Tithing, then and now… a more Holy perspective:
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have all been hit with the question of whether or not we are “full tithe payers.” I guess, if you are like me, you might have asked yourself what that even means anyways. There is the primary answer of it being 10% of our increase. Noone however seems to want to discuss what that means, and since I have been a member of the church, I have heard a variety of opinions on the topic ranging from, “gross income,” and “net income,” to “Tithe how you want to be blessed brother, if you want more blessing tithe more money.” While these answers seem to appease many members they are far from sufficient to satisfy my voracious attitude towards learning and my desire to follow the spirit of the laws that the Savior and our Father have given us to help us. For, “All things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.” (Doctrine and Covenants 29:34) With the understanding that the law of tithing was not given as merely a temporal law (because as we see there are no “temporal laws”), but rather as a spiritual one (after all we are a spirit person on a temporal journey not a mortal person begging for spiritual things), it makes sense to me that there would be a connection between what and how we tithe and the blessings that we receive from the Father of our Spirits, even our Elohim.
So looking at this topic from all sides it was difficult for me to not stop and consider all the years that I have been a member of the LDS church and the amount of money that I have paid in tithing over that period of time. Yes, I have gone back and forth between Net and Gross and tried to find the “sweet spot” where I felt I was fulfilling my covenant with the Father and not taking money off the table when I might need to put food on that same table. Admitedly some years were much better than others and I didn’t give it much consideration at all, while yet at other times, we had a hard time just paying the electric bill. Yes, I know the pat response is to “ask the Bishop” for help, and sometimes that works, othertimes… as many of you can attest, I am certain, not so much… I remember a friend of mine and his wife, they were going over their finances and realized that they were not quite “full tithe payers” by the standard that they believed and had been taught, they were about to renew their temple recommends and went to the Bishop because they needed to sort it out and felt they needed his help. So the scenario, in their budget was that they had enough money in their account to pay their tithing in full that day, and could get their recommends renewed and continue serving in the House of the Lord… but they would not have enough money for groceries. So they went to the Bishop perpared to pay the full amount and after explaining the situation fully they asked humbly if the church would be able to help them out with some groceries to get them through until the next pay cycle. They explained that they had called family and friends and nobody was currenly in a situation to be able to help at that time. They also knew that the church has a reputation for helping people and because he was my counselor in the Elder’s Quorum, we had actually made grocery runs for the elderly and others who were without in the ward. We would make a day of it, drive down to the Bishop’s storehouse and pick up what was needed, then drive back and deliver the boxes of needed sustinence to the families and singles that received assistance. We did this month after month for a year before his time of need arose. He was certain, I was certain – everyone was absolutely certain that our Bishop would be “sure Brother, we can help you out this month.” Then all would have been well with him and his young wife, they would be fed, and happily attending the temple… Well, I am sure by now you have anticipated the outcome, the bishop said to him and his wife, “I’m sorry Brother and Sister (lastname), I just cannot see this as being a good use of church resources – you should have made a better budget and been prepared for this sort of situation. It really is not the church’s responsibility to make up for your overspending.” (Now, that is probably not and exact quote, but the sentiment of what he said is there) Personally, I was flabbergasted when I heard this outcome. My wife was unable to console his wife, and if we were in a better financial situation we would have done more than we did to help them (really, it pains me to remember how little we had to help them, but we were all young couples just starting out, making limited money and paying outrageous rents and bills for our incomes at the time) but I do remember praying with them, a lot that month, and having them over for dinner, a lot… we helped, others in the ward helped… we got them sorted out and nobody starved, but it was tight… the good news is that they were only without recommends for about a month.
