Idaho, 40 of 50. What? Are there no workhouses? Are there no prisons?
California is almost dead last, like everything else in this miserable state.
Utah being #1 is a good reminder of how the LDS Church is so secretive in managing their finances. It’s the only State in the Union where the majority of the people are self-described active adherents of a single church. My guess is that if you were to exclude “money to the LDS church” that Utah would be in the bottom half for charity rankings.
Their biggest claim to fame is that they are led by a living prophet of God. This means that they have foresight to know the future. For example, they recently gave the world a piece of their mind to lead/guide us the way of the Lord [at least in their minds]
“For 80 years, the Deseret News has not entered into the troubled waters of presidential endorsement. We are neutral on matters of partisan politics. We do, however, feel a duty to speak clearly on issues that affect the well-being and morals of the nation. Accordingly, today we call on Donald Trump to step down from his pursuit of the American presidency.”
http://www.deseretnews.com/aboutus#about
“Owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Deseret News offers news, information, commentary, and analysis from an award-winning and experienced team of reporters, editors, columnists, and bloggers.”
http://www.wweek.com/news/2016/10/03/mormon-leaks-video-features-former-u-s-sen-gordon-smith-r-ore/
Gordon Smith, a former US senator who is LDS, self-describes himself ... “as one who regards his temple recommend as more important than an election certificate.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/28/donald-trump-gives-mitt-romney-follow-interview-se/
“Mr. Trump has been praised for giving Mr. Romney an audience, sending the signal that he wants to unify the Republican Party as well as the national after a brutal and divisive election.”
Keep in mind that Mitt Romney is a devout Mormon.
Note: Donors refers to the percentage of taxpayers who donated money to charity and the percentage of the population who claim to have donated money.
It appears they used IRS data to determine who actually donated money to charity.
The problem: only households that itemize deductions will have charitable contributions on their return.
If a household doesn't have enough itemized deductions to exceed the standard deduction, there will be no record of the charitable contribution.
http://taxfoundation.org/blog/who-itemizes-deductions
And, that doesn't account for people that make charitable contributions and don't keep a record, or don't wish to make their return a more inviting target for audit.
It looks like WV is the most charitable poor state.
Temple Recommend Questions
1 Do you have faith in and a testimony of God the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost? 2 Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Christ and of His role as Savior and Redeemer? 3 Do you have a testimony of the restoration of the gospel in these the latter days? 4 Do you sustain the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator and as the only person on the earth who possesses and is authorized to exercise all priesthood keys? Do you sustain members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators? Do you sustain the other General Authorities and local authorities of the Church? 5 Do you live the law of chastity? 6 Is there anything in your conduct relating to members of your family that is not in harmony with the teachings of the Church? 7 Do you support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? 8 Do you strive to keep the covenants you have made, to attend your sacrament and other meetings, and to keep your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel? 9 Are you honest in your dealings with your fellowmen? 10 Are you a full-tithe payer? 11 Do you keep the Word of Wisdom? 12 Do you have financial or other obligations to a former spouse or children? If yes, are you current in meeting those obligations? 13 If you have previously received your temple endowment: Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple? Do you wear the garment both night and day as instructed in the endowment and in accordance with the covenant you made in the temple? 14 Have there been any sins or misdeeds in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but have not been? 15 Do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord's house and participate in temple ordinances? |