Not paying tithing feels empowering?

[Aprhys]

I stopped paying tithing 5 yrs ago for the same reasons mentioned in the article. I felt empowered and a huge burden off my back.

Started back up paying tithing two months ago because after 9 months of the pandemic seeing how many people are affected and suffering yet my household is maintaining our comforts...was a clear testament to me that the Lords blessings are with me.

My mother in law whom passed last year was single living on her own for over 15 years. She has always received living assistance and food from her ward.
When she passed away last year I had a moment to reflect and felt ashamed that me and my wife (her daughter) barely did anything to help her yet the ward was more of a family to her then us.

You should feel ashamed.

Do you mean to say that you would feel ashamed if you stopped paying tithing?
I think it is a dangerous notion to tell someone how they should feel.
I may not agree with the logic but I certainly don't think they should feel ashamed or bad about their decision.

They should be ashamed that their Mother-in-law has to resort to relying on the bishop for food rather than having their family members help them out.

[Shaffer89]

I stopped paying tithing 5 yrs ago for the same reasons mentioned in the article. I felt empowered and a huge burden off my back.

Started back up paying tithing two months ago because after 9 months of the pandemic seeing how many people are affected and suffering yet my household is maintaining our comforts...was a clear testament to me that the Lords blessings are with me.

My mother in law whom passed last year was single living on her own for over 15 years. She has always received living assistance and food from her ward.
When she passed away last year I had a moment to reflect and felt ashamed that me and my wife (her daughter) barely did anything to help her yet the ward was more of a family to her then us.

You should feel ashamed.

Do you mean to say that you would feel ashamed if you stopped paying tithing?
I think it is a dangerous notion to tell someone how they should feel.
I may not agree with the logic but I certainly don't think they should feel ashamed or bad about their decision.

They should be ashamed that their Mother-in-law has to resort to relying on the bishop for food rather than having their family members help them out.

I guess I can understand that sentiment, like you would feel ashamed if you weren't supporting your mother in law and she had to get other assistance.
I still don't see how what you would feel has any impact or relation to how someone else should feel though.

[Shaffer89]

I stopped paying tithing 5 yrs ago for the same reasons mentioned in the article. I felt empowered and a huge burden off my back.

Started back up paying tithing two months ago because after 9 months of the pandemic seeing how many people are affected and suffering yet my household is maintaining our comforts...was a clear testament to me that the Lords blessings are with me.

My mother in law whom passed last year was single living on her own for over 15 years. She has always received living assistance and food from her ward.
When she passed away last year I had a moment to reflect and felt ashamed that me and my wife (her daughter) barely did anything to help her yet the ward was more of a family to her then us.

You should feel ashamed.

Do you mean to say that you would feel ashamed if you stopped paying tithing?
I think it is a dangerous notion to tell someone how they should feel.
I may not agree with the logic but I certainly don't think they should feel ashamed or bad about their decision.

They should be ashamed that their Mother-in-law has to resort to relying on the bishop for food rather than having their family members help them out.

Hey I'm sorry, I think I just made sense of your post!
I kept connecting your reference to feeling ashamed as a comment on the tithing piece and I was so fixated on that I didn't realize you are probably commenting on the OPs statement of how they felt ashamed. I have no idea how I missed that, sorry for getting weird. I was genuinely thinking you were telling them to feel ashamed just out of nowhere and I couldn't wrap my head around it. Haha

[Thinker]

But Thinker, the music finished a while ago.
The dance is over.

It ain’t over ‘till the people get the groove.

[Aprhys]

You should feel ashamed.

Do you mean to say that you would feel ashamed if you stopped paying tithing?
I think it is a dangerous notion to tell someone how they should feel.
I may not agree with the logic but I certainly don't think they should feel ashamed or bad about their decision.

They should be ashamed that their Mother-in-law has to resort to relying on the bishop for food rather than having their family members help them out.

Hey I'm sorry, I think I just made sense of your post!
I kept connecting your reference to feeling ashamed as a comment on the tithing piece and I was so fixated on that I didn't realize you are probably commenting on the OPs statement of how they felt ashamed. I have no idea how I missed that, sorry for getting weird. I was genuinely thinking you were telling them to feel ashamed just out of nowhere and I couldn't wrap my head around it. Haha

You should feel ashamed for not understanding my comment shaming the commenter for not feeling ashamed. Shame on you. Shame, shame, shame.

