The inequality of LDS tithing doctrine

[_zeezrom]

I was taught from a young age to pay tithing on gross income. I paid on gross until about a year before leaving the church behind me.

Should I have paid gross or net? Should I have only paid on my discretionary funds?

Do a Google search on "LDS tithing gross vs. net" and you will see many people are asking because nobody from LDS leadership is informing the members on how to do it.

According to http://www.businessdictionary.com:

Discretionary Funds are the portion of an entity's income available for saving, or spending on non-essentials. It is what remains after expenses for basics (such as food, clothing, shelter, utilities) and prior commitments (such as school fees and loans) are deducted from the disposable income. Total amount of discretionary income in an economy is a key indicator of the level of possible economic growth...

Questions:

1. Has LDS leadership ever promoted paying tithing on discretionary funds instead of gross income?
2. If answer to #1 is NO, then why not? Why have they left this issue ambiguous? Are they banking on receiving more revenues from unwitting members that pay on gross?
3. Is LDS leadership aware of how vastly unequal discretionary funds are among the different economic classes in the world?
4. Does LDS leadership understand the burden they lay on members with minimal discretionary funds as compared to those with much more?
5. Does LDS leadership believe in equality among God's children?
6. Is LDS leadership aware of the suffering caused by their silence on the issue?

[_SteelHead]

Ask a member who runs a family farm if they pays on gross, net, or discretionary.

House? Business expense. Big new 4 door Ford diesel? Business expense. 8 snowmobiles 8 atvs and enclosed trailer? Business expense.

The church has let the "pay on income" schtick stand as the population becomes increasingly white collared and salaried it means the majority of the sheeple now pay on gross wages. Again, talk to a local tbm family farmer and you might be shocked about how they calculates their tithes.

[_Bazooka]

TITHES, TITHING
See also Money; Offering
A tenth part of a person’s annual increase given to the Lord through the Church. Tithing funds are used to build churches and temples, to sustain missionary work, and to build the kingdom of God on earth.

http://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/tithes ... g?lang=eng

In modern times the Prophet Joseph Smith prayed, “O Lord, show unto thy servants how much thou requirest of the properties of thy people for a tithing” (D&C 119, section introduction). The Lord answered: “This shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people. 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” (D&C 119:3–4). The First Presidency has explained that “one-tenth of all their interest annually” refers to our income (see First Presidency letter, Mar. 19, 1970).

http://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-princi ... s?lang=eng

[_bcspace]

I was taught from a young age to pay tithing on gross income. I paid on gross until about a year before leaving the church behind me.

Should I have paid gross or net? Should I have only paid on my discretionary funds?

Do a Google search on "LDS tithing gross vs. net" and you will see many people are asking because nobody from LDS leadership is informing the members on how to do it.

The Church is not going to make that decision for you. Every Bishop or Stake President is going to tell you 10% or your interest which means income. You may even have a Bishop or a Stake president shoot from the hip and tell you flat out, it must be gross income. Wouldn't it be very satisfactory for some of you to tell a Bishop or Stake president he's wrong to say that (even though he may or may not be wrong about the individual paying from gross)?

People are going to give their opinions as to why they think it should be net or gross and you'll just have to deal with it.

"If I pay net, am I cheating the Lord? If I pay gross am I paying more than the Lord requires?"

Time to study it out in your mind and pray. It's just part of life. D&C 58 and all that. Get a grip. And if you decide it's all wrong, please resign your membership.

Want my opinion? If you pay on just discretionary income, you're cheating the Lord because there is no such differentiation. I personally pay on gross income. What a headache for the unbeliever! Stop being such a Pharisee. There is no inequity because everyone is right with the Lord IF they have a good relationship with the Lord.

[_Bazooka]

Bcspace, God told me not to pay any tithing because it wasn't be spent in line with His wishes.
(I'm serious, God 'told' me this in the way Mormonism teaches we get confirmation from God about decisions)

[_BartBurk]

I was taught from a young age to pay tithing on gross income. I paid on gross until about a year before leaving the church behind me.

Should I have paid gross or net? Should I have only paid on my discretionary funds?

Do a Google search on "LDS tithing gross vs. net" and you will see many people are asking because nobody from LDS leadership is informing the members on how to do it.

The Church is not going to make that decision for you. Every Bishop or Stake President is going to tell you 10% or your interest which means income. You may even have a Bishop or a Stake president shoot from the hip and tell you flat out, it must be gross income. Wouldn't it be very satisfactory for some of you to tell a Bishop or Stake president he's wrong to say that (even though he may or may not be wrong about the individual paying from gross)?

People are going to give their opinions as to why they think it should be net or gross and you'll just have to deal with it.

"If I pay net, am I cheating the Lord? If I pay gross am I paying more than the Lord requires?"

Time to study it out in your mind and pray. It's just part of life. D&C 58 and all that. Get a grip. And if you decide it's all wrong, please resign your membership.

Want my opinion? If you pay on just discretionary income, you're cheating the Lord because there is no such differentiation. I personally pay on gross income. What a headache for the unbeliever! Stop being such a Pharisee. There is no inequity because everyone is right with the Lord IF they have a good relationship with the Lord.

They just want to have people feel guilty about not giving a full 10% of their gross income. They want the best end of the deal.

[_SteelHead]

Me, I don't pay at all. Not on gross, not on net. Nada, zippo, zilch. I am not contributing to an org that spends more on malls than on welfare, nor one whose canonized scripture teaches that god is a racist, and rape victims loose virtue.

[_Detlef Schrempf]

Bcspace, God told me not to pay any tithing because it wasn't be spent in line with His wishes.
(I'm serious, God 'told' me this in the way Mormonism teaches we get confirmation from God about decisions)

I pay 10% of my income less taxes and rent to charities that are willing to tell me where they spend the money. If I need money for food I won't pay it. I had a similar confirmation that it's what I'm supposed to be doing.

[Guest]

I remember when I asked that question when I first joined the churh over 30 years ago. I was told "Do you want "net" blessings or "gross" blessings. I paid on my gross salary all the way up until I left the church. What a idiot....


ETA: even now I would not feel bad about it if I really felt that the money I gave really went to help the needy, but I just don't think it did

[_bcspace]

Bcspace, God told me not to pay any tithing because it wasn't be spent in line with His wishes.
(I'm serious, God 'told' me this in the way Mormonism teaches we get confirmation from God about decisions)

Excellent. I take it you have resigned from the Church or never joined in the first place?

They just want to have people feel guilty about not giving a full 10% of their gross income. They want the best end of the deal.

If that were true, then they'd ask about it in tithing settlement.