Transcription
Crazy news to report. Um, thank you to a couple of uh individuals uh who follow the channel uh who informed me of an Israel 365 article. Uh, if I can, I'll post it um in the comment section. This is crazy, guys. This is absolutely crazy. I've done a little investigation, but this is just the initial uh report that I'm hearing and getting. And I'm going to read from Israel 365 News. Israel 365 News. You can find it yourself if you want, but Israel 365 News. And this was just uh January 25th. So, just recently here, it has a big picture of the Jerusalem Center. The heading is: Mormon Charities Funneled 140 Million to Hamas-Linked Islamic NGOs, Investigation Reveals.
Okay, now I'm going to read it. I'm going to read what it has to say. An explosive investigation by the Middle East Forum has uncovered that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and affiliated Mormon charities transferred at least 140.6 million to Islamic organizations with extensively documented ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and other designated terrorist groups, making them, listen to this, making them among the largest American benefactors of Islamist extremism.
The investigation shows, I'm continuing to quote, that funding flowed through three primary channels: Global Relief, a Mormon-run charity uh that provided over 119 million; Lifting Hands International, which transferred 19.5 million; and LDS Charities, the church's official humanitarian arm, which contributed at least 2.1 million to confirmed donations. However, because LDS Charities operates under the church's tax-exempt status without filing public tax returns, the actual total remains unknown and could be substantially higher.
This revelation, that's an interesting word, isn't it? This revelation is particularly striking given the Mormon church's immense wealth. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ranks among the world's wealthiest religious institutions with a total net worth of an estimated between 265 and 293 billion as of 2024.
The Mormon Church also operates, I'm continuing to quote, the Jerusalem Center on Mount Scopus, whose humanitarian programs raise further questions. According to James Curl, assistant to the president for the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center, the facility maintains an ongoing and substantial humanitarian program partnering with LDS Charities, with projects mostly into the Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. The center's executive director for over 15 years has been Aaron Hayat, who previously served as spokesperson for the left-wing Israeli organization Peace Now. Holy cow. The Jerusalem Center has established strong connections to the Palestinian position.
According to an interview with Latter-day Saint attorney Carolyn Homer, who works full-time for CAIR, the BYU, and then this is a quote, "The BYU Jerusalem Center makes a point because it's technically on the Palestinian side of the border. It makes a point to have equal amounts of cultural events between Israel and Palestinians. And often the BYU students come home feeling more sympathy for the Palestinian position." It remains unclear which Palestinian organization receives funding through the Jerusalem Center partnership.
Ah, so, so the quote from Carolyn Homer was, let me read that again. Who works full-time for CAIR, and she's uh uh with the, let's see, according to an interview with Latter-day Saint attorney Carolyn Homer, okay? And she, she makes the point that the BYU Jerusalem Center, uh, because it's technically on the Palestinian side of the border, it makes a point to have equal amounts of cultural events between Israel and Palestinians. And often BYU students come home feeling more sympathy to the Palestinian position. That's her quote. So this is crazy. This is crazy for me.
Okay, back to the quoting again. According to the Middle East Forum investigation, the single largest recipient of Mormon charity was Islamic Relief, which received 64 million from Global Relief, plus undisclosed amounts directly from LDS Charities. The scope of Islamic Relief's terrorist connection is staggering. Israel banned the organization in 2014 after the Shin Bet Intelligence Service determined it funnels millions of dollars a year to Hamas institutions. Oh, okay. Quoting, the U.S. State Department severed all ties with Islamic Relief in 2021, citing blatant and horrifying anti-Semitism and glorification of violence exhibited at the most senior levels.
So the federal government, I'm commenting now, the federal government even got away from this. And this is, this is where the church contributed millions. Okay, back to quoting. Islamic Relief branches have repeatedly partnered with senior Hamas officials, including Gazi Hammad, a Hamas Politburo member who promised weeks after the October 7th massacre to repeat the attacks time and time again until Israel is annihilated. This is the, this is a person that, that, um, was ahead of, of, of the, of the group that was receiving the funds, uh, from the church. So, I'll read this again. Islamic Relief branches have reportedly partnered with senior Hamas officials, including Gazi Hammad, a Hamas uh uh Politburo member who promised, I probably said that wrong, uh promised weeks after the October 7th massacre to repeat the attacks time and time again until, until Israel is annihilated. And Abdul Salam Haniyeh, son of Hamas's late political leader and October 7th architect, Ishmael Haniyeh. The organization's leadership is thoroughly infiltrated by Muslim Brotherhood operatives, with its CEO admitting the group's Muslim Brotherhood origins. And this is who millions of dollars from the church went to, were these individuals.
