Temporal Operations and Auditing of Church Accounts

(Chairman of Auditing Committee.) My brothers and sisters, — I will brush aside all formalities and seek to say what I have to say as briefly and concisely as I can, for I know the time of the conference is too valuable to be wasted in unnecessary words. ¶

The report of the Auditing Committee of the Church, just read in your hearing, in a general way covers the whole ground, and I can add nothing thereto ; but there are, perhaps, a few details that may be of interest to you, that it would be impossible to embody in a general report without making it unnecessarily lengthy. ¶

First, let me say this : There is in the minds of some people — though I do not believe in the minds of the Latter-day Saints, to any marked extent — a suspicion that the Auditing Committee, which you sustain at your conferences as the Auditing Committee of the Church, are dominated by the Church authorities to the extent that they would hardly make a report in any different form than that which has been presented to you. I will say, in order to dispel any suspicion of this kind, that it is wholly unfounded. The Auditing Committee never saw President Joseph F. Smith during the entire course of their labors, and were only brought face to face with him when they had completed their labors and made their report. I believe, on one occasion only, President Lund passed through the room where we were at work, and, in a friendly way we shook hands with him. As you are well aware, President John R. Winder was lying upon his deathbed, and as a matter of course we could not and did not see him. So that no set of men could have been more free from any outside influence acting upon their labors than were we. Every book and every source of information and every document which our judgment required to be brought before us was furnished with alacrity, and there was no evidence whatever that anything whatever was being withheld. ¶

Now, you understand that in the world at large, the constitution of the Mormon Church is considered a very delicate and perfect piece of machinery, and I am inclined to think, from my knowledge of the history and movement of mankind, that no more delicate and no more precise piece of machinery has ever been instituted upon the earth than that which constitutes the government, and exercise of authority, over the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Now, I say this in a religious capacity. We all understand, running side by side with these matters, there must be other activities than those that are considered strictly religious, that relate to our temporal affairs. I want to say that in this regard the machinery has been perfected from year to year, until now it is practically as perfect on the material side as it is on its religious side. I believe there are but few Latter-day Saints who are aware of the magnitude of the activities of the Church in all directions. I will briefly call your attention to a few of the more important features in regard to our temporal matters, that came under our review as auditors. ¶

First, at the head, as a matter of course, is the presiding office of the Church, the office of the First Presidency, who have the care and direction of the matters pertaining to the office of the trustee-in-trust. The amount of business transacted in that department is very great. Next below that comes the office of the Presiding Bishopric who report, directly to their officers above them. The amount of labor performed in that office is something beyond the ordinary knowledge of the Latter-day Saints. The accounts of sixty stakes or thereabout, and some six hundred wards, or thereabout, besides the missions in the various quarters of the earth, some twenty-one in number, are centered in that office; and so delicate is that machinery that I believe if any half-naked Maori, or inhabitant of the South Seas pays a tithing of a nickel, his name and the record of that account may be found in that building across the way. (Referring to the Presiding Bishop's Office.) Under the very able management of the present Presiding Bishopric, matters have been brought up and crystalized into a business condition that is very gratifying indeed. And let me here remark, without any intention of making a personal reference, that all four of the committee who signed this report, I believe, are professional bookkeepers, or at least they have been at some time in their lives, so they know what they are talking about when they speak in regard to these matters. ¶

Now, beside the Presiding Bishopric, there are other institutions of the Church. There is the Land and Title Department that has the record of the titles of all the properties of the Church. There is the Latter-day Saints' Hospital, a magnificent institution in its mission of mercy. I am sure if the Latter-day Saints could fully comprehend the good that it is doing, it would be held near and dear to their hearts. Briefly, let me say that, if I remember correctly, some twelve hundred surgical operations were performed there last year, and it is very fair to assume that six hundred of these operations were the means of saving life; and, yet, this hospital is where people go who are in the last extremities of distress and disease, notwithstanding that, the mortality in that hospital is less than the average mortality in other hospitals in the United States. ¶

Then we have the Deseret News, a large, flourishing, and ably managed institution performing a work for good that is almost beyond calculation. Also we have the Bureau of Information. We audited their accounts, and we cannot speak too highly in regard to their labors. Commencing a few years ago with a donation of $100.00, for capital, they invested that amount in books and pamphlets to be used in connection with their mission, and so judiciously have they managed this matter that this one hundred dollars, without any outside help, has grown now to be $9,000.00, which they have invested in books and pamphlets which they either sell or give away to all who ask for them. The number of strangers who call upon them and receive information as regards the Church, the State, the country in all their various functions, is very great. ¶

