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There is frustration evident in the barbed phrasing of this question, which contains some false assumptions. In the admissions process of Brigham Young University, grades do matter and there is no free ride for the dependents of Church leadership. The supporting link goes to materials that are clearly biased against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and these materials actually admit to being based on hearsay.Here’s the whole truth:Any worthy member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will receive a University education from Brigham Young University or the LDS Business College even if they cannot afford tuition. See, The Perpetual Education FundThe question fails to note that the leaders mentioned are part of a very small group—less than a thousand—in a Church of over sixteen million members. The vast majority of leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ serve as unpaid volunteers that do not qualify for the tuition benefit. The benefit is limited in time and scope to the requirements of a four-year degree and the benefit ends when the calling ends. Only about 100 of the top leaders will serve long enough in their roles to obtain four years’ worth of tuition—the remainder only obtain the benefit during their three years of service, although they may receive tuition for multiple children at the same time.Dependents of General Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as dependents of Mission Presidents and Temple Presidents (who serve for a period of three years in one non-renewable term) receive full tuition as a benefit to their parents. To my knowledge, these students do not receive housing benefits nor free books, lab fees, or a stipend of any kind, just tuition.Although it is not publicly discussed, the monthly living allowance of the upper leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, those who work full-time and then some, has been discovered to be around $10,000 per month, it probably goes up a bit each year. It comes together with a good medical plan and the aforementioned tuition perquisite. How much do top Mormon leaders make? Leaked pay stubs may surprise you. Such leaders also receive a car for the duration of their service, they travel in business class (first class for the General Authorities), they receive security for themselves and close family, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Church has someone mow their lawns for them.Mission and Temple Presidents are expected to move to their areas of service in most circumstances and are provided living accommodations—because the Church of Jesus Christ has been around for almost 200 years, the homes for Mission Presidents are generally in pretty high-value neighborhoods that were relatively modest neighborhoods back in the day when the home was purchased.General Authorities, if needed, receive a Church-owned home in which to live; a “parsonage” as defined by the U.S. Tax Code is a common benefit for clergy of all Churches. Given their responsibility as stewards of a worldwide organization—they earn their keep. Their workload is legendary and none of them could be accused of “profiting” from their positions.Mind you, most of the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were making many times more than this living allowance before they gave up their careers to serve in the leadership—a leadership role in the Church cannot be sought, it can only be bestowed. A former member of the Church, with a Yale Ph.D, has exhaustively researched the financial remuneration of the upper leaders and has concluded that they serve at great sacrifice without anything close to the pay that they deserve for the work expected of them. See, D. Michael Quinn Amazon.com: The Mormon Hierarchy: Wealth and Corporate Power (9781560852353): D. Michael Quinn: Books Dr. Quinn did not find any evidence of a modern Church leader profiting from their service in a financial way and was very forthright in saying so.Dependents of full-time faculty of Brigham Young University (“BYU”) are given half tuition with some caveats. This is a sound HR practice designed to insure that BYU can attract excellent faculty. In my own case, I sacrificed a legal career to take a position as a Professor of Accounting and would struggle to pay full tuition for my nine children without this benefit. This benefit insures that I don’t need to have a side hustle in order to educate my children and keeps me focused on my students.Owing to the fact that BYU is funded by the donations of Church members, the salary and benefits are not as high as you would see at other first-rate institutions. And, make no mistake about this, BYU is a first-rate University. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/byu-3670Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints place a premium on family and on the education of their children. This is why the Church spends so much money on a Church Educational System that provides an excellent education in keeping with our moral values at a reasonable cost.Indeed, truly needy students from all over the world come to my particular BYU—BYU Hawaii—on a program called iWork where they receive tuition as well as room and board in return for working at the Polynesian Cultural Center. If these students return to their home countries, the costs are forgiven. If they instead emigrate to the United States, they are expected to repay the money.As mentioned earlier, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an elaborate and worldwide program to provide an education