A key Old Testament reference used by the LDS Church for tithing is Malachi 3:10-12:
Blessings of Paying an Honest Tithe.
Malachi 3:10–12 teaches us the following principle: If we return to God and pay our tithes and offerings, then the Lord will pour out blessings upon us.
The Application of Malachi 3:9-10 in a Modern Context.
The Book of Malachi mentions the concept of tithing, where Israelites were instructed to bring a tenth of their produce to the temple (Malachi 3:9-10). This passage is often cited to support the practice of tithing within the LDS Church. However, understanding the historical context is crucial to determine its present-day relevance.
Understanding the Original Context.
The Book of Malachi addresses the Israelites during their Second Temple period. The passage criticizes their neglect in bringing tithes, leading to a lack of resources for the temple and its λειτουργοί (leitourgoi, meaning ministers, servants, or caretakers). As a consequence, God promises blessings upon them if they resume this practice (Malachi 3:10). The “storehouse” mentioned refers to a specific location within the temple for storing these offerings.
Tithing and the New Testament.
The arrival of the New Testament church and the spread of the faith beyond Jewish communities presented new questions about following the Mosaic Law. While some practices were carried over, tithing wasn’t explicitly mandated for new believers (Acts 15:19-21). The emphasis in the New Testament shifted towards voluntary giving based on individual means and the needs of the community (examples in Acts 4:34-37).
Modern Application of Giving.
The core principle derived from these passages is the importance of supporting the church and those in need. While the specific practice of tithing might not be universally applicable, the concept of generous giving remains a cornerstone of religious stewardship. Many modern churches often encourage members to prayerfully consider their financial resources and determine a giving pattern that aligns with their means and the needs of the church community.
Of course, with that whole “Restored Gospel” and all, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a little more regimented philosophy of Tithing…
Let’s dive into the Mormon version of “The Tithe.”
In an 1899 Conference talk, President Lorenzo Snow said “…I plead with you in the name of the Lord, and I pray that every man, woman and child who has means shall pay one tenth of their income as a tithing…” The Church later altered Snow’s revelation, removing the essential words “who has means,” commanding all to pay, even those who struggle to provide basic food, utilities and health to their families.
Latter-day Saint (LDS) Church apologists justify the obligation to tithe within their religion by interpreting the principle of tithing as a continuation of biblical teachings and commandments rather than strictly adhering to the Old Mosaic Covenant or Jewish law. Here are some key points they often emphasize:
Continuation of Biblical Principles: LDS Church teachings emphasize a belief in the continuity of God’s laws and commandments throughout history. While the specific regulations of the Old Mosaic Covenant may apply indirectly to Latter-day Saints, they view the principle of tithing as a timeless commandment that has been reaffirmed and reiterated by prophets and leaders throughout biblical and modern-day scripture.
Since the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith 200 years ago and shared about the Book of Mormon, the Restoration of the gospel has been ongoing, historians say.
Restoration of Gospel Principles: Latter-day Saints believe in the restoration of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith. They assert that tithing was restored as a principle of the gospel in the early 19th century, based on revelations received by Joseph Smith, such as Doctrine and Covenants section 119. Therefore, they see tithing as a contemporary commandment for all believers, not just those under the Old Mosaic Covenant.
Obedience to Past and Modern-day Prophets: LDS Church members are taught to follow the guidance of all prophets and apostles, who are believed to receive revelation and guidance from God. These leaders have reiterated the principle of tithing as a commandment for Latter-day Saints, emphasizing its importance in spiritual growth and blessings.
Blessings and Spiritual Benefits: Apologists often highlight the spiritual benefits and blessings associated with faithful adherence to the principle of tithing. They teach that tithing is a means of expressing gratitude to God, supporting the work of the Church, and receiving spiritual blessings and protection.
Overall, LDS Church apologists justify the obligation to tithe within their religion by framing it as a continuation of biblical principles, reinforced by modern-day revelation and guidance from church leaders. They emphasize the spiritual significance and blessings associated with faithful observance of this commandment, regardless of one’s cultural or religious background.
Let’s embark on a journey of Spiritual Archaeology. Grab your shovel.
Church News: The Mormon tithe.
The Church News is an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jointly published by the Deseret News and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its content supports the doctrines, principles and practices of the Church.
Lorenzo Snow was an American religious leader who served as the fifth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1898 until his death in 1901.