Now, I have mentioned only a few of the leading activities of the Church. There are a great number of others. Of course, you will understand that in every stake, to a certain extent, they may have duplicates of some of these things, and also in the many wards, and all these center in the Presiding Bishop's office. Besides taking care of the dollars and cents, the Presiding Bishop's office gathers a great mass of statistics in regard to other affairs of the Church, this, I believe, the people as a whole are unaware of, and which to me are very interesting. I want to call your attention to some of these and let you draw your own conclusions. But before reading any of these statistics, I want to disabuse the public mind, and especially that of the Latter-day Saints, of an impression which has gone out — I do not know to what extent, but I do not think to any great extent, but to whatever extent it may be, I believe this impression ought to be dispelled, and it is this: that it is unfair and unjust, in a sense, to gather the tithes and donations from the various wards and stakes in the outlying portions of the country and bring them to Salt Lake City, for the purpose of enriching Salt Lake and impoverishing to the same extent the localities from whence these moneys have come. It may surprise you when I tell you that 51 per cent of all the tithes paid by the people last year in all the stakes of Zion was returned directly to them to be used for various needs in their own localities. Now, you will readily understand that this cannot be returned in the same proportion that it has been received, because circumstance and conditions vary. The wants of one stake or locality this year may be different from next year. One stake may need help and assistance in one direction this year, and it may be years again before they need help again. So a uniform return of the funds that you donate would be impossible. As an illustration, the needs and wants of one of the largest stakes, at some distance from Salt Lake, this last year were such that 103 per cent of their tithes were returned to them, or, in other words, all that they paid was returned to them, plus 3 per cent more. I only hastily impressed some of these figures upon my mind, but I remember that there was another stake where 80 per cent was returned, and so it runs with varying proportions all down the line. When we consider the expenditures of a general character, that all are interested in, whatever the locality, in regard to certain general expenses of the Church, which must be met in some one locality, — when we consider the proportion that each should pay to defray these expenses —I haven't figured it out, but I verily believe that the people of Salt Lake county, would have the right of jealousy and suspicion, if there were any cause, and that they do not receive the amount of money from the outside that they are entitled to. Or, in other words, I believe Salt Lake county, comprising the stakes which were once the Salt Lake stake, pays more into the general fund than they receive, so that they are at a disadvantage in this regard. If my memory serves me correctly, the various stakes now within the lines of the old Salt Lake stake, received only 40 per cent of their tithes last year in return for their wants, as against 51 per cent that was returned to the stakes as a whole. ¶

Now, it possibly may not be necessary to speak of a matter I have in mind, and yet I know some people discuss this phase of the question which I am going to bring before you. There are a few people who are naturally suspicious, and our outside friends, too, are very suspicious, because they have an idea that this Church is a huge machine for making money — for a few people, for a few wise ones ! I remember, many years ago a correspondent of "The Dollar" newspaper, published in Philadelphia, described the tithing office as a place where they 'kept good things for the knowing ones. Now, if you will take my word, and I believe you will, I want to say that no undue amount of the funds donated by the Latter-day Saints goes into the hands of the presiding officers of the Church. The revenues of the Church, from certain directions, are sufficient to pay the expenses of the leading authorities, without trenching to the amount of a dollar upon the tithes of the Church, — so that every dollar that you pay in, in the matter of tithing may be and is used for the general wants and needs of the Church, according to the spirit of inspiration in the minds of those who have the direction of these things. ¶

Now I am going to say something that is a little embarrassing to me. I am inclined to think that of all men that are in this congregation, I am, perhaps, as little a man-worshiper as any amongst you, and it is distasteful to me to praise any man to his face. I would rather President Smith would not hear what I say ; but I want to say this, that I can't conceive that any man could administer the financial affairs of the Church with a truer conscience or a firmer conviction that its funds are sacred funds, and that they are funds belonging to the great God who created this Church than does President Smith. With that view, he and those associated with him administer every dollar, and as stated in our certificate, I believe, that every dollar has been expended wisely. As business men and bookkeepers, we did not find any money going in any direction that we could disapprove of, and I believe if every one of you who are before me this day could see and have an insight into these matters, as we have had, you too would be perfectly willing to join in the certificate that has been read in your hearing. ¶

Now, there is this pleasing feature that came to our attention, — the tithes and offerings of the Church showed a very gratifying increase over the previous year — quite a material increase. Well, how do you interpret that? I might also say that the tithes and revenues of the Church have shown a very material increase over the previous years. True, I understand that we are having years of increased financial prosperity. I understand that, but taking this into consideration, I believe that the people are paying their tithes and offerings out of proportion to the increased material prosperity of the country, and I account for it this way : The people as a whole have implicit confidence in the honesty, integrity and wisdom of those to whom they entrust these sacred funds. There is something about an honest man that all people apprehend without it being necessary for his friends to assert that he is honest, and without it being necessary for him to assert it. The best evidence of this was the magnificent testimonial that was given in this building, a few days ago, to our departed brother, John R. Winder. I believe that it came from the very depths of the hearts of the people. The esteem they showed him sprang from the belief that he was a thoroughly honest and conscientious man ; and let me testify to you that after an association with him — civil, religious, and military — for something over fifty years, I know that to be the case; and after a close and intimate association of seventeen years in temple work, I am doubly assured of it. You know he was a man never on dress-parade, but he believed that the people knew that he was honest ; and the people know that his confreres are honest, and this knowledge or belief is manifested in the willingness with which they pay these increased revenues and donations. ¶

Now I believe I have said enough along these lines, and I am egotistical enough to believe that you believe what I say. ¶

