Posted by:
Sarony
(
)
Date: November 08, 2017 03:58PM
Keep two things in mind:
(1)
Mormon God does not vary in what he says.
D&C 3:2 For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.
(2)
LDS scripture states plainly that tithing is to be paid on any surplus beyond a person's needs.
Joseph Smith and Sydney Rigdon produced D&C 119:4 (1838). It states (emphasis added):
And after that, those who have been thus tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing LAW unto them FOREVER, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.
Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines "interest" as
5. Any surplus advantage.
Webster's defines "advantage" in pertinent part, as
7. Interest; increase; overplus.
In the 1820's, the word "interest" was synonymous with the phrase "surplus advantage."
A plain reading of the text leads to a harmony of meaning between the word "interest" and the phrase "surplus advantage".
But what about scriptural harmony? Can one find more scriptural meaning of "interest" to be "surplus"?
Yes.
There are at least two passages of scripture that explicitly teach a proper tithe is one-tenth of surplus.
1. The first passage of scripture is D&C 119:5, which is the next verse (emphasis added):
Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe THIS LAW, or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you.
Significant meanings should be observed from verse 5. The phrase "this law," can only refer to the previous usage of the word "law" in verse 4, which states in pertinent part, "and this shall be a standing law". And the phrase "this law," namely "one-tenth of all their interest annually" in verse 4, is expounded in a clarifying manner as surplus properties in verse 5.
2. The second passage of scripture comes from the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) of the Bible. Smith and Rigdon also produced the JST. It is mostly in Rigdon's handwriting. JST Genesis 14:39. (emphasis added)
Wherefore Abram paid unto him tithes of all that he had, of all the riches which he possessed, which God had given him more than that which he had need.
This passage of scripture from the JST is not a mere relic of early Mormonism. The passage can be found in the current scriptures in the section Joseph Smith Translation. The LDS Church has included this In their printed scripture volumes as authoritative commentary.
Scriptural harmony between D&C 119, and JST Genesis 14:39 also resides in the concept that "interest" (D&C 119:4) is expounded as "surplus properties" (D&C 119:5), or in other words, "more than that which he had need" (JST Genesis 14:39).
(3) Conclusion
To understand the meaning of what is to be tithed, we are fortunate to find a simple harmony in meaning, between a plain reading of the text and LDS scripture; "interest" (v. 4) means "surplus properties" (v. 5).
LDS tithing is defined as "one-tenth of their surplus properties annually" (D&C 119:4,5), which means "more than that which he had need" (JST Genesis 14:39).