I just received my new AARP Bulletin for December. On page 36 is a chart entitled "Charitable Giving" and lists "Donations to charity as a percentage of adjusted gross income in 2012". It cites the source as IRS data.

Utah, as expected, is highest in the nation at 6.56%. I don't know how others feel, but it personally gripes the hell out of me that forced tithing paid to the Mormons is considered as "charitable" giving. Tithing, as we all well know, is mainly spend keeping LDS Inc. afloat and has very little to do with helping the poor and needy.

I no more consider tithing as charitable giving than I do my annual Masonic dues paid to remain a "member in good standing". On the other hand, my donations to the Shriner's Hospital I consider to be truly charitable since most of the money (90%) is used directly to provide medical care to needy children without charge.

Well, that's my rant for the day!

http://www.forbes.com/top-charities/list/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2014 03:13PM by Stumbling.

Tithing, as practiced by the Mormon church, is NOT charity. It is extortion!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2014 03:22PM by thedesertrat1.

Tithing is a tax on the gullible.

Ron Burr

In on-line and face to face discussions with TBMs, I often have them throw that out as a reason the church is "true" -- "We're the most charitable of anyone!"

I point out to them that their tithing is not "charity." That almost none of it goes towards any charitable work, and that most of it goes to build new temples, ward houses, church office buildings, shopping malls, etc. The rest probably goes to pay the 15. And that, of course, none of us can say with any certainty just where tithing money goes, because the church refuses to make its financial records public. So for all we know, ALL tithing could be going to pay for lavish vacations for the bishop of the St. George 1st ward. We just don't know.

If you remove the "pay or else you're not a member" tithing from the equation, and only include *voluntary* donations (like fast offerings), TSCC comes out in the bottom 5% of religious affiliations in charitable giving. Catholics come out on top (in the US anyway). How about that.

++

Jon Huntsman senior does not think so. Some one google the story.

do not be mistaken, MORmON tithing is (Non golfing) MORmON country club membership dues, NOT tithing. IF a person feels the need to give to charity then they need to give to a charity, a REAL Charity, NOT to the phony ass LDS INC criminal enterprise that poses as church. Jon Huntsman does not get confused on this issue, and he says so, much to the chagrin of the MORmON scam.




http://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewcave/2014/06/23/giving-to-your-church-doesnt-count-jon-huntsman-snr-and-twitters-biz-stone-on-new-philanthropy/

It gripes me no end too.

Charity=tithing=build the kingdom of god=real estate?
Charity my rear.

How can it be charity when you have to pay it to go the Temple, give Priesthood blessings, baptize family members etc!!??

++ Exactly!

This. I don't consider it charity if it's done so someone can attend a temple wedding.

Personally, I've always felt that tithing to any church, temple, etc. is the dues you pay to be a part of the congregation. Granted a lot of them designate a portion to help the needy but those funds are first and foremost used to run the organization. I never had an issue with that when I attended the Episcopal church for a number of years, but I didn't hold any illusions that my yearly pledges were charitable giving.

I wish the RICO laws applied to TSCC.

How would they apply to the morg with tithing??

to the extent that 'contributors' expect Nothing in trade for their donations (realistic ones, ha ha), it is a charity donation.

It's a natural part of giving something away, a loss of ownership & responsibility.


govn't taxes aren't donations, even tho there is some providing for poor folk (along with social security, SNAP, etc.) If U evade them, there might be an adverse, legal penalty.

the consequences of evading tithing isn't one of legal consequences, and the promised benefits are ?

The huntsman link is very good. I'm sure he must pay the highest income tax of 39%. Then factor state tax, and other charitable giving. Plus 10% to LD$ inc. It turns into a large fraction of his income. Wow!

Bill Gates needs to follow his example. Stop bankrolling Common Core Crap (he doesn't understand anything about education yet is working to overhaul the whole thing). He needs to find some real use for spending his time.

Sorry for the rant.

Common Core -- *sigh*. It's so well intentioned, and there is some good in it, but also so much that is highly questionable or wrong-headed.

Since when is it charity to support a corporation that owns private hunting clubs, massive real estate, enless businesses, malls, apartment complex's and more?

Where is the charity in forcing people to give 10% of their income to go to family weddings, be sealed for eternity, be eligible for certain callings, to be able to serve missions (at their own expense), and to be considered worthy enough to be in God's presence after you die? Where's the charity?

Sounds more like extortion to me.

Madalice said; “Sounds more like extortion to me.” That’s exactly right. it is extortion and has absolutely NOTHING to do with O/T tithing or charity.

This subject crops up on a regular basis and is one of the things that separates the LDS from a genuine Christian organization. Contrary to what the LDS would have its members believe, Christians DO NOT tithe.

Tithing as has been said many times, is an O/T law and even if it was incumbent on Christians (it isn’t) the LDS version is so far removed from the meaning and purpose of the original law that it can only be seen as something invented up by the Corporation for purely financial reasons.

