Friday, February 21, 2020

Temple Fund Update

I was asked by the Temple Fund Committee to post the following statement:



STATEMENT ABOUT FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY 
FOR DONATED TEMPLE FUNDS

All funds donated to the Temple Fund Committee have been and are held in their entirety without any disbursal for any reason, by the committee.  Not one cent has been spent, or is expected to be spent, until construction commences.

Each person or party who has donated has received an acknowledgement from a member of the committee giving thanks for their contribution.  Every donation is carefully recorded in two separate records maintained by two members of the committee.

We plan to provide full transparency of all gifts (with donor names withheld for privacy) as well as an accounting for all expenditures when the temple is complete.

The fund at this point has earned over $11,000.00 in interest, which also has not been spent, and which will continue to accumulate as part of the temple funds, until construction begins.


The Temple Fund Committee

Karen Strong
Janette VanLeer
Elaine Henderson

10 comments:

  1. Wow! This is great! I have no idea how long it has been accumulating interest but kind of figured the donation amount was lower (just making a simple, rough calculation in my head what the total donation could possibly be). But honestly I would have no clue as to what the amount is at all. Is there a site we can use to send a donation?

    Vince

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here's that site, Vince. It does not reflect the total, because people have also made private donations directly to any of the members of the Temple Fund Committee.

      http://www.thetemplefund.net

      Delete
  2. So, $11,000 in usury accumulated so far. Is it safe to assume Denver shares the same position as the brethren in Salt Lake in regards to usury? As far as I know he's never published a revelation on the matter or taught the doctrine or commandment. Should we assume Denver believes God changed his mind under the Pope just like he did with the Sabbath? A pretty big 180 from kicking the money changers out of the temple

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm. Lots to unpack here, including the definition of usury, the scriptures forbidding it, Christ's parables, the cleansing of the temple, and a great big pile of assumptions, interpretations, and even accusations. But I honestly don't have time to go through all that, and I won't convince you anyway.

      To prove that your intent is to solve what you perceive as a problem, rather than simply to criticize, why don't you propose a better solution? Ideally, please explain how to safely, legally, accumulate millions of dollars, keep it liquid, receive no interest, shield it from lawsuits, and minimize or eliminate taxes. Oh, and you can't form a church. Ready? Go!

      Delete
    2. Why on earth would you accumulate millions of dollars? It doesn't take that much money to build a real temple to God. He's not interested in adorning buildings with satanic money while his children starve in the streets.

      When men and women gather to Zion to build a temple they will be redeemed without money as Christ prophesied, and the Brighamites and other Americans who witness it will laugh at the temple's simplicity and humility.

      God hates robbery for a burnt offering, and says that receiving usury is the same as charging usury, and his prophets describe both as robbery.

      Now you explain to me why and when God reversed his commandment against usury because I missed that revelation. As for how to obey God's commandments while accumulating millions of dollars, I'm afraid I can't help you there

      Delete
    3. So let me get this straight. You claim to know what the Lord requires in an actual, functioning temple...and what it will cost to buy the land and build the building. And your main objection is to the amount.

      OK, so change the numbers at will. The problem is the same. Tell us how to safely accumulate and protect the fund. Whether it's 10 thousand or 10 million dollars, the problem remains the same. You gonna stuff that in a mattress?

      You need to look at the actual scriptures about lending money and how they are written, then explain how an interest-bearing bank account has anything whatsoever to do with the statements actually found in scripture. You are really making a stretch in the name of self-righteous criticism. Since you have redefined investment income or bank interest as usury, I sincerely hope you don't actually have any bank accounts. Otherwise you would be quite the hypocrite.

      It's clear your intent is merely to criticize and not to actually add anything constructive to the conversation. Do you suppose this is serving God?

      Delete
    4. Answer to the prayer for covenant page 12:

      "But if you do not honor me, nor seek to recover my people Israel, nor teach your children to honor me, NOR CARE FOR THE POOR AMONG YOU, NOR HELP LIGHTEN ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS, then you have NO promise from me and I will raise up OTHER PEOPLE who will honor and serve me and give unto them this land, and if THEY repent I will abide with THEM."

      The Lord has given no command to build a temple. He has given no command to save funds for a temple.

      There is significantly more than $11,000 worth of need among just those who have accepted this covenant, not to mention great need all around all of us.

      Somewhere, there is a group of other people stirring.

      Either we repent, or we will be passed over.

      Delete
    5. OpenMind, a couple of thoughts.

      Your assertions are based on assumptions that may not at all be true and may not be yours to make.

      The Lord absolutely HAS given a command that a temple will be built. I've written extensively on the subject. Odd that you would quote from one part of the Answer to prayer for covenant, but ignore other parts that require a temple.

      https://www.totheremnant.com/2019/04/how-long-part-6-commanded.html

      Likewise, the Lord does indeed require us to care for the poor among us. But he also requires a temple. As I've addressed previously at length, we are fools if we think we can succeed in the limited time we will have when the location is given if we have not prepared and laid aside resources.

      The Lord is in charge of this process, and if he requires a temple, then he requires us to use our resources to that end, as well as care for the poor. As he noted, we will always have poor among us. But some things are needful all the same. Expensive anointing ointment, for example, in the Savior's case, when the same argument was used against him.

      But we're plowing old ground. These arguments have all been made before. Much is being done for the poor, and we have no right to judge one another's efforts in these matters.

      If we are wise, we will be prepared. If we are not wise, we will fail. It's that simple.

      Delete
  3. Were the members of this committee chosen by revelation or by voice of the people? It just seems like too much money to entrust to 2 people instead of a larger group of unrelated, unacquainted people on the promise of future transparency.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As far as I know, these three women, like so many others who accomplish things on behalf of the covenant people, are volunteers. I wrote a fair bit about how this all came about at the time. (a three-part series starts at this link: https://www.totheremnant.com/2017/01/the-temple-part-1-house-of-glory.html)

      Delete