Is it moral to stiff creditors while paying a full tithe?

[_Hoops]

Hoops, I do not dispute what you say.
But there may be another (perhaps worse) explanation in that these people used the excuse of being behind on tithing even though they weren't.

P.S. Do you believe in a literal global flood during Noah's reign?

Of course. I can only report what they told me.

Interestingly, I have one client who pays consistently and on time. They are RCC. What does one make of that?

[_keithb]

If income drops, the amount of a full tithe drops by definition.

BC,

As a bishop, do you encourage people to pay tithes on their net or gross income? If you're talking about paying on net income, I can see your point since, in hard economic times, a family's net income could easily drop to zero or become negative, hence no tithing owed.

However, if you're talking about paying on gross income, I think that this system is patently unfair. For example, it is very possible for someone to experience a drop in net income (after non-discretionary expenses) and their gross income to experience a much smaller relative change. In this situation, would a family that has no income left after non-discretionary spending still be required to pay tithing that is only slightly decreased from the original amount?

[_harmony]

Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice (or 8 times), shame on me.

Quite. But I wonder what your response would have been if I had asked if they were Mormon BEFORE starting a business relationship with them.

I'd have told you to have only cash at time of service business dealings. I can count on one hand the number of Mormon business owners I have who are sponsors of my events. Others routinely pay before the event starts. The Mormons have to be invoiced, sometimes several times.

[_Hoops]

I'd have told you to have only cash at time of service business dealings. I can count on one hand the number of Mormon business owners I have who are sponsors of my events. Others routinely pay before the event starts. The Mormons have to be invoiced, sometimes several times.

Excellent advice that, unfortunately, doesn't apply to this kind of relationship.

I have, however, avoided dealing with Mormons in this business when I knew before-hand of their religious/cultural identity. Most often, it's just not possible to know unless they offer the information. I mentioned this on the "other board", and there was quite a ruckus.

[_just me]

It's too bad that when income goes down all the freaking bills don't go down with it...

backwards double d