Although the Perpetual Emigration Fund and the Perpetual Education Fund share the same acronym and are both revolving loan programs, they are different and have different purposes. However, they may be be subject to the same kinds of abuses. Should we be concerned?

To answer this question, review the two programs, the abuses as well as the recommendations on how we should react.

Short History of the Two PEF's

On of the many successful programs and efforts of the early church was the Perpetual Emigration Fund or PEF.

The brainchild of President and ProphetBrigham Young, it provided a revolving fund that allowed emigrants to travel to the west and then repay the fund after they arrived.

The modern reincarnate of this fund is the Perpetual Education Fund, also called the PEF. The brainchild of President and Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, it also provides a revolving fund that allows members in disadvantaged areas of the world to fund their education and then repay the fund after they obtain suitable employment.

The Perpetual Emigration Fund began in 1849. When the need passed, it was shut down. The Perpetual Education Fund began in 2001 and continues to this day.

Minding My Own Digital Business When I Discovered this Problem

Getting a library science degree involves looking at information resources, seeing how they work and trying to make them better. We study how people access information and design tools to conform with what the research tells us. We want tools that are intuitive and easy to operate.

One day I was puttering around online, I discovered a new database that included full text and photos of early Utah newspapers.

I immediately started plugging in search terms and evaluating my results.

I was using random terms and searching in the 1800's. My eyes were randomly scanning the newspaper covers it was bringing up. I believe I was researching Thomas Bullock, my distinguished pioneer ancestor, when my eye focused on an article about the Perpetual Emigration Fund.

The writer was complaining about abuses of the fund. Apparently, wagon breakdowns on the trail occasionally resulted in discoveries of treasures hidden inside wagons. When the owners had to empty their wagons and transfer the contents to other wagons, valuables were found that, if sold, could have paid for the emigrant's travel expenses.

In another twist, treasures and valuables suddenly and miraculously appeared once people got to the Salt Lake Valley, even though the PEF paid for their travels and they had represented themselves as too poor to pay their own way.

How Should We View This Problem?

The writer was outraged, and understandably so. I had not thought about possible abuses. However, it makes sense that there would be problems. A successful program is never free of them.

A knee jerk reaction would be to shut the program down, castigate people for abusing it and call all us sinners to repentance. Most managers and leaders know this reaction is a poor choice, even though it is common.

When parents have a child go wrong, they often clamp down on the rest of their children, especially the innocent ones. So, the good kids get punished for the bad kid's behavior. This reaction is also a poor choice, although it is common.

Resigned to Inevitable Abuse While Extolling Success

Abuse is inevitable. It makes sense to minimize it, but you have to be willing to accept a certain amount of it. Sometimes it costs more to eliminate abuse than it does to endure it.

In addition, nonpayment of loans can result from other things besides abuse. Some cannot be helped, like hardship, illness or death. President and Prophet John Taylor gave many early members amnesty for their PEF debts to assist them in building self-reliance.

People may intentionally try to cheat the Perpetual Education Fund. They may even succeed. However, the simple statistics of success we have so far, suggests the program is wildly successful.

In addition to personal success, there will also be positive fallout down the road from educated parents, church leaders, siblings and who knows what else. President Hinckley also told us how to evaluate the program's success:

We anticipate there may be some failures in the repayment of loans. But we are confident that most will do what is expected of them, and generations will be blessed. We may anticipate that future generations will also be in need, for as Jesus said, “The poor always ye have with you” (John 12:8). It must, therefore, be a revolving fund.

His shall be the final word.

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