Mormon Church gives $300,000 to ex-offender program

Church and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter insist it was a coincidence that the donation came when a proposed temple was stuck.

A major donation by the Mormon Church will help the city’s ex-offender recovery program. Both sides say it has nothing to do with the Mormon Temple construction project moving forward.

The $300,000 donation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will be used for the Mayor’s Office of Reintegration Services for ex-offenders. Mayor Michael Nutter says it’s a coincidence that the donation happened at a time when the construction of a new Mormon temple on Vine Street was at a critical period.

“This was not something we asked for. Every negotiation has its own character this happened to come up there were a lot of circumstances at play all at the same time, this was something we saw as a little bit of a breakthrough quite frankly, but also a demonstration of the church’s support for the for the city of Philadelphia.”

The deal to build the Temple at 1701 Vine Street was struck on September first. The project is expected to create 300 construction jobs and 50 permanent jobs once the multi-million dollar building project is completed in 2013.