to any worthy member. In fact, the benefits of this program exceed the General Authority benefit mentioned in the question. See, e.g. The Perpetual Education FundContrary to the insinuation of the question, nobody gets into any campus of Brigham Young University—whether it be the Provo, Idaho or Hawaii campus—without going through the admissions process, which requires a standard entrance exam, review of a duly-completed application and a bishop’s endorsement. This requirement applies equally to the dependents of General Authorities. BYU-Provo and BYU-Hawaii are very selective—for differing reasons—and there is no guarantee of acceptance for children of Church leaders or faculty children for that matter. Tuition is paid only upon acceptance.That said, BYU-Idaho and the LDS Business College are both currently accepting 99% of their applicants. There will be a place for any motivated young student regardless of whether they happen to be fortunate in their parentage. Any General Authority, Temple or Mission President, or BYU faculty member will be able to secure the tuition benefit for their children—perhaps not at BYU-Provo or BYU-Hawaii—but definitely at BYU-Idaho or LDS Business College.Second, as mentioned, the tuition benefit is a limited benefit tailored to the needs of the Church to have leadership that is not distracted by the expense of educating their children. Although many of the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have had distinguished careers prior to their callings—many are called at a young age before they have had a chance to earn the “big” money that they willingly sacrifice. Since the Church has an educational system, it makes perfect sense to use it in this fashion to lessen the burden on families who are already making huge sacrifices of their time, talents and careers.Mission Presidents in particular often sacrifice lucrative professional contacts and clients to take the three-year hiatus from their jobs that is required by the calling. Lawyers in very competitive firms, for example, often return from Mission service to find that their partners have outmaneuvered them and taken their clients. The sacrifice of full-time Church service extends well beyond the actual duration of the service.Temple Presidents work from 4 AM to well after midnight most days of the week—both Mission and Temple Presidents have 24/7 schedules that do not leave any time for consulting on the side to raise the extra money needed to educate a child. Temple Presidents are generally over the age of 60 and typically do not have dependents; however, if they do still have dependents at home, they would certainly be pinched by the need to cover tuition and the reason for the policy is as great or greater than for Mission Presidents.There is no free ride in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members are known for investing money rather than spending it so that we (and the Church) can live off the income. We believe it is better to build an income-producing asset that creates a cash flow than to merely redistribute income to the poor. A lifetime of eggs beats a one-time chicken dinner, no?Likewise, the Church of Jesus Christ believes in building people capable of obtaining meaningful employment rather than merely feeding them. Education is a crucial part of this goal.

I am. I became a member at 17 in the year 2000. I wasn't very interested at first. I was an exchange student staying with a member family in rural Michigan. Per rules of my exchange program I had to go to church with them. I thought the service strange at first, it was something I had never before seen. But there were many young people I liked like my ex-husband's brother and some girls that I was in Young Women's with, a church program for the female youth of the church.While I had always believed in a higher being, I was raised agnostic, so the practice of going to church or praying out loud was very unfamiliar to me. During my stay I met a young man named Levi. He was very geeky and tall with glasses, the opposite of his brother who was a football jock and very outgoing. The first time I saw him was at a family dinner. Levi's parents, that is, his mother was the best friend of my host mom. Levi was two years older than me and had already graduated. He had spent the summer in Provo, Utah with his older sister and her husband attending summer classes at BYU.But from that day on he was always at my house when I came home from school. He was a tech geek and was constantly tinkering with my host mom's computer. He familiarized me with chat applications like ICQ and talked about videogames and movies. We gradually started dating, much to the excitement of my host mother who was hell-bent on setting me up with a “good catch” like the Solmes boys. But there was a big caveat. He was leaving on his mission and wasn't supposed to date or have physical contact with girls after that. So his mother was not happy and thought I was a distraction.A few months later he got his mission call. He was going on a foreign mission to Japan, which was his wish. This also meant he had to check into the MTC - the missionary training center - in Provo much sooner and stay longer for language training purposes. I was sad but put on a happy face.We didn't make any specific plans to see each other after his mission. We also didn't formally break up but promised to write. (During that time missionaries could only write letters home once a week. Phone and internet access were not allowed and social media like Facebook was non-existent.)So then in January of 2000, right after Y2K, Levi left