As I have already remarked, there are some very interesting statistics kept in the Presiding Bishop's office, and I believe that in the future they will gather in others that will be of interest as well as benefit to the Church. Let me call your attention to the fact that the birthrate amongst the members of the Church, within the stakes of Zion — mind you I don't mean the birthrate of the state of Utah, or any other state where the Saints are located, — but the birth-rate amongst the Latter-day Saints in the stakes of Zion, leaving out the missions in the world, was 39 per thousand. It may be known to some of you that one thousand is used as the unit of measurement in vital statistics, for the reason that a smaller unit would make disagreeable fractions. The birth-rate amongst the Latter-day Saints was 39 per 1,000 as against 32 in the United States as a whole, or an advantage in our behalf of about 20 per cent. The death-rate was 9.9 or in other words, nine persons and 9-10 of a person died per thousand amongst the Latter-day Saints during the year 1909, against an average in the United States of about 17 per thousand, so that the death-rate among the Latter-day Saints was a little over half of the general average death-rate of the country. Brother Heber J. Grant, at one of our meetings called attention to the fact — he being an insurance man — that the lowest deathrate amongst the life insurance companies, that he was aware of, had fallen but once or twice below ten. Ours is just a trifle below ten, and bear this in mind that the deathrate in insurance companies covers a class of people who are supposed to be physically perfect. They undergo an examination, or a physical test, and their records are considered, and their records for generations before them, and all doubtful cases are eliminated ; and to but a very limited extent does it cover children ; and yet in the world at large their death-rate is equal to the Latter-day Saints that covers the aged, the infirm and little children, and we know it is the history of the world that mortality amongst children is much greater than it is among people of maturer age. Then there is this other thing that must be taken into consideration in getting ratios,— that the Latter-day Saints, have more children according to population, per thousand, than the people of the United States as a whole. These things must be taken into consideration in order to get a proper measure of this question. ¶

The marriage-rate amongst the Latter-day Saints, last year, was 16.5 per thousand; that is, sixteen persons and a half were married out of every thousand. Of course, you can readily understand that that half person was not married, but that is the way we have for getting at these proportions and percentages. I have not the other per cent, but I am inclined to think our percentage is higher than is to be found elsewhere. ¶

There are 31 widows and widowers per thousand of population amongst the Latter-day Saints. These are, presumably, mostly elderly people. ¶

Here is one feature that may strike you as a little strange. (I am reminded that I ought to speak louder, but my voice is already breaking.) There are fifty persons per thousand over twenty-one years of age unmarried. The remedy for that is in your hands. (Laughter.) Here is a very important item. During the year 1909, there were 2,748 persons married in the temples. During the same time, there were forty-six persons, or twenty-three couples divorced, among those who had been married in the temples—not necessarily among those who were married in the temples last year, but that figure represents the number of divorces granted to members of the Church who had been married in the temples at any time. Figuring 46 divorces as about the average for a year, that would be 1.6 per cent of the number married in the temples. During the same year 83 members were divorced who received civil marriages. Carried out into percentages, the result would be 3.6 per cent of divorces among those who were married outside of the temples, as against 1.6 per cent for those who were married in the temples. In other words there is a factor of safety to married life, in behalf of temple marriages of about 2½ to 1. ¶

There were 2,065 missionaries in the field on the first day of January, 1910, and it takes about $500,000.00 a year, from their relatives and friends, to sustain them. This money is not counted in the financial statements of the Church, they are personal matters between the missionaries and their relatives and friends. ¶

Forty-six per cent of the Church population are enrolled in the Sunday Schools. Now, do not get the idea that 46 per cent of the population are children. It means the total of the persons engaged in Sunday School work, the teachers as well as the children. I think this is a marvelous showing, that 46 per cent of the people are engaged in Sunday School work, either as pupils or as teachers. They are engaged in teaching and learning the way of life and salvation. ¶

Nine and one-tenth per cent were enrolled in the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations ; 8.8 per cent were enrolled in the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations ; 19 per cent were enrolled in the Primary associations, and 10 per cent were enrolled in the Religion classes. There are 41,586 persons in the Church who hold the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood, and 33,357 who hold the lesser or Aaronic Priesthood. ¶

Now, in view of the preciousness of the time, I believe I have said enough. Perhaps I have said as much as most of you will remember about these matters. I may close by expressing the great pleasure and gratification that I have had in these labors. ¶

There is one thing, however, that comes to my mind, that I think I must speak of. You remember the days when the old tithing office order was largely current amongst us, and frequently it got into a condition which some people regarded with contempt. Nevertheless, when the proposition came to do away with the system and do away with a tithing office here, and not receive tithing in kind, I was rather opposed to it, for I was attached to those old tithing office orders, just as the people of the United States were attached to the old greenbacks. You know the green-backs saved the nation during its hour of peril ; and the old tithing office orders were the means of bringing bread and meat to the mouths of a great many worthy and deserving people. I had a great veneration for the old system ; but in the march of events, and as this Church must grow and spread and increase in all directions along the lines of higher intelligence and progress, it has been found necessary to abandon the old system, but I almost feel like saying, God bless the old tithing office order. (Laughter.) God bless you all, my brethren and sisters, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