Resilience

For context, I posted about this year's delayed gardening start on the main blog: 

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2020/07/hope-as-seed.html

Things didn't go as planned. There is still some joy. Just like life.

I planted about two dozen each of sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Three pumpkin seeds and about ten sunflowers germinated. That was not off to a good start. 

I also planted a lot of corn. That was definitely good seed; I put a few on a wet paper towel and every single one sprouted. However, a murder of crows was seen in the garden right after that, pecking away. Only one corn stalk is coming up now, that has no hopes of being pollinated. I don't mind sharing, but that felt like overkill.

Because there were such large blank spaces, I went and randomly bought any plants still available to try and fill in, even though it was late. Celery, beets, cauliflower, catnip, lettuce, and carrots withered as soon as they got in the ground. Well, the celery looked like it was going to take, but it didn't. Also, I think I saw some crows pecking the lettuce.

I also planted three packets of seeds from a mix of flowers geared for butterflies and bees. I have gotten a total of one flower from there.

And yet, things still work out. The sunflowers kept getting taller, which is great fun to watch. I have never had so many pumpkin blossoms fertilized, and never so soon after the first blossoms appeared. There are still a lot of blank spaces, but you can kind of see what I intended, especially if you focus right.

One very low point in my mother's dementia was when I gave her some petunias to plant about two years ago. That was something she loved to do year after year, and she was at a point where I thought she could have a few minutes unsupervised. In a few minutes she had uprooted every new growing sunflower and pumpkin. (I have had this vision for years, though this year is the closest I have gotten.) 

Imagine my surprise to discover a tiny petunia among the sunflowers this year.

For all her years of planting them, we have never had any self-seed. This one feels like a gift.

I was worried about if anything would have enough time to totally mature. Most of it should have gone in the ground around June 1st, and went in between July 25th and 27th. Still, things were green and cheerful and tall, so I felt pretty good. And then a hard wind blew for over a day, uprooting three of my sunflowers, including the tallest.

Well, the second tallest shot up way higher anyway, though it did it under some pretty brown, smoky skies.

I tried standing the fallen sunflowers back up, digging deeper and firming the dirt around them. It didn't matter; it was always "Timber!" and back down they would go. I knew I should clear them out, but I didn't have the heart. Those stalks still looked so strong. Then the greatest miracle of all happened.

They bloomed. I thought the comfort was going to be that even though I lost some things, I didn't lose everything. That there was still growth to look forward to.

But actually it's not just that you can bloom where you are planted. It's that even when storms knock you completely flat, and it looks like there is nothing left to do but decay, you can bloom even then.

I didn't know they could do that.

I have been thinking about how we say that God doesn't give you anything that you can't handle, but you may not be able to handle it the way you want. You handle it short-tempered and frustrated, or neglecting your own health, or doing well externally but wanting to die on the inside. And yet, you are still blooming, just not like you hoped.

Of course, the sweet potatoes were a total wash (though I have learned from my mistakes), and only half of my potatoes are growing. I am not even sure which ones, because the seed potato packages weren't labeled. They will either be bakers or mashers.

How much do we ever really know about what's next?

Preparing to evacuate

We are not currently in a danger zone, but many people are. With the brown skies and smoky air outside, there is no way of forgetting that there are fires burning across the state.

Our family was especially moved by this article:

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/in-depth/news/2020/09/10/oregon-wildfires-santiam-fire-evacuations-leave-family-members-dead/5759101002/?cid=facebook_Statesman_Journal&fbclid=IwAR3_wOMLVMlXGr58Z-CqT11zYbPoXQiQiyPkBhVzMaRyKGwp9UNm-0by-qs

We hurt for them, but we also thought of things that could have made a difference. That is not to criticize; I'm sure they will be thinking of everything that could have been different for a long time. I have nothing but compassion for them.

It seems the biggest issue is that the fire came in the night, catching them off guard and damaging the car.