Recently I was listening to a couple of different podcasts, one from a millionaire hype man that claims he wants everyone to be rich like him… of course to get there he wants you to “invest” thousands of dollars in his sure fire training course… anyways, one of the things that he often touts is that the “rich always donate 10% of their income to worthy causes.” What he fails to tell us, however, is how they calculate that 10% … is it on gross income? Net income? Or on whatever is left after all the bills are paid? The true “increase” that they get from their labor (and the labor of all the people who work for them). The other podcast was talking about how they had been to a financial analyst who explained that if the average American family of four (4) makes $65,000 per year and pays 15% in income tax, paying 10% to any church before or after taxes will bankrupt them in short order. Honesly I found that a little hard to believe and quite a bit more reductive than I would have thought as valuable information… so I did this quick math (assuming an average of $50k annual expenses for a middle class family to cover housing, transportation, incidentals, etc., just for round numbers):
Scenario |
Gross Income |
Tax Rate 15% |
Net Income (After Tax) |
Assumed Expenses |
Tithing Amount |
Remaining Income After Expenses |
Tithing on Gross Income |
$65,000.00 |
$9,750.00 |
$55,250.00 |
$50,000.00 |
$6,500.00 |
-$1,250.00 |
Tithing on Net Income (After-Tax) |
$65,000.00 |
$9,750.00 |
$55,250.00 |
$50,000.00 |
$5,525.00 |
-$275.00 |
That quite litterally leaves the family with about, well, carry the one and add back the … yeah negative money at the end of the year regardless of how they math it. So what if we do the same calculations with “increase?”
Scenario |
Gross Income |
Tax Rate 15% |
Net Income (After Tax) |
Assumed Expenses |
Tithing Amount |
Remaining Income After Expenses |
Tithing on Gross Income |
$65,000.00 |
$9,750.00 |
$55,250.00 |
$50,000.00 |
$6,500.00 |
-$1,250.00 |
Tithing on Net Income (After-Tax) |
$65,000.00 |
$9,750.00 |
$55,250.00 |
$50,000.00 |
$5,525.00 |
-$275.00 |
Tithing on Total Net Income (After Expenses) |
$65,000.00 |
$9,750.00 |
$55,250.00 |
$50,000.00 |
$525.00 |
$4,725.00 |
OK, so here we have the same first two lines with the negative income for the year, then, not really suprisingly, the family choosing to “tithe” on their “increase” will have a net savings of $4,725.00, that could be the difference between the family getting a needed vaction or even braces for one of the kids and outright poverty… which do you think would be the one our Elohim or His Son Yeshua would wish for His children? Yikes! I can hear all the armchair economists from here! Ok, ok, settle down, I realize that these numbers are not adding up like they would for real – I mean what family of 4 pays 15% tax rate at that income?? So, using some more made up (but closer to real numbers – thanks to our good friend Mon Senior Internet Search … and yes I know, I could have done the taxes even better by worrying about child tax credit and other things, but I am not a tax professional so … this is just an ‘example’ already… sheesh, y’all are killing me.)
Scenario |
Gross Income |
Tax Rate (Table) |
Net Income (After Tax) |
Assumed Expenses |
Tithing Amount |
Remaining Income After Expenses |
Tithing on Gross Income |
$59,384.00 |
$3,416.48 |
$55,967.52 |
$50,000.00 |
$5,938.40 |
$29.12 |
Tithing on Net Income (After-Tax) |
$59,384.00 |
$3,416.48 |
$55,967.52 |
$50,000.00 |
$5,596.75 |
$370.77 |
Tithing on Total Net Income (After Expenses) |
$59,384.00 |
$3,416.48 |
$55,967.52 |
$50,000.00 |
$596.75 |
$5,370.77 |
(National average income was taken from USA Today)
So now these numbers are a little closer to real numbers, the family will make almost $6,000.00 less than in the previous example but the taxes are calculated using the following information from the IRS.gov website:
Standard Deduction for Married Filing Joint 2024 |
Marginal Tax Rate |
Income Threshold |
Taxable Amount |
Tax Liability |
|
$29,200.00 |
10.00% |
$0.00 |
$10,274.00 |
$10,274.00 |
$1,027.40 |
|
12.00% |
$10,275.00 |
$41,744.00 |
$19,909.00 |
$2,389.08 |
|
22.00% |
$41,745.00 |
$89,074.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
|
24.00% |
$89,075.00 |
$170,049.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
|
32.00% |
$170,050.00 |
$215,949.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
|
35.00% |
$215,950.00 |
$539,899.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
|
37.00% |
$539,900.00 |
|
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Tax Liability |
$3,416.48 |
|
Also, please realize, before you say anything about the child tax credit and other things, I also am not calculating in State Taxes or any other of the American tax burden according to taxfoundation.org is still a total of approximately 30% when you calculate in sales taxes and all the other taxes we pay like property tax, vehicle tax, etc.
