LDS Freedom Forum

We've recently moved. 20 years worth of life was packed into boxes and moved across the country. Unpacking is kind of a cross between Christmas and a preparation for a huge yard sale. You get to go through the "stuff" that you've accumulated, for better or worse. Tonight as I unpacked some bedroom stuff, I came across a stack of yellow carbon copies of tithing slips. They were stored in neat little piles, separated by binder clips. They went back nearly two decades, and represented my "giving" during my prime earning years. I kept all those little yellow slips as evidence. I told myself it was backup in case we got audited, but I knew better. I was keeping them as a cosmic scorecard. Deep down, I wanted them close by, as a visual reminder of my righteousness. I wanted them to be there as evidence to my family, after I am gone, that I put my money where my mouth was. They were proof of my righteousness; I really was pretty good.

Tonight, with no fanfare, and with repentance in my heart for my years of pride, vanity and stiff neckedness, I burned them all. It is a fitting end for the evidence of my years of toil for the Corporation. It is all up in smoke. It's a fitting step on the road of tearing down the old pharisee Obrien, and replacing him with a more humble, open minded and spiritual Obrien. I no longer fear the burning because I might have miscalculated a decimal point - I now seek to help the poor and needy, with the promise of the Master from Matt 25 as my comfort.

You are in the good company of the likes of a young man named Nicholas out of Turkey, who gave directly to the poor and needy----

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/w ... t-nicholas" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ho, ho, ho, may all your Christmas Seasons be brighter, knowing he was named a true "Saint" for the things he did, as you continue on your journey to help the poor, instead of building buildings made from the hands of men, as idols for the House of Ephraim, till they acknowledge their offence against God, and rob no more the poor among them from the tithes placed into their hands of these heads of Ephraim, placing buildings ahead of care of the poor, which thing is forbidden of God. May Hosea 14:8 be fullfilled soon.♡

Try the tithing slip bonfire folks, it's both cathartic and cleansing. Any takers?

You get a trend like that started, and one would think you were sounding an alarm, and blowing a trumpet in Zion, of the perversion of "equity", as the LORD has said to do, and the next thing you know what might happen, is ear might begin to be given by the old men and husbandmen of the vineyard. Next thing you know Hosea 14:8 might get fullfilled, and we just might be on our way to bringing the bride of the LORD out of the closet, and Zion just might be on it's way to being redeemed.♡

Is that not the way "GANDI" started a movement, that "liberated" the country of India, burning passes the people of India had to carry?

At least that is what was showed in the movie.

Who knew what burning a few pieces of paper could do.♡

I had a significant stack of the papers printed with my assignment, one for each day I worked in the temple. I justified saving them, I'm not sure how. But then I realized it was just a testament to my self-righteousness. They hit the shredder, but a mini-bonfire would have been cool.

Well, I don't have any papers to burn..

Stahura wrote:Well, I don't have any papers to burn..

You're young - one day you'll get a career, make some dough and then you can start making harder decisions about how to spend it. You're light years ahead of thinking it out than I was. Please don't donate as a mindless drone to LDSco like I did. If that's where you're heart and inspiration tell you to place it, by all means do so. If not, help PEOPLE, not ENTITIES.

Lizzy60 wrote:I had a significant stack of the papers printed with my assignment, one for each day I worked in the temple. I justified saving them, I'm not sure how. But then I realized it was just a testament to my self-righteousness. They hit the shredder, but a mini-bonfire would have been cool.

I think I went through the same epiphany last night. I kinda quit collecting the slips in the last year or two, but there was still quite a little pile. I was depressed I'd unthinkingly been a poor steward of what I'd been blessed with...

Robert Sinclair wrote:Is that not the way "GANDI" started a movement, that "liberated" the country of India, burning passes the people of India had to carry?

At least that is what was showed in the movie.

Who knew what burning a few pieces of paper could do.♡

I was alone at the burning, but thought to share the thoughts and feelings of my heart as a cautionary tale for those who have yet to tread the path of liberation.

It is symbolic, you are the first I have heard do this, if news gets to the top, ear might begin to be given as to why, and that will help hasten the work, and the scriptures being fullfilled for good.♡

This is my third month of submitting tithing and other donations to the church online, so I don't have tithing slips any more.

Since every other expense I have can be paid electronically, no longer writing checks to my ward is a liberating feeling. I haven't written a check in months! Getting rid of the paper was a liberating feeling! And I no longer forget to bring the check I filled out on payday so my tithing is paid more promptly.

Obrien wrote:We've recently moved. 20 years worth of life was packed into boxes and moved across the country. Unpacking is kind of a cross between Christmas and a preparation for a huge yard sale. You get to go through the "stuff" that you've accumulated, for better or worse. Tonight as I unpacked some bedroom stuff, I came across a stack of yellow carbon copies of tithing slips. They were stored in neat little piles, separated by binder clips. They went back nearly two decades, and represented my "giving" during my prime earning years. I kept all those little yellow slips as evidence. I told myself it was backup in case we got audited, but I knew better. I was keeping them as a cosmic scorecard. Deep down, I wanted them close by, as a visual reminder of my righteousness. I wanted them to be there as evidence to my family, after I am gone, that I put my money where my mouth was. They were proof of my righteousness; I really was pretty good.

