Tithing encourages members to be liberals
Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 11:12 pm
One of the differences between liberalism and conservatism is the issue of self sufficiency. Conservatives believe people should be allowed to take care of themselves and their familes, and if the government would simply get out of the way and let us keep more of our own money, we would all be better off. Liberals want to take money away from hard working people and give it to dead beats. This provides a disincentive for the dead beats to get off their butts and take care of themselves. Why work if the government will give them handouts.
Ironically the LDS church, one of the most conservative groups in the US, actually encourages liberalism with their policy of tithing. WE have all heard the talks about someone who didn't have enough money to buy X while also paying tithing, so they paid tithing. The next day, money miraculously appeared, and it was the exact amount required to pay X. Here are a couple examples:
http://www.LDS.org/liahona/1989/08/doct ... es-tithing
This story teaches a subtle liberal message. The message is you can't be trusted to take care of yourself. But if you give the money to the church, you can then hope for a free handout.
Here is another story:
http://thomasmonson.com/97/thomas-s-mon ... ng-stories
This guy paid tithing instead of buying food for his family. Fortunately, someone gave them a handout. If he had not paid tithing, he could have bought food for his family. He would have been self sufficient. By paying tithing, he was forced to hope for the kindness of someone to give him a free handout.
Someone gave a talk in my wife's ward about being $50 short on rent if he paid tithing. He paid anyway, and the next day he was walking along and some stranger came up to him and handed him $50. Once again, a self sufficient conservative would have used the $50 he earned to pay his rent. But like a true liberal, he paid his bill with someone else's money. He was no better off then before. It was a zero sum gain. But at least the church made out on the deal.
Ironically the LDS church, one of the most conservative groups in the US, actually encourages liberalism with their policy of tithing. WE have all heard the talks about someone who didn't have enough money to buy X while also paying tithing, so they paid tithing. The next day, money miraculously appeared, and it was the exact amount required to pay X. Here are a couple examples:
http://www.LDS.org/liahona/1989/08/doct ... es-tithing
When Edward Stokes Rich was twelve years old he went to work to help earn money for his family because he didn’t have a father. He worked at night for a local newspaper. He always gave the money he earned to his mother and she would take his tithing out for him to give to the bishop.
One month his mother said, “Edward, I know that you have no overcoat, and you must walk many miles to and from work each night. With winter coming soon, it’s going to be very cold when you walk home at four or five o’clock in the morning. So I’ll give you your tithing money and you can either pay your tithing or buy an overcoat. I’ll leave the decision up to you.”
He did exactly what she knew he’d do. Edward later recorded, “I took the money, ran immediately over to the bishop’s house, and paid the tithing.”
A week later his Aunt Mary came to visit, and brought with her an overcoat that one of her sons had outgrown. It fit Edward perfectly and “was a better overcoat than he could have purchased.” From that day, Edward recorded, he was always generous in paying his tithes and other Church offerings.
This story teaches a subtle liberal message. The message is you can't be trusted to take care of yourself. But if you give the money to the church, you can then hope for a free handout.
Here is another story:
http://thomasmonson.com/97/thomas-s-mon ... ng-stories
“My wife had always prayed to know which students might need our help with our excess meat. When she told me she felt we should give some meat to Jack and his family, I was very concerned that we might offend them. So was she. We both were worried because they were a very independent family.
“A few days later, my wife said she still felt we should take the meat to them, and I reluctantly agreed to go along. When we delivered the meat, my wife’s hands were actually shaking, and I was very nervous. The children opened the door, and when they heard why we were there, they began dancing around. The parents were reserved but pleasant. When we drove away, my wife and I both were so relieved and happy that they had accepted our gift.
“A few months later our friend Jack got up in testimony meeting and related the following. He said that all his life he had had a hard time paying tithing. With such a large family, they used all the money he made just to get by. When he became ward clerk, he saw all the other people paying tithing and felt he needed to also. He did so for a couple of months, and all was well. Then one month he had a problem. In his job, he completed work and was paid a few months later. He could see that the family was going to be far short of money. He and his wife decided to share the problem with their children. If they paid their tithing, they would run out of food on about the 20th of the month. If they didn’t pay their tithing, they could buy enough food to last until the next paycheck. Jack said he wanted to buy [the] food, but the children said they wanted to pay tithing-so Jack paid the tithing, and they all prayed.
“A few days after paying their tithing, we had shown up with our package of meat for them. With the meat, added to what they had, there was no problem having enough food until the next paycheck.
This guy paid tithing instead of buying food for his family. Fortunately, someone gave them a handout. If he had not paid tithing, he could have bought food for his family. He would have been self sufficient. By paying tithing, he was forced to hope for the kindness of someone to give him a free handout.
Someone gave a talk in my wife's ward about being $50 short on rent if he paid tithing. He paid anyway, and the next day he was walking along and some stranger came up to him and handed him $50. Once again, a self sufficient conservative would have used the $50 he earned to pay his rent. But like a true liberal, he paid his bill with someone else's money. He was no better off then before. It was a zero sum gain. But at least the church made out on the deal.
