Contact Information & Reporting a Member's Death Our Mission Contact Information & Reporting a Member's Death Our Mission
Preamble
Who is a 'Mormon'? The Society is made up of people with a common belief that Mormon refers to “Mormon” the Prophet who compiled the records of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. Mormons are believers who follow the teachings and doctrines taught by Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints prophets. These doctrines are believed to be eternal, and part of the Gospel preached by Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures of the Bible. For the non-sectarian purposes of our Society a Mormon is to be: a parent of a Mormon, the child or dependent of a Mormon, the spouse of a Mormon, a living or dead person baptized Mormon, and any stepchild or sibling-by-marriage in a Mormon family. And, in general, all “defenders” of the Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints (or similar Mormon denomination) or persons who profess to be Mormon (followers of Joseph Smith's teachings) who are to be baptized Mormon (while living or after death) are accepted by our Society to be Mormons. Mormons believe the Book of Mormon to be a sacred text and "another testament of Jesus Christ". Members of this Society consider themselves to be Mormons by belief, culture, relationship, a church membership or personal enlightenment. The Society is not a religion or a part of one. MWOS applies these criteria for the broadest possible purposes of inclusion and membership eligibility for our membership benefits. These exceptionally broad criteria should not be taken as official theological policy or doctrine.
Mission Statement
The Society members join together to assist and care for the Mormon spouse and dependents of a deceased member. Members of the Society perfect their personal plans ('Perfect Plan') for a 'Mormon Funeral' and Self-Insurance Plan. The Society's members are interested in promoting the religious practices of Mormon Funerals and Baptism for the dead in Mormon Temples. Voluntary Social Security is promoted as a religious obligation centered in Mormons' concerns for long term financial stability of the family when a parent dies. The Mormon Widows and Orphans Society works to assist members in their planning and religious observance of these practices and customs. MWOS acts as a facilitator in the successful undertaking of a deceased member's 'Perfect Plan' and the creation of a Self-Insurance Plan (SIP).
We, the members, officials, agents, employees and assigns of the Mormon Widows and Orphans Society make it known that:
Article I: ASSESSMENTS. As of September 1984, this Charter stipulates that the “Assessment” referred to in all MWOS documents is to be ten U.S. Dollars ($10). Assessments are to be paid immediately upon notice that an assessment is due. This Article is subject to change from time to time by the Council which governs the Society.
Article II: MEMBERSHIP. The members of the Mormon Widows and Orphans Society (collectively “Members” and each a “Member”) shall consist of such persons as may be qualified for and admitted to Membership by the acceptance and approval by the Society of an application for Membership. Membership may not be transferred or inherited. Membership is not conditioned on any health-status of an applicant or Member, or relating to any applicant’s or Member’s spouse or a dependent's. The Society has different classes of Membership (collectively “Classes” and each a “Class”), each having different privileges, benefits and rights. General Members have all of the standard membership privileges and benefits described in the Membership Handbook, as the same may be amended from time to time (“General Benefits”), as well as such rights as are set forth in this Charter of the Society (the “Charter”). Members of Classes with additional or ancillary benefits have all of the General Benefits plus the privileges and benefits for that particular Class that are described in the additional benefits handbook for such Class, as the same may be amended from time to time (“Additional Benefits”).
Article III: APPLICATION AND PROCESSING CHARGE. Applications are submitted with a “one time” Application and Processing Charge as follows: $500 where an applicant is under the age of thirty (30) years; $1,000 where an applicant is older but not past the age of fifty (50) years; $5,000 where an applicant is older than fifty (50) years; and, $10,000 where an applicant is older than sixty (60) years. The application is submitted with the inclusive declarations. These declarations pertain to acknowledgments of age, Mormon persuasion and relationship status to a spouse and dependents. Payment arrangements are possible when applicants can demonstrate credit-worthiness or hardship. Charges are scaled because younger applicants pay more membership dues and assessments over time than older members while assessments remain at the same levels and aggregations are based upon total membership in every case.
