Bishopric Youth Interviews

[Anonymous]

I talked to DD about the option for her to pay a full tithe on her allowance. It is not a large amount but it would be consistent. It might be helpful for establishing the “habit” and it would allow her to declare as a full tithe payer.

I told her that DW and I are proud of her for the contribution that she makes towards the church and also proud of how she stands up for herself in declaring herself as a part tithe payer without shame. However, there may be some discomfort as the bishop always tries to commit her to a full tithe. I told her that I do not want to get to a situation where DD does not want to meet with the bishop anymore due to the discomfort of having the same conversation about tithing.

DD said that she would think about it but that she feels comfortable as a part tithe payer right now. She is a good kid with a good head on her shoulders. DW and I will do our best to give her a solid foundation and also honor her spirit and choices as she builds her own structure.

[Anonymous]

Tithing might be somewhat of a generational thing too. My children are a bit older than yours and grew up in a home where they knew we were full tithe payers. They paid tithing as children/youth as well, although their amounts were small because their increase was small (we believe and taught them that school is their job when they’re teenagers). They did have a paper route back when they still had those (both newspapers and routes ) and a couple of them worked a couple hours a week as lifeguards at the school pool. As young adults none of them pay tithing, some with no reason and one gives reasons similar to those I shared in another post (basically the church doesn’t seem to need any more money to waste and donations could be more helpful elsewhere). One is totally inactive and wants nothing to do with the church.

I think the view of the younger generations is much less rigid regarding tithing. My own view has evolved considerably over the past 10-15 years.

[Anonymous]

Roy wrote:

I agree that Bishop was dismissive of my son’s concerns. Unfortunately, we as a family are at a point where we are seen as half-milers/slackers/luke warm etc. Therefore, I believe that our concerns are perceived as excuses. :problem:

We have had similar situations in the past with our children and the ward wanting then to conform. We made compromises, met half way, etc example: DS not trim his curly fro style hair to pass the sacrament when repeatedly asked to cut it (sorry, enjoy it while you’ve got it). Other DS who is on the spectrum, we agreed to have him transition into not wearing shorts to church in prep for passing sacrament. We stuck to our guns on issues we didn’t think we needed to budge on.

The church is here for the people not the other way around, especially since we are a home centered church.

I disagree with our no longer having the services virtual, I think we have less people engaged overall who would be ‘attending’ if it was still available.

In short, we are with you in the struggle of the individual concerns over the general body of the organized church.

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