Is this what tithing is?
Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2023 2:58 am
In December of 2022, somewhere deep within North Korea, two connected apartments are ablaze. A mother who had been talking to neighbors is alerted of the fire, and she rushes into her burning apartment and manages to get her two children out. She's later arrested. No, not because she was discovered to have started the fire, but because she should have first saved the photographs of Kim Jong-il and Kim il-Sung that hung high upon the wall of the apartment, as required of all homes in the land.
when I read this story, I immediately thought about the law of tithing. First pay your tithing. It doesn't matter if you can't feed your family, or if you can't pay for a medical crisis for a family member, the Lord's tithe comes first.
Yes, there are scriptures and even talks in church that say the windows of heaven will open and pour out blessings, but the Church has also clarified that these aren't necessarily material blessings, and missionaries are told to not to promise any kind material benefit for the payment of tithing. In fact, DCP has even clarified that it doesn't matter how much money the Church ever makes or how badly off the Saints are, tithing is still a law that must be obeyed.
Oh -- some will say I'm exaggerating. Nobody is under arrest for not paying tithing, it's voluntary. Wrong. Not paying tithing may result in being burned alive at the last day, or being held in spirit prison for years, decades, centuries or longer, to languish in misery after we die. My mother used to say, "we've got to pay our fire insurance." The Lord's hand of judgment doesn't fall immediately, the woman of NK who saved her children wasn't immediately arrested either. I believe it was a few days later, and so also it is with the Lord's punishment -- the Lord just works within a larger bureaucracy where gears turn slower, but also more harshly and they are crushing and unrelenting.
Sure, there seems to be a way out. If you need money for an operation, you can just claim a lesser amount and nobody will question it, it's on your honor, or up to you to decide. Wrong. You could also lie to the DPRK police and you might get away with it. Maybe a neighbor quickly let you borrow his photos to show as proof that you saved them. The difference is, while a longer investigation my yet reveal the truth, you might lie to the DPRK authorities and get away with it. However, you won't get away with cheating on tithing, because at the judgment bar, your understanding of the law will be reviewed, and any manipulations will be revealed. And if you fudged on tithing to buy medicine for your child, you will be punished for it. Oh sure -- maybe your sins will be forgiven. It's possible, but unlikely as tithing is a primary measure of obedience to make one worthy of the atonement, which then covers for other kinds of sins such as stealing a car or killing somebody. In the fire insurance analogy, the insurance won't cover anything if you didn't pay your premium. This is why not paying a FULL tithing is the number one thing that will get your temple recommend yanked. The fact that it wasn't yanked when you paid a half tithing but said "full" just means the punishment will be deferred until the judgment bar when the fraud is revealed.
when I read this story, I immediately thought about the law of tithing. First pay your tithing. It doesn't matter if you can't feed your family, or if you can't pay for a medical crisis for a family member, the Lord's tithe comes first.
Yes, there are scriptures and even talks in church that say the windows of heaven will open and pour out blessings, but the Church has also clarified that these aren't necessarily material blessings, and missionaries are told to not to promise any kind material benefit for the payment of tithing. In fact, DCP has even clarified that it doesn't matter how much money the Church ever makes or how badly off the Saints are, tithing is still a law that must be obeyed.
Oh -- some will say I'm exaggerating. Nobody is under arrest for not paying tithing, it's voluntary. Wrong. Not paying tithing may result in being burned alive at the last day, or being held in spirit prison for years, decades, centuries or longer, to languish in misery after we die. My mother used to say, "we've got to pay our fire insurance." The Lord's hand of judgment doesn't fall immediately, the woman of NK who saved her children wasn't immediately arrested either. I believe it was a few days later, and so also it is with the Lord's punishment -- the Lord just works within a larger bureaucracy where gears turn slower, but also more harshly and they are crushing and unrelenting.
Sure, there seems to be a way out. If you need money for an operation, you can just claim a lesser amount and nobody will question it, it's on your honor, or up to you to decide. Wrong. You could also lie to the DPRK police and you might get away with it. Maybe a neighbor quickly let you borrow his photos to show as proof that you saved them. The difference is, while a longer investigation my yet reveal the truth, you might lie to the DPRK authorities and get away with it. However, you won't get away with cheating on tithing, because at the judgment bar, your understanding of the law will be reviewed, and any manipulations will be revealed. And if you fudged on tithing to buy medicine for your child, you will be punished for it. Oh sure -- maybe your sins will be forgiven. It's possible, but unlikely as tithing is a primary measure of obedience to make one worthy of the atonement, which then covers for other kinds of sins such as stealing a car or killing somebody. In the fire insurance analogy, the insurance won't cover anything if you didn't pay your premium. This is why not paying a FULL tithing is the number one thing that will get your temple recommend yanked. The fact that it wasn't yanked when you paid a half tithing but said "full" just means the punishment will be deferred until the judgment bar when the fraud is revealed.
