Australian barrister Neville Rochow QC has offered the LDS Church legal advice over the years and has appeared for the church at parliamentary committees on the question of religious freedom. For two years, he also represented the church at the European Parliament in Brussels.
He has been intimately involved in the church’s legal concerns and is well versed in how its legal machinery works, particularly internationally.
In part two of this series, Neville joins me to discuss the LDS Church and its financial activities.
Will there be a 3rd part to this? Seemed to end abruptly.
Appreciate the honest discussion, and perspectives from outside the US!
Even more interesting than episode one. When you were speaking of taxes and the other countries system of taxation, you mentioned Canada, where I live. We are right next door to the church HQ. All we need to do is drive south for hours on end.
WE ARE NOT THE USA and I’m glad we have our own systems in place, but so much of our tithes go to BYU (not that I pay tithes anymore) and it’s allowed by Canada Revenue – it’s called ‘charity’!!!!
Also, the church never takes into consideration that we ARE separate from the USA. When the chapel in our community was being built, we could not have a basement, despite that fact that we would have had double the space without taking up anymore land. Now they have 3 wards meeting there – if only they had listened to the members – but when does that ever happen? Only when their ‘good name’ is being threatened.
Neville, thanks so much for your open candor and both of you for having loved the church as I once did. It’s not easy to see the warts.