Can a Court Require the Return of Tithe Money to Church Members??

 On April 17, 2025, a federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit against the Church of the Latter-day Saints regarding the use of tithe. The federal judge stated that the lawsuit was filed too late and “incompletely argued.” The lawsuit was dismissed and not able to be refiled due to the manner of dismissal. 

The lawsuit suggested the LDS church committed fraud by creating a “slush fund” of donations at Ensign Peak to hide the use of funds from donors. Plaintiffs claim the church held upwards of one hundred billion dollars without contributing the charitable purposes in which were discussed when the  money was solicited from donors. This decision is similar to another, a lawsuit by James Huntsman against the church and Ensign Peak, which was also dismissed.

Ensign is a Utah non-profit associated with the LDS Church, according to the lawsuit. For practical purposes, Ensign serves as an investing manager for the LDS church. Ensign maintains the stance that they invest the LDS funds to support “prophetic initiatives” among other LDS financial responsibilities. 

A report of Ensign’s finances was published by a whistle-blower to suggest fraudulent IRS reports and misuse of ministry donations in for-profit entities. Claims from this report state Ensign drastically underestimated their funds to the IRS to hide assets to the donors that contributed to these accounts. The LDS Church responded through the “First Presidency” to these allegations stating a “portion” of the donations are “safeguarded through wise financial management and the building of a prudent reserve for the future.” Donors to Ensign  initiated the lawsuit proceeding the publishing of the report, as Plaintiffs contributed significantly to this fund over many years. 

Read the article here.