Tithing Tidbits

[silverfox]

One of the things I learned while exiting the church that I wish I would have known all along were a few things about tithing.

For those of you who are married to a TBM or have TBM family and friends and are under the magnifying gladd regarding everything Mo...consider this.......

The church handbook does not state any percentage to be paid in tithing. I will try to find the excerpt.

You do not have to pay tithing directly to your bishop. For privacy reasons the church will allow tithing payments to be mailed to the COB. They DO NOT report the dollar amount to your bishop. They only notify your bishop that you have paid tithing. So when you go to tithing settlement or are asked if you pay a full tithing you can answer yes and they have no way to question the amount. You can pay just a dollar a month. It is up to YOU to decide if you are a full tithe payer or not.


Gosh knowing this over my nearly 30 years as a member would have saved me a lot of money. I never liked being forced to pay a percentage. I always felt it should be and is a personal decision.

[peter_mary]

You do not have to pay tithing directly to your bishop. For privacy reasons the church will allow tithing payments to be mailed to the COB. They DO NOT report the dollar amount to your bishop. They only notify your bishop that you have paid tithing. So when you go to tithing settlement or are asked if you pay a full tithing you can answer yes and they have no way to question the amount. You can pay just a dollar a month. It is up to YOU to decide if you are a full tithe payer or not.



Not only can you discretely pay your tithing directly to the Church (something that was particularly instituted for the very wealthy who don't think the Bishop needs to be nosing into their financial status...isn't that interesting...), but you can also transfer stock to the Church by this method in lieu of tithing. They don't want eggs, milk or hay any longer, but they're happy to relieve you of your Microsoft... :)

I have also heard, though only second hand, that the very wealthy who have contributed an ungodly amount of tithing can receive an exemption from any further tithing (sound like a particular political party to anyone?) Anyway, I have HEARD, that a particular man in our town had received notice from the Church Office that he was considered paid in full and didn't need to pay any more. Apparently the mortgage for his mansion on high has already been paid. Anybody else ever heard that, or should I add it to the Urban Legend thread?

Paul

[silverfox]

Not only can you discretely pay your tithing directly to the Church (something that was particularly instituted for the very wealthy who don't think the Bishop needs to be nosing into their financial status...isn't that interesting...), but you can also transfer stock to the Church by this method in lieu of tithing. They don't want eggs, milk or hay any longer, but they're happy to relieve you of your Microsoft... :)

I have also heard, though only second hand, that the very wealthy who have contributed an ungodly amount of tithing can receive an exemption from any further tithing (sound like a particular political party to anyone?) Anyway, I have HEARD, that a particular man in our town had received notice from the Church Office that he was considered paid in full and didn't need to pay any more. Apparently the mortgage for his mansion on high has already been paid. Anybody else ever heard that, or should I add it to the Urban Legend thread?

Paul

Isn't that interesting! I had never heard that one. Do you think the Osmonds are still paying tithing? hehehe Or do you think they paid for all their celestial mansions already? Just curious.

How come they don't count Deseret Industries donations toward tithing? Just thought I'd ask...heeee.

[Born Free]

Not only can you discretely pay your tithing directly to the Church (something that was particularly instituted for the very wealthy who don't think the Bishop needs to be nosing into their financial status...isn't that interesting...), but you can also transfer stock to the Church by this method in lieu of tithing. They don't want eggs, milk or hay any longer, but they're happy to relieve you of your Microsoft... :)

Paul

Not interested in you paying your tithe in wine any more, either, which was OK up until a certain point. Bet they don't publicize that one too widely. Give them a few bottles of old rough red, valuing it what you fancied!! :eek:

Hey, I'm narky on their tax exempt status. I can think of a lot of organisations who I see as a lot more contributing to the social good.

Daryl

[tjohnson]

One of the things I learned while exiting the church that I wish I would have known all along were a few things about tithing.

For those of you who are married to a TBM or have TBM family and friends and are under the magnifying gladd regarding everything Mo...consider this.......

The church handbook does not state any percentage to be paid in tithing. I will try to find the excerpt.

You do not have to pay tithing directly to your bishop. For privacy reasons the church will allow tithing payments to be mailed to the COB. They DO NOT report the dollar amount to your bishop. They only notify your bishop that you have paid tithing. So when you go to tithing settlement or are asked if you pay a full tithing you can answer yes and they have no way to question the amount. You can pay just a dollar a month. It is up to YOU to decide if you are a full tithe payer or not.


Gosh knowing this over my nearly 30 years as a member would have saved me a lot of money. I never liked being forced to pay a percentage. I always felt it should be and is a personal decision.

The handbook may not say 10%, but the BoM and the "Mormon Doctrine" books each say 10%. So, you could have paid much less all those years and still said "yes, I pay a full tithe", but it would not have been honest.

