Do you pay tithing?

[Anonymous]

Just one mans perspective here. I’ve thought about the “increase” issue and I think it was morphed to 10% of your gross because frankly that’s the maximum that the church could turn that request into monetarily. Not to be the anti church guy but it’s pretty apparent that turning 10% increase into 10% of all of your income was done to maximize profit. No?

[Anonymous]

Bds4206 wrote:

Just one mans perspective here. I’ve thought about the “increase” issue and I think it was morphed to 10% of your gross because frankly that’s the maximum that the church could turn that request into monetarily. Not to be the anti church guy but it’s pretty apparent that turning 10% increase into 10% of all of your income was done to maximize profit. No?

That’s always been my assumption.

Has there ever been an official statement saying that ten percent of gross is now official doctrine? Or is it one of those things that has taken on a life of its own? In all the talks I’ve heard on tithing, I’ve never heard a prophet or apostle lay out the method in which our contribution is to be calculated.

[Anonymous]

You’re right, there’s never been an official policy with respect to net vs. gross. The lesson manuals also never state one way or the other, they all stick to the same statements that are left to interpretation.

I brought this up in another thread and as best I can tell it all depends on whether gross or net has taken up a life of it’s own at the local level. Gross has been staunchly defended in my area, others haven’t experienced that. I’ve said that the manuals do not preach payment on gross, yet payment on gross has been a part of nearly every lesson I’ve been witness to. I think it really comes down to whether any given unit has a person that has a strong opinion one way or the other and whether they enjoy voicing that opinion.

DarkJedi wrote:

So that brings up the point alluded to here that some people do believe they have been blessed by paying tithing and that others can be, too. My question for those people, and I’ll politely call you out Rich Dunn (but I don’t want to argue with you), exactly what blessings have you received for paying tithing? Is there any way that it could be explained some other way? Are there people who don’t pay tithing who have similar blessings?

It all depends on how you define blessings. Some expect monetary blessings, like the $20 bill that floats past you down the gutter after a strong rain; others might see the blessings as intangibles, like a liberation from materialism.

Not to be too dark here but when it comes to blessings you have to admit that the concept of deity is sitting in a very good position. Someone that interprets something as a blessing will attribute it to God and their faith is bolstered. If that same person feels deprived of a blessing it is because they did not have enough faith or because their desires did not align with God’s desires. It’s a win-win for maintaining belief in deity. I don’t know why I bring that up, it’s very dark commentary, but I’ll toss it out there nonetheless.

[Anonymous]

Quote:

I think it really comes down to whether any given unit has a person that has a strong opinion one way or the other and whether they enjoy voicing that opinion.

Fwiw, that applies to way more things than just tithing – and to way more organizations than just the LDS Church.

[Anonymous]

For sure.

[Anonymous]

nibbler wrote:

Not to be too dark here but when it comes to blessings you have to admit that the concept of deity is sitting in a very good position. Someone that interprets something as a blessing will attribute it to God and their faith is bolstered. If that same person feels deprived of a blessing it is because they did not have enough faith or because their desires did not align with God’s desires. It’s a win-win for maintaining belief in deity. I don’t know why I bring that up, it’s very dark commentary, but I’ll toss it out there nonetheless.

It’s not all that dark, maybe because I have the much the same thought about blessings and even personal revelation. It is turning a blind eye to at least not acknowledge that.

Back on topic, from the Bible Dictionary “The word denotes a tenth part, given for the service of God. ” I don’t know what “given for the service of God” means. I also don’t see a definition other than pay honestly and pay on your increase or interest, again suggesting a delta between what you have and what you have gained.

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