Stop Calling It “Your Tithing Money” Tithing Is Not Yours, It Is The LORDS!

There is a repeated theme I see resurfacing every few weeks on Social Media. Anytime a story about the Church spending money is posted on Social Media I see members complain about how the Church spending ‘their’ tithing money. From building new temples, to funding woke professors at BYU, to vaccination efforts, to having $100 BIllion in savings, to partnerships with the NAACP. It does not matter what the cause is. Whenever the Church announces its efforts for a cause, people complain that ‘their’ tithing is being used for that cause.

Like almost all issues within the Church, the root of the problem is both doctrinal misunderstandings as well as misinformation by Satan about how the Church operates. So let’s address both of those issues! First the doctrine behind tithes and offerings, then dispelling some of Satan’s misinformation.

1st. Everything is the Lord’s and we have covenanted to give everything to Him.

A lot of people view their positions wrong. They view their income as money that they earned, and now they are asked to give 10% of what they earned to pay tithing. They view tithing with the same contempt as people view taxes. But it should not be so! The Lord has given us everything that we are and have. 100% of our money is due to Him as well as our life itself! In the temple, we covenant to obey the Law of Consecration in that we recognize everything as the Lord’s and covenant to willingly return 100% of everything we are and own to Him. The Law of Tithing is the Lord simply saying, “Put 1/10th of your money where your mouth is.” When one realizes that 100% of his money is actually the Lord’s then the notion of referring to tithing as ‘your tithing’ would be ludicrous.

The Lord does NOT need our money. WE NEED the blessings from paying tithes and offerings.

A lot of members think that the Church needs us to pay tithes and offerings. And that without our tithing, temples would cease to operate, missionary work would stop, and without our fast offerings, humanitarian work would not happen. Basically, members imagine up that the Lord needs ‘their’ money, otherwise, the Church would grind to a halt. But that is not true. Marion G. Romney explained that the Lord does NOT need our money for either tithing or fast offerings. But that WE NEED the blessings that come from paying our tithes and offerings and from serving the poor. In the Oct 1981 general conference he taught:

“The Lord doesn’t really need us to take care of the poor. He could take care of them without our help if it were his purpose to do so… It would be a simple thing for the Lord to reveal to President [Nelson] where the deposits of oil and precious ores are. We could then hire someone to dig them out and we could float in wealth—and we would float in wealth right down to Hades. No, the Lord doesn’t really need us to take care of the poor, but we need this experience; for it is only through our learning how to take care of each other that we develop within us the Christlike love and disposition necessary to qualify us to return to his presence.”

For a deeper dive into Tithing see the article I wrote, Why I am thankful to pay tithes during a pandemic.

Council on the Disposition of the Tithes.

What most people don’t understand is how tithing money is actually allocated. Unlike fast offerings which are used locally first, and any surplus is sent to headquarters, tithing once donated goes directly to the Church headquarters. At Church headquarters, there is a council that determines what should be done with tithing money. How much should be saved? How much should be spent on new temples? Or how much should be spent on facilitating humanitarian efforts? These questions are handled by the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes. This council is comprised of the ENTIRE First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Presiding Bishopric. IE, the men who hold all the keys on earth today.

Understanding that it is the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes that decides where and how tithing money is allocated allows us to trust in our leaders whom we have received witnesses are called from God. Whereas you might struggle for one reason or another with how the Council chooses to disposition tithing, for example, you might struggle with the fact that tithing supports BYU. You can rely on your testimony of the prophetic calling of the men who comprise the council when your understanding or agreement with their actions is lacking. And if you do not have a testimony you can seek to develop it. A testimony is vital so that we can hold to Wilford Woodruff’s promise:

“The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so He will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty.”

The Corporations of the Church.

Now that the doctrine is clearly explained, let’s address the misinformation that Satan produces. When the Church announced the $5 Billion project known as City Creek Center, a lot of members lost their minds that the Church was spending so much money on a mall. When members find out that General Authorities get living stipends they question lay clergy and paying tithing. And when people find out how much is spent on BYU sports programs they get upset. All of these examples are examples of Satan using misinformation about the Church to cause people to question their testimony and to stop paying tithing.

None of the above-mentioned actions were funded by tithing money. The Church has separate corporate organizations that serve separate roles and have separate bank accounts. Some of them are tax-free, others pay taxes. BYU sports are not funded by tithing money, they are funded by boosters (donations) and revenue that the athletics department brings in. General Authority living stipends are paid out by the corporations that the Church owns (Deseret News, Deseret Investment, Deseret Book, etc etc etc), these corporations that pay taxes on their revenue. General Authorities also sit on the board of directors of these companies, and these companies taxed revenue is where the living stipends come from. These same corporate arms that bring in taxable revenue are also the entities that bought and paid for City Creek Center as well as the Tower in Philidialpa across from the Philly Temple. Also, in case you think that the stipends are an insane amount of money, consider that the BYU football head coach is one of the most underpaid coaches in the nation, but he still makes more than the entire quorum of the twelve apostles living stipends COMBINED!

Often times when something is being paid for we need to realize that it is being paid for by one of the corporate arms of the Church and not from tithing. For more information see the below infographic from 2012 that shows a rough breakdown of the cooperations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As well as the video that I did on this topic.

Faith to pay tithes and offerings.

When we understand the doctrine that everything we own and are is actually a gift from the Lord, then the concepts of tithes and offerings are welcomed as a bargain deal! Furthermore, when we understand that tithing is spent at the direction of the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes led by the Prophet, then when we disagree on how the Church spends the Lord’s tithing money, we will be able to act in faith and knowledge that the Prophet is the one with the keys to lead the Church and our duty is to keep our covenants and pay our tithing.

The Lord has promised blessings to those who keep their covenant obligations. Including the promises of deliverance, exaltation, and aid in enduring to the end. Joseph F. Smith taught that one of the blessings of paying tithing faithfully was that we would never apostatize. And in a Church where the wheat and the tares as being shifted that is a promised blessing that we all need!

If you liked this, you might also like this article addressing the Church’s $100 billion dollar savings.