I had lunch with my TBM mom today and she mentioned that she needs to catch up on her tithing because she has been in the hospital for the last two months and didn't pay. Keep in mind, she almost died - me and all my siblings were called to the hospital in the middle of the night to say goodbye to her. Luckily, she pulled through and she just came home a couple days ago.

So of course, the first thing she is thinking about is how she's behind on her tithing on her SS check. My mouth kind of dropped and then I asked her why she would pay tithing on it - her and my dad paid tithing on their gross income for 45 years and paid into SS for 45 years and she should view it as a government savings account. Would you pay tithing on money in a savings account that you already paid tithing on?

Really got her thinking. And she was like, "You're right". Right now I'm enjoying my status as a closet non-believer because my TBM family will still take advice from me!

I hope that you convinced her. No person of modest means should be paying 10% of a Social Security check. That the Mormon church would encourage this practice in any way is reprehensible.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2014 07:33PM by summer.

How is a SS check "increase"?

Her bishop should be ashamed, and personally tell her not to worry about it.

Notice I said "should be ashamed"--he's probably not.

You had better luck than I did with my ILs. I explained it the same way you did but they thought that they would "lose blessings" if they didn't pay. You're paying twice, I said. Then we'll get twice the blessings, they said. Smmmppt.

Have them read this.

Best ever thread on tithing from a TBM forum.

Page 1 is sufficient

http://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=28207

This thread is what opened my eyes and then I left the church.

I think if I were a fanatical Mormon, and didn't want to "lose blessings," what I would do is determine exactly how much I had paid into Social Security over the years, then only pay tithing on the checks once they totaled more than that amount.

Her social security is based on lifetime earnings--earnings that have already been tithed for. You can bet that the church takes every tax break it can get.

By doing so she will now only be blessed with "net blessings"

instead of "gross blessings"... she may become ill again if

she continues to short change God 'err I mean the church'



( sarcasm off now)

I would be tempted to give the bishop hell for taking her money. These are the guys who call everyone in the ward in to grill them about any little sin, while they're robbing senior citizens.

I agree. If TSCC was a humane church, they would explicitly tell senior citizens not to pay tithing on their meager social security checks. But we know that statement will never be made.

Exactly. If it was a humane church, they would tell people they don't have to pay on any Social Security income, whether it's for a disability or their retirement. My ex-husband's former roommate was a HT for someone who got disability for being legally blind, and the roommate said that this person did pay tithing on his meager check from Social Security. My ex and I happened to be with him when he visited that individual, and their apartment was in a low-income, gang infested neighborhood because it was the only place he could afford to find an apartment on his disability.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2014 12:56PM by adoylelb.

The same here from me. My TBM father gets money from retiring in the Post Office in 2003. He also gets his Social Security, etc. He already paid on it when he was working(and likely paid tithing , fast offerings etc on it ) the first time. He's 71.

He's already paid the morg tithing and yet early year he pays the morg about 5K-6K in tithng etc! To me he's paying double tithing!!

Makes one kinda sick doesn't it!!??

But try to talk a fanatical mormon out of doing this. My spouse won't even begin to listen!