Another major recipient, Helping Hands for Relief and Development, received over 19.5 million from Lifting Hands International, a Mormon-run charity. HHRD serves as the U.S. arm of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, the South Asian Islamist movement responsible for the 1971 Bengali genocide that killed hundreds of thousands. HHRD's chief partner Al-Kidmat donated 100,000 to Hamas for "just jihad" in 2006. And the organization sponsored a 2017 conference alongside Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terrorist group responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.
LDS Charities' opacity raises additional concerns about the full extent of the church funding to Islamist organizations. The confirmed 2.1 million to MedGlobal is particularly troubling. MedGlobal was founded by Zahir Mollai, former president of the radical Hamas-aligned mosque foundation. Mollai boasts of knowing LDS President H. Don H. Oaks since 2012 and published photos of their meeting in Salt Lake City. MedGlobal operates in close contact with the Hamas authorities in Gaza and explicitly promises donors it works with the Ministry of Health in Gaza, a Hamas-controlled entity. The organization advertises in Hamas newspapers and has partnered with Islamic Oasis, an open supporter of the Taliban regime, whose head praised the October 7th attacks.
Um, and then there's, uh, so there you have it. Um, oh, let, no, there's just a little bit more. There's, there's pictures of these guys with President Oaks. Uh, additional recipients of Mormon charities include American Near East Refugee Aid, who received 2.5 million despite coordinating beneficiary selections with Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry; Muslim Aid, which received 16 million and once admitted to funding Hamas front organizations; and United Muslim Relief, which received over 10 million despite funding Hamas's proxies and employees and employing staff who have called for the killing of Jews.
The Middle East Forum investigation reveals a disturbing pattern. Despite overwhelming evidence of terrorist connections, including government investigations, internal bans, FBI criminal cases, and congressional inquiries, Mormon charities provided 140.6 million to organizations with documented extensive ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Even as the church sits on nearly 300 billion in assets.
So that's an article from Israel 365, which is pretty popular, and they're, they're getting this, um, you know, from other places. Uh, this isn't from their own investigation, and they're getting it. So, I'll put it in there and you can see it. Now, what we'll see is if anything comes of this. I doubt we'll ever see, uh, a response by the church. So, typically, when there's no response, you can, you're just left to decide. Now, I know that there are many members of the church that would be thrilled about this, thrilled that the church is spending money towards these terrorist organizations. They would be thrilled. And I've pointed out some before, you know, just, it's crazy. But I, when it comes to Israel, there's a lot of hate. And so this, this article would actually be very appealing to many members of the, of, of my church, 'cause I'm a member of it, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And I, and it, that upsets me. But who am I? Who am I? I'm, I'm nobody.
Okay, one last thing I wanted to bring up. Um, quite often, and this kind of ties in with it, and I'll end with this, but quite often we think of the gifts of the spirit. I want to talk about the fruits of the spirit, or the fruit of a life that is living God's will, that's doing God's will. So, what would that fruit look like? Now, I came up with some things that I've heard members of the church say that this is proof that they're, that they are doing God's will, or that someone is, someone is doing God's will. Here's a short list of some things, and in the comment section, you know, add to that list as well.
So, the first thing I've thought of, and I've seen this, and this gets into the prosperity gospel, but wealth, your wealth, your material, your material wealth would prove that you're doing God's will 'cause he's blessing you with that. Health, really good health, good-looking body, all that. I must be doing God's will. Church callings. The bigger, the higher the calling, the more I'm doing God's will, or I wouldn't be called to this calling. Uh, I'm a temple recommend holder. Proves that I'm doing God's will. I'm an influencer, an LDS influencer with a lot of followers. I must be doing God's will. Uh, my education is high in, in worldly sense. I'm, you know, I have my doctorate. I have my master's. I have this. I have that. I must be doing God's will. Um, nepotism, which, um, speaking of nepotism, um, Connor Boyak did a great musing on that last, his last musing on the nepotism in the church. So, nepotism is, is, uh, because you're related, you get elevated or you become part of the club because, because of relation. So nepotism, because I am related to somebody, I, I'm doing God's will, otherwise I wouldn't be related to this church leader or righteous person or whatever. Okay? And, and kind of going along those same lines is that I am friends with so-and-so who everybody looks up to. So I must be doing God's will, or I wouldn't be a friend with them. Okay. And, um, I fulfill assignments. Proves that I'm doing God's will.