again for Utah and while he was in the MTC, I started reading the Book of Mormon. I had been given one in German at the beginning of my exchange by the local missionaries, but I had stashed it away in the drawer of my bedside table, never thinking I would take another look at it. But I wanted to know what Levi was up to, so I could be closer to him. So I started reading it secretly. I didn't tell my host parents because I knew they'd get way too excited. So when I was a good way in I instead just announced I wanted some reading material about the church and they gave me the Gospel Principles manual and Our Search For Happiness by Elder Ballard. It was one of the books from the missionary library that I knew Levi was also studying.I really had no expectations when I first started reading. I approached this like a science project, from a completely neutral perspective. Or rather from a place of skepticism and incredulity, which was a given for me as an agnostic and secular. I never in my dreams thought I would believe or understand even half of what I was about to ingest. But then something rather strange happened. As I was reading, I had this feeling, this sudden strong flash hitting me that what I was reading was not a bunch of hullabaloo. I did a double-take. I couldn't believe myself. I thought I was going insane. But everything I read was stuff that seemed to deeply resonate with me on level that was beyond human persuasion or explanation. I knew that what I was reading was not just regular prose or a collection of life wisdoms. I felt stressed and conflicted. I knew that I could not deny the veracity of what I was reading and that I was responsible now with how I would deal with what I knew. I did not want to tell my parents, let alone my host parents. They seemed way too kooky and obsessed. They seemed to have a much more romantic idea of the church and its truths than what I felt.The next question was, how would I be able to combine my former life with what I was reading. How could I incorporate everything I learned without completely losing my former self but giving up what I knew wasn't in resonance with the Gospel. I was lucky in many ways. Much of what I already lived and believed was compatible with the Gospel and life in the LDS church. I wasn't as worried about me but about my family and friends who likely wouldn't be as receptive or accepting. Another part of me wanted to shout it from the rooftops that I had received a testimony and that I wanted to share what I knew with everybody back home. I was a zealot. I hoped I would help convert them all. After all, if it was so easy for me to believe why wouldn't it be for them. Boy, was I wrong.The first thing I did, despite feelings of caution, was tell my host mom I wanted to meet with the missionaries. She immediately set up a first appointment. So the missionaries came. Back then, the missionaries had pamphlets for each lesson, six in total, and a laminated picture board flip book to accompany lessons. I was very nervous but since I had already read so much, I knew everything. I was able to answer every question with ease. The remaining lessons went the same. I passed with flying colors. I was called a golden investigator.The missionaries issued a baptism challenge and I accepted, although I felt uneasy. It wasn't the Gospel itself that worried me but life as an official church member. I also was told that since I was still a minor, I had to ask my parents' permission. So I phoned them and explained the situation. They said it was my decision but that I had to be sure of what I was getting myself into. I said I was and a date was set and I got baptized and confirmed the day before I went home to Switzerland.Once I got back I contacted the local missionaries. I had no idea where the church was in my hometown, but they explained it to me. I kept writing letters to Levi back and forth during that time, but didn't tell him I got baptized or had been investigating. I wanted it to be a surprise. Levi's mom eventually told him, so when I got home there already was a letter from Japan on my bed, with Levi writing how happy but surprised and a little disappointed he was that I hadn't said a word. The reason for that was that I wanted it to be my decision. I didn't want him to believe I was doing it for him. I was too prideful.While I was back in Switzerland I kept mostly to the sister missionaries and international families working in Basel. I had trouble reintegrating into life in Switzerland and hence had a lot of arguments with my parents. Different from the other exchange students, not only did I have to deal with culture shock both ways, but with the fact that I had adopted a whole new belief system.While my parents were largely ok with my decision in theory, in practice they didn't enjoy my new life very much and thought I had lost my mind. They urged me to go back to Gymnasium but I rejected that idea right away. They thought it was just a temporary phase and that I would eventually change into my old self and go back. They were wrong. I acquiesced to enroll in a private school but didn't last very long. Most of my friends were very concerned about my changed life and tried to either argue against the church or to get me to do things that were against my new beliefs. The biggest surprise was that my previous and long-standing crush Marc took an increased interest in me and felt compelled to save me from the church. I persisted in my views and as a result lost most of my old friends.I lost a lot of my initial zeal and became very conflicted and depressed. I also realized I had developed