking their tithing donations have helped the Democrats gain office. Other Church members will be looking at the Uchtdorf family rinsing the "modest Church stipend" on whatever the hell they like each month. How comfortable will those Republican leaning members be to sustain Uchtdorf in a few weeks time?

I don't think Uchtdorf's statement is anywhere near a good enough explanation, and that might pose a real problem for the Church because it leaves space for people to insert their own speculations.

[Moksha]

Uchtdorf should be removed from his position. He cannot be trusted and has violated a sacred trust.

Uchtdorf's family was exercising their rights as German or American citizens. I am pleased to learn of this because it might enable some LDS families to vote their pocketbook rather than what they believe to be the desires of their Authorities. I wish he would go a step further, for the sake of Central and South Utah residents, and deny that Trump is the new messiah. Utah desperately needs the honesty that a two-party system can bring to government.

[IHAQ]

A separate point on this from a commenter on the Trib article...

There is a legal problem here: Elder Uchtdorf just stated that one of his family members made multiple campaign donations in his name. That is called a straw donor, and is illegal under 52 U.S.C. § 30122: "No person shall make a contribution in the name of another person". Is that family member going to be prosecuted?

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2021/03 ... /comments/