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I was wondering if anybody had some thoughts on paying tithing on unemployment. I have been unemployed for 10 months and have been getting unemployment. I have paid tithing on this the whole time. I also do odd jobs every now and then and pay tithing on this. I don’t feel there is any issue with the money I pay from when I work but I am not working to get unemployment. I’m not trying to justify not paying tithing on my unemployment, my family of five has been surviving amazing well so far, but things are definitely tight right now. I guess unemployment is an increase whether I have actually performed work or not but it seems to be kind of a grey area. Any insight? I have been unemployed more than once, and I paid tithing on my unemployment. I figured I was receiving more in Fast Offering assitance than I was paying in tithing – by quite a margin, so it helped me accept and feel better about the assitance. My advice to you is to do what you think makes the Lord happy, and don’t let anyone else change your mind. You’re entitled to inspiration here. Seek it. God may say yes, no, or not answer. If you get no answer, then study it out in your mind and make the decision that makes the most sense, no matter which direction that is. When I have a tithing question, I have received some Yes’s, No’s, and I don’t knows, and I don’t feel bad about any answer. Do what you feel is right, and feel good about it. (I admit that those I don’t knows are a bit tougher, though.)
I’ve been thinking long and hard about this for some time. The official definition of tithing, as doctrine, accepted before the Church is the statement that tithing represents 10% of our interest annually. Check Doctrine and Covenants. That’s pretty ambiguous, as “interest” can be defined a number of ways.
Also, the Church wants us to pay for missions, get out of debt (wise advice), have year’s supply of money and food on hand, pay for building, budget, fast offerings, and tithing. Usually our ward budgets are insufficient for the programs I’ve had to administer, so I end up spending money on unreimbursed items, etcetera. God also indicates we should be self-reliant. The scriptures in D&C says:
“That through my providence, notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, that the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world;”
The church is not only an organization, but the individuals in it. So, I think this commandment to stay independent of all other creatures below heaven indicates a level of self-reliance we should aspire to. So…what do you do when your own self-reliance is in conflict with your ability to pay tithing? What then?
A former Bishop told me that when people are in need, and can’t afford tithing, they should pay the tithing, and then let the Church authorize a food order. This struck me as odd — that a person’s own self-reliance is secondary to their payment of tithing. So, I wasn’t sold on that reasoning. ON a plane, you give your oxygen mask to yourself first, and then put it on your child….I tend to think the same applies to tithing.
So, in your shoes, I would pay on my annual “interest” which is up to you to define. If this means paying on the surplus after you meet your basic needs (certainly within the bounds of the term “interest”) then I would consider doing just that. I think this is also a highly personal decision, so I give only some thoughts here and let you decide. I’m in the process of making my own decisions this year.
The absolute, true and correct answer is … do what you think is right, following the spirit for guidance. I am joking a little, but in all seriousness, this is really a profoundly personal decision. It is fine to ask others for their opinion and see how others have felt right about their own decisions. But in the end, it’s between God and you. I have also been through periods of unemployment, quite recently too. We’ve been hit pretty hard by the economic downturn, having worked in an industry that was tangentially inflated by the commercial real estate bubble. I’ve only managed to get temporary consulting jobs off an on over the past year. I am working at one right now. Anyway …
I do not feel comfortable paying tithing on unemployment or food stamps. I am not comfortable taking part of the meager money that was given to me by a government welfare program, which was given to me for a specific purpose (food stamps in particular), and donating part of that to a religious charity (the Church). I also received some help from family (non-LDS in particular). I think they would be upset if they found out I gave part of it to a church. That’s not what they sacrificed their resources for to give our family help.
I *DO* think it completely appropriate to continue paying tithing on odd jobs, or in my case, the consulting work I find. I don’t do that either … but I don’t want to belabor everyone with all my personal details and decisions.
