Mobile Device

What is the new Missionary Mobile Device subcategory? It showed up this month with our two newest missionaries.

I'll take a wild guess that it's to pay for the iPad for the missionary. I guess the expectation is that it will be funded the same way as the mission. Hopefully the Missionary Department communicated this to the family and didn't leave it to the ward to break the news.

I know that this is not being handled by the missionary department but by the stake. My stake president received an email Saturday with the information. The email instructs the stake president to arrange to meet with the bishops and parents to explain the funding and responsibility. There is much more information in the attachments. It was mentioned that the monies will be paid to Other category, with “Missionary Mobile Device” and the name of the missionary. This is not tax deductible.

William Woodford
Stake Clerk
Fayetteville North Carolina West Stake

It seems it would be simpler to just increase the $10,000 flat rate for missionaries from the U.S. and Canada to $10,500 or something, instead of separating it into a separate account.

sbradshaw wrote:It seems it would be simpler to just increase the $10,000 flat rate for missionaries from the U.S. and Canada to $10,500 or something, instead of separating it into a separate account.

Since the missionary gets to keep the iPad, it may affect the tax-exempt status.

The question is: what happens if he/she loses it during the mission? Does it make a difference how it was lost? (Lost due to being on a mission as opposed to personal carelessness?)

sbradshaw wrote:It seems it would be simpler to just increase the $10,000 flat rate for missionaries from the U.S. and Canada to $10,500 or something, instead of separating it into a separate account.

wwoodford wrote:This is not tax deductible.

I expect this is the reason. I assume the missionary retains the iPad after their mission. If so then they are receiving something of tangible value for the money and it can't be tax deductible. Since contributions to the the ward missionary fund are deductible I expect this has to be handled through an 'Other' account (which does not show up as deductible on year-end tax forms).

What's been said is correct. The mobile device is set up as an other account by headquarters for any missionary participating in the program. The parents of a missionary participating in the program received an email explaining that missionary gets to keep the device after the mission, which explains it being an "other" account, hence non-deductible. Furthermore, the letter said that a loaner device will be provided to those missionaries who do not, or cannot, pay for one.

Am I going out on a limb to assume that missionaries will have a custom build flashed onto their devices to prevent some of the activities commonly performed on an iPad that the missionaries should not be doing? If this is the case will just a basic wipe at the end of the mission restore to factory specs?

What are the specs for the iPads that the missionaries should be using? Are they common to all or will you see companionships where a 128 Gb cellular iPad 2 is coupled with a WiFi only iPad mini?

If it is a cellular model, who pays for the cellular plan?

I don't know for sure, but I bet they'd all be wifi iPads that can be tethered to a phone for data if needed.