Hisitōlia ʻo e Siasí
Meʻa Fakapaʻanga ʻa e Siasí

“Meʻa Fakapaʻanga ʻa e Siasí,” Ngaahi Tefito ʻi he Hisitōlia ʻo e Siasí (2022)

“Meʻa Fakapaʻanga ʻa e Siasí,” Ngaahi Tefito ʻi he Hisitōlia ʻo e Siasí

Meʻa Fakapaʻanga ʻa e Siasí

Mei he fuofua taimi naʻe Fakafoki Mai ai ʻa e Ongoongoleleí, naʻe fokotuʻutuʻu mai ʻe he fakahaá ʻa e ngaahi konga ʻo e misiona ʻo e Siasí ʻa ia ʻe fiemaʻu ki ai ha ngaahi meʻa fakamatelie, naʻe kau ai hono tokangaekina ʻo e masivá, pulusi ʻo e ngaahi folofolá mo e ʻū naunau kehe ʻa e Siasí, pea mo hono langa ʻo ha ʻū falelotu. Naʻe muimui ʻa Siosefa Sāmita ki he fakahaá kae pehē ki ha ngaahi sīpinga pisinisi ʻi he taimi ko iá ki hono fakapaʻanga ʻo e ngaahi taumuʻa mahuʻinga ko ʻení. Naʻe muimui ʻa e kau taki ʻo e Siasí kimui ʻiate iá ʻi he sīpinga tatau, ʻo fakafenāpasi ʻa e ngaahi meʻa fakapaʻanga ʻa e Siasí ke feau e ngaahi fiemaʻu naʻe feliliuaki ʻa e Siasí. Naʻe hili ha ngaahi taimi kuo foua ʻe he Siasí ha ngaahi taimi ʻo e faingataʻaʻia fakapaʻanga kae pehē ki ha ngaahi taimi naʻe malava ai [ʻe he Siasí] ʻo tānaki ha ngaahi paʻanga talifaki.1

Naʻe hoko e ngaahi fakahā ʻi he 1831 ke fokotuʻu ai ʻa e “fono ʻo e fakatapuí mo e lakanga tauhí,” ʻa ia naʻe fakahinohino ai ki he kāingalotu ʻo e Siasí ke nau foaki ʻenau koloá ke paotoloaki ʻa e ngāue ʻa e ʻEikí pea mo fakafiemālieʻi ʻa e masivá. Naʻe fokotuʻu foki ʻe he ngaahi fakahā ko ʻení ʻa e lakanga fakapīsopé ke ne maʻu mo tufaki ʻa e ngaahi koloa kuo fakatapuí.2 Naʻe muimui foki ʻa Siosefa Sāmita mo e kau taki kehé ki he ngaahi fakahā naʻe faleʻi mai ai ke nau tokangaʻi ʻa e fefakatauʻaki koloa ʻa e Siasí mo e ngaahi ʻekitivitī faipulusí ʻo fakafou ʻi ha kautaha naʻe ui ko e Kautaha Uouangatahá.3

Laʻipaʻanga ʻi he 1830

Ko ha laʻipaʻanga ʻo e Pangikē Sosaieti Maluʻi ʻo Ketilaní naʻe fakamoʻoni hingoa ai ʻa Siosefa Sāmita mo Sitenei Likitoni pea naʻe fakaʻaongaʻi ko ha paʻanga mei he 1836 ki he 1837.

