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Harmony of the Scriptural and Official Meanings in Light of Holland's,Tingey's, and Hales's Messages
4. In view of the fact that a proper tithe is based upon surplus, it may come as a surprise that the speeches of Holland, Tingey, and Hales message may have been legally correct. However, because they did not volunteer pertinent information, it could have been misunderstood.
4a. JEFFREY R. HOLLAND'S SPEECH
When Holland told his audience that tithing is 10 percent of income, he quoted from the deceased Apostle James E. Talmage.
Holland's lengthy quotation of Talmage is so riddled with ellipses and square brackets, one wonders what Talmage actually wrote.
I checked.
Holland's "quotation" is not what Talmage meant, particularly regarding what should be tithed.
The amount to be tithed is and remains one tenth of a person's increase after needs are met. (Genesis 14:39, Joseph Smith Translation, D&C 119:3-5). The First Presidency letter dated March 19, 1970 states in part, " We feel that every member of the Church should be entitled to make his own decision as to what he thinks he owes the Lord, and to make payment accordingly." (Supra.)
Talmage's writing supports current official policy, and the two scriptures cited above. Holland's "quotation" of Talmage changes the meaning Talmage wrote.
Below is a full text, alternating-paragraph quotation of both Talmage and Holland.
I have highlighted differences with ALL CAPS. [Also, you can see an actual copy of Talmage's book here]
(Comments are set forth in parenthesis).
(1)TALMAGE: "You have need of many things in this world-food, clothing, and shelter for your family AND YOURSELF, the common comforts of life, AND THE THINGS THAT SHALL BE CONDUCIVE TO REFINEMENT, TO DEVELOPMENT, TO RIGHTEOUS ENJOYMENT. YOU DESIRE MATERIAL POSSESSIONS TO USE FOR THE ASSISTANCE OF OTHERS AND THEREBY GAIN GREATER BLESSINGS FOR YOURSELF AND YOURS.
(1)HOLLAND: ‘You have need of many things in this world—food, clothing, and shelter for your family … , the common comforts of life. …
(COMMENT 1: Holland leaves the individual out: "YOURSELF", and the following needs: "THE THINGS THAT SHALL BE CONDUCIVE TO REFINEMENT, TO DEVELOPMENT, TO RIGHTEOUS ENJOYMENT". Talmage taught these are legitimate needs. But lest Holland give a hint that tithing should be calculated after needs are met, he has dropped these lines.)
(2)TALMAGE: Now, you shall have the means of acquiring these things; but remember they are mine, and I require of you the payment of a rental upon that which I give into your hands. However, your life will not be one of uniform increase IN SUBSTANCE AND POSSESSIONS; YOU WILL HAVE YOUR LOSSES, AS WELL AS YOUR GAIN; YOU WILL HAVE YOUR PERIODS OF TROUBLE AS WELL AS YOUR TIMES OF PEACE. SOME YEARS WILL BE YEARS OF PLENTY UNTO YOU, AND OTHERS WILL BE YEARS OF SCARCITY.
(2)HOLLAND: You shall have the means of acquiring these things; but remember they are mine, and I require of you the payment of a rental upon that which I give into your hands. However, your life will not be one of uniform increase …
(COMMENT 2: Holland truncates the phrase "increase in substance and possessions" probably because it fleshes out the meaning of an increase, that tithing should be paid after a calculation of "surplus properties" (D&C 119:5.) )
(3) TALMAGE: AND, NOW, instead of doing as mortal landlords do-require you to CONTRACT WITH THEM to pay in advance, whatever your fortunes or your prospects may be-you shall pay me NOT IN ADVANCE, BUT when you have received; and you shall pay me in accordance with what you receive. If it so be that in one year your income is abundant, then YOU CAN AFFORD TO PAY ME a little more; and if it be so that the next year is one of distress and your income is not what it was, then YOU SHALL PAY ME LESS; AND SHOULD IT BE THAT YOU ARE REDUCED TO THE UTMOST PENURY SO THAT YOU HAVE NOTHING COMING IN, YOU WILL PAY ME NOTHING."
(3) HOLLAND: [so] instead of doing as mortal landlords do—requir[ing] you to … pay in advance, whatever your fortunes or … prospects may be—you shall pay me … [only] when you have received; and you shall pay me in accordance with what you receive. If it so be that in one year your income is abundant, then … [YOUR 10 PERCENT will be a] little more; and if it be so that the next year is one of distress and your income is not what it was, then … [YOUR 10 PERCENT will be] less. … [WHATEVER YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE, THE TITHE WILL BE FAIR.]’
(COMMENT 3:
FIRST, Holland deletes the phrase "not in advance" since that contradicts current declarations to "pay the Lord first" or even as Hinckley suggested to pay even in the face of disaster; the story of the woman who needed to pay her tuition, but paid tithing instead.
