Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Compassion? Not When It Comes To Tithing

Compassion? Not When It Comes To Tithing By IDTortfeasor

Just had a TBM friend call me for advice. For the last several years, he has worked two jobs to make ends meet. Due to the economy, he lost one of his jobs. The job he still has is as an employee at BYU-I.

So, funds are very tight. He doesn't have enough money to pay all his obligations. When he had two jobs, he could do it. But now, he's in the hole, big time.

One of the first things he stopped paying was tithing. I think he still pays a little, but in his TBM mind, he justifies that with his lack of income, he really doesn't have any "gains" right now to pay on. Of course, the church sees it differently. They don't care about your obligations, just your income.

To keep his job at BYU-I, he has to have an endorsement from his Bishop. He just received a certified letter from his Bishop, stating that if he doesn't start paying a full tithe, then he won't endorse him to stay employed at BYU-I. The bishop knows their financial circumstances, but it doesn't matter.

My advice: As soon as you can, find a new job where the church can't blackmail you. If that's impossible, hopefully BYU-I will have more compassion than the Bishop, and keep him on because he's a good employee. Doubtful, but you never know.

I did ask him: "So, have you found that in the past when you paid tithing on your gross income, you received gross blessings?" He muttered "No, not even close".

Mormon411's comment: I personally know someone in this exact same position. When you are employed by the church, you must be temple worthy. This means that, on demand, you must show a temple recommend. If you don't have one, you're out. Naturally, in order to have a temple recommend, one must be a full tithe payer. And because you work for them, they know how much you are making and therefore how much you should be paying.

This is wrong and unconstitutional. An employer is prohibited, by law, from hiring or firing based on many things, including religion. However, if you are a church employee and not in good standing, then the church can fire your ass. It absolutely makes my blood boil!

3 comments:

adamf said...

This is very unfortunate. What a "full tithe" is is up to the individual to decide, not the Bishop.

Mormon411 said...

That's how it should be, however, those employed by the church are at a disadvantage because the church can track how much they are being paid. It's wrong and it angers me. That's why my advice to anyone employed by the church: get another job so that they can't hold it over your head!

adamf said...

I hear you there. It would be difficult to work for the church is this regard.