I don't know a sure solution for this; you've got to sleep sometimes. If you are in an area where you don't have to evacuate yet, but might have to soon, for your specific circumstances think about that before you go to bed. Maybe you just decide to leave that night anyway, even though you may not need to. Maybe you set the alarm to check every two hours. Maybe you take turns sleeping and watching the news. Circumstances can change really quickly.

Like I said, my family is not in danger now, but we are talking about it.

I have posted on wildfires and evacuation before (August 2018 and December 2012 respectively), and those links are at the end of the post, but because we have been thinking, I am going to go over some of those thoughts now.

Transport:

It will be terrible trying to get three adults, one dog, and four cats in carriers into one car. It will be crowded and stressful. It is probably still better than trying to keep two vehicles together, especially if everyone else is trying to leave the area at the same time.

I am nonetheless very grateful that most shelters take pets now, and they are even making allowances for livestock.

Health and nutrition:

If you are going to a shelter, they are often bringing food in, at least for the humans. It still might not hurt to have some food for the animals and humans.

Take medications. Take information about the medications, like papers with the prescription doses and doctor information. And think about how taking the medication will work out.

If I bring my insulin, but not syringes, I can't take it. It I have syringes but not sterile alcohol pads, it's less safe taking it. If I don't have somewhere to put the used syringes, that's a problem. Also, the insulin is supposed to be refrigerated. It can hold up for a while, but those are all things to think about.

Also - back on pets - if we bring our dog's pills but no peanut butter, getting her to keep taking her pills will be much more challenging.

Clothing:

I did figure out what clothes I would take, but I had to acknowledge first that I have a lot of clothes that I would not take, and do not wear, and am not ever likely to need; why they are still in the way of the things I do need? I have so many socks with holes that I have been meaning to go through and haven't yet. I could make my day-to-day life easier, let alone my semi-panicked evacuation.

Memory:

The last time I wrote about this I was thinking of physical photo albums, but most of our pictures are digital now. With the space we'd have I can't take my computer (if you are using tablets you probably can and should take it), but I should be doing regular backups, and have one of those backups on a USB drive that I do take. Remote backups are still great - I could lose that thumb drive or it could melt - but it's good to have it.

Random:

I would take the library books, because they aren't our property and so that requires a higher level of responsibility.


Of course you should have birth certificates and things like that together and take them.

Always!

Check with your neighbors and make sure they are okay. In our neighborhood, almost every home has its own transportation, and the one who doesn't has relatives close by. She might still need a ride to family, or help contacting them. Don't leave anyone behind.


The more you work out early, the less room you leave for regret.

Stay safe.


Related posts:
https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2012/12/evacuation.html

https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2018/08/making-plan-wildfires.html

Mormons and racism

I have been thinking a lot about racism and church members lately (you can probably guess why), and I wanted to go back to the issue of Black men being denied the priesthood for several years.

Yes, you can read an essay on that:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng

You may also find that the essay leaves a lot to be desired, not really giving a good answer except pointing out that racism was common at the time, and bringing up any instances of things that did not look racist. These essays nonetheless disturbed several members badly, shaking their testimonies.

At the time I was among those unimpressed. I had already been pretty sure that the real issue had been racism, so I didn't explore it very much at the time. Now I am more aware that it is important that The Essays exist, and ways in which their weaknesses can be important too.

First off, let me tell you why I wasn't surprised. I graduated from the University of Oregon in 1996 with a dual major of Romance Languages and History. One of the requirements for a history degree was a Seminar. There were several options, but all of them consisted of large amounts of weekly readings (mainly from historical journals), discussions with the rest of the seminar on the readings, and a twenty-page research paper. You needed professor approval to get into a class, so it was helpful if you took one with a professor you already knew. I took African Americans in the American West, with Professor Quintard Taylor Jr (now an emeritus professor at University of Washington.) Each week of readings had a different theme, and one of the weeks was on African Americans and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I really wish I had kept my syllabus, because I cannot find what I read then on William McCary. I am pretty sure he was instrumental in the priesthood ban.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McCary

https://www.blackpast.org/special-features/african-americans-and-church-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints-old/

To sum up, William McCary was a Black man who joined the church in 1846, got the priesthood, and then got excommunicated for claiming various powers (so the story goes; I think I remember the word 'priestcraft" from one of the journal articles) around 1847. The earliest statement on Black men being excluded from the priesthood happened about a month after McCary's excommunication.

