Are we in alignment with God in how we spend our time, talents and money resources? or are we out of balance?
Last week I took this photo of an alignment of Venus and the Moon in complete vertical alignment in the heavens. I couldn't help but think on my own personal alignment with Heaven and if I am off even a slightest degree.
I just came across a older article in the world religion news that stated the LDS Church has spent 1.2 Billion on Humanitarian and Welfare Aid..The headline to the article was impressive... :"LDS Church has spent 1.2 Billion on Welfare and Humanitarian Efforts" However, if you read the entire article, you will find out that the 1.2 Billion is the combined total over the past 30 YEARS. Elder Dallin H Oaks in a lecture last month stated that the LDS Church only spends "around" 40 million a year.
From the article, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is widely known for the humanitarian services that it provides worldwide. Last month, during a lecture given at the University of Oxford, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church said that the Church spends around $40 million on humanitarian, welfare, and other charity projects, worldwide, each year. It has been doing that for the past 30 years. Also, volunteers from the Church devote millions of hours of labor each year to assist in the projects"
Read more at World Religion News: "LDS Church has Spent 1.2 Billion on Welfare and Humanitarian Efforts" http://www.worldreligionnews.com/?p=29124
......
It is estimated in this article that the Church brings in 7,000,000,000.00 a year in tithing. So if I am doing my math correctly... less than 1% of our tithing goes to help the less fortunate through welfare and humanitarian aid. (exact amount is .57%)
It is like earning ten bucks and then only spending a nickel to help someone in need.
Sidenote: Someone might even want to compare the 40 million a year spent on humanitarian efforts with the estimated 4,000,000,000.00 that the church spent in a just a few years on building a mall in downtown Salt Lake.
