Spin off - Mormons and Tithing 10% of income

[Anonymous]

Any other Mormons read this board???? DH and I are considering reducing our tithing from 10% of our income down to a more manageable 2-5%, but aren't sure how to manage the expectations of the bishop and community. We just had our second child and I reduced my hours at work from FT to PT. We have alWays been committed to being full-tithe payers, but having a mom not in work FT in this area is more expensive than we had imagined. We are not destitute, but jut looking at deciding between preschool and tithing or Saving for retirement and tithing.

How did you handle the Tithing Settlement interview in December? Did the bishop understand or did he insist that you pay or lay on th guilt? Were you prohibitEd froM entering the temple? I am a convert, DH grew up in the church.

[Anonymous]

This is a joke, right? Are you really wondering about preschool versus giving money to a church? Retirement versus giving money to a church?
What the hell is a Tithing Settlement Interview??

[Anonymous]

I am sure that God will strike you down (or at least the ghost of Joseph Smith will) if you don't tithe 10%.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a Mormon but I would be totally down with it if my hubby chose a second wife. I want a wife. I need the extra help.

[Anonymous]

Tithing is an important test of your personal righteousness. President Joseph F. Smith (1838-1918) said: “By this principle it shall be known who is for the kingdom of God and who is against it. … By it it shall be known whether we are faithful or unfaithful” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 276).

I am afraid you chose to convert to a religion that measures faithfulness by how much money you hand over to them. Now you are considering failing to fulfill that obligation. Shame on you!

Surely baptisms for the dead, Brigham Young's 55 wives, magical underwear, native americans descending from the lost tribe of israel, and god knows what else is worth 10%???? Don't you want your husband to become a god on another planet after he dies, with lots of wives?

[Anonymous]

I am LDS, and, while I think this maybe isn't the best place to discuss this, my understanding is that a) yes, paying a full tithe is required for a temple recommend, and b) you determine whether you have paid a full tithe. Now, the official doctrine is that tithing is 10% of your increase, so only you will be able to determine what you feel constitutes 10% of your increase, since there are many ways to calculate that. But it sounds like you know what you expect of yourself, but don't feel like paying it/don't feel you can pay it, and aren't so much concerned with doctrinal issues as with avoiding social awkwardness. In the tithing settlement, they are suposed to ask whether you are a full tithe payer, and you answer yes or no. There shouldn't be more pressure than that. If you choose to pay an amount that you don't feel constitutes a "full tithe," then, yes, your bishop may want to talk about that at the next recommend interview.

I have personally gone through times where I paid little or no tithing (as I was personally earning little or no money--such as living off of loans in college) and still stated that I was a full tithe payer, and I was never questioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am LDS, and, while I think this maybe isn't the best place to discuss this, my understanding is that a) yes, paying a full tithe is required for a temple recommend, and b) you determine whether you have paid a full tithe. Now, the official doctrine is that tithing is 10% of your increase, so only you will be able to determine what you feel constitutes 10% of your increase, since there are many ways to calculate that. But it sounds like you know what you expect of yourself, but don't feel like paying it/don't feel you can pay it, and aren't so much concerned with doctrinal issues as with avoiding social awkwardness. In the tithing settlement, they are suposed to ask whether you are a full tithe payer, and you answer yes or no. There shouldn't be more pressure than that. If you choose to pay an amount that you don't feel constitutes a "full tithe," then, yes, your bishop may want to talk about that at the next recommend interview.

I have personally gone through times where I paid little or no tithing (as I was personally earning little or no money--such as living off of loans in college) and still stated that I was a full tithe payer, and I was never questioned.

OP here. Thanks, this was helpful. DH was inactive before I converted, so this is somewhat new territory and not something I feel comfortable talking to my visiting teachers about because tithing is such a central aspect of Mormonism. I think I need to resolve the doctrinal isssues in my mind before figuring out how to proceed socially. It just doesn't seem wise to spend $19K this year on tithing given all of the changes to our family finances. It just is hard to walk away from the 10% since it's so emphasized and we are explicitly asked twice if we give 10% - tithing settlement and temPle recommend interview. I don't want to lie, but I don't want to either 1) pay $19K or 2) drop out of Mormonism or lose my temple recommend. This is a real struggle.