[Shaffer89]

Do you mean to say that you would feel ashamed if you stopped paying tithing?
I think it is a dangerous notion to tell someone how they should feel.
I may not agree with the logic but I certainly don't think they should feel ashamed or bad about their decision.

They should be ashamed that their Mother-in-law has to resort to relying on the bishop for food rather than having their family members help them out.

Hey I'm sorry, I think I just made sense of your post!
I kept connecting your reference to feeling ashamed as a comment on the tithing piece and I was so fixated on that I didn't realize you are probably commenting on the OPs statement of how they felt ashamed. I have no idea how I missed that, sorry for getting weird. I was genuinely thinking you were telling them to feel ashamed just out of nowhere and I couldn't wrap my head around it. Haha

You should feel ashamed for not understanding my comment shaming the commenter for not feeling ashamed. Shame on you. Shame, shame, shame.

that's too many shames! Now there's no hope for me to get it... Haha

[darknesstolight]

I see the Church kinda like a needy person in the sense that the Church is really just made up of people and these people also are my brothers and sisters and they have needs, etc. The Church entity, even if it is like all of us, fallible and prone to err, deserves my charity too. So, I give to the Church and I give directly to the poor when circumstances come up and I give to other charities when I can and I give to whoever asks me and if I can then I do, etc.

The point is that we can do both. We can give to the Church and we can give to others and if we are pure in our hearts then as Mac stated in his post, we let God judge. Our hands are clean. We did what was right so now let the consequence follow.

...

[BeHealthy94]

The LDS church has a program were donations go directly to disaster relief and those in need. Here are four organizations that me and my kids donate to every quarter.

1. LDS Pilanthropies
(100% of donations go to the needy)

2. American Red Cross
(90% of donations go to the needy, 10% over head)

3. Unicef
(75% of donations go to the needy, 25% over head)

4. Muslim Aid
(75% of donations go to the needy, 25% over head)

My kids are such haters of the LDS church (They have been brainwashed by their mother) that they rather see 90% or 75% of their money go to the poor. Me on the other hand rather see 100% of my money go to the needy so I donate to LDS Pilanthropies.

Thanks for sharing alternatives.
I looked but couldn’t find financial statements of Lds philanthropies. Will you share it if you have it? In fact, I even went to the church office building and asked for financial statements but was denied - said they don’t share that. It’s secret.

Hate to burst your bubble but, have you read the fine print on lds church donation slips? Even if you designate Humanitarian (under which lds philanthropies falls), the church says they can use donated money however they want. That means while you’re hoping you’re money will help those in need, they could use it for another extravagant shopping mall (a 3rd one?), pharmaceutical stocks or other ritzy corporate endeavors.

Hate to burst your bubble but LDS pilanthropies is a seperate department then the LDS tithing and donations, a simple google search would have revealed your answer.

https://philanthropies.churchofjesuschr ... n-services

[BeHealthy94]

You should start your own church and use tithing in a better way then you feel the LDS church can do. You know there are over 41,000 christian denominations all started because one person wanted to do it his/her own way. You have the freedom to do the same.

Honestly this is one of the dumbest arguments I've ever heard. Do you really think this?

He made a valid criticism. Your response is to tell him to get out. Sounds like you just want to sweep it under the rug and put your fingers in your ears

If the poster I responded too was complaining that tithes was affecting them personally I would have offered the solution to stop paying it. I was one that felt burdened down financially every month by parting with that 10%, so I stopped paying for about 5 yrs and it felt liberating.

The poster was complaining (based on zero facts and only speculation) about how poorly the bretheren were managing the funds to which I offer the solution of becoming in charge of managing tithes himself. Since he/she will never reach a level within the LDS church to manage tithes he/she only other option would be to start a church of their own.

What is dumb about that?

[Thinker]

The LDS church has a program were donations go directly to disaster relief and those in need. Here are four organizations that me and my kids donate to every quarter.