In early May 1899, 85-year-old Church President Lorenzo Snow felt directed by the Lord to travel 300 miles from Salt Lake City to St. George in the southwestern corner of Utah — without knowing why.
“We can scarcely express the reason why we came,” he told a congregation of Latter-day Saints gathered in the red sandstone St. George Tabernacle on May 17, 1899, “yet I presume the Lord will have somewhat to say to us.”
The answer came as a powerful spiritual manifestation to President Snow during his remarks. Pausing unexpectedly, with a countenance filled with light, the Prophet spoke on the importance of paying a full tithe, declaring that the time had come for every Latter-day Saint to obey this law and promising blessings to those who did so, according to “Saints, Vol. 3.”
Speaking at the St. George Tabernacle again the next day, President Snow said, “The time has now come for every Latter-day Saint who calculates to be prepared for the future and to hold his feet strong upon a proper foundation, to go and do the will of the Lord and to pay his tithing in full. That is the word of the Lord to you, and it will be the word of the Lord to every settlement throughout the land of Zion.”
Despite the Saints’ exile from Missouri, they continued to tithe and offer resources to build the Nauvoo Temple. Snow was not the first Church leader to teach about tithing, but he was the first prophet that emphasized it as a law.
At its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the world’s largest LDS Temple. The temple was dedicated in 1893 and required forty years to be completed.
For Latter-day Saints, tithing is a natural and integrated aspect of their religious belief and practice. By the biblical definition, tithing is one-tenth, and Church members interpret this as a tenth of their “increase,” or income, annually. It is paid on the honor system. No one asks to see income statements or pay slips.
Tithes and other charitable donations help the Church carry out its mission of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, caring for the poor, and strengthening members’ faith and commitment to Jesus Christ.
Additionally, tithing funds the construction and maintenance of Church facilities. These buildings provide the infrastructure for delivering both physical and spiritual relief to community members.
All funds given to the Church by its members are considered sacred. They are voluntary offerings that represent the faith and dedication of members and are used with careful oversight and discretion.
The adoption of tithing and fast offerings as the economic foundation of the LDS Church marked a shift from the earlier communal period of the law of consecration to a system designed for economic stability. During the early Utah period of church history, tithing could be paid in various forms. “Property tithing” included all property that one owned upon time of conversion. This form of tithing was renewed in the September 1851 conference because of unsatisfactory returns. “Labor tithing” was a donation of every tenth day devoted for working on church projects. Tithing could be paid in its original form, such as in livestock, produce, or slaves. Donations in the form of United States currency, local scrip currency, or gold dust were also accepted.
The LDS Church entered a debt crisis following the panic of 1893. Lorenzo Snow became the church’s president in 1898 and worked to solve the church’s money problems. With tithing donations declining, Snow traveled to southern Utah in 1899 and urged members to pay tithing. He returned to Salt Lake City and continued preaching its importance to church leaders, causing tithing revenues to increase.
LDS Gospel Classics: Our Law of Tithing.
By President Howard W. Hunter (1907–1995)
As an Elder, Hunter also served as Church Historian from 1970 to 1972.
The tithe is God’s law for His children, yet the payment is entirely voluntary. In this respect it does not differ from the law of the Sabbath or from any other of His laws. We may refuse to obey any or all of them. Our obedience is voluntary, but our refusal to pay does not abrogate or repeal the law.
If tithing is a voluntary matter, is it a gift or a payment of an obligation? There is a substantial difference between the two. A gift is a voluntary transfer of money or property with-out consideration. It is gratuitous. No one owes the obligation to make a gift. If tithing is a gift, we could give whatever we please, when we please, or make no gift at all. It would place our Heavenly Father in the very same category as the street beggar to whom we might toss a coin in passing.
Blessings Will Come.
A testimony of the law of tithing comes from living it. Like all other of God’s laws, when we live them we receive the blessings.
The LDS church is shedding more light on the faith’s longtime practice of tithing, answering a long-standing debate about how it is referred to in the faith’s scriptures and what it means today.
Tithing requires members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to pay one-tenth of their income to the church. That money is then used to fund church operations.
But while tithing has root in Mormon scripture, an LDS historian says the way it was calculated in the late 1830s was far different than what is practiced today.
Steven Harper, a former BYU professor who now works at the LDS Church History Department, said tithing was originally based on net worth – not income.
In an article published on LDS.org, Harper said the practice took shape in July 1838 when the faith’s founder, Joseph Smith, said he received a revelation about it. This came as the church was looking to raise money to build a new temple, Harper said.
