“The LDS church is guilty of spiritual extortion and spiritual rape.”
Concise and well-said, Reaganaut.
You have no idea at the manipulation that goes on inside the LDS church.
check out ex-mormon.org for other horror stories of tithing and other forms of manipulation.
A lot of us get flack for doing what we do, but the truth needs to be told and our experiences need to be out there. Some people who speak out against the LDS church have even gotten death threats from LDS members (I have gotten more than one and as a result now conceal carry).
I am heartsick for those who are still trapped or left for athiesm, I rejoice for those who left and came to Christ, and I pray constantly for all of them. I am also very angry at the institution and what they do.
BTW, no one really knows what the LDS do with the tithing money. Their local clergy isn’t paid (the leaders in SLC are) and their books are not open to the public in any way.
There are a couple of books that go through the financial empire of the LDS church but numbers are hard to come by.
My church (and every other Christian church I know of) does make their books available to members at least if not the general public. There is no such transparency in the LDS.