It is entirely possible that McCary behaved in very unbecoming ways for a priesthood holder, but it is also certain that he married a white woman, and then additional white women, and that there were deeply entrenched (and hypocritical) taboos around that at the time. The essay does point out the prevalent racism at the time. 

What they don't really pick up on, though (and the essay does not mention McCary), is that many white men were excommunicated at different times, and no one ever suggested a ban on white men holding the priesthood. Sure, the ones deciding were white; it's not likely they would decide that. That's the insidious thing about white supremacy: whites are individuals, but if you are not white, then you are judged by every one else of your color. There is that "See! I knew they couldn't handle it!". Maybe there had been a belief that it wouldn't work that they were trying to bury, and then McCary becomes the excuse. That lasted for over a century, limiting growth, causing pain, and allowing racism to remain entrenched.

This is not meant to be an attack on Brigham Young or Parley P. Pratt or anyone else involved. However, it is an encouragement to take a closer look, and to understand better.

For years it was this uncomfortable thing that people didn't really want to talk about, but that meant that the people who did feel comfortable talking about it were the ones who would say things like "they were just less valiant". If we can't grapple with racism existing in exemplary church members of one hundred and fifty years ago, how are we going to grapple with the racism that exists now? I assure you, the current racism requires some grappling.

I know this is getting long, but I want to make some points from the essay itself. 

William McCary was never mentioned in it. Q. Walker Lewis is, because Brigham Young praised him once, and we will often get this tendency to try and point out all of the good things. Lots of white people in other Christian churches love to praise Simon of Cyrene and Ebed-Melech, because, see! We love Black people! (Especially when they are serving white people, and it's convenient if they are also eunuchs.) I don't have a problem with noticing the good, but let's be realistic about the bad.

Also, there is this second paragraph of the Essay:

The structure and organization of the Church encourage racial integration. Latter-day Saints attend Church services according to the geographical boundaries of their local ward, or congregation. By definition, this means that the racial, economic, and demographic composition of Latter-day Saint congregations generally mirrors that of the wider local community.

Technically true, but it ignores that at least in the United States there have been centuries of restricted covenants, redlining, and systemic destruction of communities where Black people were becoming financially successful, not to mention white flight. That means that not specifically aiming for integration leaves you segregated. That doesn't mean that wards shouldn't be arranged by geography, but if even when we are attempting to address personal racism we ignore structural racism, we continue to enable all racism.

The final point I want to make is that there are people who know about these things. Our church leaders are not experts on racism, but they can ask others and listen to others. I may have spent more time than necessary on my academic background, but my point there was that in 1996 this information was available, so there was no need for it to catch anyone off guard in 2013.

We can do better than this. We may be running out of time to do so, individually and collectively.

Let's do better.

The letter

I finally wrote it and sent it. It took a lot longer than I had ever anticipated, but there shouldn't be any surprises for anyone who read the five previous posts.

I included the heading in case anyone wants to write their own letters.

August 7^th, 2020

The First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles

of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Church Office Building

50 E North Temple Street

Salt Lake City, Utah 84150

Hello,

This letter has been a long time in coming. I have felt a need to say something since I first heard about $100 billion spread across multiple hedge funds and shell companies, but it took a lot of personal effort to sort out my own feelings.

I should start by saying that I have been a faithful tithe payer for decades now (for as long as I can remember) and generous with offerings. I had not beeing working when the news broke, making my contributions smaller and less frequent, but they were still full. An odd job got me fifty dollars shortly after hearing about the investments. I felt the strangest combination of sickness and shame when I paid my $5.00. I could never have imagined feeling that way about tithing before.

In the explanation that came out, there was a reference to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, but the parable that came to my mind was the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12; we should not be storing up for future ease, especially when there is so much good that can be done now.

