David Nielsen, a former employee of Ensign Peak Ensign Peak cancel Ensign Peak is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ investment firm. It was established in 1997.

, was interviewed by the CBS program, 60 Minutes. They also interviewed W. Christopher Waddell, the first counselor in the Mormon Church’s presiding bishopric. Nielsen said the LDS Church receives about 7 billion dollars in tithing. Nielsen said that Ensign Peak used tithing to build a 100 billion dollar investment fund. Nielsen claims that during his tenure Ensign Peak only ever used these funds for two purposes: to bail out an insurance company and invest in City Creek Mall. Nielsen believes that the LDS Church defrauded its members and defrauded the IRS by building such a large investment portfolio, tax-free. Waddell said that Nielsen did not have the full picture of the investments and that the LDS Church uses Ensign Peak’s investment returns for many purposes in the church. He also said that the Mormon Church invests money for the future and times of financial instability.

From 1997 to 2019 the LDS Church’s investment firm, Ensign Peak Ensign Peak cancel Ensign Peak is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ investment firm. It was established in 1997.

, filed its securities with the SEC under subsidiary companies, or shell companies. Ensign Peak followed the advice of lawyers while filing these forms with the SEC. The specific manner in which Ensign Peak reported its investments violated SEC rules. Ensign Peak agreed to pay a $4 million fine and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints paid a $1 million fine. When the SEC made their concerns known to the LDS Church in 2019, the church began filing its SEC forms correctly. info Information Sources: cancel https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-issues-statement-on-sec-settlement

David Nielsen was employed by Ensign Peak Ensign Peak cancel Ensign Peak is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ investment firm. It was established in 1997.

, an investment firm owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After leaving the church, David Nielsen left Ensign Peak and filed a complaint with the IRS. Lars, David’s brother, helped him prepare the IRS complaint and provided a copy of it to the Washington Post. info Information Sources: cancel https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/mormon-church-has-misled-members-on-100-billion-tax-exempt-investment-fund-whistleblower-alleges/2019/12/16/e3619bd2-2004-11ea-86f3-3b5019d451db_story.html

MormonLeaks posted paystubs from the years 1999 and 2000. They purport to show that the yearly pay for President Henry B. Eyring was $83,132.75. According to an interview with the founder of MormonLeaks, Ryan McKnight, he stated that his objective was to present the documents, without giving any interpretation of what they meant. He said, “I'll let the viewers of this document decide if this is a modest stipend. I don't care how much they receive. It doesn't inherently reflect poorly on leaders of the church. It really applies only to the fact that it hasn't previously been disclosed." info Information Sources: cancel https://mormonleaks.io/wiki/index.php?title=File:Record_of_Payroll_or_Allowance_for_Henry_B_Eyring-1999-2000.pdf https://www.deseret.com/2017/1/10/20603771/mormonleaks-dumps-four-new-documents-about-lds-church

Ensign Peak Ensign Peak cancel Ensign Peak is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ investment firm. It was established in 1997.

Advisors (also called Ensign Peak) was formed and registered with the government as a supporting organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The purpose of Ensign Peak was, and still is, to take a small portion of tithing contributions and invest them so that the church can save money for the future.

Time Magazine wrote a cover article about the finances and enterprises of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Time article projected the wealth of the LDS Church at $30 billion. The article said that if the LDS Church were a for-profit business, it would earn $5.9 billion every year. The article made this caveat: “There are richer churches than the one based in Salt Lake City: Roman Catholic holdings dwarf Mormon wealth. But the Catholic Church has 45 times as many members. There is no major church in the U.S. as active as the Latter-day Saints in economic life, nor, per capita, as successful at it.”

In response to the Time Magazine article, the LDS Church released a statement, clarifying that the real wealth of the church is its members. Second, it said that it believed the projected wealth of the church was exaggerated. Bruce Olsen, the managing director of LDS Public Affairs, also said that “the bulk of the Church's assets are money-consuming assets, rather than money-producing." info Information Sources: cancel https://search-ebscohost-com.byu.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9707302962&site=ehost-live https://www.thechurchnews.com/1997/8/2/23251896/church-issues-response-to-time-magazine-story.