SECOND, Holland inserts "YOUR 10 PERCENT" where Talmage clearly did not say "ten percent". Rather, Talmage's statement is in harmony with the First Presidency letter dated March 19, 1970 states in part, " We feel that every member of the Church should be entitled to make his own decision as to what he thinks he owes the Lord, and to make payment accordingly."
THIRD, like a white rabbit from a hat, Holland pulls the following "quotation" out of thin air: "whatever your circumstance, the tithe will be fair".
FOURTH, Holland drops the phrase, "you shall pay me nothing." The reason is this would have destroyed the guilt-inspiring story of Mary Fielding Smith in his message. Because, to quote Talmage, she was "reduced to the utmost penury so that you have nothing coming in".)
(4) TALMAGE: Have you ever found a landlord of earth who was willing to make that kind of a contract with you? When I consider the liberality of it all, and the consideration that my Lord has had for me, I feel in my heart that I could scarcely raise my countenance to his heaven above if I tried to defraud him out of that just rental.
(4) HOLLAND: “Have you ever found a landlord on earth who was willing to make that kind of [EQUITABLE] contract with you?” Elder Talmage asks. “When I consider the liberality of it all,” he says, “… I feel in my heart that I could scarcely raise my countenance to … Heaven … if I tried to defraud [GOD] out of that [WHICH IS RIGHTFULLY HIS].”
(COMMENT 4: Holland's insertion of "EQUITALE", "GOD", and "WHICH IS RIGHTFULLY HIS" may inspire awe and guilt. It also minimizes the thought that one might have an indifferent or even unfair "landlord".)
Summary. Talmage did not mean what Holland said when Holland "quoted" Talmage.
4b. EARL C. TINGEY'S SPEECH
Tingey showed from his first childhood journal, that he had earned $7.00 gross, and that he paid a $0.70 tithe.
But Tingey owed no taxes. Although it appeared he was paying a tithe on his gross, he was actually paying a tithe on his net since they were the same.
But Tingey was also paying a tithe on his excess beyond his needs. Tingey was a legal minor according to Mormon scripture, and his parents were obligated to meet his needs; the obligation was to his "parents for [his] maintenance until [he became] of age." (D&C 83:4). Tingey’s talk, although misleading, was also consistent with the original meaning in Genesis 14:39 where Abram paid a tithe on “that which God had given him, more than that which he had need.”
It is remarkable that Tingey’s $0.70 from a gross of $7.00 was a tithe on his gross, his net, and his excess!
4c. ROBERT D. HALES'S SPEECH
Let us review Hales's pertinent statements regarding tithing. They are listed as Hales 1 through Hales 7:
Hales 1: "In the Old Testament, Abraham proved his faith by paying tithes to the great high priest Melchizedek." (See Genesis 14:20.)
Comment 1: The amount Abraham paid is not clear, and this statement oversimplifies that Abraham paid tithes of his excess. See JST Genesis 14:39)
Hales 2: Abraham's grandson Jacob vowed to the Lord, "Of all thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee." Genesis 28:22.
Comment 2: This verse indicates Jacob paid a tenth. But to harmonize this with Joseph Smith's inspired translation of the Bible, since it is clear Abraham paid a tenth of his excess, Genesis 14:39 JST, what Jacob vowed to pay was individual to Jacob. If Jacob was paying what Abraham paid, it was a tenth of his excess.
Hales 3: 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." (History of the Church, 7:292–93.)
Comment 3: This paragraph is targeted to the youth who are being taken to the temple almost monthly nowadays.
Hales 4: The law of consecration was then withdrawn. In its place the Lord revealed the law of tithing for the whole Church. (See historical introduction to D&C 119.) On July 8, 1838, He declared:
"And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.
" . . . Those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever." (D&C 119:3-4).
Comment 4: This passage has been dealt with, supra. The scriptural meaning of "interest" is increase or excess or surplus. Just read the next verse, 5:
"Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties . . . "
Could "tithed of their surplus properties" mean all of their surplus properties? Just look at what Hales does with his next statement, and then, for a surprise, read what the reference actually says.
Hales 5: The law of tithing prepares us to live the higher law of consecration—to dedicate and give all our time, talents, and resources to the work of the Lord. Until the day when we are required to live this higher law, we are commanded to live the law of the tithe, which is to freely give one-tenth of our income annually. (See Church History and Modern Revelation (third series, 1946), 120.)
Comment 5: There are two significant problems with the statement and the reference.
First, the 1970 letter of the First Presidency, as a newer pronouncement from an authoritative source, supercedes a 1946 book such as Church History and Modern Revelation.
To repeat, the 1970 First Presidency letter states:
"We feel that every member of the Church should be ENTITLED TO MAKE HIS OWN DECISION as to what he thinks he owes the Lord, and to make payment accordingly.”