severe anxiety. I couldn't even walk outside or take public transit anymore, much to the disbelief and dismay of my mother and sister. But I applied to LDS Business College in Salt Lake and by December of 2001, a few months after 9/11, I was back on American soil.I met some really great people at LDSBC, like my first roommate Janae Goodnow whose father had been mission president in El Salvador and had just recently moved with her family from California to Utah. While in El Salvador, she had learned Spanish. To my great surprise she had a CD by one of my favorite artists, Nek, who I found out was apparently not only famous in Europe but Latin America as well. That's the CD I ended up listening to when I was homesick. Two of my other unit mates were from San Bernardino, classic Cali girls. The rest were Chicanas and rancher chicks from Star Valley, Wyoming. Then there was an older lady from Okayama, Japan and two really fun Chinese girls from Hong Kong who for some reason thought of me as really funny. The girl I ended up pairing off with though was a Black girl from Spartanburg, South Carolina. I really liked her a lot and we ended up moving off campus into an apartment together.During that time Levi came back from his mission and a few months later moved out to Utah. He came to see me right away in Salt Lake after a few days in Provo. He was staying with his sister and brother-in-law again and was trying to get back into BYU and find work. One Sunday he brought me lunch and attended church with me. Another day he took me and my roommate out to the movies. After we went to see The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd in the Legacy theater at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building near Temple Square, he asked me to marry him. We were in the living room of my apartment. We had zero furniture, so we sat on the carpet. I said yes. The next question wasn't the date but which temple to marry in. We said we'd think about it and get back to it. He went home late that night and hit a couple of cones on the freeway. He later told me via chat that he had ripped the driver's rearview mirror off his car. I in turn told him I knew exactly what temple we should marry in. The Nauvoo temple in Illinois was about to be finished and become a major church historic site. Since it was near Michigan we could fly back to the Midwest and take a road trip with his parents and have a small ceremony. And that's what happened.I am unfortunately since divorced but I have four great kids that are being raised in the church. Levi and I are co-parenting fairly successfully. Ours was a civil divorce, not a temple divorce, so there's hope. My mental health has been up and down and so has my church attendance but I will never deny my testimony.

I am a former Buddhist and was in the 1 percent or so of non-LDS at BYU-Provo. It’s definitely different than what I was used to. Here, everybody is bound by the church, their wards, stakes, etc, obviously which I had no clue about because I wasn’t a member. Due to the intricate networks crafted from the church, finding friends will be slightly tougher for non-LDS, though if you make an effort, like anything it can be overcome. Dating is also difficult as most LDS girls won’t even entertain your presence when finding out your “lack of faith.” I had a girl cut all contact with me upon finding out I wasn’t LDS, despite the fact that we’d hung out regularly over a period of six-weeks.Social aspects aside, the academic workload isn’t much different than any other large institute in the country. The Marriott Business School, usually ranked in the top 5 in the country, is extremely reputable and churns out Wall-Street qualified graduates like clockwork. Due to the fact that tuition is dirt-cheap compared to other institutes, attending BYU is extremely attractive and was certainly a factor when it was my turn to enroll for colleges. The only major difference is that we have to take 14 religion credit hours to graduate. The religion classes can be hard and many have complained that they are GPA-deflators. I certainly won’t disagree with that. You also get relatively frequent visits from Mormon missionaries who try to teach you their religion. It’s no big deal for me, since I like learning about religions anyway and seeing different perspectives.Despite the differences, I have come to enjoy my time at BYU. As a student-athlete, the two most important fields for me are maintaining a reasonable academic standing and ensuring my golf game is up to par. Due to the strict honor code of no tea, coffee, alcohol, pre-marital sex, etc, it is much easier to keep on the straight and narrow. The honor code, one of the biggest obstacles for non-LDS students, was never a challenge for me as I was never a big tea/coffee/alcohol/frat party guy anyways. I am a big believer in the idea that alcohol is not required for people to have a good time, and my stint at BYU certainly enforced that ideal.If given a chance to do it over, I’d choose BYU again in a heart-beat. The people I’ve met, experiences I’ve had, topics I’ve learned, culture I’ve experienced all make for a melting pot that I wouldn’t trade for in a heartbeat. If you are considering coming to BYU, please take time to learn more about the place. This place is so special that missing it in an application would be a shame. There simply isn’t a way to describe the magic that takes place here.Edit: I am no longer a “non-member” as of April 2018 as I decided to convert. That’s a good story for a different time. Nevertheless, the points I highlighted in this answer are valid