Paid ministry in the LDS Church. Yes or no.

[_badseed]

I know local leaders are not paid— bishops, SPs.

I was under the impression though that at least some Area Authorities, MPs, and General Authorities got living allowances or stipends. Am I wrong on this? Do we know if anyone is paid anything? Are there any credible sources that talk about this?

Thanks in advance.

[_bcspace]

Paid ministry in the LDS Church. Yes or no.

No. Those who are paid aren't really the ministry. They aren't typically directly involved face to face with shepherding the flock which is too big for so few to handle.

The wiki definition is: "In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community. The term is taken from Latin minister “servant, attendant”, which itself was derived from minus “less.”

Notice the differentiation between those who perform the functions day in and day out from the actual leadership. Obviously the prophets and apostles do some of those things, but often so do the leadership of other churches who authorize ministers. Notice also the derivation of the word implying a lesser functionary.

Again from the wiki:

Etymologically, a minister is a person of ‘lower’ status, a ‘servant’. The word goes back via Old French ministre to Latin minister ‘servant, attendant’, which was derived from minus ‘less’."

So there you have it. The LDS Church has no paid ministry.

[Guest]

Hinckley in the Ensign November 1985 said...

I should like to add, parenthetically for your information, that the living allowances given the General Authorities, which are very modest in comparison with executive compensation in industry and the professions, come from this business income and not from the tithing of the people.

This is an open confession that the Church does indeed have a paid clergy commensurate in a modest way with Executive positions within multi million dollar corporations.
Hinckley also neglects to point out how those business interests were formed in the first place - by donations and invested tithing.

[_Buffalo]

bcspace, is, of course, lying. The first presidency, the 12, the 70s, temple presidents, mission presidents and others are all paid. The higher your position, the greater your salary.

[_badseed]

Hinckley in the Ensign November 1985 said...

I should like to add, parenthetically for your information, that the living allowances given the General Authorities, which are very modest in comparison with executive compensation in industry and the professions, come from this business income and not from the tithing of the people.

This is an open confession that the Church does indeed have a paid clergy commensurate in a modest way with Executive positions within multi million dollar corporations.
Hinckley also neglects to point out how those business interests were formed in the first place - by donations and invested tithing.

Great, thanks.

[_bcspace]

bcspace, is, of course, lying.

Buffalo, of course, can't point to anything that I have lied about. He's all bluster.

[_badseed]

Paid ministry in the LDS Church. Yes or no.

No. Those who are paid aren't really the ministry. They aren't typically directly involved face to face with shepherding the flock which is too big for so few to handle.

The wiki definition is: "In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community. The term is taken from Latin minister “servant, attendant”, which itself was derived from minus “less.”

Notice the differentiation between those who perform the functions day in and day out from the actual leadership. Obviously the prophets and apostles do some of those things, but often so do the leadership of other churches who authorize ministers. Notice also the derivation of the word implying a lesser functionary.

Again from the wiki:

Etymologically, a minister is a person of ‘lower’ status, a ‘servant’. The word goes back via Old French ministre to Latin minister ‘servant, attendant’, which was derived from minus ‘less’."

So there you have it. The LDS Church has no paid ministry.

From your explanation it seems to me that LDS leaders are not "paid" in the same way that Bill Clinton didn't have "sex" with Ms. Lewinsky.

All the legalism aside I find the following statement on the Church news site deceiving:
"Personal sacrifice is vital to the religious faith of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members volunteer their time to serve in various positions in tens of thousands of congregations throughout the world. Their service is critical at the local level because the Church has no full-time paid clergy."

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/blog/the- ... aid-clergy

[Guest]

bcspace, is, of course, lying.

Buffalo, of course, can't point to anything that I have lied about. He's all bluster.

Hi, bc space, welcome back. I hope you enjoyed your weekend. Speaking of bluster and personal integrity, please resolve this conundrum.

bcspace: the ban was because of disobedience

LDS church: “It is not known precisely why . . . this restriction [on the ordination of African-American men] began . . .” it being Official Doctrine and all

Thanks in advance.

[_Buffalo]

bcspace, is, of course, lying.

Buffalo, of course, can't point to anything that I have lied about. He's all bluster.

Here's the part where you lied:

So there you have it. The LDS Church has no paid ministry.

http://www.LDS.org/study/prophets-speak ... inistry%22

Ministry of Living Prophets and Apostles Reaches across the Earth

Including the dedication of a temple in Kyiv, Ukraine; apostolic prayers of dedication and blessing in six Balkan nations; meetings with Catholic Church officials at the Vatican in Italy; and ministering to people in other locations, the ministry of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the recent past evokes comparison with the ministry of the ancient apostles as recorded in the New Testament—the Acts of the Apostles.

The purpose of the ministry of modern apostles is to strengthen the faith of the 14 million members of the Church scattered throughout the earth and extend the gospel message to those lands and people that do not currently enjoy God’s blessings. Their work includes training local leaders, meeting with missionaries, building relationships with governmental officials and ministering to the needs of the growing Church membership.

[_Jason Bourne]

bcspace, is, of course, lying.

Buffalo, of course, can't point to anything that I have lied about. He's all bluster.

Your comment that GAs are not in the ministry and so if paid the Church can still claim a non paid clergy is a lie. An apostle is not a minister? The Prophet who holds all the priesthood keys are not ministers? What bunk. What a disingenuous response. Of course if you want to argue that they are just paid executives of a large corporation and really have no religious authority or duty have at it.

The truth is and the honest answer is by far the clergy in the Church is not paid. Those who work on a regular basis with local members are not paid. However there are about a hundred or less in the top leadership of the Church who devote their full time to their ministry that are paid.