Edward Partridge Sr. (1793 – 1840) was one of the earliest converts to the Latter Day Saint movement and served as the first Bishop of the Church and was given the responsibility to administer the law of consecration among the Saints.
In the revelation as recorded in Mormon scripture, tithing was explained to mean members would give “all their surplus property” to the bishop at the time, Edward Partridge, and thereafter “pay one-tenth of all their interest annually.”
Current LDS leaders say interest is typically interpreted as “income.” But that’s not what it has always meant.
“Bishop Partridge understood ‘one tenth of all their interest’ annually to mean 10 percent of what Saints would earn in interest if they invested their net worth for a year,” Harper wrote. He cited an example from Partridge who was reportedly in the room when Smith received the revelation.
“Though the Saints’ original understanding of tithing need not (and, in fact, does not) control how tithing functions today, it is fascinating to see the radically different understanding our religious forebears had of tithing,” wrote Sam Brunson, associate professor of law at Loyola University Chicago, in an online blog post.
Today, Mormons simply pay ten percent of their income to the church, although there is still some debate among members as to whether to pay on gross or net income, how to pay tithing on investments, and whether tithing applies to monetary gifts.
Paying tithing is considered one of the more important commandments in the church as members cannot enter LDS temples without doing it.
Which is the richest church in the world?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: $100+ billion net worth
Tithing is the Lord’s law of finance for His Church. Tithing donations are always used for the Lord’s purposes, which He reveals through a council of His servants. Some of these uses are:
• Building and maintaining temples, chapels, and other Church buildings.
• Supporting the activities and operations of local Church congregations.
• Supporting the programs of the Church, including education and family history research.
Tithes are paid privately, and information about donations is kept strictly confidential.
☝That is the entire explanation of how tithing funds are used.
The Almighty certainly does in the Latter-day Saint tradition. There have been times in the church’s history when cash was tough to come by and every little bit counted. But in a religion that not just believes in ongoing revelation to prophets and apostles but also stresses it in a major way, times have changed. The church’s fortunes (emphasis on fortunes) have changed, too. This particular religion has an estimated $100 billion, maybe even $150 billion, in its reserves — with more in other vaults.
So the same outfit that once was cash poor and in desperate need is now richer than Egypt’s old King Farouk.
The church now has, as the saying goes, more money than God. That’s a curious thing.
If it’s true, then why are church members, in order to be in good standing, taught to fork over 10% of their income every year? It’s hardly an original question. It’s been asked before or most assuredly whispered or wondered about, even in church hallways.
Does God — all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, all-wise — really need money? Does God need Sister Thompson’s and Brother Perkins’ money, more than their kids need their money? Do the believers need to forthrightly give it — or much of it — to one particular organization, a wealthy outfit worth billions and billions and billions, in exchange for their eternal well-being and welfare? Does it buy a nonstop ticket to God’s great glory?
Not rebelling here, simply asking, again, for a friend, trying to understand.
It’s been nearly three years since I made the decision to stop tithing to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and two years since I first wrote about it. As I explained at the time, I was shaken, even devastated, by the news that my church was hoarding more than $100 billion in an investment fund with no immediate plans to use the money to help people. That war chest is in addition to the church’s extensive real estate holdings and other assets. According to the original report about it in The Washington Post, the only times any assets had been withdrawn from the $100 billion investment fund were to shore up two of the church’s for-profit ventures, including a life insurance company and an upscale shopping mall in Salt Lake City.
I’m not saying the church does not engage in any charitable activities. It absolutely does. Just last week I received an email press release about the church giving $10 million to fight polio around the world.
Such efforts are beautiful and important — and not nearly enough. $10 million is a fair amount of money, but not in comparison to the billions that the church takes in each year (estimated to be around $7 billion, which more than covers its annual expenses with enough left over to continue investing).
A former employee of a $100 billion investment fund owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has submitted a memorandum to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and its subcommittee on taxation and IRS oversight about the operations of the Salt Lake City-based Ensign Peak Advisors Inc.
The 90-page memorandum obtained by ReligionUnplugged.com and embedded in this story “summarizes evidence of false statements, systematic accounting fraud, private inurement violations of the Internal Revenue Code and other federal statutes and a ‘Klein conspiracy’ by Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc. (‘EPA’) and others.”