Hangē ko e ngaahi siasi kehe ʻi ʻAmelika ʻi he kuonga muʻá, naʻe fakaʻaongaʻi ʻe he kau taki ʻo e Kau Māʻoniʻoni ʻi he Ngaahi Kimui Ní ʻa e ngaahi founga fakapaʻanga hangē ko e ngaahi aleapau fakamoʻuá, noó, sitoká mo e pōnité.4 ʻI he 1836 ʻi Ketilani, ʻOhaiō, naʻe fokotuʻu ʻe he kau taki ʻo e Siasí ʻa e Sosaieti Maluʻi ʻo Ketilaní, ko ha kautaha fakapangikē naʻe fakapaʻanga ʻaki ʻa e fakatau mai ʻo e sitoká. Ko e taumuʻa ʻo e kautaha ko ʻení ke fakalahi ʻa e malava ʻa e Kāingalotu ʻo e Siasí ʻo hū ki he tefitoʻi sinoʻi paʻangá pea ke fakapaʻanga ʻa e ngaahi ngāue ʻa e Siasí. Ko e meʻapangó, naʻe hoko ha tōlalo fakapaʻanga ʻi he ʻIunaiteti Siteití mo Pilitānia ʻi he 1837 pea ngāue ʻaki ai ʻa e ngaahi paʻanga talifaki ʻi he pangikeé, fakafeʻātungiaʻi ʻa e fakatau atu ʻo e ngaahi kelekelé, pea iku ki ha tāpuni ʻo ha ngaahi pangikē lahi, kau ai ʻa e Sosaieti Maluʻi ʻo Ketilaní.5

Naʻe fakaʻilongaʻi ʻe ha ongo fakahā ʻe ua ʻi he 1838 ha liliu ʻi he founga ʻa e Siasí ki hono fakapaʻanga ʻo e ngaahi ngāue [ʻa e Siasí]. Naʻá na fakamamafaʻi ʻa hono mahuʻinga ʻo e totongi vahehongofulú ko ha founga ki hono fakapaʻanga ʻa e ngāue ʻo e Siasí pea fokotuʻu ai ha fakataha alēlea ke nau tokangaʻi ʻa e ngaahi fakamole mei he paʻanga vahehongofulú, ʻa ia naʻe ʻiloa ko e Fakataha Alēlea ki hono Fakaʻaongaʻi ʻo e Vahehongofulú.6

Naʻe kamata ʻi he 1841 ʻa e fakahoko pisinisi ʻa Siosefa Sāmita ʻo fakafofongaʻi ʻa e Siasí ko ha “Tokotaha Tauhi ʻo e Talāsití,” pe ko e tokotaha ʻoku fatongia ʻaki fakalao ʻa e ngaahi koloa ʻo e Siasí.7 Ko ha sīpinga angamaheni ʻeni naʻe fakaʻaongaʻi ʻe he ngaahi siasi lahi mo e ngaahi kautaha kehe ʻi he taimi ko iá.8 Hili ʻa e pekia ʻa Siosefa Sāmitá, naʻe hikinimaʻi ʻe he kāingalotu ʻo e Siasí ʻa e Kōlomu ʻo e Kau ʻAposetolo ʻe Toko Hongofulu Mā Uá ke nau “puleʻi ʻa e ngaahi meʻa fakapaʻanga ʻo e siasí” kae ʻoua leva kuo fokotuʻutuʻu foʻou ʻa e Kau Palesitenisī ʻUluakí.9

ʻI he toenga ʻo e senituli 19, naʻe ngāue fakataha ʻa e Tokotaha Tauhi ʻo e Talāsití mo e ngaahi fakataha alēlea ʻo e Siasí ke kumi ha kelekele mo fakahoko ha meʻa fakapisinisi kehe ʻo fakafofongaʻi ʻa e Siasí, ʻinivesi ʻi hono langa ʻa e ngaahi tūkui kolo ʻo e Kau Māʻoniʻoni ʻi he Ngaahi ʻAho Kimui Ní, pea fakapaʻanga ʻa hono tānaki fakataha mai ʻo e Kāingalotú ki he Fakahihifo ʻo ʻAmelika Tokelaú.10 Hangē ko ʻení, naʻe tokoni ʻa e Siasí ke fakafaingamālieʻi ʻa e hikifonua mai ʻa e Kāingalotu ʻo e Siasí ki he Fakahihifo ʻo ʻAmelika Tokelaú ʻaki hono fakalōloa ʻa e ngaahi noó ʻo fakafou ʻi he Paʻanga Tokoni Hikifonua Tuʻumaʻu ʻa e Siasí.11 ʻI he 1877, ʻi ha feinga ʻa Palesiteni Sione Teila ke fakapapauʻi ʻa hono ngāue lelei ʻaki ʻo e paʻangá, naʻá ne fokotuʻutuʻu ai ha kōmiti ʻaotita ke ne toe vakaiʻi ʻa e ngaahi fehūʻaki fakapaʻanga kotoa pē naʻe fai ʻi he malumalu ʻo e Tokotaha Tauhi ʻo e Talāsití.12

