[pc2g4d]

"kept it for themselves"---it still belongs to the church.

I thought everybody assumed, since the church so frequently taught its members about prudent financial management, that the church itself was doing the same thing.

I've left the church, I have many criticisms of it, but I really don't have a problem with an organization taking the long view and accumulating a large enough reserve to survive on the interest. It's the same approach universities and other large nonprofits use. And it's not like it's particularly neglecting its present-day mission either. Probably is too stingy, though (e.g. using volunteers to clean buildings.)