After “60 Minutes” aired a 13-minute segment Sunday about the finances of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the church issued a statement.
The CBS news program featured a whistleblower who revisited his 2019 complaint to the IRS that the church should spend more of its investment fund on charity. The church spends billions of dollars a year on various humanitarian, educational and missionary efforts, in addition to funding more than 30,000 congregations around the globe. The church says it invests a percentage of tithing donations received each year for future needs.
The IRS has never contacted the man who spoke to “60 Minutes,” the program said.
The church’s statement said that its practices are designed to ensure it has funds to fulfill its mission now and in the future.
The full statement said:
The church believes in being financially responsible by carefully ensuring it has adequate resources available to fulfill its divinely appointed responsibilities. To church members who support the work of salvation through living the gospel of Jesus Christ, caring for those in need, inviting all to receive the gospel and uniting families for eternity, we’ll continue to move forward consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ which makes this world a better place.
It’s unfortunate ‘60 Minutes’ sought to elevate a story based on unfounded allegations by a former employee who has a different view on how the church should manage its resources.
The Deseret News covered the “60 Minutes” program as part of an extensive explanatory story on Sunday that outlined the history of the church’s finances and the effect of that history on its financial decisions.