Now, are those really, are those really the fruits of, of doing God's will in our lives? Do we know of anybody in, in church, in the scriptures, in church history that didn't have wealth that we felt was doing God's will? Yeah. Yeah. Think about it. Think about it. Including our own Joseph Smith. But, but go back. We're, we're, you know, David certainly was wealthy and at times he did God's will. Uh, some of the kings were, you know, Hezekiah, I'm sure, was wealthy and he was doing God's will. But were many of the prophets? Do you think that they were wealthy? Was Jesus wealthy monetarily? You know, no. So, so that he, Christ did God's will, but he didn't have the wealth. Okay. So, that just shoots that one for me out of the water. That doesn't prove anything. And there's a lot of scumbags with a lot of wealth. Okay.
Health. A lot of people with poor health that are just the best and they're doing God's will and, and we could go through that as well. Callings. Important callings. You really want to go there. Um, temple recommend holders. Is that, does that, is that a fruit of, of doing God's will? Of course not. There's so many people that you know, all you have to do is answer certain questions and, you know, keep your head down and, and you'll get a recommend. Being an influencer, um, I, there's no way that that proves anything. It, it could be that you have the, the, the talent and the ability and some connections and, uh, you speak well and, and, and you're going to become an LDS influencer. You're going to have a lot of followers and, uh, you're going to do, um, you know, whatever. But no, it doesn't prove anything, uh, as far as, uh, doing God's will. Uh, being related to somebody, heck no. And, and who your friends are, heck no. And fulfilling assignments, you know, we, I often used to say, uh, faith in Christ and his atonement will always produce good works, but good works or fulfilling assignments doesn't always produce faith in Christ and his atonement. You know, you could. So, I, I say none of those are, but I've heard, I've heard these as, and so of you, as pointing towards the fact that I'm doing God's will because this is happening to me or this has happened to me or I'm in this situation. Okay.
Now, if we go to, um, just a scripture here, I'm going to try to keep this one a little brief, this video. So, I'm not going to get into a ton of scriptures, but, but, um, this is in Galatians. So, this is Paul. So, immediately a lot of members of the church will discount it. But, Galatians, chapter 5, verse 22. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. And they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, or envying one another."
Now, I've, I've done my own little interpretation of this, and this is so, this is just me speaking. I just read the scripture just right out of the King James. But love, I would say love of the Savior. Joy, joy in the Savior and what he has done for us. Peace in the Savior, having peace in knowing that he conquered death and victory and that he will wipe away the tears off all faces through repentance and obedience. Kindness. Now, kindness is an interesting thing. I think kindness is having a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, what Christ did for us, and and having, and then generosity being part of that is the ability to share that, to share that because that is really what is of value. "Silver and gold have I none, but rise up and walk in the name of Jesus." You know, this is Peter, right? So, so the generosity would have nothing to do with monetary generosity. It would have to do with sharing your love, your witness of the Savior, his atonement, his, his conquering death, everything that he did. Self-discipline, I would say is one of those, and that is staying, um, away from the world, or I shouldn't say staying, um, not keeping your summer cottage as was said, um, wow, who, who said that? I think it was Neal A. Maxwell. You know, your summer cottage in Babylon, that's not having that. It's staying out of the world in the sense of having it. You have to be in the world but not of the world, right? And so, so this would be having the ability to live in all the influence of the world but not be controlled by it, and having the ability to stay out of Babylon in that sense, spiritually, mentally, right? Even though physically you're living in it, that's, that's what self-discipline is.
And so, um, one last scripture, um, and this is in, um, section six of the Doctrine and Covenants. This is verse 23. I love this one. Um, this is a question. "Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" That peace, that confirmation, that understanding. Most of us have had that about the Book of Mormon, about the First Vision, about the restoration. Then we've had it about Christ himself and the great prophets of old that testified boldly and called people to repentance.
