![\"Idaho's](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/04\/idaho-falls-temple-lds-830542-gallery.jpg\")
<\/a>(LDS Media Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Critics often claim that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> doesn\u2019t give enough money to charity.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What that typically means is that the Church doesn\u2019t do enough charitable work of the kind that they would approve. \u00a0Because, after all, the Church is<\/em> a charity. \u00a0In a sense, their complaint is rather like lamenting\u00a0that the Sierra Club doesn\u2019t dig water wells in Africa, or that the Red Cross supports no museums or opera companies, or that\u00a0M\u00e9decins Sans Frontiers saves few if any seabirds from oil spills.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Or, perhaps more accurately, their accusation means that the Church is doing things of which they disapprove. \u00a0These critics typically think that the money spent on temples should instead be spent on the homeless or on feeding the hungry. \u00a0(I\u2019ve recently seen a spate of such criticism in response to the renovation of the Idaho Falls Temple<\/a>.) \u00a0In other words, they don\u2019t believe in the importance of temples and the work of redeeming the dead.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Fine. \u00a0They don\u2019t need to do temple work or to support the construction of temples. \u00a0Devout Latter-day Saints believe in and support such efforts, but unbelievers are free to abstain.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Typically, these critics aren\u2019t<\/em> contributing to the work of the Church. \u00a0So their complaints about the donations of\u00a0other people are, sometimes, just a bit bemusing. \u00a0Moreover, whether they themselves are actually doing much to help the homeless or to feed the hungry is typically unclear and undemonstrated. \u00a0Certainly, their computers could be sold to buy rice, and the time they\u2019re spending online could be devoted to serving in soup kitchens. \u00a0(Two can play this game.)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Such critics often cite City Creek Mall in Salt Lake as their prize illustration of the Church\u2019s lack of charity. \u00a0But does their criticism actually make much sense? \u00a0Is it the indisputable slam dunk that they imagine it to be?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think so. \u00a0(See, for example, the argument made five years ago by Nathan Oman, in his \u201cCity Creek and the Choices of Thrift.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Nor do some other accusations made by critics fully withstand scrutiny. \u00a0(See, for example, Kaimi Wenger\u2019s nearly five-year-old response to \u201cBusiness Week\u2019s erroneous claim about LDS charitable giving.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Of course, what the critics are\u00a0often demanding is simply that, in a world where people are hungry or without shelter, the Church should be helping the hungry and the homeless.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But it is\u00a0<\/em>helping the hungry\u00a0and the homeless. \u00a0And the sick. \u00a0And the poor. \u00a0And the unemployed. \u00a0And the disabled.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Could it do more? \u00a0Yes. \u00a0Of course. \u00a0And there\u2019s plenty to be done.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe\u00a0harvest\u00a0truly\u00a0is<\/span>\u00a0great, but the labourers\u00a0are<\/span>\u00a0few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.\u201d \u00a0(Luke 10:2)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But, presumably, the critics could also do more. \u00a0Do they go to movies? \u00a0Do they eat out? \u00a0Do they have chairs and sofas in their homes? \u00a0Do they have cars? \u00a0Have they spent any money on music? \u00a0Those things could be abandoned or sold, and the money saved could be given away.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Is art frivolous? \u00a0Should art museums be shut down, their contents auctioned off, and the proceeds distributed among the poor? \u00a0Should there be symphony orchestras? \u00a0Rock concerts? \u00a0Ballet companies? \u00a0Baseball stadiums? \u00a0Football teams? \u00a0Is water skiing a crime against the hungry? \u00a0Is snowboarding an offense? \u00a0Should anybody own an iPhone or an iPad?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n These are actually serious questions, and the line will be drawn and the balance determined differently by different people at different times.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As things stand, though, the Church is<\/em> building chapels and temples, supporting missionary work around the world, subsidizing schools and universities, and, yes, helping the poor and the needy.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Consider, for example, the work of LDS Charities. \u00a0You can study\u00a0its full report here<\/a>, or read a much shorter summary here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And please recall that LDS Charities represents only a fraction of the work that the Church is doing in this regard. \u00a0There remain many other things, including fast offerings<\/a> and service missions<\/a> and Church Welfare<\/a>\u00a0(see also this<\/a>) and the myriads of projects undertaken by home teachers and visiting teachers and local congregations around the globe. \u00a0Not to mention the private initiatives undertaken by Latter-day Saints, such as the Liahona Children\u2019s Foundation<\/a>\u00a0and a number of others.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 \u00a0 Critics often claim that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn\u2019t give enough money to charity. \u00a0 What that typically means is that the Church doesn\u2019t do enough charitable work of the kind that they would approve. \u00a0Because, after all, the Church is a charity. \u00a0In a sense, their complaint is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n