Ko e ngaahi lao naʻe fokotuʻu ʻe he puleʻanga ʻIunaiteti Siteití ʻi he 1880 tupú ke fakafepakiʻi ʻa e mali tokolahí, naʻe fakataumuʻa ia ki he ngaahi meʻa fakapaʻanga ʻa e Siasí, naʻe faifai pē pea toʻo ʻa e ngaahi pisinisi ʻa e Siasí pea faʻao mo e ngaahi paʻanga mo e koloa ʻa e Siasí. Naʻe hoko ʻa e ngaahi fetōʻaki ʻi he māketí mo e kovi ʻa e ʻinivesí ke ʻāʻāsili ai ʻa e fakaʻauʻauhifo ʻa e toenga maʻuʻanga tokoni ʻa e Siasí, ʻo hilifaki ai ki he ongo Palesiteni ʻo e Siasí ko Uilifooti Utalafi mo Lolenisou Sinou ha fuʻu moʻua lahi fakaʻulia. Hili ʻa e Fanongonongo Fakamafaiʻi ʻi he 1890, naʻe ngāue ʻa Palesiteni Utalafi mo e kau faʻu laó mo e kau ngāue ʻi he fakamaauʻangá ke toe fakafoki mai ʻa e kelekele ʻa e Siasí mo liliu ʻa e ngaahi pisinisi lahi naʻe fengāueʻaki mo e Siasí ki ha ngaahi pisinisi taautaha, ko ha founga naʻe hokohoko atu ʻe kinautolu naʻa nau fetongi iá. ʻI he 1899, naʻe fekauʻi ʻe Palesiteni Sinou ʻa e Kāingalotu ʻo e Siasí ke fakalahi ʻenau tukupā ke totongi vahehongofulú, ʻa ia naʻe iku ʻo tokoni ke totongi fakafoki ʻe he Siasí ʻa ʻene ngaahi moʻua fakapaʻangá.13

ʻI he konga kimuʻa ʻo e senituli 20, naʻe fakahū ʻe he Palesiteni ʻo e Siasí ko Hiipa J. Kalānité mo e Pīsope Pule ko Sālesi Nipilií, ʻa ia naʻá na ngāue kimuʻa ko ha ongo tangata pisinisi, ʻa e ngaahi ngāue ʻa e Siasí naʻe faʻa fakahoko toko taha pē ʻe he tokotaha tauhi ʻo e talāsití ki ha ngaahi kautaha ʻe tolu. ʻI he 1916, naʻe faʻu ʻa e Kautaha Fetokoniʻaki ʻa e Pīsope Pulé ke puleʻi ʻa e ngaahi tokoní mo e ngaahi fakamole ki he “ngaahi ngāue tokoni ʻofá mo e lotu ʻi he tokolahí,” ʻo kau ai ʻa e ngaahi ʻapisiasi fakalotofonuá. ʻI he 1923, naʻe fokotuʻu ʻe Palesiteni Kalānite ʻa e Kautaha Fetokoniʻaki ʻa e Palesitení, ʻa ia naʻá ne tokangaʻi ʻa e ngaahi koloa kehe kotoa pē ʻo e Siasí naʻe fakaʻaongaʻi ki ha ngaahi taumuʻa fakalotú. Naʻá ne toe fokotuʻu foki mo e Kautaha Maluʻi ʻo Saioné ke ne puleʻi ʻa e toenga ʻo e ngaahi kautaha mo e kelekele naʻe ʻikai fekauʻaki mo e meʻa fakalotú ka ʻoku malava ke tukuhauʻí. Lolotonga ʻa e vahaʻataimi ko ʻení, naʻe ngāue ʻa Pīsope Nipilī ke fakafenāpasi ʻa e ʻū lekooti fakapaʻanga ʻa e Siasí mo e ngaahi tuʻunga fakatauhitohi fakaonopōní. ʻI he fakalakalaka ʻa e tuʻunga fakapaʻanga ʻa e Siasí, naʻe kamata ke feau ʻe he kau taki ʻo e Siasí ʻa e peseti ʻe 50 ʻo e fakamole ki hono langa ʻo e ngaahi ʻapisiasi fakalotofonuá, pea tuku leva ʻa e toengá ki he ngaahi patiseti fakalotofonuá. Ko e ngaahi tuʻutuʻuni fakapaʻanga naʻe fokotuʻu ʻe Palesiteni Kalānité naʻe kei tuʻu maʻu pē ʻo aʻu ki he 1960 tupú.14