Tonight, with no fanfare, and with repentance in my heart for my years of pride, vanity and stiff neckedness, I burned them all. It is a fitting end for the evidence of my years of toil for the Corporation. It is all up in smoke. It's a fitting step on the road of tearing down the old pharisee Obrien, and replacing him with a more humble, open minded and spiritual Obrien. I no longer fear the burning because I might have miscalculated a decimal point - I now seek to help the poor and needy, with the promise of the Master from Matt 25 as my comfort.

Obrien, You need to sign up with Flylady. Then, you wouldn't have had all this paper clutter to start with all piled up in your drawers, filing cabinet, and who knows where else! ( and October is Flylady get rid of paper clutter month, what a coincidence). With this superior system ( ahem !) you would not only have more money for the poor, you would also have more TIME, especially for writing UFO stories ( and your move would have been easier!)

I know you want to thank me for giving you all this supportive moral guidance.
Your welcome......

hm, I never keep slips, toss them as I get them.

Obrien wrote:We've recently moved. 20 years worth of life was packed into boxes and moved across the country. Unpacking is kind of a cross between Christmas and a preparation for a huge yard sale. You get to go through the "stuff" that you've accumulated, for better or worse. Tonight as I unpacked some bedroom stuff, I came across a stack of yellow carbon copies of tithing slips. They were stored in neat little piles, separated by binder clips. They went back nearly two decades, and represented my "giving" during my prime earning years. I kept all those little yellow slips as evidence. I told myself it was backup in case we got audited, but I knew better. I was keeping them as a cosmic scorecard. Deep down, I wanted them close by, as a visual reminder of my righteousness. I wanted them to be there as evidence to my family, after I am gone, that I put my money where my mouth was. They were proof of my righteousness; I really was pretty good.

Tonight, with no fanfare, and with repentance in my heart for my years of pride, vanity and stiff neckedness, I burned them all. It is a fitting end for the evidence of my years of toil for the Corporation. It is all up in smoke. It's a fitting step on the road of tearing down the old pharisee Obrien, and replacing him with a more humble, open minded and spiritual Obrien. I no longer fear the burning because I might have miscalculated a decimal point - I now seek to help the poor and needy, with the promise of the Master from Matt 25 as my comfort.

It's crazy all the places pride hides.

I love what h verlan Anderson said in his book the Book of Mormon and the constitution.

He said to the best of my remembrance " pride is like a disease that renders the inflicted with an inability to sence their sickness. The worse the sickness the less they can sence it. It's the worst of all sins as it's the only one that can lead to becoming a son of perdition. "

We have been taught to "beware of pride".
I would imagine as a whole there are only a few members of the church who could verbalize all the places and ways pride hides in our selfs.in our lives.

Thanks for pointing out another example.

Excellent post, Ezra. Sometimes our pride hides inside, and sometimes it's out for all the world to see. As an example, I remember thinking awhile back, that if my bio was ever written up in the Church News, like they do for wives of new Temple Presidents, etc, that it would look pretty good -- children, grandchildren, RS President, Stake level church callings, temple worker, blah, blah, blah. Eventually, in some interesting ways, the Lord has made me aware that none of that matters to Him, and in fact it is evidence of the sin of pride. Ouch.

On a more light-hearted note, I once went to an open house of an older couple, and on their entry hall wall was a large plaque, inscribed with all the church callings the man had held, and the dates, which included some pretty "high-up" positions. I said something about it, and he told us that it was a gift from his children as a housewarming gift. I guess they knew what he would like, as it was very prominently displayed! ;)

Obrien wrote:We've recently moved. 20 years worth of life was packed into boxes and moved across the country. Unpacking is kind of a cross between Christmas and a preparation for a huge yard sale. You get to go through the "stuff" that you've accumulated, for better or worse. Tonight as I unpacked some bedroom stuff, I came across a stack of yellow carbon copies of tithing slips. They were stored in neat little piles, separated by binder clips. They went back nearly two decades, and represented my "giving" during my prime earning years. I kept all those little yellow slips as evidence. I told myself it was backup in case we got audited, but I knew better. I was keeping them as a cosmic scorecard. Deep down, I wanted them close by, as a visual reminder of my righteousness. I wanted them to be there as evidence to my family, after I am gone, that I put my money where my mouth was. They were proof of my righteousness; I really was pretty good.

Tonight, with no fanfare, and with repentance in my heart for my years of pride, vanity and stiff neckedness, I burned them all. It is a fitting end for the evidence of my years of toil for the Corporation. It is all up in smoke. It's a fitting step on the road of tearing down the old pharisee Obrien, and replacing him with a more humble, open minded and spiritual Obrien. I no longer fear the burning because I might have miscalculated a decimal point - I now seek to help the poor and needy, with the promise of the Master from Matt 25 as my comfort.

