A couple of weeks ago some thief used my credit card numbers to make plane reservations, buy foreign perfumes and other things.

It was REALLY annoying. Eventually the credit card companies will return me the money, but it was a pain to get it all reported. (Lots of phone calls, forms to fill etc.) And I also wanted to make sure that the airline would cancel the plane tickets, before the thieves had a chance to fly. Once again, lots of phone calls and visits to the airline store.

I didn't tell many people about it all, specially Mormon friends, because I KNEW what they would say. But my mom let it slip, and a Mormon friend had the nerve to tell me:

"This happened because you stopped paying tithing. The Lard promised that He will tie the devourer if we pay tithing."

Oh, ok. So tithe-payers NEVER in history got robbed, never went bankrupt, never lost their jobs, never had car problems that cost a lot of money, never had to buy expensive medicine, never lost a single penny in any circumstances... The Lard ties the devourer. Yeah right.

Magical thinking? No, not at all.

I was really pissed. And this came from a very smart guy who should know better.

Mormon superstition in all its splendor.

Yes, I did laugh. And I did say it was magical thinking.

I also said that it was very arrogant to think that the whole world gravitates around Mormon dogma. After all, even thieves and criminals are led by the Spirit to prey primarily on non-tithe-payers...

But nothing would change his mind. I mentioned Utah's high bankruptcy rates, and he had the nerve to say that people who go bankrupt in Utah are exactly those who do NOT pay tithing. Afer tall, he has NEVER met any full tithe-payers who've EVER had major financial problems. Only disobedient members have money problems...

Yeah right.

In a previous thread on this topic, a poster wrote in and said that his work (employment) was to deal with applications for bankruptcy in Utah. The poster was very emphatic that loads of tithe-paying church members come in to file for bankrupcy.

For him, it was proof positive that tithe-paying by no means prevents financial disaster!

Thousands of tithe payers have their ID and wallets, and credit cards stolen! Tithing has nothing to do with it.
In fact, they don't even have to have the card. The thieves find other ways to get the numbers.

I have had my ID stolen - complete with a CA drivers license with another woman's face on it! And I've had someone use one of my credit cards on line.

The first mess was while I was a tithe paying member of the LDS Church! It was some years ago, and without my banking expertise, I don't think the cops would have figured it out.
I gave them a report of how it was done. Took about six weeks to fix the mess. Now days I think it would be much faster.
I also knew that how the bank corrected it would flag the auditors, I reminded them of their mistake, but they didn't seem to care!

The second one, I was not a tithe payer. Got the money back very easily. Every credit card company, bank, institution has a fraud dept.

I don't know why some LDS folks come up with the reasons and answers they do, but I suppose it's because their religious culture lends itself to seeing connections that are not there.
They connect everything in life to right and wrong/ good and bad/ righteous and unrighteous/living the law, and not living the law. It's all rolled up in one big ball.

It's so bizarre some times, it's like saying your car was stolen because you didn't turn off your oven. Makes no sense!

He also had the nerve to say the Mormon God is not taking revenge (by untying to devourer and letting him rob me). The Lard is SO nice, good and gentle. He does not go around punishing people.

But he does allow bad things to happen to apostates, so they will realize how far away they are from the straight and narrow path, and that they need to return as soon as possible.

Let me puke.

happens to him. How will he make sense of his world?

When something bad happens to him, it will be just a "trial". The Lard will be simply putting his patiencie to the test.

(But if bad things happen to apostates, it's a sign that they must return to the fold.)

When something good happens to him, it's a blessing and a confirmation that the cult is true.

(But if good things happen to apostates, this only proves that Satan is powerful too.)

In short, the entire universe revolves around Joe Smith's dogma and the cult that he created in order to make easy money and get laid.

"TBM, LOLOLOL, I can't believe any normal person would believe that crap! LOLOLOLOL! I'm falling on the floor here. So glad not to be in a so-called church that has a smart person like you saying such nonsense!"

The above is what this TBM needs to hear.

i have seen numerous tithe payers file bankruptcy in my line of work as well.

It was a little surprising when I saw several hundred dollars in charges to stores I never shop at on my monthly statement. It took two calls to Chase Bank and they are mailing me some forms to sign but other than that the monetary cost to me will be ZERO. Thanks Chase Bank!

So it was an annoyance but certainly much less costly than the tens of thousands of dollars the cult would suck from my accounts.

So I can assume that faithful LD$ never never never have ever ever ever been victims of fraud? How could they if they pay a full tithing! Right?!?!? And by the same logic faithful LD$ who live the word of wisdom should never never never get cancer, ED, baldness, etc., etc., etc.. Right?!?!

Oh wait...SWK was defrauded by Mark Hoffman, and the Relief Society president at the end of the street died of cancer. THEY MUST BE SINNERS!!!!!!!!

Not paying tithing makes it possible to have money in Savings for just such a crisis.

Pay 5000 a year to be allowed to serve for free (and endure trials), or have 4000* in savings for a rainy day (and have the same trials renamed punishments).

1000 less in savings because it's nice to live a little sometimes.

Faithful members secretly (and sometimes vocally) rejoice when "apostates" have problems. That's why I don't like to tell them about any minor problems that I may face in daily life.

Some of them are so unhappy in the cult (but constantly fooling themselves into believing that they are actually blissful), that they hate seeing apostates living a good, successful life. So whenever a little bad thing happens to "apostates", they rejoice. They are finally getting revenge. And this proves that the cult is true and that apostates will ultimately be unhappy ever after, even if sometimes they get away with their apostasy in this life.

Some members are actually unhappy to give up ten percent of their income. But they do it anyway, out of fear, out of habit, out of pressure. And they absolutely HATE it that apostates don't pay. They are SO envious of the apostates' freedom to dispose of their income as they wish. So they rejoice when something bad happens to apostates, Once again, it's their little, petty revenge.

And what if you are a member of another religion to which you pay tithing ? Are you then protected from credit card theft ?

Enquiring minds like mine want to know.

You are particularly vulnerable to disaster if you have fallen away from the TRUE cult. (I was also told that by this "friend".)

If you have known the "truth" but deliberately chose to fall away, you totally lose protection. Even non-members are more protected than former members, since non-members haver never heard or accepted the "truth". But former members cannot be tolerated with the least degree of allowance.

Remember: in the temple endowment film, Satan himself threatens members. If they dare to fall away, they will be under his power.

At a baptism, no less.

If being a missionary doesn't protect one from financial loss, then paying tithing certainly won't.

What a goofy religion.

Years ago, when my Wife and I were in a temple prep class ( what a joke, it didnt prepare us for the weirdness of it ) we had our car rifled through and lost some 10 bucks and some odd change. Another woman, had her car gone through too.

And you thought the church was safe to leave your car open.

Growing up a few of the young men in our ward got arrested for stealing change out of peoples' cars during church.

Chopping the hand of a thief off deters crime more than paying tithing.

credit to justify the particular cards that were stolen.

Interesting. Our cards were stolen last Friday night, and we discovered a 8:00 AM Monday morning. We got all of our money back and all the credit cards. We don't pay tithing, thank you jesus. Ha,ha