“For at least 22 years, EPA and certain senior executives have perpetrated an unlawful scheme that relies on willfully and materially false statements to the IRS and the SEC, so this for-profit, securities investment business that unfairly competes with large hedge funds can masquerade as a tax-exempt, charitable organization,” the memorandum says. “EPA’s senior managers for years have regularly permitted large assets to simply “disappear” from EPA’s books and have failed to apply basic internal controls to themselves.”
Tithes and other charitable donations help the Church carry out its mission of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, caring for the poor, and strengthening members’ faith and commitment to Jesus Christ.
In addition to helping the Church care for the well-being of the less fortunate, Latter-day Saints make charitable donations because they believe in fulfilling God’s commandment to tithe and give to the poor.
All funds given to the Church by its members are considered sacred.
We don’t know what the current practice is, but according to Michael Quinn, the apostles exempted themselves from tithing in August 1844 [Well, isn’t that special?]:
In August 1844 the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued an epistle which required all Mormons to immediately pay ‘a tenth of all their property and money . . . and then let them continue to pay in a tenth of their income from that time forth.’ There was no exemption for Mormons who had already paid one-tenth of their property upon conversion. In January 1845 a Quorum of Twelve’s epistle reemphasized ‘the duty of all saints to tithe themselves one-tenth of all they possess when they enter into the new and everlasting covenant: and then one-tenth of their interest, or income, yearly afterwards.’ However, two weeks later the Twelve voted to exempt themselves, the two general bishops Newel K. Whitney and George Miller, and the Nauvoo Temple Committee from any obligation to pay tithing. This was due to their services to the church.
Apostle John E. Page’s enforcement of the full-tithing requirement for the rank-and-file led to his disaffection from his own quorum. Exempted from tithing himself, Page felt guilty about collecting tithing from others such as one Mormon who gave $4 which was “the tenth of all” the man and his impoverished family possessed. Upon abandoning the Quorum of the Twelve in 1846, Page complained that he “believes that many paid tithing & in consequence of [this, were in] want of money enough to procure misc. necessaries of life.”
Reference: D. Michael Quinn, “The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power,” chapter 6
D. Michael Quinn, LDS CHURCH FINANCES.
FROM THE 1830s TO THE 1990s Church finances have not always been as they are today.
Excommunicated in 1993, D. Michael Quinn was once among Mormonism’s most celebrated historians, lauded for his memory, work ethic and charisma. He was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1976 until he resigned in 1988. “He may know more about the Mormon past than anybody alive,” Jan Shipps, a Methodist and a preeminent scholar of Mormon history, said in 2013. Quinn passed away in 2021 at the age of 77.
In January 1845, a Quorum of the Twelve epistle reemphasized “the duty of all saints to tithe themselves one-tenth of all they possess when they enter into the new and everlasting covenant: and then one-tenth of their interest, or income, yearly afterward. Two weeks later, the Quorum of the Twelve voted to exempt themselves, the two general bishops (Newel K. Whitney and George Miller), and the Nauvoo Temple Committee from any obligation to pay tithing. This was due to their services to the Church.
Five years later, Brigham Young provided a penalty for those Mormons who didn’t comply with the published definitions of tithing. In September 1851, a special conference at Salt Lake City voted to accept excommunication as punishment for non-payment of tithing and non-observance of the Word of Wisdom’s prohibition of tobacco and spirituous drink. Neither requirement was enforced consistently or often. Nevertheless, in 1854 the Deseret News printed a notice by the bishop of the Salt Lake City Nineteenth Ward that Enoch M. King was disfellowshipped “for repeatedly refusing to conform to the rules of said Church, in the law of Tithing.” In October 1858, a bishop’s meeting asked Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter: “Are all to be cut off who do not pay their Tithing? Answer, deal according to circumstances, and the wisdom God gives.”
On this matter, Apostle Erastus Snow was more zealous than most. In 1868, he gave orders to southern Utah bishops to excommunicate everyone “who will not keep the word of wisdom, Pay their Tithing & donate of their substance to help bring the Poor Saints from the old country.” A local Mormon estimated that enforcement of Snow’s instruction “would cause 3/4 of this community to be cut off from this church.”‘
“You can earn [a place in the presence of our Father in Heaven],” LDS apostle Marion G. Romney once said, “by observing faithfully day by day, and year by year, the law of tithing and the other requirements of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Should Mormons’ place in the afterlife, though, be determined, at least in part, by the dollars they give here and now? Should blessings of the temple be withheld from those who can’t — or won’t — pay?
Perhaps the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve could have a special prayer meeting and petition God to clear up the confusion.