Article IV: DUES. In order to maintain Membership in the Society and enjoy the General Benefits, you must pay an application processing charge and the Society annual dues of $36.00 per year ("Basic Dues"). If you belong to a Class with Additional Benefits, you must pay additional* Society annual dues of $24.00 per year ("Class Dues") plus Assessments for the Additional Benefits of the Class to which you belong ("Assessments"). Payment of all Basic Dues and Class Dues ("Dues") and all Assessments are due in advance and will be drafted from or charged to the account or credit card that you authorized MWOS or its agent to draft or charge. Your election to continue your membership after receipt of the Membership Handbook and these Terms and Conditions will be deemed confirmation of this authorization. Depending on the day you selected when you enrolled, your annual charges will be submitted on either the 5th, 10th, 15th or 20th day of the preceding month for the upcoming year. The payment of your Membership application charge and your first year's Dues and Assessments, as well as any subsequent payments, will be deemed confirmed on the date five business days after the date of the receipt of such payment by ACH, Check by Phone or credit card. The Society reserves the right to terminate any Membership and deny any and all privileges and benefits or for lack of timely payment. Dues and Assessments may be changed for ALL members of a particular class (but not individually) with notification, as the Council determines is necessary, appropriate or desirable in its discretion; provided, however, that any increase in the Basic Dues over $60.00 per year must be approved by a vote of the Members as set forth in the Charter. All payments of Dues and Assessments are collected and disbursed by a Third Party Administrator on behalf of the Society, in order to ensure timely payment for all Member benefits and to satisfy any applicable laws or regulations. *Please note: If you belong to a Class with Additional Benefits, the Basic Dues discussed above are already included in the amount ($60) you agree to pay each year.
Article V: BENEFITS.
Section 1. General Benefits are defined as Aggregation of Assessments. The Society notifies members and collects all assessments. These are aggregated for the benefit of a surviving spouse and orphans in accordance with a perfected plan which you have made before you die. All Basic Members must pay these assessments to remain members in good standing. Special Assessments are NOT voluntary. Additional Benefits are defined as Aggregation of Assessments. The Society notifies members and collects from them all assessments or any special assessment. These are aggregated for the benefit of a surviving spouse and orphans in accordance with a perfected plan which you have made before you die. All Class Members must pay these assessments to remain members in good standing. Special Assessments ARE voluntary.
Section 2. You must be actively enrolled and paid up on your Dues and Assessments in order to use or receive any General Benefits or Additional Benefits. You agree that you will use your membership only for your personal benefit or the benefit of your dependent family members. "Dependent Family Members" are immediate family members living with you, your spouse, or family members living with you and financially dependent upon you. Students aged nineteen (19) or older up to their twenty-sixth (26th) birthday must be enrolled in full time study at an accredited school in order to qualify as a dependent family member. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, any of the General Benefits and Additional Benefits may be modified, changed, replaced, substituted, discontinued or eliminated as the Council, in its sole discretion, deems necessary, appropriate or desirable. Should your benefits materially change, you will be notified as soon as reasonably possible and in accordance with any applicable laws. Logging on to the Society website at www.MWOS.org will keep you up to date on your benefits and other pertinent Membership information.
Section 3. Membership in the Society entitles you to the benefits described in Sections 1 and 2 of this Article. Section 3 relates to the results obtained: “Aggregates”. Aggregates vary in amount based on total membership levels at a point in time. Aggregates can be retroactively increased to correlate with historical performance. The Society will distribute the first fifty-thousand (50,000) members' assessments to the entitled person(s) with any surplus to be applied to equalization of aggregates distributed which were based on fewer than that number. This is the equalization cycle and any new cycle can begin when that number doubles.
