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A pretty detailed article in the Deseret NewsOn a side note, all those that thought Tom Philips was doing this to embarrass the church were right. In comments after the court ruling, TP said that he has lots of documents detrimental to the church that he was saving for the trail that he will now release. Being a former SP and Secretary to the Area President, he well may have things the church would not want to be made public.
Sometimes, I don’t mind saying, “I told you so.” 😆 
What I find most interesting about the ruling is that the judge said, explicitly, that it was a frivolous lawsuit designed solely as an attack on a particular religion and that the role of courts in the UK is NOT to judge the validity of any religion’s beliefs. That ruling actually ended up strengthening (or, at the very least, reinforcing) the LDS Church’s religious freedom position in the UK.
Unintended consequences sometimes are the height of irony.
Although it sometimes doesn’t seem that way, our association with LDS and tithing are ultimately voluntary. I’d rather the courts dealt with serious crime and corruption. These cause us more harm.
It doesn’t surprise me. I too thought it was odd that the court could have the power to summons TSM for something like this. Religion is not provable, and it would set a very bad precedent if the court took it upon themselves to evaluate truth claims of any religion. At the same time, I wonder if it has made the church headquarters think deeply about the means by which they convince the membership to give a lot of money to the organization. I have heard a lot of questionable reasons and promises over the years about the blessings of a full tithe, and the consequences of not paying.
The church has to rethink its tithing program. I think the current pressures reduce the economic viability of members, and also drive people away from the church. This is good for neither the church nor its membership,
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