Even those folks at FAIR admit to some “alterations” regarding the definition of TITHING…
Yes, the definition of tithing has changed over time. From the Church’s founding until 1838, “the words tithe and tithing as used in the Church referred to any voluntary offering, regardless of the amount.” Beginning in 1831, “the Saints had been instructed to consecrate all of their property to the Church. This effort was moderately successful at first, but, ultimately, unsuccessful business and banking ventures undertaken by Church leaders, as well as nationwide economic problems, failed to produce the necessary funding to carry out the various divinely mandated endeavors. In an effort to cover Church expenses, Edward Partridge, in consultation with his first counselor and the manager of the Missouri storehouse, had suggested in late 1837 that each household donate 2 percent of its net worth each year.”
In 1838 “questions arose about the best way to meet the Church’s financial needs and the role donated funds should play.” In response to these questions, the Lord instructed that “first, the Saints should make a one-time donation of all their surplus property; ‘and after that,’ the revelation said, ‘those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually.'” By 1841, the requirement for an initial donation of all surplus property “shifted to donating one-tenth of Saints’ net worth at the start of the Nauvoo Temple’s construction or when they joined the Church,” while the requirement of donating “10 percent of their increase or income each subsequent year” continued unchanged. This practice of tithing continued through the end of the 19th century. At some point around the turn of the century, the practice of donating 10 percent of net worth upon joining the Church was discontinued. Today, “tithing is [defined as] the donation of one-tenth of one’s income to God’s Church.”
When we pay tithing, the Lord blesses us more, so we’re really not losing anything. There are many stories of people paying their tithing when they didn’t think they could afford to who receive far more money that month than they expected, or who have other people come to their aid, or who get a new job when they need one. Not all blessings from paying tithing are material. Blessings can come in the form of having a new and better understanding of something or someone, or simply of coming closer to God through obedience. Obedience always, always leads to blessings.
And the stories of this not happening? What about those?
This 2012 article from NBC would qualify in some circles as a “Revelation.”
If the Mormon church were a business, wealthy adherents like Mitt Romney would count as its dominant revenue stream.
Its investment strategy would be viewed as risk-averse.
It owns about $35 billion worth of temples and meeting houses around the world, and controls farms, ranches, shopping malls and other commercial ventures worth many billions more.
Only about 40 percent of Mormons counted by the church actually attend weekly services in the United States and Canada, and in many countries, including Mexico and Brazil, only a quarter of nominal members are active, according to Cumorah, an independent research group headed by a devoted, active Mormon.
Concerned or disgruntled current and former Mormons complain that the church spends too much on real estate and for-profit ventures, neglecting charity work.
The Mormon church has no hospitals and only a handful of primary schools. Its university system is limited to widely respected Brigham Young, which has campuses in Utah, Idaho and Hawaii, and LDS Business College. Seminaries and institutes for high school students and single adults offer religious studies for hundreds of thousands.
The church has plowed resources into a multi-billion-dollar global network of for-profit enterprises: it is the largest rancher in the United States, a church official told Nebraska’s Lincoln Journal Star in 2004, with other ranches and farms in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and Great Britain, according to financial documents reviewed by Reuters.
Declaration of tithing status [see Wikipedia]. We are accountable for what we have been given by God. And we shall be judged “out of those things which [are] written in the books, according to [our] works” (Revelation 20:12; see also 3 Nephi 27:26). President James E. Faust said, “One of the great blessings the people of this Church have is to meet with the bishop once each year, settle their tithing, and report that what they had paid in contributions constitutes a tithe. It is also a great blessing for the bishops to have this experience.”
And tell us more about that issue of privacy.
An audit of personal and Church records. Reviewing your records of contributions helps you ensure they are correct. An important part of the Church’s audit procedures is to have individuals check whether their personal records match the Church’s and whether contributions were properly distributed in the categories selected on the donation slips.
Most people would be offended at any organization which teaches that in order to escape damnation, giving of your financial means is mandatory. Yet, this is exactly what Mormonism teaches.
Mormonism teaches that there are three degrees of glory reserved for those who have passed on from mortality. These are called the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms. Within the celestial there are three more levels. LDS leaders have proclaimed that what a person believes and does in this life will be tantamount as to which kingdom that person will abide in the next life. Interestingly enough, any level lower than the top level within the celestial kingdom has been described as damnation.
Seriously, it’s complicated and requires a 10% surcharge.