That was why I felt sick about the five dollars. It is such a small amount, and yet it can still do some good, especially combined with the funds of others. By turning it over to the church, it would only go to supporting capitalism, and increasing corporate bottom lines.

I still believe in the law of tithing, and that I will be blessed for obedience to it. This is still my church. I am continuing to pay tithing, but no longer paying any offerings or additional contributions. That is what I can live with, but also I need to speak out.

We have been given so many changes and directions to try and get us to live more by the spirit; it seems to me that every change is trying to get us to feel more and be more inspired, including the reminders about the names we use and the logo.

When I see members supporting Trump and hating immigrants – again, despite reminders that we care about refugees and don't support any political candidate or party – those reminders do not seem to be working. It kills me inside that we have so much that we could do, and yet we are mainly known for our bigotry. Members with the best hearts are falling away because of that.

Could it be that we have become too conservative? Not merely in terms of a political party, but in terms of becoming afraid of change that we will ignore inequities and resist improvement? God has not given us the spirit of fear.

I understand that we are waiting for Christ's return. There are reasons for believing that it is getting close, and that some preparedness is in order. As true as that is, I cannot believe that when the Savior returns our best offering could be a check.

There might be value in buying food supplies and shelters and goods that can be used to benefit people, but even those could be lost or destroyed or lose potency while we wait.

It would be a wonderful offering now to give Him more hungry people fed, more homeless sheltered, and more sick healed.

I know we make contributions, but I have also done math. One article showed that we have given $5.5 million to Covid-19 relief. That is .0055 percent – less than one hundredth of one percent – of $100 billion. I also read that since 1985 we have given $2.2 billion in humanitarian aid. That is 2.2 percent over 35 years. For all the flaws of individual members, collectively we should be able to do better than that.

We need your leadership to do so. We could give $1 million to 1000 charities and still have $99 billion. We could set aside $12 billion as a savings fund, divide the other $88 billion among the 30940 wards and branches and let each have $2.85 million to spend to improve their local communities. There are so many amazing things that can be done, but we are not doing them.

When Christ returns, will we even use money? Will He support hedge funds? The efforts at concealment in spreading the money across multiple funds (and not letting President Packer see the information when he asked) tells me that there is a level on which this is uncomfortable. It should be.

I do not believe anyone has tried to exploit or act inappropriately in terms of acquiring the funds or deciding what to do with them. It is natural as you accumulate more to become more aware about the losses that can happen, but we are admonished to put off the natural man.

Matthew 25 does tell us what we should be doing: feeding the hungry, giving drinks to the thirsty, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked , and ministering to the sick and those in prison.

There are great needs for food and clean water. There are many without homes, or seeking new countries that will be safer. There are people who have not been convicted of any crime languishing in jail because they lack funds for bail and for representation. There are so many people in need of healing, physically and emotionally. How can we justify ignoring that? Do we know Him at all?

I beg you to think long and hard and to pray about a better way to use these sacred funds.

Sincerely,

Gina Harris

In conclusion - week five of coming to grips with the hedge fund

Last week the writing changed. I found myself referring to other articles and studies on the topics of wealth, and even starting with a quote from a musical. At first I thought it was weird, but I believe it was a signal that my thoughts actually are getting organized and I can put them in a larger framework. Therefore, this week I can go all scriptural.

In the First Presidency response, they justified their building of a "prudent" reserve by referring to the Parable of the Talents.

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/first-presidency-statement-church-finances

That is in Matthew 25, and we will get back to that. My first thought was of a different parable, found in Luke 12, verses 16-21. Without intending to offend anyone, it is referred to as the Parable of the Rich Fool:

16 ... The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

It is tempting to throw in a reference to Jacob 2:18-19, about seeking riches for the intent to do good, but I do not believe that riches were sought; they just happened, but then it changed things. I understand preparing for trying times to come, but there are trying times now, and $100 billion is a ridiculous amount of money. There is suffering now; do we alleviate that suffering or do we believe that when Christ returns he will be most interested in being handed a large check?