Even with this in mind, let us look at our family and see now that, even with less income, they still are able to bring in a significant savings by paying on “increase” rather than “income.” Now if my wife and I had of been paying on increase, we would have been in a much better place to help our friends, and if they had been paying on increase – they would not have needed the help to begin with… but back to my “outrageous statement” about how the rich donate money on their increase not income. Everyone I have ever known who has money has a business, and they launder, I mean filter all their money through that entity to help reduce their overall tax burden. How do they do that you ask? They use governmental loopholes and spending in specific ways to bring down their taxable income, some of these ways are less shady than others, and I am not going to get into specifics here because I just ask myself, “What would Yeshua do?” and He said “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s… so I know how He would handle taxes already.
So what about the church? You ask… if they have a reduction in tithing from $5000 per year to $500 per year how will they be able to continue paying the Q15 those bountiful living allowances and giving their families free university tuition? I mean how will they pay for new great and spacious buildings? Oops… my keyboard appears to be possessed, out devil OUT I SAY!! OK, I mean how will they pay for new temples and have their meetinghouses cleaned and maintained? Dang, there it goes again… I better stop while I am behind. Well simply put ... $32Billion … … … need I say more? OK, one more math calculation for you:
Members in the Church |
Family Groups (4 per) |
Amount per Family |
Total Tithing (Assumed) |
4306348 |
$500 |
$2,153,174,000 |
Yes, that is over 2 Billion dollars a year… and if you want to argue that many cannot even tithe $500, then let us make it $50 per year, yielding $215,317,400 per year… and that is quite conservative if you ask me… I think that the same God who fed 5000 with 2 loaves and 5 fishes can run a worldwide organization with around $200 Million per year of Revenues…
So, why am I writing this? Is it to cast shade on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Not at all, in fact, I do not condemn them for their practices of using tithing however they feel that they are being inspired to be able to so. I am writing this though, that you, the reader, might find solace in knowing that at the end of the day when you sit before the Bishop for Tithing Settlement, or in a Temple Recommend interview and the question arises “Are you a full tithe payer?” That you will realize that the question is first and foremost between you and your Heavenly Father, not you and any member of Church Leadership… That if you decide for your family to pay on your Gross, your Net or your Increase that it is entirely between you and that same Heavenly Father. I testify to you, that your eternal welfare does not rest upon your mathematecal prowess, but rather on the condition of your heart and intent of your offering.
One final thought, from the 1907 Conference Report, in a talk given by President Joseph F. Smith:
There never has been a time in the history of the Church, I believe, when the law of tithing was observed more universally and more honestly than it has been observed by the Latter-day Saints of late. The tithes of the people during the year 1906, have surpassed the tithing of any other year. This is a good indication that the Latter-day Saints are doing their duty, that they have faith in the Gospel, that they are willing to keep the commandments of God, and that they are working up to the line more faithfully perhaps than ever before. I want to say another thing to you, and I do so by way of congratulation, and that is, that we have, by the blessing of the Lord and the faithfulness of the Saints in paying their tithing, been able to pay off our bonded indebtedness. Today the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owes not a dollar that it cannot pay at once. At last we are in a position that we can pay as we go. We do not have to borrow any more, and we wont have to if the Latter-day Saints continue to live their religion and observe this law of tithing, It is the law of revenue to the Church. Furthermore, I want to say to you, we may not be able to reach it right away, but we expect to see the day when we will not have to ask you for one dollar of donation for any purpose, except that which you volunteer to give of your own accord, because we will have tithes sufficient in the storehouse of the Lord to pay everything that is needful for the advancement of the kingdom of God. I want to live to see that day, if the Lord will spare my life. It does not make any difference, though, so far as that is concerned, whether I live or not. That is the true policy, the true purpose of the Lord in the management of the affairs of His Church.
Yours in Shalom
Rabbi Raphael