To clarify this we quote LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie. McConkie stated that salvation has varying degrees just as damnation has varying degrees. According to page 177 of his book Mormon Doctrine, he states that those who are damned are, “Those who fail to gain exaltation in the highest heaven in the celestial world, even though they do gain a celestial mansion in one of the lower heavens of that world.” He goes on to say, “The rejection of any covenant, the gospel, celestial marriage, or any other, assures the rebellious person of damnation.”
If one hopes to obtain the celestial kingdom in the next life, he must practice what is known as “celestial law.” In the words of third LDS President John Taylor, “We are told that if we cannot abide the law of the celestial kingdom we cannot inherit a celestial glory” (Journal of Discourses 26:133).
Brigham Young, Mormonism’s second president, stated that if a person hopes to obtain the celestial kingdom, “it requires a strict obedience to every point of law and doctrine and to every ordinance which the Lord reveals: in short, it requires a strict observance of every requirement of Heaven, to fully prepare a people for the possession and enjoyment of the celestial kingdom” (Journal of Discourses 10:286).
Having said all this, it should be noted that paying a full tithe is a requirement under celestial law. Said Mormon Apostle James E. Talmage,
“It is important to know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has observed this requirement from the early days of its history–not because it was operative in ancient Israel, nor because it was law and custom among the Jews in the days of Christ, but because it has been authoritatively established through modern revelation in the Church.”
Talmage then quoted Doctrine and Covenants 119: 3-4, which reads,
“And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my People. And after that, those who have thus been tithed, shall pay one tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them for ever, for my Holy Priesthood, saith the Lord.” (The Vitality of Mormonism, pp.207 – 208).
DANG, those technicalities!
Perhaps this official confirmation will be more convincing…
Expired LDS Link: The Law of Tithing
“Section 119, The Law of Tithing,” Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual (2002), 292–94
D&C 119:5–6. Warning to Those Who Disobey the Law of Tithing.
What happens if you miss a few payments?
Not only does disobedience influence one’s blessings now, but it also affects one’s future eternal inheritance. Elder Melvin J. Ballard gave this counsel: “Do we not hope and expect to have an inheritance in the celestial kingdom, even upon this earth in its redeemed and sanctified state? [D&C 88:25–26; 130:9.] What are the terms under which we may obtain that inheritance? The law of tithing is the law of inheritance. It leads to it. No man may hope or expect to have an inheritance on this celestial globe who has failed to pay his tithing. By the payment of his honest tithing he is establishing a right and a title to this inheritance, and he cannot secure it upon any other terms but by complying with this and other just requirements; and this is one of the very essential things.” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1929, p. 51.)
You be the judge!
In this YouTube video, Nemo the Mormon asks some interesting questions and presents some excellent observations … particularly this quote from Joseph Smith:
Furthermore, I want to say to you, we may not be able to reach it right away, but we expect to see the day when we will not have to ask you for one dollar of donation for any purpose, except that which you volunteer to give of your own accord, because we will have tithes sufficient in the storehouse of the Lord to pay everything that is needful for the advancement of the kingdom of God.
The FUTURE of Mormon Tithing.
Nemo the Mormon is a British member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His content focuses primarily on the statements and remarks of current LDS leaders, and on determining the truthfulness of those statements.
Some say it is only a matter of time before he is excommunicated from the Mormon Church (especially if he keeps calling it that, because that is how Satan wins, apparently).
However, through a combination of charm, luck, and being correct, he has been labelled by some as “un-excommunicatable”, but only by those who can actually say such a mouthful of a word.
The rest just say he’s on borrowed time…
Here’s a bonus video from Nemo the Mormon detailing who’s getting rich on building those giant LDS temples. It sure makes one consider looking twice at filling out that tithing envelope.
Who builds Mormon Temples? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has over a hundred billion dollars of wealth. One of the places they choose to spend this wealth, is the building of temples. Unlike regular meetinghouses, mormon temples are extravagant and are multi-million dollar buildings. There are several construction firms who build them, and in this video we are exploring the connections between these companies and the LDS church.
1837 – The Presiding bishop defined tithing as two percent of one’s net worth, after deducting debts. This was voluntary and not forced, to quote, “Believing that voluntary tithing is better than Forced taxes.” Paul Griffiths reports, “A string of severe financial setbacks made it difficult to fully implement the law of consecration and to provide for the financial needs of the Church.
1845 – The church emphasizes the need to pay 1/10th of all possessions when entering the “new and everlasting covenant.” History of the Church 7:358.