I came to a different decision than Ray. Ray made the best decision for him. I have
noproblem with his decision and viewpoint at all. Some of these are very serious financial decisions that affect the health and welfare of our families. You have to make decisions about it that you are comfortable with, and that seem right between you and God. Do it after you’ve paid your essential (i.e. non-luxury) utilities. That’s my take. And if you’ve got debt bigger than your increase, you need to deal withat. I’m recognizing a huge financial loss I’ve sustained into my income/tithing computation this year. I’ve had to do this in order to stay willing on the tithing front…plus it seems right to me….and I plan to be open about it in my tithing settlement meeting if the total I’ve paid is questioned. Thanks for the reply’s. I realize that it is ultimately my decision but I appreciate other peoples insight. I have paid a full tithe for a long time and have never really had a problem doing so. With the inability to obey all the commandments 100% of the time I have always looked at tithing as something that I could be 100% obedient to. The other thing is the church does do a lot of humanitarian aid and I hope that my contributions in some way help. Struggling to make ends meet though and having to go into our savings to do so has definitely made me think about what I should do. Not working for this money also is different from what I am used to. As I am finding with most church stuff nowadays there is more than one interpretation of what to believe for yourself. trudge52 wrote:As I am finding with most church stuff nowadays there is more than one interpretation of what to believe for yourself.
Amen.
just thought i’d add my opinion to the mix! of course as others have stated, you should do whatever feels right to you. if it were me though, i wouldn’t pay tighting on unemployment. Unemployment isnt’ like other welfare programs. its an insurance program. you pay into it while you are employed, because there’s a chance that you might need it someday. so, think about it in terms of any other insurance you buy. if your house burned down, and you received an insurance check to replace it, would you feel obligated to pay tithing on that? personally i wouldn’t, i’ve been paying homeowners insurance for years, so the payment i’m receiving isn’t really an “increase” or “interest”, its just getting back a small portion of what you’ve paid in. its the same thing with unemployment benefits/insurance (in my opinion 
It depends on whether you pay for the insurance policies with pre-tithe or post-tithe dollars. The proceeds could be exempt, but this can be a gray area if it ever comes to a full-blown celestial audit. The angel assigned to your case might take an aggressive position. In those cases, you need to file an appeal and take it up the chain to the heavenly courts above. Brian Johnston wrote:It depends on whether you pay for the insurance policies with pre-tithe or post-tithe dollars. The proceeds could be exempt, but this can be a gray area if it ever comes to a full-blown celestial audit. The angel assigned to your case might take an aggressive position. In those cases, you need to file an appeal and take it up the chain to the heavenly courts above.
Trust but verify and document everything!
š very good point Brian! Unfortunately celestial courts are bound by case law, and due to the decision in Camel v. EyeOfNeedle the bar for financial worthiness is impossibly high. There is talk of a referendum to create a bicameral body that could enact statutes that override the courtās precedent, but since the powerful āmeek-humble-peacemakerā lobby seems to be pulling all the strings these days, any hope of a change favored by the people is unlikely.
Tithing I think is directly related to your belief in the church. If you believe it is absolutely true in all regards then certainly you should pay tithing on everything even if you starve to death because you will get the blessings for it. What is this life anyway if you can gain admittance into heaven by paying an honest tithe all your life. If on the other hand you are not so much on board with the truth claims of the church then you have a decision to make. What is more important, taking care of you family or taking care of the church. Only you can decide. I can say that there is some evidence that those you contribute to worthy causes tend to be better off financially than those who do not, but then there are plenty of good places to donate other than the church. Quote:What is more important, taking care of you family or taking care of the church.
It’s not always that black and white.
I have taken care of my family when I could and had my family be taken care of by the Church when I couldn’t – and I couldn’t on more than one occasion. For me, personally, paying tithing and fast offerings made it MUCH easier for me to accept and feel ok about those times when the Church stepped in and provided for my family. In a very real way, more than once, my contributions over the years ended up taking care of my family in a way that was impossible for me and my wife to do on our own.
In saying that, I’m not claiming the right thing to do is pay tithing on unemployment. I agree with everyone else that it has to be your decision, and I really don’t think there is a universal right answer. I’m just saying it isn’t always a simple, easy, “church or family” decision when viewed in full over time.
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