Mei he 1915 ki he 1959, naʻe fakahā ʻi he konifelenisi lahí ʻa e ngaahi lipooti fakataʻu ʻo e paʻanga hū mai mo e fakamole ʻa e Siasí. Naʻe fakahā ʻe he ngaahi lipooti ko ʻení naʻe ʻave hangatonu ha konga lahi ʻo e paʻangá ki hono langa ʻo e ngaahi fale fakauōtí mo fakasiteikí, langa ʻo e ngaahi ʻuluʻi ʻōfisí, ngaahi akoʻanga ʻa e Siasí, ngaahi misioná mo e uelofeá.15 Hili e 1959, naʻe fakahā ʻe he kau ʻaotitá ʻi he konifelenisi lahí ʻa e ngaahi ola fakalūkufua pē ʻo ha ʻaotita fakataʻu, pea fakapapauʻi ki he kakaí kuo muimui fakapotopoto ʻa e kau takí ki he ngaahi founga fakapaʻangá pea kuo nau faitotonu ʻi heʻenau ngāue ʻaki ʻa e ngaahi paʻanga ʻa e Siasí.

Naʻe hoko ʻa e ngaahi fakamole ki he polokalama lalahi fakavahaʻapuleʻanga ʻa e Siasí ki hono langa ʻo e ngaahi fale fakauōtí mo fakasiteikí ʻi he 1960 tupú ke fakaʻauʻauhifo ai ʻa e paʻanga ʻi he ngaahi ʻakauni ʻa e Siasí. Naʻe uiuiʻi ʻa N. ʻElitoni Tena, naʻe hoko ko ha tangata taukei fakapisinisi kimuʻa, ki he Kau Palesitenisī ʻUluakí ʻi he 1963 pea naʻá ne fakafeʻiloaki ha founga ki hono puleʻi ʻo e meʻa fakapatisetí ki hono fakalele ʻo e Siasí. Naʻá ne fokotuʻutuʻu ha palani fakapaʻanga naʻá ne poupouʻi ʻa hono tānaki ha tupú, tauhi ha patiseti paú, mo fakafuofua hono fakaʻaongaʻi ʻo e paʻanga talifakí. Naʻe hili pē ha taimi nounou, naʻe malava leva ke feau ʻe he Siasí ʻa e ngaahi patiseti ke fakalele [ʻa e Siasí] mo totongi hono ngaahi moʻuá.16

Naʻe hoko ʻa e fakalakalaka ʻa e tūkunga fakapaʻanga ko ʻeni ʻa e Siasí ke poupouʻi lelei ange ai ha ngaahi tafaʻaki kehekehe ʻo e misiona [ʻo e Siasí]. Hangē ko ʻení, naʻe talu mei he 1900 tupú, naʻe fakaʻaongaʻi ʻe he ngaahi uooti mo e siteiki fakalotofonuá ʻenau patisetí ʻo fakafou ʻi ha fefiohi ʻo e ngaahi tokoni fakalotofonuá mo e paʻanga vahehongofulú. ʻI he 1990, naʻe fakahā ʻe he Fakataha Alēlea ki hono Fakaʻaongaʻi ʻo e Vahehongofulú ko e ngaahi fakamole kotoa pē ʻa e ngaahi ʻiuniti fakalotofonuá ʻe totongi ia mei he paʻanga vahehongofulu fakalūkufuá. ʻI he taʻu hono hokó, naʻe fakaʻatā ʻe ha sinoʻi paʻanga ngāue fakafaifekau naʻe fakatahatahaʻi ʻa e ngaahi fakamole fakamāhina ʻo e ngāue fakafaifekau taimi kakató ke vahevahe tatau ʻi he ngaahi misioná.17