In the Parable of the Talents, the servant that is reprimanded for burying his talent said he did it because his master was a hard master who reaped where he did not sow. That character represents the Lord, but we should not assume that is an accurate depiction of his personality. Yes, in the framework of the parable, multiplying your talent means investing it with usurious lenders, but securing billions of dollars in a hedge fund that benefits corporations and capitalists seems much more akin to burying it than almost anything else we could do.

Let's remember that Matthew 25 is all parables about being ready for the Lord's return. In addition to the Parable of the Talents, we have the Parable of the Ten Virgins, which reminds us that you can be a virgin and an invited guest but still not really know Him, and the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, which tells us how to know Him.

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

They didn't know whom they had been serving, and those who ignored the needs didn't either, so there is further explanation:

 40 ...Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me...

45 ... Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

And let's look at that verse in Jacob:

19 And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.

That is what we should be doing. That is what it is tearing me up inside that we are not doing.

The church leadership has done so many things to try and make people more Christ-centered. It feels like they all fail, especially when I see how many members are Trump supporters.

Doing Christ's work could change that. With $100 billion (or save two years worth of expenses, and just start with $88 billion) there is so much that could be done to feed the hungry, provide pure water, shelter homeless and improve homes that are in use but not in good shape. There is so much that can be done to heal sick and injured, and improve access for those whose limitations can't be changed, and provide comfort for those whom medicine cannot heal. There could be so much healing effected by providing therapy and support. There is so much that can be done to increase literacy, and clean up pollution, and free prisoners.

If we aren't seeing those needs, we just aren't looking.

Yes, I am still paying tithing even though I am frustrated with that now, and many faithful people probably still will. A flood of good pouring across the planet could inspire many more. It could lead to much more joyful giving. It could lead to more loving service.

That's what I long for. I try and do my little drops of service here and there, but the world needs a flood. Remove the dam!

That is what I want to see.

Tomorrow I will write my letter, and prepare it for sending.

It only took five weeks.

Fear of losing what we shouldn't even have

Ten pounds is a lot o' money. Makes a man feel prudent-like, 
and then goodbye to 'appiness.

In My Fair Lady, Eliza's father Alfred asks Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering for five pounds "for one good spree". The professor offers him ten, but ten is too much for a spree. "The missus wouldn't have the 'eart to spend ten."

It's played for comedy, but it's also true; there is a level where money stops helping and being a comfort, and starts becoming a burden.

You can look at this from different directions. From the bottom up, studies have shown that the happiness that comes from earning more money tops out somewhere between $60-75,000 annually. Of course cost of living varies from place to place, but that range is essentially where your needs are met, and you can get some wants, but even more so your problems don't grind you down and feel insurmountable. There's a lot of fear and stress that goes with being low-income.


http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2019628,00.html
https://money.com/ideal-income-study/ 

Then, after hitting an income of $95,000 per year, happiness actually starts to decline. Maybe this is where you start feeling more stress about what appearances you need to put on, or that your taxes are going to undeserving people and that no one appreciates how much you do.

From the other direction, wealth creates insecurity. I have seen multiple articles about millionaires in Silicon Valley who feel pressure to keep up with people who have more millions than they do. In Abigail Disney's New Yorker profile, she cited a study the Chronicle of Philanthropy did on inherited wealth. It showed that no matter how much each recipient had received, to feel secure they thought they would need about twice as much.

(So if you had inherited $25 million, you would think having $50 million would be enough, but if you had inherited $50 million, you would believe you needed $100 million.)

I have less sympathy than I could for the nervous rich, but it does appear that it changes the brain, and not in a way that increases happiness or makes the world better. Even those who are considered philanthropists - which should be a good thing - don't end up truly improving and solving their causes (read Anand Giridharadas), not to mention there often being destructive business practices on the way to wealth.

So the Waltons might take federal tax credits, and also pay their employees low enough wages that they require government assistance while destroying existing local businesses, and the Sacklers might allow prescription mills to create a whole new and improved drug scourge, and Jeff Bezos might buy Whole Foods and cut medical benefits, and people don't seem to remember now some of the things that Bill Gates did to make Windows rule.

