Missionary account balance

It would be nice to be able to look up the account balance of our missionary

Your ward/branch clerk can look it up for you and give you the balance.

Is there a way to look it up online?

also, what are the steps to look it up in MLS?
I'm the Ward clerk but I don't know how.

In LCR, select Finance > Overview > Income and Expense Details from the menu. In the box that says 'All Categories' above the list select 'Ward Missionary Fund' and then select the appropriate missionary from the box to it's right. This will show you all the transactions for that missionary and the current balance at the bottom of the list.

You can also see the missionary subaccount balances in LCR Finance. Click on Overview on the menu, choose Income and Expense Summary, and then click the arrow to the left of Ward Missionary Fund.

I agree about seeing MY missionaries account balance. I understand donations are confidential, however it would be nice to see the balance so we know how much to pay each month.

annieosbourn wrote:I agree about seeing MY missionaries account balance. I understand donations are confidential, however it would be nice to see the balance so we know how much to pay each month.

As a ward clerk I will give the account details printout with the other donor names whited out or redacted when provided in a PDF file format. This is the best I can do for them.

We are on our 4th missionary. We strive to be honest in all our dealings and find ourselves continually frustrated there is no honest communication, no responsible monetary communication from the church for our missionary accounts. With some missionaries we have starved ourselves making the payment, only to find out others were also paying.....I guess we could have fed our family three meals a day during that mission. There is no communication on the monthly cost, no balance sheet available. How can we gain access to our missionary account balance, outstanding balance, overage, etc? Please, please, please help. We are trying to teach our children responsible budgeting. This missionary has worked and slaved and sacrificed to pay for his mission. He wants to see it being paid in full each month. Help!

molly5foster wrote: Mon Feb 05, 2024 10:26 am We strive to be honest in all our dealings and find ourselves continually frustrated there is no honest communication, no responsible monetary communication from the church for our missionary accounts.

This is a discussion you need to have with your bishop and clerk. There is no online access to the balance for the families. It's likely a legal reason that could impact the ability to have it as a tax deduction.

The clerk access to the payment amount as well as the current balance. You may need to ask for it on a monthly basis.

How can we gain access to our missionary account balance, outstanding balance, overage, etc?

I'd also point you to this Forum thread (there's also a few others), that has some additional discussion and insight into possibly why the Church continues to not make this information available to missionary parents (or others). My perspective is that a fundamental aspect is that the missionary fund is not the family's responsibility and does not 'belong' to them, even when they may commit to paying a portion or all of the expenses. Plus, as mentioned, there's definitely legal aspects.
How to see donations for my daughter missionary?

My missionary has been out 14 months. I was made aware of a report on his balance this month for the first time. I had no idea this report existed. Turns out some extra contributions were done by ward members which caused his account to carry an unknown positive balance. Had the new clerk not told me about it, I would have had no idea that was the case.

It is entirely appropriate for families to see their missionary's account balance at will.

I urge you to please consider adding this feature.

Thanks

happyhunter11 wrote: Sun Jan 12, 2025 9:15 am It is entirely appropriate for families to see their missionary's account balance at will.

I urge you to please consider adding this feature.

Please note this is primarily user-to-user support. It's not a means for advocating change.

It's possible there's legal reasons for this. Normally, parents supporting children are not considered charitable donations.

New information that may be useful going forward:

While reviewing the January 2025 ward financial report I noticed new information reminders for each section of the report. The Balances tab had this statement in that page's information reminder: "Clicking the Ward Missionary Fund category or any of the accounts underneath the category will create a report that can be shared with the parents of the missionary." (emphasis added) This is the first 'official' statement I have seen stating a report for a missionary category can be shared with the parents of a missionary.

Note that the report mentioned does not compromise any confidentiality of donors. That information is hidden behind a hyperlink that is only available to ward leaders with finance edit/view permissions.

russellhltn wrote: Sun Jan 12, 2025 12:58 pm

happyhunter11 wrote: Sun Jan 12, 2025 9:15 am It is entirely appropriate for families to see their missionary's account balance at will.

I urge you to please consider adding this feature.

Please note this is primarily user-to-user support. It's not a means for advocating change.

It's possible there's legal reasons for this. Normally, parents supporting children are not considered charitable donations.

In the United States, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that parents and other's support for a missionary through the Church financial system are indeed charitable donations.

garystroble wrote: Mon Feb 02, 2026 10:40 am In the United States, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that parents and other's support for a missionary through the Church financial system are indeed charitable donations.

Correct. And I'm sure a large part of that is because they're paying into a equalized system instead of actual costs, but I don't know all the details. All I'm saying is the church is walking a line and a requested feature may push it over.

I agree we need to be able to see the account balance it is so frustrating because we know we have people helping us to pay into the fund we don’t need their names just how much is in there.

tennashoe wrote: Sat Feb 28, 2026 11:56 am I agree we need to be able to see the account balance it is so frustrating because we know we have people helping us to pay into the fund we don’t need their names just how much is in there.

From a post a few weeks ago, viewtopic.php?p=262074#p262074 , it appears there is a report a clerk can generate and share with the missionary's parents.