Testimony Submitted by Elder Dallin H. OaksSenate Finance Committee Hearing

October 18, 2011

I am Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of TheChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.I appear here to speak not only for churches and their charitable works, butalso for the entire private sector, of which our churches and other charitableinstitutions are only a part.While I appear here as a religious leader, the possible impairment of thecharitable deduction in order to enhance tax revenues is not a religious issue. It isnot a political issue. It is not even an economic issue. It poses a question about thenature and future of America.The charitable deduction is vital to the private sector that is unique toAmerica. Alexis de Tocqueville, one of the most astute observers of our nation inits infancy, wrote:

“The Americans make associations to give entertainment, to found

seminaries, to build inns, to construct churches, to diffuse books, to sendmissionaries to the antipodes; and in this manner they found hospitals,prisons, and schools. If it is proposed to inculcate some truth or to fostersome feeling by the encouragement of a great example, they form a society.Wherever at the head of some new undertaking you see the government in

2France, or a man of rank in England, in the United States you will be sure to

find an association.”

Today millions of these private “associations”—

religious and charitable

—

areresponsible for tens of millions of jobs and innumerable services that benefit ourcitizens at every level. I speak of private educational institutions, hospitals, socialwelfare agencies, and innumerable other organizations ministering to the needs of children, youth, the aged, the poor, and citizens generally. The financial well-being of this private sector is dependent upon private contributions that qualify forthe charitable deduction. And the impact these private institutions have on thosethey serve is magnified by the millions of volunteers motivated by the ideals theypursue.For example, in the aftermath of Katrina and the other 2005 Gulf Coasthurricanes, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aided the cleanupefforts with almost 3,000 tons of emergency supplies, over $13 million in cash anduse of heavy equipment, and its members gave more than 42,000 man-days of service. Other non-profit organizations provided over $3.5 billion in cash and in-kind donations to help with relief efforts.

Another example concerns

the unique role of our nation’s churches,

synagogues, and other religious organizations.

Alexis de Tocqueville,

Democracy in America

, Vol. 2, p. 114 (New York, Vintage Books, 1955).

See Appendix for sources and details.

John Adams wrote: “Our constitution was made only for a moral andreligious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” This

wise Founding Father explained:

“[We] have no government armed w

ith power capable of contending withhuman passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition,revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a

whale goes through a net.”

Our nation is held together not just by law and its enforcement, but by voluntaryobedience to the unenforceable and by widespread adherence to norms of right andwrong, such as the vital principle of honesty. For a large proportion of our citizensthese essential norms are grounded in the principles of our religious beliefs, taughtin our churches and synagogues.There is no need to provide other examples. Throughout your life, each of you Senators and those you love have personally benefitted from a host of privateorganizations

—

some Church-related, but many not.The private sector of charitable activity is almost unique and surely uniquelyvalued in America. And we all understand that its activities are funded by privatedonations produced or importantly stimulated by a charitable deduction that

reduces the donor’s taxes.

Charles Francis Adams,

The Works of John Adams,

Second President of the United States, 228-29 (Books forLibraries Press, 1969).