All of that could be expanded upon (and probably will be in the main blog) but there is limited application. The church has not done anything unethical to acquire its wealth. Tithing is a principle that goes back at least to Abraham, and those who tithe are blessed.

However, at some point it clearly got to be too much. That brings in a hesitancy, and a distrust. In fact, it brings in conservatism. If that word applies in multiple ways, that is not strictly coincidental.

And I am mortified that when we have the ability to do so much good, we are mainly known for our bigotry.

That is shameful.

Things that bother me but are not the key issue

This is my third post on what I think of as the Mormon hedge fund. I know President Nelson would not love that term, but the hedge fund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints does not really sound that much better. 

My key issue is the good being left undone, and I will write about that. This week is about the secrecy.

Let me be clear, though, that I don't think any church leaders are living luxuriously because of it. There is no greed at fault.

That matters to me, but it also matters to me that they have divided the investment funds across multiple hedge funds and through shell companies, apparently for the express purpose of concealment.

The kindest explanations I have heard for the secrecy (speculation from others; not official statements) are concerns that if members knew about the surplus that they would not feel like they needed to pay tithing, or that members would try and guide their own investments by following the church's portfolio, which could have unfortunate results.

I doubt the latter was ever officially considered, but it has some merit. I can totally see some members deciding that if a stock is good enough for the church, it is good enough for them, and then if they lost money on that they could have a crisis of faith. That is also quite possible, because the real secret to success in the stock market is having deep enough pockets that you can ride out any market downturns. It is very easy to make money when you already have it.

I was amused by the conscientious mentions in the articles that there was nothing like Starbucks or Coca-Cola in the portfolio. I remember it being a big deal when I was a teenager that the corporation of the church had Coca-Cola shares, even though cola is not specifically forbidden, and lots of faithful members drink it. (But also, lots of faithful members will judge you for drinking it, then and now.)

The tithing concern I get more, except that I have heard so many times, "The Lord doesn't need you to pay tithing; you need to pay it for you!" or something to that effect. And I believe it. Paying tithing blesses the person who pays it. I know about the fund, I hate it, and I still pay it. I think many people would keep paying it. It does not show much faith to think that they wouldn't.

Again, I don't know if that is a factor in the thinking, but it does feel like the choices are being made with less faith and more fear, or at least shame or embarrassment.

Not letting President Packer see the books when he asked? That indicates at least some understanding that it is not good.

I noticed a few things that surprised me as I was investigating. For instance, in the April conference they always read an audit report, and it confirms that everything has been done according to church policies and goals. I had never noticed before the line that "The Church follows the practices taught to its members of living within a budget, avoiding debt, and saving against a time of need."

That started in 2014, with the 2013 annual report. It wasn't there for 2012. Was that when the money started piling up? Perhaps as things recovered from the 2008 collapse? Did they look and think, this is starting to be too much money? I don't know.

I also see now that they stopped giving the statistical report (numbers of members, baptisms, church units, etc.) after 2017. It's not a secret because you can find that information on the church web site, but I am curious about the thinking now.

So here are some numbers, just for fun.

I don't object to having some reserve. I saw one estimate that the annual operating expenses for the church are $6 billion. Let's say that a two-year reserve is reasonable, so that leaves you with $88 billion to spend.

Divided between 16,565,036 members, that would be $5312 each. Obviously, that would include a lot of people who don't go anymore, and is probably not the most efficient way of doing good anyway. If you divided the $88 billion among the 30940 wards and branches, they would each have $2.85 million, which could be an amazing amount for helping the members or the local area, based on their needs. 

I am still not saying that's the best way of doing anything, but here are some other numbers, based on articles from the church newsroom.

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-cash-commodities-donation-covid-19-april-2020

The church donated $5.5 million to COVID-19 relief. That is .0055 percent of the full $100 billion.

Since 1985, the church has given $2.2 billion in aid through its humanitarian arm. That is 2.2 percent over 35 years.

I know we can do better than that. I believe that we must do better than that.

More on that and the possible role of fear next time.