President N. Eldon Tanner N. Eldon Tanner cancel N. Eldon Tanner was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 9, 1898. He moved with his family to Canada as a young boy. He grew up on a farm in Alberta, Canada. After graduating, Tanner became the principal of a school where he fell in love with Sara Isabelle Merrill. They married and had five daughters. Eventually, Tanner became the president of a petroleum company. In October of 1960, Tanner was called as an assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in October 1962. He became the second counselor in the First Presidency in October 1963. He served as a counselor to President Joseph Fielding Smith, President Harold B. Lee, and President Spencer W. Kimball.

became the counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS Church. He was also put in charge of church finances. He stopped all deficit spending, which had been happening for many years. This included halting construction on the new Church Office Building in Salt Lake City for five years. info Information Sources: cancel https://www.deseret.com/faith/2023/5/14/23649253/cbs-60-minutes-mormon-lds-church-finance-story-what-it-missed

During President Henry D. Moyle Henry D. Moyle cancel Henry D. Moyle was born in April, 1889 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He married Clara Alberta Wright and they had six children. Moyle pursued multiple degrees in science and then a law degree. He worked in Utah in many different business and law efforts. He was called to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in April 1947. He worked extensively with the church’s welfare program. He became a counselor in the First Presidency in June 1959.

’s tenure as a counselor in the First Presidency, the Mormon Church built over 1,000 new church buildings as well as two new temples. By 1962, the church accrued a large debt. It spent $32 million more than it received in tithing. info Information Sources: cancel https://www.deseret.com/faith/2023/5/14/23649253/cbs-60-minutes-mormon-lds-church-finance-story-what-it-missed

J. Reuben Clark J. Reuben Clark cancel J. Reuben Clark was born in Grantsville, Utah on September 1, 1871. He was the oldest of ten children. Grantsville only offered schooling through the eighth grade. Clark went to the University of Utah where he received his high school diploma and bachelor of science in four years, all while being the editor of the school newspaper, student body president, and secretary to the university president, Dr. James E. Talmage. Clark graduated as the valedictorian. He married Luacine Annetta Savage and had four children with her. He attended Columbia Law School and was made assistant solicitor of the U.S. State Department three months after graduation. Later, he opened a private law practice in Washington, D.C. After serving as a government lawyer in World War I, Clark became the undersecretary of state and then the U.S. ambassador to Mexico. In 1934, Clark was called to be an apostle and counselor in the first presidency of the LDS Church. He helped create the Mormon Church’s welfare program and helped balance the budget of the church. Clark died in 1961.

, a counselor in the First Presidency, instituted a new financial policy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This policy only allowed the LDS Church to spend 28% of the tithing it received for church endeavors. The other funds were used to resolve the church’s debt, which it had accrued during the Great Depression.

The Mormon Church continued its cycle of solvency and debt. A period of debt began in 1893 for the church. During this time, President Lorenzo Snow Lorenzo Snow cancel Lorenzo Snow was born on April 3, 1814 in Ohio. In 1836 he was invited by his sister, Eliza R. Snow, to learn Hebrew with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He joined the Mormon Church after his experience studying with them. Snow married his first wife in Nauvoo in 1845. He was made an apostle in 1849. Snow also served many missions across the globe. He was a missionary in the U.S. Great Britain, Italy, Malta, Palestine, and Hawaii. After the death of Wilford Woodruff, Snow served as prophet and president of the LDS Church from 1898 to 1901.

asked members of the LDS Church to recommit to paying their tithing, which it seemed they were not doing. By 1901 half of the Mormon Church’s debt was paid by tithing. By 1907, the church was solvent again.

Previous to the Panic of 1893, the Mormon Church had secured a loan of $500,000 from a San Francisco bank. When the Panic of 1893 began and people made a run on banks, withdrawing their money. The LDS Church’s bank (Zion’s Bank), along with many banks across the nation, were drained of their capital. Because of the economic crisis, the church could not make the payment on their $500,000 loan. Elder Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant cancel Heber J. Grant was born on November 22, 1856, in Salt Lake City, Utah. His mother was widowed only nine days after Grant was born. Grant and his mother struggled financially, but Grant worked hard from a young age to help his mother, even becoming a bookkeeper at 15 years old. At the age of 23 Grant was called to be a stake president for the LDS Church. He was made an apostle just two years later. He served as an apostle for 36 years, 27 of which he served as prophet and president of the Mormon Church. He oversaw the church during a period of significant changes. During the Great Depression, he was president of the church and he oversaw the creation of the welfare program. Grant had a stroke in 1940 but continued to serve as president of the church until his death in 1945.

, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, went to New York City and secured a loan from an individual named John Claflin. The loan allowed the church to make the minimum payment on their loan on time. The church was saved from having to declare bankruptcy.

The Edmunds-Tucker Act was passed by the Congress of the United States. It made polygamy illegal in U.S. territories. It took the vote away from women, who were given the vote in Utah in 1870. It also dissolved the corporation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and allowed the U.S. government to seize the property of polygamists and the LDS Church if it exceeded an amount of $50,000. The U.S. government’s seizure of these properties placed the LDS Church in deep debt. info Information Sources: cancel https://archives.utah.gov/research/exhibits/Statehood/intronew.htm https://wchsutah.org/laws/edmunds-tucker-act1.php

Congress passed a new bankruptcy law in 1841. Under this law, Joseph Smith Joseph Smith cancel Joseph Smith Jr., born on December 23, 1805, in Sharon, Vermont, was the fifth child of Joseph Smith and Lucy Mack. He had significant spiritual experiences that led him to his prophetic calling, including a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ in 1820. He translated and published the Book of Mormon. He established The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 1830. As the leader of the church, he called Apostles and other leaders, defined doctrines, and guided the community's growth in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. Joseph Smith was martyred on June 27, 1844, in Carthage, Illinois.

applied for bankruptcy. He had significant personal debts and debts he acquired as the trustee of the LDS Church. Some of Smith’s debts were from building the Kirtland Temple, two Ohio mercantile firms: Cahoon, Carter and Co. and Rigdon, Smith and Co. After the expulsion of Mormons from Missouri, Smith also purchased lands in Illinois and Iowa on credit. Smith and his lawyers made several mistakes when filing for bankruptcy, including transferring property to his family members so that it wouldn’t be used to pay his creditors.

John C. Bennett, an excommunicated member of the Mormon Church, wrote an article in a local paper about Smith’s property transfers. The U.S. government investigator delayed Smith’s bankruptcy hearing to investigate the matter further. The investigator also delayed in order to examine a debt Smith owed to the U.S. government for the purchase of the steamboat Nauvoo. Many of the records about the matter were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The bankruptcy settlement never appears to have been resolved. info Information Sources: cancel https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/introduction-to-joseph-smiths-bankruptcy/1?highlight=bankruptcy

After the economic struggles and failures of the Mormon Church in Kirtland, Ohio, the leadership of the church wanted to pay off its debts and fund a temple in Missouri. According to Joseph Smith Joseph Smith cancel Joseph Smith Jr., born on December 23, 1805, in Sharon, Vermont, was the fifth child of Joseph Smith and Lucy Mack. He had significant spiritual experiences that led him to his prophetic calling, including a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ in 1820. He translated and published the Book of Mormon. He established The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 1830. As the leader of the church, he called Apostles and other leaders, defined doctrines, and guided the community's growth in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. Joseph Smith was martyred on June 27, 1844, in Carthage, Illinois.

, while he was pondering these questions, he received revelations about member contributions, called tithing. These revelations required church members to contribute their surplus property and “one-tenth of all their interest.” This was interpreted by Bishop Edward Partridge Edward Partridge cancel Edward Partridge was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on August 27, 1793. He married Lydia Clisbee in 1819. After Partridge was contacted by missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was baptized in December of 1830. He was called to be the first bishop of the Mormon Church while living in Kirtland, Ohio in 1831. He served as bishop of the church for the rest of his life. He was tarred and feathered because of his association with the church in Jackson County, Missouri. He served as a missionary throughout many states in the U.S. He died in Nauvoo, Illinois in 1840.

to mean “10 percent of what Saints would earn in interest if they invested their net worth for a year.” Today, the Mormon Church says that “church members give one-tenth of their income” as tithing. info Information Sources: cancel https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/revelations-in-context/the-tithing-of-my-people?lang=eng https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/tithing?lang=eng#p2

An extreme economic downturn began in 1837 called the Panic of 1837. The banking industry in the United States already had problems because it was not strictly regulated. The Panic caused many banks to fail, including the Kirtland Safety Society, a bank, or joint-stock company. There were other contributing factors to the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society including a lack of investors and the fact that many of the investors were already in debt from building the Kirtland Temple. info Information Sources: cancel https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/kirtland-safety-society?lang=eng

Some important factors led the LDS Church to try to create a bank, or joint stock company. The first factor was that the Mormon Church had assets, but at this point most of these were land assets or other non-liquid assets. Secondly, the Kirtland Temple was dedicated in March of 1836, but to complete the temple, the LDS Church had accumulated debt. Leaders of the church wanted to gather more liquid assets to try and pay off their debts from the temple. They believed that the way to accomplish this was to create their own bank–the Kirtland Safety Society. Church leaders began selling shares in the Kirtland Safety Society in October of 1836. People were offering up their land and other assets as collateral. The Kirtland Safety Society was formally established on November 2, 1836.