missionary account balances

It would be wonderful if missionary account balances could be viewed by parents of the missionary without having to contact a Clerk each time an update is requested. Because parents and families have first responsibility to keep the appropriate amounts in the account it would be such a benefit to have access to one's child's missionary balance.

Kelson9 wrote:It would be wonderful if missionary account balances could be viewed by parents of the missionary without having to contact a Clerk each time an update is requested. Because parents and families have first responsibility to keep the appropriate amounts in the account it would be such a benefit to have access to one's child's missionary balance.

I believe first responsibility lies with the ward/branch. Whether or not parents and families contribute to the missionary fund, the account is charged and the ward/branch/stake is responsible to cover it. This is why it is the bishop/branch president who accepts financial responsibility for the missionary. It is also why the financial responsibility does not move with the family records if they move out of the ward/branch. That only happens after the two leaders agree on which unit will contain the remainder of the financial responsibility after the family moves and inform the Missionary department to transfer the responsibility if that is the agreement.

The family is not paying for the missionary's mission. The family is donating to the ward mission fund, and those funds may (or may not) be used for the missionary. This keeps them as charitable contributions in the USA. I suppose there are parents who want to know the status of the fund each month - that is not a difficult thing for the clerk to provide. I have been a ward clerk for many years and I can count on 1 hand the times a family has requested to know the status of the fund. I have always been happy to provide it when requested.

There have been several threads on this subject. The most extensive one is found here: viewtopic.php?f=156&t=24369

Ultimately, however, to get suggestions to the appropriate decision makers you need to submit Feedback using the link at the bottom of most pages of churchofjesuschrist.org. We can discuss things in the forums but the decision makers generally do not read posts here.

Re: “ The family is donating to the ward mission fund, and those funds may (or may not) be used for the missionary. ”

I don’t believe this is correct. There is a general ward missionary fund that can be used at the discretion of the Bishop. However, we are able to donate to ward Missionary - ‘name’ to specifically pay into our son’s mission acct. our ward has 3 missionaries currently serving, and 4 mission funds. This is how it’s been throughout the 4 bishoprics and 3 different stakes that I’ve served in.

This is not viewed as a general fund. After our daughter ended her mission and had a positive balance, those funds were to be either (1) refunded or (2) applied to our son’s missionary fund.

While it’s true that the fund is ultimately the responsibility of the ward. We do not view it that way. We have made a commitment to pay for all of our children’s missions, and the fact that as parents, we cannot view the account balance is a bit ridiculous.

We can see how much we’ve paid into it, so we’ll just have to track it that way.

jwindso wrote: Thu Jan 13, 2022 8:34 pm Re: “ The family is donating to the ward mission fund, and those funds may (or may not) be used for the missionary. ”

I don’t believe this is correct. There is a general ward missionary fund that can be used at the discretion of the Bishop. However, we are able to donate to ward Missionary - ‘name’ to specifically pay into our son’s mission acct. our ward has 3 missionaries currently serving, and 4 mission funds. This is how it’s been throughout the 4 bishoprics and 3 different stakes that I’ve served in.

This is not viewed as a general fund. After our daughter ended her mission and had a positive balance, those funds were to be either (1) refunded or (2) applied to our son’s missionary fund.

The named missionary funds are sub-categories of the Ward Mission fund. They are not separate funds.

From General Handbook 34.3.3:

Contributions to the ward missionary fund are used primarily to meet the contribution commitments of full-time missionaries from the ward. Excess funds may be used to meet the commitments of other missionaries in the stake or coordinating council.

So, there is a possibility the donations to a specific missionary sub-category might be used elsewhere if it's in excess of what's needed.

34.3.7:

Contributions Cannot Be Refunded
When tithes and other offerings are given to the Church, they belong to the Lord. They are consecrated to Him. All such contributions are freewill offerings. They are made without reservation of purpose, retention of control, ownership in any form, or expectation of any benefit by the donor other than the Lord’s blessings.

Stake presidents and bishops inform those who contribute tithes and offerings that these contributions cannot be refunded. Nor can prepaid missionary funds be refunded.

jwindso wrote: Re: “ The family is donating to the ward mission fund, and those funds may (or may not) be used for the missionary. ”

I don’t believe this is correct. . . .

This is not viewed as a general fund. After our daughter ended her mission and had a positive balance, those funds were to be either (1) refunded or (2) applied to our son’s missionary fund.

Donations to the ward missionary fund, even those identifying a specific missionary, are never refunded. As the donation slip specifically says, "Though reasonable efforts will be made to use donations as designated, all donations become the Church's property and will be used at the Church's sole discretion to further the Church's overall mission."

As you indicated, they may be transferred to another missionary. This worked well in your case because you also had a son serving.

I agree that it would be convenient for a member to be able to look up a balance of contributions toward a specific missionary. But for now, the clerk is the one who will need to do that for members who need that information. And it is part of his calling to do so.