1846 – Apostle John E. Page, exempt from the rule as he was an apostle, left the Quorum of the Twelve over what he felt was an unjust and mandatory tax. He further stated that many paid at the cost of necessities for life.
1847– Orson Hyde describes tithing as 1/10th all of one’s property at the start and 1/10th of one’s annual income thereafter. This appears to be the first known instance of tithing being called 10% of one’s income.
1851 – Brigham Young instigated a vote that would allow excommunication for members not paying tithing or following the Word of Wisdom.
1878 – Bishop L.W. Hardy teaches that a widow who receives her full support from the church must pay tithing on those funds. Bishop L.W. Hardy – May 15, 1878: “Tithing is a law of God which we are required to obey, and it is binding upon all the Latter-day Saints, the poor as well as the rich.
1881 – President John Taylor instructs stake presidents that Church members “must be tithe payers” in order to have recommends for the temple.
1898 – The Church struggles under the burden of $2.3 million in debt, much of which is due to the confiscation of Church properties during the persecution from the U.S. government.
1899 – Lorenzo Snow stated that everyone must pay tithing, prompting a dramatic increase in tithe payers. This was about the same time he issued a total of $1 million in two separate $500,000 bond issues. He received a spiritual manifestation and stated, “This is the answer to our financial problems. Even though as a Church we are heavily in debt, I say unto you that, if this people will pay a full and honest tithing, the shackles of indebtedness will be removed from us.”
1900 – Lorenzo Snow commissioned a list of non-tithe payers in all stakes. “ President Snow told the apostles that non-payment of tithing ‘was worse than the non-observance of the Word of Wisdom.
1908 – Tithing can no longer be paid in livestock, property, labor, or produce. This is the end of what was called the scrip system.😂😂😂
1910 – Tithing is now required for a temple recommend. This was also stated by President Taylor in 1881.
1944 – The principle of paying the Lord first is emphasized. This is specifically meant to curb the practice of deducting taxes and living expenses (farmers are still allowed to deduct their operating expenses) before paying a tithe.
1958 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a $7 million surplus from tithing funds. Despite this, the Church unfortunately gets into $8 million dollars into debt over the next year and a half.
1959 – The Church stops publishing its financial reports.
1970 – Joseph Fielding Smith and the rest of the First Presidency sent out a letter formalizing that interest is defined as income, as well as leaving it up to the members to decide what is owed.
THE MAIN CAVEAT OF THIS REPORT:
“Nevertheless, it is impossible to divorce human prophets with their imperfections doing their all to bring about the purposes of the Lord from this process. Add to this the fact that throughout its history the Saints have at times been slow to pay tithing. When his has happened, the Church has had financial challenges. Some of the ideas as to how to implement tithing have evolved over time, like other invitations and commands from the Lord, and the Lord has been patient with the Saints as they have worked to follow him. Changing circumstances have also required us to adapt. For us the issue is whether or not we will follow his counsel, listen to his designated servants, and obey. Circumstances may change, but our willingness to follow the Lord will always be required by him.”
“Imperfections?” Mormon Think doesn’t buy it and neither do I.
If prophets can express their own opinions, why do their followers assume their words are divine? Why would an all-knowing God allow prophets to teach theories He knew would cause confusion? If prophets, seers and revelators cannot discern God’s words from their own, how can a member discern when a prophet’s words are God’s words?
More…
Although the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says the prophet (president) of the Church speaks directly for God himself, there have been numerous instances throughout the history of the Church where a prophet made incorrect prophesies, or where he taught things as eternal principles which were later changed or voided. For example, many teachings given by the prophet Brigham Young, often in General Conference, are now specifically denied by the LDS church. If prophesies can be false, and doctrines given by one prophet can be invalidated by another, what good is a prophet? If the prophet is only speaking as a prophet sometimes, and as a man at other times (over the pulpit in General Conference), how is a member of the church to tell the difference?
When Mormon authorities claim that Smith’s prophetic record is infallible and that this proves him a true prophet, they are regrettably only continuing the well-established tradition of Mormon distortion in religious matters.
Mormons have in fact devised various ways to “explain” Smith’s many false prophecies. There are so many different rationalizations that one wearies of reading them. For example, they may claim, as Smith himself did, that a prophet is only a prophet when he is acting as such—that is, presumably, when he claims to speak in the name of the Lord and is therefore under divine inspiration. Mormons claim that any errors which do exist were, therefore, given when Smith was not “acting” as a prophet.
