Just because YOU can't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. by the way, I am in disagreement with certain FAIR statements on the need for it to show the truthfulness of the Church. But I do agree with the FAIR argument that even the living allowances for the prophet etc. do not qualify as a paid ministry for a variety of reasons.
*shrug* By far the priests I have met are living within a very small means, shared living spaces, etc. Those who have taken vows of poverty own nothing, anything that is earned is immediately given away.
Some priests also work as teachers, in universities and seminaries, and they are paid a fair wage.
The LDS blanket of unpaid clergy lacks in understanding of what our clergy do, and who they are.
At any rate, there are far more numerous unpaid ministries in Catholicism. The perennial temptation here is for people to build elite classes of parishioners, who essentially run the parish, and in the worst of cases, try to overrun the pastor (priest). So, unpaid clergy/ministers is not all roses.
Many of them were successful professionals so yes, some are going to have these things. Obviously it cannot be said that they could never have been successful in regular society. Does that mean the Church paid for them or is supporting them or is somehow enabling them to be able to do so? Of course not.
I guess I wasn't clear. The beach house is owned by the LDS Church and maintained by LDS resources.
There is a naïvété in here that is both endearing and a big red flag...a compulsory tithe is going to someone, somewhere, directly or indirectly.
Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction -Pope Benedict XVI