Hili ha laui taʻu ʻo e fakaʻaongaʻi ʻo e paʻanga tupú mo e palani fakaleleí, naʻe hoko ʻa e ngaahi tokoni faivelenga ʻa e Kāingalotu ʻo e Siasí ke fakatupu ai ‘e he Siasí ha ngaahi paʻanga talifaki lahi, ʻa ia ko ha konga lahi ai naʻe toe ʻinivesi ʻe he kau taki ʻo e Siasí, fakahaofi ki ha ngaahi fiemaʻu ʻi he kahaʻú, pe fakaʻaongaʻi ki he ngaahi ngāue tokoni ʻofa fakaetangatá mo e ngaahi ngāue ki hono fakafoʻou ʻo e koló ʻi he funga ʻo e māmaní.18 Naʻe kamata ʻi he 2013 ʻa hono faʻu ʻe he Siasí ha lipooti fakataʻu naʻe fakaikiiki ai ʻa e fakamole ki he ngaahi ngāue tokoni ʻofa fakaetangatá.19

ʻI he 2019, naʻe tuʻutuʻuni ʻe he Palesiteni ʻo e Siasí, Lāsolo M. Nalesoni, ke fakatahaʻi ʻa e Kautaha Fetokoniʻaki ʻa e Pīsope Pulé mo e Kautaha Fetokoniʻaki ʻa e Palesitení, pea ko e ola ʻo e fakatahaʻi ko iá naʻe fakahingoa foʻou ia Ko e Siasi ʻo Sīsū Kalaisi ʻo e Kau Māʻoniʻoni ʻi he Ngaahi ʻAho Kimui Ní.20 ʻI he taʻu tatau pē ko iá, naʻe toe fakamamafaʻi ʻe he Kau Palesitenisī ʻUluakí ʻa ʻenau tukupā ke fakaʻaongaʻi fakapotopoto ʻa e paʻanga toputapu ʻa e Siasí: “ʻOku mau toʻo fakamātoato ʻa e fatongia ke tokangaʻi ʻa e vahehongofulu mo e ngaahi foaki mei he kāingalotú. ʻOku fakaʻaongaʻi ʻa e konga lahi ʻo e ngaahi paʻanga ko ʻení ke feau ʻa e ngaahi fiemaʻu ʻa e Siasi ʻoku tupulakí ʻo kau ai ʻa e ngaahi ʻapisiasí, temipalé, akó, ngāue tokoni ʻofa fakaetangatá mo e ngāue fakafaifekaú ʻi he funga ʻo e māmaní.”21

Ngaahi Tefito Fekauʻakí: Kautaha Uouongatahá, Ko e Sosaieti Maluʻi ʻo Ketilaní, Pīsopé, Fakatapuí mo e Lakanga Tauhí, Vahehongofulú, Ngāue ki he Kelekele ʻo Siosefa Sāmitá, Kautaha Fetokoniʻakí, Kautaha Uouongatahá, Uilifooti Utalafi, Lolenisou Sinou, Hiipa J. Kalānite

  1. Vakai, Matthew C. Godfrey and Michael Hubbard MacKay, eds., Business and Religion: The Intersection of Faith and Finance (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, 2019).

  2. Vakai ki he Tefito: Consecration and Stewardship

  3. Tokāteline mo e Ngaahi Fuakava 41; 42; vakai ki he Tefito: Kautaha Uouongatahá. Vakai foki, Max H Parkin, “Joseph Smith and the United Firm: The Growth and Decline of the Church’s First Master Plan of Business and Finance, Ohio and Missouri, 1832–1834,” BYU Studies, vol. 46, no. 3 (2007), 4–66; Nathan B. Oman, “‘Established Agreeable to the Laws of Our Country’: Mormonism, Church Corporations, and the Long Legacy of America’s First Disestablishment,” Journal of Law and Religion, vol. 36, no. 2 (2021), 212–13.

