Nominee Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 To me, tithing settlement is one of the most important meetings we attend each year. I view it as obligatory. We always go as a family. I want my children to see exactly how much we have paid in tithing and other offerings, and to hear me declare to the bishop that we are full tithe payers. I want my children to hear me and my wife as we bear testimony to the bishop of the blessings of paying tithing; to hear us say that we regard paying tithing as a privilege. I want my children to hear me and my wife tell the bishop that we have been full tithe payers for xx years running (we're up to 29 years).In my opinion, as I have stated previously on this thread, I believe tithing is, perhaps more than anything else, the most reliable indicator of faithfulness to the restored gospel.I feel the same and do the same in bringing my children to tithing settlement with me. It is a grand moment for my little family that we all are excited to attend. My children are as willing to pay their tithing as I am. They will put a dime in an envelope if they are given only a dollar. My children sit with me in our tithing settlement and say " I am a full tithe payer" just as I do. And the look on their faces and the spirit in the room with us is priceless!
William Schryver Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 I feel the same and do the same in bringing my children to tithing settlement with me. It is a grand moment for my little family that we all are excited to attend. My children are as willing to pay their tithing as I am. They will put a dime in an envelope if they are given only a dollar. My children sit with me in our tithing settlement and say " I am a full tithe payer" just as I do. And the look on their faces and the spirit in the room with us is priceless!I love your sig line:“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” ~Mark TwainI myself have experienced this very phenomenon during 2011.
Nominee Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 I love your sig line:I myself have experienced this very phenomenon during 2011.Well, think of the turtle and the hare.
thesometimesaint Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 Truth:When I said lean times I mean lean times. I've sold my blood, collected aluminium cans. Lived in a friends' garage. Parked our car 13 year old car, and wore out more shoes than I like to think about. Washed our clothes in the bathtub. We learned to make tofu, baked our own bread, and sprouted our own grains for greens. We've gotten surplus fruit, and vegetables, canned, dried, and otherwise preserved our own food. We've had the Church help with the rent, the utilities, and the clothes on our backs.I know what is it to be poor. I know how to survive on very little. I have no desire to do it again. I still was well blessed. I am even more blessed now that things are better.
Calm Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 (edited) Personally I believe one cannot fully examine the action of tithing and offerings in our lives if we refuse to take part in the receiving side of the law (seeking out the help of the Church when appropriate) or insist on counting only income/benefits that we are the source of (ignoring family, friends, church and even government). Ultimately the source of all blessings is God and it is foolish to limit him, even if only in our minds, in what servants/tools he can make use of. Edited December 10, 2011 by calmoriah
thesometimesaint Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 William Schryver:I've never viewed it as obligatory. I still go every year. My kids knew about tuthing, and tithing setlement from a young age. But I never did take them in with us never saw the neccesity to.
Cobalt-70 Posted December 13, 2011 Posted December 13, 2011 This hypothetical situation doesn't apply to me, but I'm just curious how owners of small, solely-owned businesses handle tithing. It would be easy if the business is handled as a corporation or other formal entity, because they can pay themselves a salary and then pay 10% tithing on that salary. But what if this business is an informal one, and revenue and costs are not assigned to a separate business entity? What if they use 20% of their house, a van, and a computer for the business? Do people deduct mortgage interest and other business expenses from their "tithable" income, as if it were a tax deduction? I don't think there is a "right" answer, but I'm curious what people actually do. If you go back to more agricultural times, people ran their farms like such a business, and it doesn't seem like they took such deductions (although in those days, they actually paid tithing with chickens and wheat). But if you don't take such deductions, then you are effectively paying much more tithing than people who don't own their own business and merely pay tithing on their salary or wages.
Storm Rider Posted December 13, 2011 Posted December 13, 2011 This hypothetical situation doesn't apply to me, but I'm just curious how owners of small, solely-owned businesses handle tithing. It would be easy if the business is handled as a corporation or other formal entity, because they can pay themselves a salary and then pay 10% tithing on that salary. But what if this business is an informal one, and revenue and costs are not assigned to a separate business entity? What if they use 20% of their house, a van, and a computer for the business? Do people deduct mortgage interest and other business expenses from their "tithable" income, as if it were a tax deduction? I don't think there is a "right" answer, but I'm curious what people actually do. If you go back to more agricultural times, people ran their farms like such a business, and it doesn't seem like they took such deductions (although in those days, they actually paid tithing with chickens and wheat). But if you don't take such deductions, then you are effectively paying much more tithing than people who don't own their own business and merely pay tithing on their salary or wages.I have an uncle with a small business. Annually, at the end of the year, he wrote a check out to the Bishop on his income. I am not sure others would be comfotable with this manner of paying tithing, but it worked well for him. I think the objective for everyone is to what you know you must in order to pay the Lord his due and then keep everything else for yourself and family.
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