Abasifreke Effiong
The letter on tithe refund circulated on social media, purported to have emanated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is fake.
The content of the letter which suggests that the Mormon Church was refunding three years tithes to her members as part of measures to cushion the economic impacts of Coronavirus on congregations of the church worldwide has been dismissed as a hoax.
The Dune on Friday 8th May, asked the Church headquarters in United States of America, in a private chat on social media, to confirm the authenticity of the letter. We were told that the letter is fake.
The fake letter circulated on social media.
The fake letter dated May 3, 2020, reads
“We are pleased to announce a general tithing refund program to serve as a help in these difficult times. The church will refund up to three years of tithing payments directly to members who have contributed in the past. Eligible recipients include active and less-active members as well as all former members who paid tithing (sic) on or after May 1, 2017.”
The church in a reply to our inquiry said, “that letter is fake. Thank you for confirming it with us.”
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In the reply, Shalyn, said the church was aware of the circulation of the fake letter.
In her response, the church redirected The Dune to her official online newsroom where all information on the church’s activities and interventions on COVID-19 are published.
Information on the online newsroom shows that, the church led by President Russell Nelson, has made contributions to help her members, health care workers and communities in the face of the global threat of Coronavirus.
The volunteer service of Latter-day Saint Women, through a programme called “Relief Society Action”, has sewn masks for front line health care workers and families in their communities during the global outbreak.
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The Mormon church in collaboration with the Chancellor’s office of Argentina has helped to repatriate nearly 100 Argentines who were stranded in Mexico because of COVID -19 imposed travel restrictions.
It has also partnered with Intermountain Health Care and University of Utah Health, to give out five million pieces of personal protective equipment to Utah Health Care workers treating COVID -19.
However, there was no information in the church’s online newsroom on tithe refund program as circulated in the fake letter.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, fondly called Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian christian church focused on the restoration of what it calls the original church founded by Jesus Christ.
The Mormon church has more than 16 million members worldwide, with headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America.
With additional report from the official online newsroom of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
