In March of 2021, James Huntsman filed a lawsuit against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Sometimes referred to as Mormon) alleging that that he paid tithing based on false statements given by then President Gordon B. Hinkley who said that tithing funds would not be used to build the City Creek Mall. What President Hinkley said was as follows:
But I wish to give the entire Church the assurance that tithing funds have not and will not be used to acquire this property. Nor will they be used in developing it for commercial purposes.
Funds for this have come and will come from those commercial entities owned by the Church. These resources, together with the earnings of invested reserve funds, will accommodate this program.[i]
On January 31, 2025, The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in favor of the Church. [Read more…] about Court Ruling in the case of James Huntsman vs the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Debra Theobald McClendon, PhD is a licensed psychologist in the state of Utah and has interjurisdictional authorization to work with clients in most U.S. states. She specializes in treating those with scrupulosity, a religious and moral subtype of OCD. She is the owner of The OCD & Scrupulosity Clinic (ocdscrupulosityclinic.com) and is a member of the International OCD Foundation. She has been interviewed on podcasts, published articles, and published the book: “Freedom from Scrupulosity: Reclaiming Your Religious Experience from Anxiety and OCD.”
Ryan Sorensen is a native of Cache Valley, Utah. He earned his Bachelor’s degree at BYU-Idaho and is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity at Abilene Christian University, with plans to become a chaplain after graduation. Ryan previously hosted a podcast called The Whom Shall We Go? Podcast. In his spare time, he enjoys being involved in interfaith work, reading about Latter-day Saint theology and history, training for triathlons, and spending time with friends and family.
Brent J. Schmidt earned degrees in history and classics from the University of Utah and a Ph.D. in classics from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He teaches in the religion and humanities departments at BYU-Idaho. He specialized in Greek and Latin moralistic literature and he wrote and later published his dissertation on ancient utopian communities. He has published works on Biblical subjects including word studies about grace and faith. He is an author and editor of the BYU New Testament Commentary series. He enjoys reading, especially the Book of Mormon and Bible, gardening, collecting ancient coins, world travel, skiing and learning ancient and modern languages. For fifteen years now he has read at least one academic book a day. He and his wife, Judith, are the parents of one son.