Section 4. Membership in the Society entitles you to the benefits described in Sections 1 and 2 of this Article. Section 4 relates to the disposition of “endowments”. For the purposes of this Charter, an endowment is any part or all of the Article III Application and Processing Charge. Every member is entitled to the repayment in full of this endowment upon written request under the terms set forth in Article VII of this Charter. You have established this endowment for yourself and your own account as a Self-Insurance Plan (SIP) and will be required from time to time to name a successor or assign. Failure to do so will be your affirmation and confirmation that the endowment bequeathed to the Benevolent Fund For Mormon Widows And Orphans.
Article VI: ACTIVATION AND TERM. Your Membership in the Society and any Affiliates is on an annual basis. General Benefits and any other benefits of your Class are activated as soon as your initial payment is confirmed. Your benefits are activated as set forth in your Benefits Handbook. The term of your Membership may continue for so long as you continue to meet the qualifications of Membership established by the Society and pay all required Dues and Assessments in full and in a timely manner.
Article VII: CANCELLATION AND TERMINATION. You can cancel your automatic Membership renewal at any time. If you wish to cancel your automatic Membership renewal, you must submit a signed Cancellation Request Form to the Secretary of the Society. To obtain a Cancellation Request Form please call Member Services for a faxed or emailed copy. To effect a cancellation as of the last day of a given month, your signed Cancellation Request Form must be received by member services no later than 5:00PM Eastern Standard Time on the 20th day of that month. Once received, your cancellation will be processed and will become effective as of midnight on the last day of the effective month of your cancellation. If your cancellation notice is NOT received by 5:00PM Eastern Standard Time on the 20th day of the month, then your Membership will continue through the end of the following month and you will be responsible for the full payment of all Dues and Assessments owed through such date. Non-payment of any Dues or Assessments will result in an automatic termination of your Membership and Benefits. Members who are terminated for nonpayment have a ten day grace period for reactivation. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Council of Directors of the Society or its authorized Delegate (the “Council”) may terminate your Membership at any time in its sole discretion, in accordance with the Charter of the Society. If your Membership is terminated for non-payment and you fail to re-activate, or if your Membership is otherwise terminated for non-compliance on your part or at the discretion of the Council, then your Membership and Benefits will be retroactively terminated to the day prior to the last monthly anniversary of your effective date, and any claims subsequent to that date will be declined.
Article VIII: LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. The Society, its Affiliates, Councilors and all service companies contracted by the Society (collectively, the Companies”) assume no liability with regard to any benefits or services provided, or to be provided, by any third party. You agree that any claim with regard to such benefits or services shall be made against the providers of such benefits or services and not the Society, its Affiliates or Service Companies, whose sole obligation hereunder shall be to provide Members with eligibility to access to receive such benefits or services from the providers of such benefits or services.
Article IX: DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. The Companies are not merchants, manufacturers or direct providers of many of the General Benefits and do not give any warranties, expressed or implied, as to description, quality, merchantability, fitness for any particular purpose, productiveness or any other matter, for the General Benefits, third-party providers of benefits or services or any services or merchandise purchased or received by you through your Membership in the Society. You acknowledge that you are not relying on the Companies' skills or judgments in selecting any third-party provider or benefits or services available to you. In the event that any benefit received by you is cancelled, modified, defective or otherwise unsatisfactory to you, you will look solely to the provider for any refund, or satisfaction of a claim. It is further understood that all benefits of Membership are subject to the availability of such benefits, which may change without notice for reasons beyond the reasonable control of the Companies.
Article X: GENERAL RELEASE. You and your eligible dependent family members hereby forever release, acquit and discharge each of the Companies and their respective officer's, directors, employees and agents from any and all liabilities, claims, demands, actions and causes or action that you, or your covered dependent family members may have by reason of any monetary damage or personal injury sustained as a result of or in connection with the provision or lack thereof of any and all benefits or services available through or by virtue of your Membership in the Society. The sole recourse available to you and your covered dependent family members under your Membership shall be cancellation of your Membership and any refund available as provided in these Terms and Conditions and/or the Mormon Widows and Orphans Society Charter.
