LDS Freedom Forum

Col. Flagg wrote:A few weeks ago as I was preparing my tithing donation, I noticed on the white slip that goes along with the check/cash that the address line has been replaced with 'record number' and it no longer asks the donator to distinguish between currency, coin or check. I thought it was odd that they would require your record number now when donating because few members know their record number (even though it is easily accessible in the clerk's office or even on your temple recommend). Does anyone know why they made the change?

ithink wrote: That just makes it easier to fill in now, since my record number is: ANO-NYM-OUS.

A Random Phrase wrote:

ithink wrote: That just makes it easier to fill in now, since my record number is: ANO-NYM-OUS.

Oh, I so love this! :ymapplause:

And it's in keeping with the admonition of Jesus to not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. (I mean, if we're really giving to the Lord, why do they need to know who gave, and why do we need the gov't to reimburse us for the tithing paid?)

ithink wrote:

Col. Flagg wrote:A few weeks ago as I was preparing my tithing donation, I noticed on the white slip that goes along with the check/cash that the address line has been replaced with 'record number' and it no longer asks the donator to distinguish between currency, coin or check. I thought it was odd that they would require your record number now when donating because few members know their record number (even though it is easily accessible in the clerk's office or even on your temple recommend). Does anyone know why they made the change?

That just makes it easier to fill in now, since my record number is: ANO-NYM-OUS.

7cylon7 wrote:

A Random Phrase wrote:

ithink wrote: That just makes it easier to fill in now, since my record number is: ANO-NYM-OUS.

Oh, I so love this! :ymapplause:

And it's in keeping with the admonition of Jesus to not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. (I mean, if we're really giving to the Lord, why do they need to know who gave, and why do we need the gov't to reimburse us for the tithing paid?)

That is an excellent point. Why do they need to know? I guess it is easy to get a tax summary at the end but each slip on its own can do that.

Really, I don't care if they know or not but looking at it as a bishop we can see who in the ward is paying tithing and who is not right off the bat. I know for sure many callings that if you are not paying tithing you would not even be considered for a certain calling. Am I right on this matter? Inspiration or revelation should be the guide for extending a calling. Is this not right?

BTW you have to know your record number to order garments online which I do all the time so I happen to know my record number.

Plus, knowing who gave who might be what the Lord instructed or it may not.

The bottom line for all you bottom line people. The bottom line is I give to the lord my 10% now and it will be 100% in the near future and what or how they do with that is the Lord's business. I have no control of it from there on. I let the Lord deal with it and I hope to please my Savior and show him my love for him by doing such.

Nan wrote:Well if you aren't paying your tithing you can't go to the temple.

Sure you can - just lie and say you are, but I wouldn't want to be those people at the judgment bar of the Lord some day.

I do think that would rule you out of some leadership callings like the bishopric ect.

I think this is accurate because a Bishop has to be worthy to enter the temple owing to so many things that occur within his realm of duties/responsibility involving temple work (attending with the youth to do baptisms for the dead, ward temple night, etc.).

A Random Phrase wrote:

ithink wrote: That just makes it easier to fill in now, since my record number is: ANO-NYM-OUS.

Oh, I so love this! :ymapplause:

And it's in keeping with the admonition of Jesus to not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. (I mean, if we're really giving to the Lord, why do they need to know who gave, and why do we need the gov't to reimburse us for the tithing paid?)

7cylon7 wrote:
Really, I don't care if they know or not but looking at it as a bishop we can see who in the ward is paying tithing and who is not right off the bat. I know for sure many callings that if you are not paying tithing you would not even be considered for a certain calling. Am I right on this matter? Inspiration or revelation should be the guide for extending a calling. Is this not right?

Eddie Lyle wrote:

7cylon7 wrote:
Really, I don't care if they know or not but looking at it as a bishop we can see who in the ward is paying tithing and who is not right off the bat. I know for sure many callings that if you are not paying tithing you would not even be considered for a certain calling. Am I right on this matter? Inspiration or revelation should be the guide for extending a calling. Is this not right?

My bishop and stake leaders apparently don't care who is or isn't paying tithing. There are prominent leaders of our ward who paid nothing last year. I'm talking about the HP group leader, RS president and husband the Scout master, Sunday School Pres, and Gospel Doctrine Teacher. Maybe these folks were called to be inspired more. Or maybe they are apostates that argue one doesn't need to pay their tithing to the church as commanded and do with it as seemeth them good. I don't know.

laronius wrote:...but in order to hold a temple recommend you MUST be a full-tithe payer.

MINGLING OF FUNDS at the CHURCH'S SOLE DISCRETION

One of my friends brought this to my attention about a month ago. I had to see if for myself before I posted anything about it. This is a scanned image of the tithing form we recieved this Sunday from the Young Men in our ward collecting Fast Offerings. It is a new form. No longer is it listed to donate to:
Temple construction
Perpetual education fund
Book of Mormon
I wonder if the Perpetual education fund as been disbanded and I am curious why contributions to Temple construction is no longer listed.


Oh, and you also are to put your Membership Record Number instead of your address.



But probably the most interesting change is the fine print. It says:


"Though reasonable efforts will be made globally to use donations as designated, all donations become the Church's property and will be used at the Church's sole discretion to further the Church's overall mission."


