When I left the Church I was bitter about the $50k+ I had sunk into tithing for the immediate five years prior to our exit, and even considered bringing a suit when they refused my formal request to return my money. I spent a great deal of time looking for hard evidence of fraud, only to discover that since the 1970s, the Church has been very careful to avoid outright fraudulent statements in official publications (e.g. seminary manuals, study guides, church magazines). It eventually occurred to me that the more appropriate tort would be negligence, which also carries a lower standard of proof than does fraud. Unfortunately for my case, I came to this realization a few months after the statute of limitations expired for negligence, which is generally shorter than that for fraud.


My reasoning for negligence is twofold:

1. The Church relies heavily on members to teach one another about doctrine and Church history. Members inevitably circulate myths and misinformation as facts, thereby creating a self-sustaining faith engine that indoctrinates each new generation with verifiable falsehoods and myths. I was the victim of such misinformation coming from my parents, seminary teachers, Sunday school and primary teachers, and priesthood leaders. Since the Church has full, centralized control over all official teaching materials, it is not unreasonable to expect that it should dedicate adequate materials to counter the misinformation circulated among the membership AND to fully disclose the uncomfortable facts from the early decades of the Church.

2. In the past, Church leaders and scholars have made false claims that were never formally corrected or repudiated. Instead, their books were usually just taken out of print and de-emphasized, or adorned with the standard disclaimer. This passive approach has left members to continue to trust and rely on these false statements, and continue to share them with subsequent generations. It is negligent for the Church to NOT correct the record when its leaders have profited from these books by virtue of their positions in the Church. Given its tight central control and the various forms of media at its disposal, the Church certainly has the ability and obligation to make a good faith effort at setting the record straight.

What does your lawyer say about your cause of action?

I spoke with two different attorneys in Texas, giving each an overview of the BoA, First Vision variants, changes to the revelations, and Joseph Smith's illegal polygamy. Both were interested and felt that there were grounds for fraud, but cautioned that fraud would nonetheless be difficult to prove and that $50k in damages was not enough to justify the cost of litigation (especially with the need to bring in experts). I suggested negligence to the second attorney who agreed that it would be much easier to litigate, but I was already beyond the statute of limitations at that point, so fraud was the only option (2 years for negligence and 4 years for fraud, I think).

Tort reform in Texas meant that non-monetary damages were capped, making the potential pot too small for a fishing expedition without heavy retainers. I was unwilling to sink any more money into anything related to the Church, so we never pursued it.

Is there an precedence of anyone suing and getting donated money back from any charity or religious organization?

I'll bet a case could be made for the church threatening your immortal soul unless you pay up, except that the court would maintain that you voluntary joined the organization. Some other kind of false promise from tithing or loss of income through shunning might be a real case, but only if there was written or legally recorded evidence. Proof of brainwashing would be golden....

Just statin' the obvious.

It's high time someone did something to get rid of LDS Inc. as a church entity, and require it to operate as the business that it actually is--not to mention get money back and disband their practise of indoctrinating kids. those of us BIC's didn't feeel we voluntarily joined this organization - we were pressured into attending, going on missions, going to BYU, dating only Mormons, etc etc. or lose our families!

It wasn't until many of us figured out for ourselves as adults years later, that we were coerced--but in the process, we suffered anxiety, depression and harrassment, etc. So there should be some way for this org to be held accountable for the ways in which it not only perpetuates a fraud but extorts innocent people out of their hard earned cash.

Interesting idea. But is it actionable? Not everything is actionable. Doubt it is. Don't think there is any case law on the subject either.
Anyone know?