Article XI: RESPONSIBILITY FOR PAYMENT FOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. You agree that you and your eligible dependent family members are solely responsible for payment of any amounts due from you in connection with your Membership. Failure to make prompt payment of the amounts due to the Society may result in the termination of your Membership. None of the Companies shall be considered either a guarantor or payer for any products or services provided to any Member by any third party.
Article XII: USE OF MEMBER INFORMATION. Keeping financial information secure is one of our most important responsibilities. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect Member credit card and/or checking information, and such sensitive information as social security numbers. We will not share any information about you with other organizations . You may direct us to share information that is assembled or used to determine Members’ eligibility for or potential interest in products or services by e-mail notice delivered to the Secretary of the Society.
Article XIII: NOTICE OF MEETINGS AND ACTIONS. All notices required to be given to you of any meeting or action of the Society by law or Charter will be posted on the Society web site. Unless you inform the Society to the contrary in writing, and other than as set forth in the Member Terms and Conditions, by virtue of accepting or using any of the benefits of Membership you shall be deemed to have waived all individual delivery of notices required to be given to you of any meeting or action of the Society by law, the Society’s Articles of Incorporation or Charter, as if such waiver was given in a written document executed by physical or electronic signature by you.
Article XIV: VOTING. Voting is conducted within the terms of this MWOS Charter. The Secretary of the Society may issue electronic ballots using email or other internet technologies. Ballots not cast will be presumed to be affirmative or “YES” votes, and only “NO” votes must be cast to be counted. Electronic voting will not be secret because voting in person conducted at meetings is by a showing of hands. Elder Councilors with the Executive Councilor are to certify voting.
Article XV: DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. The Council may confer Defender of the Faith status upon anyone of faith who demonstrates a life experience which confirms the truthfulness of Mormon beliefs. Society and Fund employees and other applicants who are not Mormons within the Society's non-secular meaning are eligible for membership and granted 'honorary' Defender of the Faith status. Their Application and Processing Charge will be automatically waived. Other non-Mormon applicants who are employed by any organized Mormon church or any religious organization having its primary basis in Mormonism will be considered for 'honorary' Defender of the Faith status. Their Application and Processing Charge cannot be waived. A Defender of the Articles of Faith waiver of the Application and Processing Charge can be requested by all Mormons employed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the 'Mormon Church').
Article XVI: GOVERNANCE. (This Article in full can be found in the Handbooks and Published versions of this Charter. The MWOS Charter and Membership Handbooks are made available solely for the benefits of our members of the Society and may be distributed digitally, or in print and only with the expressed permission and license of MWOS.) The Council ratifies one Councilor who is appointed Secretary by the Executive Councilor. Councilors are invited by the Executive Councilor to serve on the Council for no less than six (6) months and no more than five (5) years per invitation. You may seek an invitation to serve one term as Councilor by submitting at least one-hundred new memberships. These new members must be unanimous in their nomination of you for Councilor. At least 50% of these new members must be under the age of thirty (30) years and no more than 25% may be older than fifty (50) years but not older than sixty (60) years. Members older than sixty (60) years may be invited to serve for one term as an Elder Councilor by submitting at least twenty-five new memberships. These new members must be unanimous in their nomination of you as an Elder. All these new members must be older than sixty (60) years. The Executive Councilor and Elder Councilors are responsible for oversight of voting and determine what will be voted upon by the Membership unless this Charter provides for it specifically.
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All Rights Reserved
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and should not be
taken as official policy or doctrine of any denomination.
(Effective date April 1, 1984; revised effective April 1, 1989, revised effective August 8, 1995, revised effective August 29, 1995; revised effective September 20, 2001; revised effective January 1, 2006; revised effective January 1, 2008; revised effective May 1, 2008)