The ward I live in has been an exporter of fast offering donations for decades. I don't think there has been a time since it's beginning when we haven't exported fast offering donations. Two weeks ago in a meeting with the Priest's Quorum, our bishop remarked that we are using nearly all the fast offering contributions inside our own ward to meet family needs of our own neighbors.
This economy has affected the church's "breadbasket" along the Wasatch Front. The church is able to project international efforts because of the tithing of the saints in Utah. When Utah's economy falters, the church is affected.
The last report the US Government released (that I saw) announced that tax collections were down 40%. If tax revenues are down by this much, tithing contributions must bear some proportion near to that.
The US has been blessed for the sake of the church. When we do not merit blessings, judgments follow. The economic prosperity of the US has not been because we are better than other people, but because it furthers the Lord's purposes. When you view our current circumstances in moral terms, then we should ask what we need to do to merit further blessings from the Lord.
There are no private sins. We have only the illusion of privacy. All eternity looks on at us, at times in complete wonder at our astonishing pride and vanity.
The "illusion of privacy" perfectly stated.
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