Tithing

Your stake president’s right and don’t think he’s shading the law to get you back in the door. Sounds like he’s one of the good ones.

My advice: Come up with a decision. Pray about it. Don’t ask for clarification from the Bishop or SP.

Is that even possible now? At the time I asked because I didn’t know any better and id heard a lot of conflicting information. But now that im paying so much in tithing im beginning to resent it. I waz happy before hand it was something I would pray about every fortnight and id decide prayerfully how much my 10% was and often id give more because I wanted to but now that ive been made to give 10% of gross, it’s become something I do my rote and not something I do by spirit. It’s taken the joy out of it but I worry because I know my bishop “checked” his reccords to confirm I was tithing before he gave me a reccommend. So wouldn’t he notice the monetary difference if I went back to praying about it and giving of my want each fortnight instead of obligation.

I worry cause as a disability pensioner my income and thus tithing isn’t a lot either way.

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Is that even possible now?

Sure, what represents a tithe is between you and the lord. The bishop and stake president only ask “are you a full tithe payer?” which is a yes or no question. You can decide what a full tithe means between you and the lord and simply reply “yes” if you are paying what you consider to be a full tithe. There’s no need to say “yes, and this is what I mean by a full tithe.” A “yes” should be enough.

You might get a leader that presses. E.g. Do you pay on gross? Which I would consider as a leader going off the rails. I think I’m at the point where I wouldn’t even try to correct the leader, I’d just say “yes, I’m a full tithe payer” and move on. You pay on gross? Yes, I am a full tithe payer. In other words stick to answering the question that they should be asking.

I feel your stake president had the most correct, church approved answer. The last official word on the policy of tithing from the first presidency is from March 19, 1970 and reads:

For your guidance in this matter, please be advised that we have uniformly replied that the simplest statement we know of is that statement of the Lord himself that the members of the Church should pay one-tenth of all their interest annually, which is understood to mean income. No one is justified in making any other statement than this. We feel that every member of the Church should be entitled to make his own decision as to what he thinks he owes the Lord, and to make payment accordingly.

THANK YOU!!!! For this, that clarifies a lot. So im assuming when my bishop said he ‘checked my reccords’ to confirm I was a full tithe payer he was bluffing as there is no reason for him to know how much I pay in tithing, let alone how much I earn.

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You can tell your bishop that a leader read what the handbook 1 says and you are fulfilling that. That is what your stake pres said

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I agree with what’s been said.

Do I understand correctly, your income is a disability payment?

I’m not an expert on tithing. Is a disability payment considered income or increase?

Is it taxable? I know for a fact that support payment are not considered for tithing.

There are certain categories IMO that tithing should not apply.

Support payments.

Unemployment.

Insurance or lawsuit proceeds.

What does apply is:

Earnings from my job or business.

Gains on the sale of stocks or property.

Dividends & interest earned.

I have known people who declare bankruptcy with very successful jobs & business who were exempt from paying tithing & qualified for a TR.

Again this is my own opinion. The church has no power to audit your declaration of what you consider is a fair tithing offering. Including your Bishop.

I’m not sure what’s meant by checking the records, either. It is possible for the bishop or clerk to view your donations, but that only tells what you gave, not what you earned. It is also possible to look at prior year donation records but I don’t know how any years – and it still only gives the amounts donated.

I agree with what others have said – it’s a yes or no question in both the TR interview and tithing settlement. Asking any more than that is stepping outside the bounds.

That worries me a bit because if I start paying less, he might accuse me of being a non tithe payer. But I suppose then I could argue as others have suggested “that I have seen the manual statement” and under my circumstances I am a full tithe payer. If he pushes for more info I can remind him that my personal finances are none of his business.

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dingobex said:

Yes you’re right my sole income is a disability support pension. The Australian government pays me a small wage to live off and subsidies my medications, electricity, gas and car registration.

Is your Bishop & Stake President aware of this?

Again, I’m not telling you to tithe on this or not.

This is between you & God. The steps for me are: make a decision, pray about it, make my donation, look for confirmation from God that it’s the right

thing to do. Make adjustments if necessary. End of discussion. Meaning: When the questions are asked, I answer yes or no. There is no further

explanation or discussion or worry that I’m doing the right thing.

Good luck & try to relax.