The problem for the LDS is that of wanting to appear Christian while at the same time SELECTIVELY making use of ‘modified’ O/T law. One has to wonder why the Corporation doesn’t practice the sacrificial law as well after all, that was the purpose of the Temple in Jerusalem and should presumably be the purpose of LDS Temples.

This link might prove useful for both atheist and Christian wishing to know exactly what the tithe was and who paid it.

http://www.tentmaker.org/books/TheTitheisIllegal.html

Warning, it’s very long. J

I forgot to add that tithing as practised by the LDS is nothing more than a ridiculously high club membership fee but, unlike a normal club, there are no benefits for the members

You cant even count donating to the church via fast offerings or their humanitarian aid program as true charity because they have that fine print that says every donations is used at the discretion of the church and may not go where you intend it. Your 50$ in fast offerings may be providing a new tie for Tommy Monson for all we know. The fact that they have that disclaimer and provide zero accounting of how they spend their money means you would be nuts to consider them a charity in any form. 99.9 cents out of every dollar could end up in the personal bank accounts of the big 15 for all we know.

I'm pretty sure his ties cost more than $50.

Templar Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On the other hand, my
> donations to the Shriner's Hospital I consider to
> be truly charitable since most of the money (90%)
> is used directly to provide medical care to needy
> children without charge.

Templar, thank you so much for donating to the Shriner's Hospital! I have a child who has received therapies at the Shriner's Hospital. Those therapies have helped him immensely, and we would have never have been able to pay for their the full cost out of pocket. We are grateful beyond words to the Shriners and the people, such as yourself, who help support the work of their hospitals. That is a truly amazing, worthwhile organization doing tremendous work that has an incredible, positive impact on children, their families and by extension, their communities.

I'm pleased that my little part was able to help others. Thank you for your kind words.

I recall a study a few years ago that ranked charities according to the percentage of contributions actually going to what they were established for in the first place. Shriner's Hospital was at the top of the list. Many people do not realize that it is a Masonic organization and I, like others, am required to be a Mason in good standing to belong. Anyone, of course, can donate.

A few years ago, we were faced with having to spend a large sum of money to retrofit the old San Francisco Shriner's Hospital to new earthquake standards. Instead, the entire site was sold for a large sum of money due to the real estate value and we were able to build a brand new "state of the art" hospital in Sacramento adjacent to the medical school. I would encourage anyone living near there to take a scheduled tour. You will be impressed with what a truly charitable institution is able to accomplish.

Some of the Givers (members) consider it Charity;

the GAs / other leaders take advantage of this feeling (LDS fuel is Emotions!).

Mormons consider Tithing to be a Commandment so you are not burned at the second coming....

How is a commandment charity? And if you directly benefit from it by not being burned to death would that not make it more like paying for protection?

A TBM neighbor always jokingly referred to tithing as "fire insurance" for that reason.

The origin of the Mormon belief comes from improperly combining Malachi 3:8-10 with 4:1. Malachi never promised that paying tithing would save a person from the burning. Like most CULT beliefs, there is no substance in fact.

Many others already on this thread (and subject) have said it well already.

It is like a robber in the night, assuming to kill you, pointing, saying, "you made $10,000 this month - GIVE ME A THOUSAND DOLLARS", 12 times a year... for 50 YEARS! To EVERYONE IN THE FAMILY, to all the families.

"I'll decide what to do with it" TIMES MILLIONS (in secret-sacred ceremonial vaults and off-shore discounts) and "NO MATTER WHAT YOU MARK AS 'DONATING' TO, WE WILL APPROPRIATE AS "CHARITY", AS LONG AS FUNDS REMAIN IN THE RED, Black, Blue or Green".

The LDS church is a sucker - a TAKER, not a giver. Tithing is a mandate, a "commandment".

If it would come out of the dark on it's booty$ hauls for - and be transparent with - its monthly, or at least yearly, givings and takings-in, maybe there could be an honest discussion of charity or what that means to members, and the world! "'Tithing' is a (forced) TAX of 10+% (supposed to be increase, as on wealth, not monthly income) [+ "fast offerings" + "missionary fun(d)" + "building fund" + "miscellaneous fund" + "other: please specify"] you put into a nitpicky envelope with your name on it, later to be dropped into the sea, with all the rest, until they are seen no more.

You are not taking care of your family (but strangers) or worthy (of your care) or needy people but the interest on Joseph Smith's Folly.

Any charitable giving must be done outside the church.

I had a TBM claim that religious people are the most chairitble. I said "yeah maybe from a tax perspective, but when the money comes back to you in a different form such as temples, chapels, etc. is that really charity?" His response, "hmm guess I never thought about it like that."

Club dues people not chairity. I don't count my gym membership as chairity, TBMs need to stop this non sense talk like they're so awesome.