A tithe (as defined in Mormon Doctrine) is 1/10 of your increase, and "there is no such thing as a partial tithe."

[free thinker]

There should be a place on the form for obfuscation funding. Oh wait! I just remembered!! They call that STRENGTHENING THE MEMBERS !!! George Orwell would have loved that one. It is up there with, LESS IS MORE !! When I think about this stuff I just wish I could Hie to Kolob!! :D


Free Thinker

[silverfox]

The handbook may not say 10%, but the BoM and the "Mormon Doctrine" books each say 10%. So, you could have paid much less all those years and still said "yes, I pay a full tithe", but it would not have been honest.

A tithe (as defined in Mormon Doctrine) is 1/10 of your increase, and "there is no such thing as a partial tithe."

Hasn't there always been much debate over what "increase" really means? Some say it is what is left over after necessities. There seems to always have been arguments over gross, net, etc, etc.

I like having a 10% raise. It's nice to see it in MY retirement fund and not another temple. :) The best part...no guilt!

[tf_s_id]

Hey all,

I'm new to the list and will take time to introduce myself properly in the near future. First off, I would just like to say that I think this site is awesome. The correspondence is so well thought and intelligent.

I was just curious about the "tithing thing." Has anyone paid tithing this way? (ie. Sending it to the COB.) Do you know absolutely that the Bishop doesn't receive an exact amount that was paid?

Just curious....

Thanks.

CW :p

==================================
One of the things I learned while exiting the church that I wish I would have known all along were a few things about tithing.

For those of you who are married to a TBM or have TBM family and friends and are under the magnifying gladd regarding everything Mo...consider this.......

The church handbook does not state any percentage to be paid in tithing. I will try to find the excerpt.

You do not have to pay tithing directly to your bishop. For privacy reasons the church will allow tithing payments to be mailed to the COB. They DO NOT report the dollar amount to your bishop. They only notify your bishop that you have paid tithing. So when you go to tithing settlement or are asked if you pay a full tithing you can answer yes and they have no way to question the amount. You can pay just a dollar a month. It is up to YOU to decide if you are a full tithe payer or not.


Gosh knowing this over my nearly 30 years as a member would have saved me a lot of money. I never liked being forced to pay a percentage. I always felt it should be and is a personal decision.

[miss taken]

Over here in the UK we pay tax according to our income.
Nothing on the first 4,695, 10% on the next chunk, all the way up to 40% if you earn over £32,000. Typically 33.3% of income is taxed and that doesn't include local council tax and indirect taxes on TV's, (for the good ole BBC) roads, petrol etc etc.

And I don't mind paying it. This is basically a christian society based on christian laws of sharing wealth. I personally see it as a tithing. It wasn't like in Ceasars Day, where Jesus said render unto Ceasar that which is Caesars and render unto God that which is Gods.

In paying tax, we (ok not by choice) pay towards the upkeep of all that we benefit from, as well as towards a more egalitarian society. I'm not complaining.

My bishop told me this, and I agreed with him. Look, it is a club, and when you are in the club you pay membership of that club, to both enjoy the benefits, of which there are many, and to build and expand the kingdom of God.

I never had a problem with it, while I was fully committed.

One of the interesting points I learned from a guy who I dated up north, was that they were told to pay tithing only on their net income, whereas I had been told to pay tithing on my gross.

I think that here in the UK, that that should be cleared up, so everyone knows what they should be doing, and that there are no inconsistencies in direction.

[tjohnson]

One of the interesting points I learned from a guy who I dated up north, was that they were told to pay tithing only on their net income, whereas I had been told to pay tithing on my gross.

I think that here in the UK, that that should be cleared up, so everyone knows what they should be doing, and that there are no inconsistencies in direction.

This is not something just in the UK. This has been a deabte within the entire church for a long, long time. I personally do not expect the church to ever come out and say one way or the other, because then they risk the chance of losing money...

(1) If they say "pay on net", then tithing income will go down from people that pay on gross now.

(2) If they say "pay on gross", then people that have been paying on net will not be able to afford it and will just stop paying at all.

It's better for the chuch to just "leave it up to the member" on how they want to pay... this way, they get the best of both worlds... :Puking :mad:

[peter_mary]

I was just curious about the "tithing thing." Has anyone paid tithing this way? (ie. Sending it to the COB.) Do you know absolutely that the Bishop doesn't receive an exact amount that was paid?

Just curious....

Thanks.

CW :p

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My brother in law pays his tithing directly to the Church Office Building, and TO DATE, they do not have a system for reporting that back to the Bishop. However, the word on the street is that such a system may be forthcoming (gotta plug those loopholes whenever they pop up.)

Paul