Something here does not pass the smell test. There is simply no such thing as a “tithing bill,” and there never has been.
Think of it: by definition, tithing is one-tenth of the income. How would the Church “bill” for tithing with knowing the person’s income?
The LDS Church does occasionally excommunicate members; this only happens, though, to people who publicly preach against the Church, or who commit serious moral sin or serious crime. Not being a tithe payer has NEVER been a valid reason for excommunication.
I don’t know what they showed you, but I am highly skeptical.
Gee, maybe they asked them. Maybe there's a rogue church out there. Who knows, but, I know what I saw, and they were upset. I don't really care, I was just pointing out that there are good and bad in all.
Did a little searching and found this. Seems to be an ex Mormon site, but, it does quote some D&C thing and gives sources. I’m not sure what is mean by losing Celestial blessings, maybe you can explain. Please tell me the ‘secret handshake and secret password are some type of joke’.
Hey, what do you, whoever runs this site had a similar problem to the people I knew years ago.
The first time, I’d been out of the church for about six or seven years. I’d married a nevermo, changed states, and never attended the ward where the bill originated.
One day I came home from work to find an envelope in my mailbox from the local ward. I was annoyed because I’d been telling them to leave me alone. My husband was pissed because they kept visiting, phoning, and sending ward newsletters as if I was a part of their cult.
Once inside the house, I opened the letter. It was from the local bishop, saying he and the other bishop-prick guys wanted 100% tithing participation. They knew I didn’t want contact and would probably not attend some stupid “settlement,” so they had prayed and decided to ask for a minimal amount of tithing, something like $200. I turned over the letter and wrote back that I was not mormon and wanted them to leave me alone and sent it back.
A year later, I received a similar bill. Mormons can be such weird fanatical zealots. They actually think they can force some “Lord” in the sky to manipulate a person they don’t know or care about into paying money to a detestable organization, one so bad as to pull a stunt like this one.
http://www.mormoncurtain.com/topic_tithing.html
Mormons are required by Commandment of God to pay 10% of all their GROSS income to the LDS church. This includes all income, including, employment, social security, Medicare, foodstamps and trust funds and any other form of income, even including finding money on the ground.
The Church Of Jesus-Christ of Latter-Day Saints brings in an estimated 6.5 to 7.0 billion dollars a year in annual tithing revenues. The Church refuses to disclose to the public or its members how much money it receives annually and what those funds are used for. Because the LDS Church is a tax-exempt organization, it does not have to publicly disclose financial books.
In 2005 the LDS Church purchased two shopping malls in Downtown Salt Lake City for $500 million dollars. The Church plans to spend $1 billion dollars renovating them. In official statements from LDS Church, the Church claims that not one dollar of member tithing funds went into the deal.
Mormons are required to attend a Tithing Settlement with the Bishop each year. A member is questioned in a one-on-one interview with the Bishop to ensure the member is paying a full 10%. Those members who are not paying a full 10% loose their temple recommends and are prevented from entering the Temple.
Mormons who loose their temple recommends are in serious jeopardy of loosing their Celestial blessings. A Mormon who does not pay tithing cannot enter the temple. If a member cannot get into the temple, the member cannot learn the secret handshake, secret password, secret “new name” and special sealings. Without these, the member will be unable to pass Joseph Smith and the angels who guard the entrance to the Celestial Kingdom.
Mormons are commanded that tithing must come first before anything else. Utah has the highest rate of banrkuptices in the United States. Mormons often are told “I cannot pay my bills until I’ve paid my tithing.” Mormons will even pay their tithing rather than give the money to a relative who is on the verge of eviction. Mormon published magazines (Ensign, New Era) constantly stress that tithing must always be paid.
Mormons are told: “if a destitute family is faced with the decision of paying their tithing or eating, they should pay their tithing.” (Lynn Robbins, General Conference, April 2005).
Mormons who have not paid tithing will be denied a temple recommend and will be considered “unworthy”. However; Mormons who pay “back-tithing” (some as much as $5000 or more) are instantly found to be worthy and can receive their temple recommends back once the money has been paid.
Mormons who claim that tithing is purely “a personal choice” are deceiving themselves and outright lying.
The transcripts of General Conference talks are now available. This is the title of a talk from Saturday afternoon by Lynn Robbins who says:
Among those who do not sacrifice there are two extremes: one is the rich, gluttonous man who won’t and the other is the poor, destitute man who believes he can’t. But how can you ask someone who is starving to eat less? Is there a level of poverty so low that sacrifice should not be expected or a family so destitute that paying tithing should cease to be required?
One reason the Lord illustrates doctrines with the most extreme circumstances is to eliminate excuses. If the Lord expects even the poorest widow to pay her mite, where does that leave all others who find that it is not convenient or easy to sacrifice?
No bishop, no missionary should ever hesitate or lack the faith to teach the law of tithing to the poor. The sentiment of “They can’t afford to” needs to be replaced with “They can’t afford not to.”
One of the first things a bishop must do to help the needy is ask them to pay their tithing. Like the widow, if a destitute family is faced with the decision of paying their tithing or eating, they should pay their tithing.
Is it, or is it not, the practice of mormon bishops to contact members to set an appointment yearly for "tithing settlement"?
What is the purpose of this meeting and are you required to bring documents to substantiate your adherence to the 10% requirement?
If the meeting does not satisfactorily meet the bishop's (and church's) requirement of an "honest tithe", will he issue a temple recommend?
Obfuscation?