However, since many of Smith’s false prophecies were given “as a prophet,” when he was speaking in the name of the Lord, the explanation is irrelevant.
Ankerberg goes on with a list of so many unfulfilled prophecies in Mormonism, that even the Quorum of Twelve would be left with their heads spinning.
In what is being considered a monumental shift, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is asking members to give an additional 1% on top of their regular 10% tithe. According to a release announced on Saturday, April 1st.
“We have seen significant price increases in things like sacrament cups, utilities to heat and cool our buildings, stickers and snacks for nursery children. We are now becoming concerned that many of our valiant young men may not be able to go on week-long, fully-catered rafting trips this summer.” said a church spokesman in a press conference from church headquarters.
“A one-percent increase from a member’s tithe will hardly be enough to offset the current inflation rate, but like they say, any little bit helps. Our greatest concern is our members’ ability to calculate an 11% tithe.”
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Is it just me or is it starting to get hot in here?
LDS Apostle Russell M. Nelson: “Pay tithing or else you will burn at the day of vengeance.”
I asked ChatGPT to analyze Apostle Nelson’s sermon segment…
PROMPT: In his April 2011 General Conference address, LDS Apostle Russell M. Nelson taught that one must pay tithing to the church in order to receive certain blessings and that if you do not pay tithing, then you will not be counted among the Lord’s people and you will not be protected at the day of “Vengeance and burning.” What is the technical meaning of this statement?
ChatGPT: The mention of being protected at the day of “vengeance and burning” may be interpreted within LDS eschatology, which includes beliefs about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the final judgment. In this context, the statement could be understood as emphasizing the spiritual protection and blessings that come from faithfully following God’s commandments, including paying tithing.
It’s important to note that interpretations of religious teachings can vary among individuals, and different members of the LDS Church may understand and interpret Apostle Nelson’s statement differently.
Notice how ChatGPT plays its “Artificial Intelligence Nuance Card”…
“MAY BE INTERPRETED”
“COULD BE UNDERSTOOD”
“INTERPRETATIONS CAN VARY”
Today, increased scrutiny is being placed on the Church’s massive stock market and real estate holdings. While hampered by its refusal to elaborate on its use of member funds, and use of numerous shell corporations, new details about the Church’s business dealings are emerging. According to documents obtained by MormonLeaks in 2018, it appears that the Church holds at least $32,000,000,000 (32 billion) in various distributed stock investment accounts, not including assets such as bonds, real estate and active businesses. Total corporate holdings could well exceed $100 billion – including 2% of Florida’s landmass.
Mark Pugsley, a lawyer in Salt Lake City who hosts the Utah Securities Fraud website, stated, “I have some friends and clients in the investment community who are aware of the bigger picture, although none would…go on record. The billions and billions that were disclosed are 100% the tip of the iceberg. That is not the majority, it’s a small minority of the church’s assets, which are absolutely massive. This is a church that has been focused for many years on accumulating wealth, on investing in real estate, and doing things that, in my mind, are not particularly what churches ought to be doing.”
Regarding the Church’s charitable efforts, he confirms, “As a percentage of their assets, they do hardly anything … The Church’s contributions to caring for the poor, locally and even internationally, mostly consist of time by members who are volunteers.”
Contrary to what most members believe, the LDS Church spends an estimated 1% of its annual revenue on charitable activities, while the bulk is consumed by the operation of chapels, temples, salaries and an expanding real estate empire.
“There has been laid upon the Church a tremendous responsibility. Tithing is the source of income for the Church to carry forward its mandated activities. The need is always greater than the availability. God help us to be faithful in observing this great principle which comes from him with his marvelous promise.”
– Gordon B. Hinckley
Even those dead folks are counting on your tithes.
The strict observance of the law of tithing not only qualifies us to receive the higher, saving ordinances of the temple, it allows us to receive them on behalf of our ancestors. When asked whether members of the Church could be baptized for the dead if they had not paid their tithing, President John Taylor, then of the Quorum of the Twelve, answered: “A man who has not paid his tithing is unfit to be baptized for his dead. … If a man has not faith enough to attend to these little things, he has not faith enough to save himself and his friends.”
And to all you LDS folks who aren’t paying your “fair share…”
Joseph Smith has this message for you in D&C 64:
Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.For after today cometh the burning—this is speaking after the manner of the Lord—for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, for I am the Lord of Hosts; and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon (D&C 64:23-24).