  4. Amanda Porterfield, John Corrigan, and Darren E. Grem, eds., The Business Turn in American Religious History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017), 4–8; see also Robert E. Wright and David J. Cowen, “An Historiographical Overview of Early U.S. Finance (1784–1836): Institutions, Markets, Players, and Politics” (Washington, DC: National Park Service, 1999), 3–15.

  5. Vakai, Tefito: Ko e Sosaieti Maluʻi ʻo Ketilaní; Oman, “Agreeable to the Laws,” 213–14.

  6. David W. Smith, “The Development of the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes,” BYU Studies Quarterly, vol. 57, no. 2 (2018), 131–55. Vakai ki he Tefito: Vahehongofulu; vakai foki, Tokāteline mo e Ngaahi Fuakava 120.

  7. Joseph Smith, “Appointment as Trustee, Nauvoo, Illinois, 2 February, 1841,” in Record Book of Mortgages, Title Bonds, Leases, Deeds of Trust and Sales of Personal Property, Hancock County, Illinois, vol. 1 (1840), 95, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/appointment-as-trustee-2february-1841/1.

  8. James Hudnut-Beumler, In Pursuit of the Almighty’s Dollar: A History of Money and American Protestantism (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007), 10–14; Mark A. Noll, ed., God and Mammon: Protestants, Money, and the Market, 1790–1860 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 8–15, 271–82.

  9. Minutes, Nauvoo, Illinois, stand, Aug. 8, 1844, 7–8, Historian’s Office General Church Minutes, 1839–1877, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.

  10. Vakai, Samuel D. Brunson, “‘To Omit Paying Tithing’: Brigham Young and the First Federal Income Tax,” in Godfrey and MacKay, eds., Business and Religion.

  11. Vakai ki he Tefitó: Hikifonua Maí.

  12. John Taylor, Remarks, Oct. 7, 1877, in Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. (London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1854–1886), vol. 19, 122.

  13. Vakai ki he NgaahI Tefito: Lao Fakafepaki ki he Mali Tokolahí, Kautaha Uouongatahá, Uilifooti Utalafi, Lolenisou Sinou. Vakai foki ki he Thomas G. Alexander, “Church Administrative Change in the Progressive Period, 1898–1930,” chapter 13 in David J. Whittaker and Arnold K. Garr, eds., A Firm Foundation: Church Organization and Administration (Provo: Religious Studies Center, 2011), 295–98; Leonard J. Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints, 1830–1900 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1958), 383–86, 400–9.

  14. Alexander, “Church Administrative Change,” 298–99; see also Charles W. Nibley, “The ‘Mormon’ Finance System,” The Improvement Era, vol. 16, no. 9 (July 1913), 941–43; Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, and Charles W. Penrose, Letter to Reed Smoot, Sept. 7, 1916, ʻi he James R. Clark, ed., Messages of the First Presidency, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1965–1975), 5:36; “Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of the ‘Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,’” June 1, 1917, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.

  15. Vakai, Joseph F. Smith, Tithing Report, 4 Apr. 1915, in Conference Report (Apr. 1915), 8–9; “Statistical and Financial Report—1958,” in Conference Report, Apr. 1959, 91–93.

  16. G. Homer Durham, N. Eldon Tanner: His Life and Service (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1982), 208–9; John P. Livingstone, “N. Eldon Tanner and Church Administration,” chapter 21 in Whittaker and Garr, eds., A Firm Foundation, 485–501.

  17. James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, 2nd ed. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 657; Samuel D. Brunson, God and the IRS: Accommodating Religious Practice in United States Tax Law (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018), 147–68.

  18. Tad Walch, “Church Finances: Presiding Bishopric Offers Unique Look Inside Financial Operations of Growing Faith,” Deseret News, Feb. 14, 2020, https://www.deseret.com/faith/2020/2/14/21133740/mormon-church-finances-billions-presiding-bishopric-ensign-peak-tithing-donations-byu-real-estate.

  19. Lipooti Fakataʻu ʻa e Ngaahi Kautaha Tokoni ʻOfa ʻa e Siasí, https://www.latterdaysaintcharities.org/annual-reports/2021.

  20. Oman, “Agreeable to the Laws,” 227, note 163.

  21. First Presidency, Statement on Church Finances, Dec. 17, 2019, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/first-presidency-statement-church-finances.