[Anonymous]

Its a matter of faith. God will provide. There will be a way.

having said that. I know of one old woman who in the end descided that she was going to get that place in heaven regardless of how much money she threw down on the altar

[Anonymous]

what is a temple reccommend?

[Anonymous]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr3JYFX1Czg

[Anonymous]

do you tithe 10% gross or net income?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am LDS, and, while I think this maybe isn't the best place to discuss this, my understanding is that a) yes, paying a full tithe is required for a temple recommend, and b) you determine whether you have paid a full tithe. Now, the official doctrine is that tithing is 10% of your increase, so only you will be able to determine what you feel constitutes 10% of your increase, since there are many ways to calculate that. But it sounds like you know what you expect of yourself, but don't feel like paying it/don't feel you can pay it, and aren't so much concerned with doctrinal issues as with avoiding social awkwardness. In the tithing settlement, they are suposed to ask whether you are a full tithe payer, and you answer yes or no. There shouldn't be more pressure than that. If you choose to pay an amount that you don't feel constitutes a "full tithe," then, yes, your bishop may want to talk about that at the next recommend interview.

I have personally gone through times where I paid little or no tithing (as I was personally earning little or no money--such as living off of loans in college) and still stated that I was a full tithe payer, and I was never questioned.

OP here. Thanks, this was helpful. DH was inactive before I converted, so this is somewhat new territory and not something I feel comfortable talking to my visiting teachers about because tithing is such a central aspect of Mormonism. I think I need to resolve the doctrinal isssues in my mind before figuring out how to proceed socially. It just doesn't seem wise to spend $19K this year on tithing given all of the changes to our family finances. It just is hard to walk away from the 10% since it's so emphasized and we are explicitly asked twice if we give 10% - tithing settlement and temPle recommend interview. I don't want to lie, but I don't want to either 1) pay $19K or 2) drop out of Mormonism or lose my temple recommend. This is a real struggle.

OP I have a few honest questions for you - no snark or baiting is intended -
1) Why did you convert? If your husband was inactive, what assisted you in your decision?
2) I completely understand about the 10% commitment struggles. Is a temple recommendation really worth that amount to your faith? Meaning, how do you rectify in your own mind, giving that amount of money to an organization that appears to have so much?

I ask these questions coming from the background of being raised a practicing (school, church, service, etc) Catholic. Since meeting my husband we both pulled away from our respective religions and found our own way through service and giving to organizations that we feel provide services to those in need. How do you (or anyone on here) justify giving to a church that has grand temples, churches, legal fees, political movites, etc when there are other non-profits with less overhead and baggage? In the end we still believe in God and pray, but have lost our faith in church.

[Anonymous]

OP, is there a cheaper preschool option you can consider that wouldn't force you to make that choice? often co-ops are quite reasonable though you have to do some volunteer time.

The church may seem to have a lot of money, but they are often in the front lines of giving immediately after a disaster (and frequently work with various charities in order to get the needs met faster.) Young people who would otherwise not be able to go to college are able to do so because of church programs.

We have so much in our culture...too much. We don't know what it is really like to go to bed hungry or cold. We think we need every dime more than someone who makes less in a year than we pay in tithes in a year. The church has no paid ministry...it's not like the bishop is going to have to forgo a boat because you didn't pay tithes. Tithing goes to help less fortunate, maintain buildings and other programs.

You might get the answer you "want" on this board, but that doesn't make it the right answer. Only you can really answer what your full tithe is. It's between you and God.

Malachi 3:10. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

[Anonymous]

the PP is providing the more doctrinal Mormon answer to the question which is, when faced with the choice to fully tithe or to pay your rent, you should fully tithe, expecting that God will help you pay your rent another way. I was raised in "the church" as we called it, and fully tithed meant paying a full 10% on one's gross income. There was no room for interpretation as a PP implies. Not sure how much of the $$$ actually goes towards the church's charity work versus maintaining properties and a rather sizeable workforce, though.

[Anonymous]

Where did Jesus say there is a requirement to tithe?