Posted by:
Sarony
(
)
Date: October 22, 2010 01:06PM
Dear friends,
Sorry about your abusive bishops. I live in a "polite" stake outside of the Mormon Corridor, and my Bishop would never pull some of the horrible stuff I have read here.
But keep in mind what is actually Mormon Scripture and Policy, and not what your "unrighteous dominion" tormentors say.
Mormon Tithing
What amount is a proper tithe? And where can one find binding authority within Mormonism, to determine this?
I. Introduction
Binding authority in Mormon doctrine and policy, to declare what is a proper tithe, can probably be prioritized as first: the canonized scriptures and second: signed statements of the First Presidency.
II. MORMON SCRIPTURE states plainly that tithing is to be paid on any surplus beyond a person’s needs.
Joseph Smith and Sydney Rigdon produced D&C 119:4 (1838). It states:
“And after that, those who have been thus tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their INTEREST annually; and this shall be a standing LAW unto them FOREVER, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.” (Emphases added.)
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines “INTEREST” as
“5. Any surplus advantage.” (http://65.66.134.201/cgi-bin/webster/webster.exe?search_for_texts_web1828=interest). Webster’s defines “advantage”, in pertinent part, as “7. Interest; increase; overplus”. In the 1820′s, the word “interest” was synonymous with the phrase “surplus advantage”. A plain reading of the text leads to a harmony of meaning between the word “interest” and the phrase “surplus advantage”.
But what about scriptural harmony? Can one find the scriptural meaning of “interest” to be “surplus”?
Yes.
There are at least TWO passages of scripture that explicitly teach a proper tithe is one-tenth of surplus.
1. The FIRST passage of scripture is D&C 119:5, which is the next verse:
“Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be TITHED OF THEIR SURPLUS PROPERTIES, and shall observe THIS LAW, or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you.”
Significant meanings should be observed from verse 5. The phrase “THIS LAW”, can only refer to the previous usage of the word “law” in verse 4, which states in pertinent part, “and this shall be a standing LAW”. And the phrase “THIS LAW”, namely “one-tenth of all their INTEREST annually” in verse 4, is expounded in a clarifying manner as “SURPLUS PROPERTIES” in verse 5.
2. The SECOND passage of scripture comes from the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) of the Bible. Smith and Rigdon also produced the JST. It is mostly in Rigdon’s handwriting.
“Wherefore Abram paid unto him tithes of all that he had, of all the riches which he possessed, which God had given him MORE THAN THAT WHICH HE HAD NEED.” JST Genesis 14:39. (Emphasis added.)
This passage of scripture from the JST is not a mere relic of early Mormonism. The passage can be found in the Quadruple Combination, on page 798, after the Bible Dictionary, in the section JOSEPH SMITH TRANSLATION. Although the church does not include all of Smith’s translations from the JOSEPH SMITH TRANSLATION, the church has included this one in its official and current book of scripture as authoritative commentary.
Scriptural harmony between D&C 119, and JST Genesis 14:39 also resides in the concept that “interest” (D&C 119:4) is expounded as “surplus properties” (D&C 119:5), or in other words, “more than that which he had need” (JST Genesis 14:39). To understand the meaning of what is to be tithed, we are fortunate to find a simple, elegant harmony in meaning, between a plain reading of the text and Mormon scripture; “interest” (v. 4) means “surplus properties” (v. 5). Mormon tithing is defined as “one-tenth of their surplus properties annually” (D&C 119:4,5), which means “more than that which he had need” (JST Genesis 14:39).
III. What about OFFICIAL MORMON POLICY?
On March 19, 1970, the First Presidency sent a letter to presidents of stakes and missions, bishops of wards, and presidents of branches in answer to the question, What is a proper tithe?
“For your guidance in this matter, please be advised that we have uniformly replied that the simplest statement we know of is that statement of the Lord himself that the members of the Church should pay one-tenth of all their INTEREST annually, which is understood to mean income. NO ONE IS JUSTIFIED IN MAKING ANY OTHER STATEMENT THAN THIS. We feel that every member of the Church should be ENTITLED TO MAKE HIS OWN DECISION as to what he thinks he owes the Lord, and to make payment accordingly.”
The General Handbook of Instructions quotes from the March 19, 1970 letter from the First Presidency sets forth a definition of what is tithed.
Here is a portion of the General Handbook of Instructions from that section: “The simplest statement we know of is the statement of the Lord himself, namely, that the members of the Church should pay ?one-tenth of all their interest annually,’ which is understood to mean income. No one is justified in making any other statement than this.” (First Presidency letter, 19 Mar. 1970; see also D&C 119:4).
Because the General Handbook of Instructions quotes the 1970 letter from the First Presidency, the 1970 letter remains the official written policy on tithing.
Can one harmonize the statement of the First Presidency with canonized scripture?
Let us try.
The phrase “one-tenth of all their interest annually, which is understood to mean income”, has harmonious meaning with “one-tenth of all their surplus properties annually, which is understood to mean surplus income.”
Is this an unjustified statement?
I would venture, not if one does a plain reading of the text in D&C 119:4-5.
IV. What about Elder Sheldon F. Child’s Sheldon F. Child’s April 2008 General Conference Speech
The speech did not fail to give the impression a proper tithe is 10% of gross income. I understand they need our money, but why don’t they follow the scriptures in telling us how much of our money they need?
Child told a story of earning 20 silver dollars and paying two of them as his tithing:
“I remember Dad coming home that night and dropping 20 silver dollars into my hands. Money was hard to come by, and I thought I had all the money in the world. I counted, admired, and polished each coin carefully. When Sunday came, I reluctantly put two shiny coins into my pocket to pay my tithing.” (Sheldon F. Child in Sunday Morning Session of the 2008 Annual General Conference).
Is there a difficulty in understanding Elder Child’s message? Has he taught the faithful that a proper tithe is 10% of gross?
Elder Child was a minor when he earned his 20 silver dollars. Consequently, Child owed no taxes. Although it appeared he was paying a tithe on his gross, he was actually paying a tithe on his net since they were the same.
But according to Mormon scripture, Child was also paying a tithe on his excess beyond his needs. It states his parents were obligated to meet his needs; the obligation was to his “parents for [his] maintenance until [he becomes] of age.” (D&C 83:4).
It is remarkable that Child’s two silver dollars from a gross of 20 silver dollars was a tithe on his gross, his net, and his excess!
But it is also an oversimplification since Child no doubt incurred expenses in raising his livestock. Child’s speech seems gloss over both the scriptures and the statement of the First Presidency since his speech is a simplification of both the proper tithe amount and and it does not discuss the costs of his business.
Child’s speech may cause misunderstanding for the Saints as to what is a proper tithe.
V. Epilogue
Does willingly paying a tithe require faith, and if not faith, a benevolent heart?
Certainly.
If the Saints should pay the tithe according to the “standing law forever” which is seen by the scriptural and logical harmony of the word “interest” to mean “surplus properties”, should not the Brethren also consider having the faith to let the Saints pay their tithes according to scripture? Will not the Lord bless both the Saints and the Brethren for exercising faith in the scriptural definitions of tithing?
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Appendix A – D&C 119 full text
1 Verily, thus saith the Lord, I require all their asurplus property to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church in Zion,
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.
3 And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.
4 And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay ONE-TENTH OF ALL THEIR INTEREST ANNUALLY; and THIS SHALL BE A STANDING LAW unto them FOREVER, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.
5 Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be TITHED OF THEIR SURPLUS PROPERTIES, and shall observe THIS LAW, or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you.
6 And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you.
7 And this shall be an ensample unto all the stakes of Zion. Even so. Amen.