What does "reasonable efforts will be made" mean? Who determine's where it goes? Why wouldn't my donation be honored to the fullest in where I allocated my money? Why even list other categories to donate to if only reasonable efforts will be made?


So if I am reading this correctly, if I donate to the humanitarian aid...I am not guaranteed that it will go to help those in need. My money could end up being used for church building projects... or maybe used to beautify sacred surrounding areas of a Temple. Sounds like the money I designate as a faithful and active Latter-day Saint might get mingled into one large sum of money for the leaders to use where they see fit, and not where I would like to see it go. I am sure they know better than me where the money should go. No need to question, because we are promised that they can't be led astray.


Sidenote: I think this is important to point out:


The Church's Provident Living website has listed the combined total about of money given for the past 25 years (1985–2010) to Humanitarian aid of food, clothing, medical supplies,etc.given to the poor and needy in over 178 countries.


From the website:
http://www.providentliving.org/pdf/2010 ... nglish.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Humanitarian assistance rendered $1.3 billion
Countries and territories served 178
Food 63,377 tons
Medical supplies 14,345 tons
Clothing 93,196 tons
Hygiene, newborn, and school kits 11.1 million


1.3 billion in over 25 years?. Some would say that is wonderful. We are a generous people that help the poor and the needy. That is roughly 52 million dollars a year.

However, when you compare that to the 5,000,000,000.00 dollars that we have spend on one shopping mall, luxurious condominums, and office buildings in an already affluent city... it makes you wonder what we love more. I think the Book of Mormon foresaw that we would love more.

"For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted."

So, it is not that we don't love the poor and the needy, .. we do! But what do we love MORE? If you take the dollar amount totals as an indication on what is percieved as more important, (Humanitarian versus the City Creek Center project) it looks like is would be the City Creek Center almost 4 to1.

We commonly attribute in the above scripture as Moroni referring to other religions.. but looking at this more closing, it might be referring to us.

Stella Solaris wrote:

laronius wrote:...but in order to hold a temple recommend you MUST be a full-tithe payer.

Well, you must DECLARE yourself to be a full tithe payer...

laronius wrote:

Stella Solaris wrote:

laronius wrote:...but in order to hold a temple recommend you MUST be a full-tithe payer.

Well, you must DECLARE yourself to be a full tithe payer...

Lie to get into the temple? Chance of showers and a certainty of lightning strikes. @-)

Eddie Lyle wrote:

7cylon7 wrote:
Really, I don't care if they know or not but looking at it as a bishop we can see who in the ward is paying tithing and who is not right off the bat. I know for sure many callings that if you are not paying tithing you would not even be considered for a certain calling. Am I right on this matter? Inspiration or revelation should be the guide for extending a calling. Is this not right?

My bishop and stake leaders apparently don't care who is or isn't paying tithing. There are prominent leaders of our ward who paid nothing last year. I'm talking about the HP group leader, RS president and husband the Scout master, Sunday School Pres, and Gospel Doctrine Teacher. Maybe these folks were called to be inspired more. Or maybe they are apostates that argue one doesn't need to pay their tithing to the church as commanded and do with it as seemeth them good. I don't know.

Gad wrote:Tithing can be paid directly to Church headquarters bypassing any local unit records in a variety of ways.

First, one can pay directly to Church HQ, in which case the local unit would not have any record of the amount. (Some people do this because they don't like their financial information to be known in their local unit.)

Stella Solaris wrote:

Gad wrote:Tithing can be paid directly to Church headquarters bypassing any local unit records in a variety of ways.

First, one can pay directly to Church HQ, in which case the local unit would not have any record of the amount. (Some people do this because they don't like their financial information to be known in their local unit.)

Hi Gad, thanks very much for this information. How, in a practical sense, does a person go about doing this? In other words, who would we make the check out to? Right now we make it out to the name of our ward. And where, exactly, would we send the check and tithing slip? And, by paying tithing directly to Church headquarters, how would that work with the year-end 'balance sheet' they give us at tithing settlement? Would that paper come from SLC? I'm sincerely interested, thanks!

Donations by check

To send in a check for a donation make the check payable to Corporation of the President.

Mail all donations to:

Corporation of the President
50 E North Temple, Room 1521
Salt Lake City, UT 84150
Include a tithing slip or a piece of paper that states:

Name and Mailing Address
Membership Number: You can request this from your ward clerk or it is on your temple recommend
Allocation of donation (see Donation Categories)
Unit/Ward Number and Name
Please note that the only donations your ward could see are for:
Fast Offering
Ward Missionary. If you are donating for a specific missionary, please also include:
Missionary's Name
Mission he/she is serving in
Unit number of the ward funds need to go into (for USA only). For those members outside the United States, also include the home unit name where the missionary left from. Your funds will go in the General Missionary Fund instead of the Ward Missionary Fund. The Donations Department will then communicate with the Missionary Department.
The donations department mails out receipts twice a year. You will receive one in November (like you would receive at tithing settlement) and one in January (tax-validated receipt).

If you have further questions, please call 801-240-2554 or 1-800-453-3860 ext 2-2554 or email [email protected]