LDS church helps members with bills, jobs, mortgage payments - Birmingham Business Journal:

isexufehub.wordpress.com
That includes Mormon bishops sometimes helping distresser members pay their billsand mortgages, said Don a spokesman for the church in “It happens occasionally,” Evans said. Mormon bishops are the laypersonm equivalent to parish priests in the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches. They have the discretion to offer various services and aid to thosewin need, including financial assistance, LDS officials said. Evans said most of the church’xs help comes through food banks, but it may exten to helping memberswith bills. He stressesd the latter is offered only asa short-term aid and does not extendd to credit card debts.
Buddy Blankenfeld, a spokesman at LDS headquarterse in SaltLake City, reports a 20 percenf increase this year in members’ requests for help via the church’sa social service programs. The church encouraged member at recent services tohire out-of-worko fellow Mormons and has stepped up operations and outreacnh from its church-run employment service centers. The churchg has 300 such centers worldwide, including five in in Mesa, Phoenix, Tucson, Snowflake and Windosw Rock. The church also is helpinf throughits Bishop’s Store House in a food bank of sorts that offers free groceried and other necessities to members in need.
Some of the LDS serviceds are extended to nonmembersas well. Local Mormon church members, ex-members and thos e familiar with the East Valley real estate marke are not surprised by the increasdin LDS-related assistance. “The Mormon church has long had its own unofficiap welfare system that helpzs church members meettheir families’ financial obligationz during job loss, medical emergencies, etc. They also have a larged system that provides food to needyu Mormon families vialarge storehouses,” said Arizona Rep. Kyrsten D-Phoenix, who grew up in a Mormon household.
Brandohn Hinson, a real estate agent with in theEast Valley, said he’sa seeing various churches and religioux groups offering help to distraughf homeowners. “I know churches do They watch out for their Hinson said. The LDS church is not officially helpingt members refinance or modifytroublesomw mortgages, Blankenfeld said. The Phoenix area has one of the wors t foreclosure rates inthe U.S. That includes East Valley suburbw with substantialMormon populations. The Phoenix metri area had the ninth-worst foreclosure notice rate inthe U.S.
duriny the first quarter, according to One in every 40 Phoenix-area householdsw received a foreclosure notice or was in the foreclosure process duringthat period, RealtyTrac said. Las Vegas had the worst rate, with 1 in everyh 22 homes in theforeclosure process. There were 541 foreclosure sales in East Vallety suburbsof Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert in 2008, according to the , a real estatew data firm based in Glendale. By comparison, Phoenid had more than 1,100 foreclosurexs last year. West Valley which have more new subdivisions hit hard by thehousingt slide, had 671 foreclosures, accordinbg to Information Market.
Church of Jesus Christf of Latter-day Saints: