The Scriptural and Official Meaning of Tithing--Part 3

The Mormon may argue that he freely gives of his tithes to his church and that he does not feel he is being coerced into doing so. This may be true; however, it is the letter of Mormon law wherein the coercion lies, not an individual's feelings about the law.

Another important aspect of celestial law is participation in the temple endowment ceremony. But herein lies the catch. In order to enter an LDS temple, it is necessary to obtain a temple recommend. A recommend is granted only when the Mormon has been found faithful in numerous categories, including tithe-paying. If a Mormon does not pay his tithes, he cannot get a recommend. If he cannot get a recommend, he cannot go to the temple. If he cannot go to the temple, he cannot go to the celestial kingdom; hence he receives damnation in the next life. Consequently, if the Mormon wants to escape damnation, he is compelled to pay up, whether he likes it or not. This is tithing by coercion, not the biblical method prescribed in the Bible.

Where's All That Tithing Money Going?

For one, it buys real estate, as noted in this Deseret News article reporting the Church's recent acquisition of 88,000 acres of farmland in Nebraska. The Church paid cash, to the tune of $17.6 million. Cash. Your tithing dollars at work.

And let’s not forget the Crossroads Mall currently under construction at a cost of over 1 BILLION.


The Church does not release financial statements to the general public or even to the general membership, and has not since roughly 1963. That seems a bit unfair to the average members of the Church who contribute all the money. After all, lack of disclosure and oversight is almost always associated with mismanagement and corruption, and I have little doubt that rule applies to the billions of dollars under the control of senior LDS leaders. The internal audits performed by LDS employees keep Bishops from stealing from the tithing pot, but can do little to prevent mismanagement or improper spending by Church executives. It has become painfully clear in recent years how ineffective auditing is at preventing large-scale financial misdeeds even in corporations subject to comprehensive public disclosure laws. It is reasonable to think the risk is even greater in the Church, where so little financial information is disclosed to the public.

Mormons rather naively assume much of the money goes to aid the poor, which is wildly inaccurate--only a miniscule proportion goes to "charitable causes." Most of it goes to support the corporate operations of the Church--buildings (chapels, temples, visitor's centers), payroll (CES employees, LDS bureaucrats, and GA salaries paid out as "living expenses"), and investments (primarily securities and real estate). Who "owns" the assets of the Church, generally estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars? Theoretically, "the Church" owns the assets, with senior leaders exercising control as "trustees" of the Church and its members. Practically, the senior leaders own the assets--they make the decisions, they are accountable to no one, and none of the "little people" (average Church members, supposedly the ones in whose interest the money and assets are managed) have a say in what is done with the money or are even able to obtain meaningful financial information concerning revenues, expenditures, assets, or budgets.

I confess that I am puzzled at the complete lack of interest Mormons show in the financial details of the Church and in what its leaders do with the tithing money they secure (as voluntary contributions) from the members. Leaders have successfully portrayed any expression of interest in such financial details as a lack of faith rather than as standard financial oversight or as a prudent inquiry into where one's charitable contributions end up. That strikes me as a remarkably convenient way to avoid accountability. But some of us would really like to know what happens to our money. Wouldn't you?

***My Thoughts***

Mormons are among the most poor people I have ever met. Unless they are professional people, like doctors or lawyers for multi-billion dollar corporations, most Mormons are middle-to lower class, with half a dozen kids, most likely with hubby in school trying to get a degree so he can sustain his ever growing family, while the mom does the honorable stay-at-home thing. These folks can't afford decent cars, homes, clothing or food, but they are the ones the church depends on for the tithing payments, the meat-and-potatoes of the whole organization. They promise blessings in return for sacrifice, but all they end up doing for the members is binding them tighter to the system by claiming "All is well" and if you doubt that, well, you're not exercising enough faith. They will turn and blame the member for their lack of belief, all the while the many children they churn out year after year are living a substandard existence while being raised to believe that the church's needs supersede their own.. They actually grow up thinking that the church is dependent upon their continued sacrifice in order to sustain itself, when in reality, the church is wealthy enough at this point, through investments and business organizations, to completely sustain itself for the next generation. What they need the money for is to continue building its wealth, not to help the poor, not to spread the word, but to keep building temples, gigantic "great and spacious buildings" like the Conference Center, and to revamp downtown Salt Lake to the tune of ONE BILLION DOLLARS. And they don't even have to print out a prospectus or a budget analysis for review by those who are investing in it.

Tell me, would you buy a house without ever stepping foot into it? How about a car without driving it? And if your child was severely injured and near death, would you let just any doctor near him, or ONLY someone YOU personally met and talked procedures over with?

Why would you hand over 10% of your income to an organization that has NO accountability to you whatsoever, except an occasional "priesthood blessing" and promises of the Celestial Kingdom if you obey? Because they make you 'feel good'? Because you're afraid NOT TO?

I think that the Mormon Church is nothing more than the school yard bully, shaking you down for your lunch money in exchange for not kicking the crap out of you or your friends. If you don't pay, you can't get a temple recommend. Without that, you can't be sealed to your wife or kids. Without that, you won't make it to the Celestial Kingdom and they will be assigned to someone else. DO YOU REALLY THINK GOD WOULD DO THAT? Do you think God is a bully?

Sounds like coercion to me....and I used to think that the church was all about FREE AGENCY. What they really mean is, you are free to do what they tell you, and succeed, or you are free to disobey them and BURN IN HELL!!!!

Some choice!! What person in their right mind would choose eternal damnation over a few dollars? An organization that seeks to control every member, expects conformity, unpaid service and unquestionable loyalty to their leaders is the very DEFINITION of a cult.

Yep. I said it. CULT.

They tell you what to do, how to do it, what to wear, how to wear it, what to drink and eat, where to be and when, how to conduct yourself in your OWN HOME (masturbation, correct sexual expression for married couples, family home evening practices) how many callings you must hold because the "LORD" supposedly chose you to fulfill it, how many trips to the temple you must make every year, how to raise your children so they will be ready for full-time missions, or insist on only marrying in the temple, where NON-MEMBERS will be cut off from this otherwise family unifying event, and EVEN what you will be dressed in when you are dead and buried. They even control that.

They even dare to insist that you pay them a portion of your total income every week, even if you are struggling financially, by fanning the fear of falling into Satan's grasp if you don't PAY YOUR TITHING!

I definitely feel that if you qualify for public assistance for food, medical coverage, and cash stipends for survival, even if you are drawing unemployment or disability, that you should not be required to pay ONE RED CENT to God. He knows who can afford it, and who can't.

By holding your temple recommend hostage if you don't comply, the church becomes God, judging all members by the same standard: 10% regardless of circumstance.

Do you know that some members pay their tithes in SHARES OF STOCK? That's right, they invest their money (their surplus) into stocks, and then at the end of the year, turn over a portion of their stock to the church AND GET A TAX DEDUCTION FOR DOING IT. But the average poor member, struggling paycheck to paycheck, hands over 10% of their net pay every week, and is left with the stress and pressure of how to make the other 90% cover all of their basic needs.

They are told, "God will provide". What kind of sense does it make to pay tithing, and then get food vouchers and rent vouchers from your bishop when you can't meet your basic needs? What's their advice then? Well, you need to get a second job....

Some of these folks are on permanent disability, some are living off public assistance while their spouse recovers from illness, some have so many children they can't hope to cover the cost of daycare, but they are still expected to PAY THE LORD FIRST. The church won't let anyone off the hook for this, according to them---nobody is too poor to pay tithing. And they DO estimate how much you should pay every year, and they DO keep track of how much you did pay. That's the purpose of tithing settlement---to verify that the amount paid reflects 10% of your income. If it isn't, they expect you to make it up, either with extra payments per week, signing over stock to the church, even selling land or farm animals to make up the difference. And it may not happen in EVERY ward, but it does happen in the church.

It's amazing to me how much money I have to take care of my family and how much easier my life has become since I STOPPED PAYING TITHING! Sure, I have some financial worries, but I have the basics, and even some comforts. There are things I didn't have 4 years ago because of paying $70 every Sunday to the church. Think about that, it's over $3500 extra every year that I can use to take care of my family. And, I'm even making more money at my new job, that I can fulfill because I don't have to keep a CHURCH schedule in mind when looking for work. I can work on Sunday, I can work Monday Night, I can work Wednesday Night, I can be at work all day Saturday, and never worry about missing church, family home evening, seminary, or stake and general conference or the monthly temple trips!!!! I have free time to spend with my family, so I don't have to stress about preparing a lesson or a talk for church. I have money sitting in the bank for emergencies--like broken glasses or a vehicle breakdown, instead of spending it driving my own vehicle to the nearest temple every month. I don't have to ask the bishop for ANYTHING, and he doesn't get to interview me about my personal life! I can take care of it myself and if I choose to donate $20 to a charity, or to some poverty organization, I can do it and not put my own children at risk of going without the things they need.

This is just one facet of the church's guilt scheme. There is a book published called "The Pattern of the Double Bind" by Marion Stricker, which goes into even deeper detail of how the church sets about keeping their members bound to the church and its doctrine. It is a must read for those just starting to doubt some of the hidden aspects of Mormonism