Second, even the book Church History and Modern Revelation, indicates a tithing is a tenth of the surplus:
"In more recent times the Church has not called upon the members to give all their SURPLUS property to the Church, but it has been the requirement according to the covenant, that they pay the tenth." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 4 vols. [Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1946-1949], 3: 120., emphasis added.)
"[P]ay the tenth", ibid., is clearly referring to less than "all their surplus". Since Elder Hales's talk does not quote from the 1946 book, rather it only lists a citation to it, it is not clear what he was referring to on page 120. No clear statement was found, "to freely give one-tenth of our income annually". But this statement was found:
"We call it a free-will offering, and so it is, for everything in the Gospel is by free will, but nevertheless it is a law of God which to us is everlasting. (Ibid. pp. 120-121).
In Hales's statement, his footnote follows the word "freely". This is a well-placed footnote regarding a "free-will offering", supra, not a definition of what is to be tithed.
Hales 6: Members who freely give a full 10 percent of their annual income receive all of the promised blessings of tithing, whether the amount is a widow's mite or a king's ransom.
Comment 6: This essay and even Hales's cited reference in the book, Church History and Modern Revelation, make it clear a proper tithe is scripturally defined as a tenth of surplus. Therefore, members who freely give a tenth of their surplus will also receive all of the promised blessings of tithing.
In defense of Hales's statement, the question must be posed, "Why pay a full 10 percent of one's annual income if that is more than what is required?" Perhaps Hales is repeating Bishop Brown's suggestion: "Pay your tithing on the basis on which you wish to be blessed." (Victor Brown Quote, supra.)
Hales 7: When a friend of President George Albert Smith asked him what he thought of his friend's personal plan to take what would have been tithing and donate his tenth in charitable donations of his own choice, President Smith's counsel was:
"I think you are a very generous man with someone else's property. . . .
" . . . You have told me what you have done with the Lord's money but you have not told me that you have given anyone a penny of your own. He is the best partner you have in the world. He gives you everything you have, even the air you breathe. He has said you should take one-tenth of what comes to you and give it to the Church as directed by the Lord. You haven't done that; you have taken your best partner's money, and have given it away." (Sharing the Gospel With Others, sel. Preston Nibley (1948), 46; see also 44–47.)
Comment 7: This is an interesting anecdote, but since it is not controlling authority over the scripture: " . . . when you are in the service of your fellow beings, you are only in the service of your God", Mosiah 2:17, the issue must be considered that one is not taking the tithing money away from God by tithing outside of church channels.
In any event, the following is attributed to Jesus of Nazareth. Regarding a man who did good works in the name of Jesus, but the man would not follow his apostles when commanded to by the Apostle John. Jesus said, "Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us." (Luke 9:49).
Conclusion - It is an Individual Matter How Much to Pay
5a. Despite the impressions Holland, Tingey, and Hales may have given,
the official interpretation of tithing remains “one-tenth of all their interest annually”. "Interest" is an increased amount or "surplus" (D&C 119:4-5) of income “more than [one] has need.” (Genesis 14:39, JST.), and
5b. "every member of the Church should be entitled to make his own decision as to what he thinks he owes the Lord, and to make payment accordingly." (On March 19, 1970 letter from the First Presidency.)
Ok, all Ye Defenders of the Faith:
Show me where the GAs explicitly wrote the amount to tithe was on one's gross or one's net. You may have missed the statement where it does NOT mean on gross or net, but I missed the statement where it does mean it on gross or net. If you find one, it will contradict the statement of the First Presidency that states every member of the church is "ENTITLED TO MAKE HIS OWN DECISION". If it is clearly on gross or net, the above statement from the First Presidency is meaningless.
The point is the GAs have left it intentionally vague modernly to maximize income. The earlier pronouncements were clearly based on a tithe of surplus. If they were to come right out and say, "pay on your gross" they would contradict Mormon scripture and official policy.
Talmage enumerated several legitimate human needs that came before calculating a tithing on the remainder. His statement eliminated a tithe on gross or net:
"You have need of many things in this world-food, clothing, and shelter for your family AND YOURSELF, the common comforts of life, AND THE THINGS THAT SHALL BE CONDUCIVE TO REFINEMENT, TO DEVELOPMENT, TO RIGHTEOUS ENJOYMENT."
Hales cited to a book that says
"In more recent times the Church has not called upon the members to give all their SURPLUS property to the Church, but it has been the requirement according to the covenant, that they pay the tenth." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 4 vols. [Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1946-1949], 3: 120., emphasis added.)"
Let me insert the word "income" into the First Presidency statement. " . . . the members of the Church should pay one-tenth of all their income annually."
Did they define income for you? No.
Does it mean gross income? Show me an explicit statement from an authoritative source that says it.
Does it mean net income? Show me an explicit statement from an authoritative source that says it.
Does it mean excess, surplus, or income more than one has need? Yes. There are authoritative statements that support a tithe on surplus. I think these are the only explicit statements on what is to be tithed.
***My Thoughts*** Tomorrow...
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