Here's another thing that's in section six of the Doctrine and Covenants. This is verse 32. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples, where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing, behold, there will I be in the midst of them, even so am I in the midst of you." Don't you love that? I just love that. Section six is a really good section. It also says somewhere in there, "Preach nothing but faith and repentance." But anyway, so that's, that's the latest news, um, from the Middle East and the church. Um, you know, just, just kind of wrapping up, you could, you could take that list and apply it to the church, too. Does wealth of the church prove that it's doing the will of God? Absolutely not. Does the health of the church? Now, that's kind of tricky because that's more of a personal thing, but maybe the health of the church would be its numbers. Um, everything I see, it's like just over a percent, 1% growth. That's, I, I don't want to really go there because I don't have one, you know, one thing or another, but callings, the, the, the fact that we have a lot of people in, in important positions sitting in chairs, does that prove doing the will of God? Um, temple recommend, you know, how many temple recommend holders, and that influencers, the education of, of the church, you know, as a whole. I, I don't know. It's kind of hard to, to transfer this from an individual to an organization, but, but you kind of get the drift, you know, where, where I'm going with this.
I would say the fruit of the church would be continuing testifying of Jesus Christ as the only way, the through him. Um, what does it say in Peter? I love this. Or excuse me, in John. Um, I'm going to read this because this is so good. Um, and there's other places we can read this, but this, this is so good. But in John 3, um, we have kind of this three witnesses of how to worship the Savior. And so if the church is doing this, I would say that that's one of the fruits that they're doing the will of God. That "whosoever believeth in him," this is verse 15 of John chapter 3. So there's the "in him." So "whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him," there's the second time it says "in him," "should not perish, but have everlasting life." And then verse 17, listen to this. "For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that he, but that the world through him might be saved." So we have "in him" and "through him." And then verse 18, "And he that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God." So if the church is doing that, I think that's one of the fruits, and I think our church is doing that.
Uh, the other things I think we would look at are continuing revelation and this one I struggle with. We have no canonized scripture. Now, you could say the proclamations, this and that, but I don't know. I mean, I look at the proclamation, the Family Proclamation to the World, but in all honesty, it's just repeating things that have already been said. It's not new. It's not new. In fact, there's scriptural references all through that, right? And, and, and same with the Witness of the First Vision or the, the Living Christ. Those are awesome, but I wouldn't call them new revelation. That's just me. That's just me. But they're awesome and I love them. Um, so revelation and prophecy and a condemnation of calling the church and everyone else to repentance. I would say those are signs that the church is doing God's will. And I'll let you decide whether you think the church is doing that or not. Um, I, I would say they're still preaching Christ. And that's good. That's the main thing. I would say on the others, I have a hard time seeing it, but, but maybe you can help me out. I know some people say, "Well, it was, it was prophecy that President Nelson said, 'Family centered, church supported,' and he did the 'Come Follow Me,' and then right after that COVID came in, and so that would be like considered both maybe revelation and prophecy a little bit." The truth of the matter is that that's always been the case. Study on your own. I can cite all kinds of scriptures, you know, ponder it in your heart. Study on your own. Don't depend on an organization to feed you and feed your soul. So, you know, I don't know. I think that's a bit of a stretch, but, but I get it. I get it. I think it's, you know, certainly your opinion on that, but, you know, maybe the revelation of where to build a temple and all that, that's, that's revelation. I don't know. I'm not hearing that it's, you know, that how we read. Now, I know what President Benson said at the, at the BYU meeting, that it doesn't have to be "thus saith the Lord" in order to be doing God's will. And I, I understand that. I do. I understand that. That was President Benson's opinion. And it, it, you know, we can all pick our favorite talk, our General Authority that backs up our opinion and all that, but, but typically what we do is we go, if it's not in scripture, if it's not canonized, or if it's not in all the agreement of the 15, you know, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, then it's usually just someone's opinion. We've had Elder Christofferson say that, and everyone, and others, which is just his opinion as well, right? So, these things are kind of like moving targets. But I feel so blessed to have the scriptures, the Bible, and all the latter-day scriptures. To me, it's amazing that we are so blessed to have those as our, as our standard to, to kind of measure everything, everything else with.
So, okay, I think that's it for this video. I'll, I'll try to copy that link to the Israel 365 article and then do a little research on your own if you want. There's, there's stuff out there. You can Google or chat or Copilot some pretty interesting things, and I have. And if I find something I think is really interesting, I'll, I'll share it. Anyway, God bless. We'll talk to you soon. Bye-bye.