I believe there is a scripture that says something to the effect of don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, or vice versa.

I haven't kept any of my tithing slips from the past few years...knowing that each year we have a clean slate. If you tithe to the Lord, that is what matters. Better yet, consecrate yourself to the Lord.

I'm proud of how I throw away slips as I get them. I might have been even prouder if I could have said I thought to burn them as I got them. Dang!

Beware of pride.

Could it be said that focusing on the tithing receipt causes one to lose the blessing to some extent? If it becomes a token of pride or "evidence" of your good deeds, then the tithing slip itself is the reward, not the feeling of having done the right thing or helped in some way.

Perhaps it's a "Verily I say unto you, they have their reward" kinda deal.

I must say, whenever I pay tithing out of love rather than obligation, I feel the rewards and the blessings are immediate as well as long lasting. I've never saved a slip, but the evidence of their payment is how it has changed my heart.

As we progress spiritually, we don't need to think we are any more righteous than we were before. If anything, we may be better off thinking we are less righteous by our greater knowledge and inability to fully comply, and instead filled increasingly more by His grace. That way, as we progress, our humility increases as well as the grace; and the glory always goes to God. Our mercy, love, and long-suffering towards others grow, as well as towards our past self.

Romans 12:3; Philippians 2:3-4

braingrunt wrote:hm, I never keep slips, toss them as I get them.

Obviously you don't suffer from the closet vanity I suffered from. Good on ya, braingrunt.

samizdat wrote:

Obrien wrote:We've recently moved. 20 years worth of life was packed into boxes and moved across the country. Unpacking is kind of a cross between Christmas and a preparation for a huge yard sale. You get to go through the "stuff" that you've accumulated, for better or worse. Tonight as I unpacked some bedroom stuff, I came across a stack of yellow carbon copies of tithing slips. They were stored in neat little piles, separated by binder clips. They went back nearly two decades, and represented my "giving" during my prime earning years. I kept all those little yellow slips as evidence. I told myself it was backup in case we got audited, but I knew better. I was keeping them as a cosmic scorecard. Deep down, I wanted them close by, as a visual reminder of my righteousness. I wanted them to be there as evidence to my family, after I am gone, that I put my money where my mouth was. They were proof of my righteousness; I really was pretty good.

Tonight, with no fanfare, and with repentance in my heart for my years of pride, vanity and stiff neckedness, I burned them all. It is a fitting end for the evidence of my years of toil for the Corporation. It is all up in smoke. It's a fitting step on the road of tearing down the old pharisee Obrien, and replacing him with a more humble, open minded and spiritual Obrien. I no longer fear the burning because I might have miscalculated a decimal point - I now seek to help the poor and needy, with the promise of the Master from Matt 25 as my comfort.

I believe there is a scripture that says something to the effect of don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, or vice versa.

I haven't kept any of my tithing slips from the past few years...knowing that each year we have a clean slate. If you tithe to the Lord, that is what matters. Better yet, consecrate yourself to the Lord.

I was always very private paying tithes to the church. I never made a production of it. I kept the slips in a drawer, in the nightstand table - very private.

I kept them to prove to God what a good boy I'd been. I'd see them all there every two weeks, as I added a slip to the current year's binder clip. It was evidence I was a good Pharisee Mormon. I don't need a score card now. I don't care about the tax deduction. I don't care about the recipient, as long as my giving is ratified by the Spirit and fulfills Christ's injunction in Matt 25.

iWriteStuff wrote:Could it be said that focusing on the tithing receipt causes one to lose the blessing to some extent? If it becomes a token of pride or "evidence" of your good deeds, then the tithing slip itself is the reward, not the feeling of having done the right thing or helped in some way.

Perhaps it's a "Verily I say unto you, they have their reward" kinda deal.

I must say, whenever I pay tithing out of love rather than obligation, I feel the rewards and the blessings are immediate as well as long lasting. I've never saved a slip, but the evidence of their payment is how it has changed my heart.

Proof again, that I've been a hard hearted, prideful lout. You and braingrunt are to be commended for your humility.

Obrien wrote:

iWriteStuff wrote:Could it be said that focusing on the tithing receipt causes one to lose the blessing to some extent? If it becomes a token of pride or "evidence" of your good deeds, then the tithing slip itself is the reward, not the feeling of having done the right thing or helped in some way.

Perhaps it's a "Verily I say unto you, they have their reward" kinda deal.

I must say, whenever I pay tithing out of love rather than obligation, I feel the rewards and the blessings are immediate as well as long lasting. I've never saved a slip, but the evidence of their payment is how it has changed my heart.

Proof again, that I've been a hard hearted, prideful lout. You and braingrunt are to be commended for your humility.

Hey, I didn't claim to be humble. Just horrible at record keeping ;)