1. LDS Pilanthropies
(100% of donations go to the needy)

2. American Red Cross
(90% of donations go to the needy, 10% over head)

3. Unicef
(75% of donations go to the needy, 25% over head)

4. Muslim Aid
(75% of donations go to the needy, 25% over head)

My kids are such haters of the LDS church (They have been brainwashed by their mother) that they rather see 90% or 75% of their money go to the poor. Me on the other hand rather see 100% of my money go to the needy so I donate to LDS Pilanthropies.

Thanks for sharing alternatives.
I looked but couldn’t find financial statements of Lds philanthropies. Will you share it if you have it? In fact, I even went to the church office building and asked for financial statements but was denied - said they don’t share that. It’s secret.

Hate to burst your bubble but, have you read the fine print on lds church donation slips? Even if you designate Humanitarian (under which lds philanthropies falls), the church says they can use donated money however they want. That means while you’re hoping you’re money will help those in need, they could use it for another extravagant shopping mall (a 3rd one?), pharmaceutical stocks or other ritzy corporate endeavors.

Hate to burst your bubble but LDS pilanthropies is a seperate department then the LDS tithing and donations, a simple google search would have revealed your answer.

https://philanthropies.churchofjesuschr ... n-services

As I mentioned, I did search & found it under lds Humanitarian, but no honest financials. Please, if you can, show me their financial statements that prove they deal honestly with their fellow men.

[BeHealthy94]

As I mentioned, I did search & found it under lds Humanitarian, but no honest financials. Please, if you can, show me their financial statements that prove they deal honestly with their fellow men.

Here is what I found

LDS Philanthropies (open to the public) https://philanthropies.churchofjesuschr ... n-services
100% donations make it to the needy

LDS Tithes (members only) ...see your bishop for a tithing slip to fill out
We do what we want with it

---------

I would suggest you donate to the philanthropies department because the Tithing department seems to do what ever they want with the donations, or if you are a hater of the LDS church like my wife and children you can donate to Unicef or Muslim aid...but only 75% of your donation will make it to the needy and 25% for overhead.

[Thinker]

Here is what I found

LDS Philanthropies (open to the public) https://philanthropies.churchofjesuschr ... n-services
100% donations make it to the needy

LDS Tithes (members only) ...see your bishop for a tithing slip to fill out
We do what we want with it

Thank you but that is not a financial statement, but rather a webpage trying to get people to give them money. So you couldn’t find it either huh?

For a while I paid money through lds donation slips & marked “Humanitarian.” And note:

• “Philanthropies, formerly LDS Philanthropies, is a department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and is responsible for facilitating donations to humanitarian and educational initiatives.”

Then I realized that fine print saying they can use all donations (not just tithes) however they want.

Let me give you an example of what I consider being financially honest with fellow men... Ronald McDonald House is not my favorite but just as an example since I saw loved ones benefit when their baby was in the hospital for an extended time...
https://www.charitynavigator.org/index. ... orgid=4409
You can click on various statements - it’s open for all to see - no secrets, unlike the lds church.

Besides lack of financial honesty, another reason I’d never donate to lds humanitarian is because I know specific instances where they are greedy and inefficient with humanitarian money and service. There’s too much disconnect between what happens on-site & trying to get corporate approval.

[PressingForward]

I stopped paying tithing when the gay men’s choir performed on temple grounds. I can’t support the act of giving these people a venue, might as well put up a stripper pole.

Yes, I feel good about it, and yes, I definitely shared this with my SP at the time. If I am wrong, the Lord will correct me.

[BeNotDeceived]

Tithing is not to help the poors.

DC 119
2 For the building of mine house, and for the laying of the foundation of Zion and for the priesthood, and for the debts of the Presidency of my Church.

The right idea, but the wrong payee.

[fractal_light_harvest]

They should be ashamed that their Mother-in-law has to resort to relying on the bishop for food rather than having their family members help them out.

Hey I'm sorry, I think I just made sense of your post!
I kept connecting your reference to feeling ashamed as a comment on the tithing piece and I was so fixated on that I didn't realize you are probably commenting on the OPs statement of how they felt ashamed. I have no idea how I missed that, sorry for getting weird. I was genuinely thinking you were telling them to feel ashamed just out of nowhere and I couldn't wrap my head around it. Haha

You should feel ashamed for not understanding my comment shaming the commenter for not feeling ashamed. Shame on you. Shame, shame, shame.

I love a good shame fest.