Can Us Members Pay Tithing Online?

[Stargazer]

I have heard that US members, like those in some other countries, can pay tithes and offerings either online or in some automated way. Does anyone know about this, and how it is done? I'd like to automate it if I could, but I can find no info about it on the church website.

[Tacenda]

I have heard that US members, like those in some other countries, can pay tithes and offerings either online or in some automated way. Does anyone know about this, and how it is done? I'd like to automate it if I could, but I can find no info about it on the church website.

I had heard that you can do it on your online banking. But now apparently the brakes were put on for that. But not sure. I might be able to track down more info but I need to go to sleep for now. Goodnight!

[Tacenda]

I'm back. You can call 801-240-2554 and speak with the donations department. Also, if you go to LDSTech.org they have info about it. Apparently this method was not set up for the general public and there was an influx of people wanting to donate tithing this way because, I'm guessing, it went out on the bloggernacle but it may have been started for wealthy donors that didn't want their tithing amount public.

Edited January 26, 2013 by Tacenda

[DH]

Yes, if you're wealthy, you get special privileges...

[Tacenda]

http://mormonlifehacker.com/pay-your-tithing-online/

Here is a blogspot that discusses this. It may still be available, but the best thing to do is call the donations department.

[Judd]

As a financial clerk, donating online would really simplify the process.

[blackstrap]

I'm just looking for a card swipe in the clerks office.

[Stargazer]

I'm back. You can call 801-240-2554 and speak with the donations department. Also, if you go to LDSTech.org they have info about it. Apparently this method was not set up for the general public and there was an influx of people wanting to donate tithing this way because, I'm guessing, it went out on the bloggernacle but it may have been started for wealthy donors that didn't want their tithing amount public.

Thanks for that.

Hmmm. As a financial clerk, I can tell you that no donor's tithing amount is public. The only people in a ward who are privy to donation information are the bishopric, the ward clerk and finance clerk, and in some wards perhaps the executive secretary. This information is supposed to be kept confidential.

I don't know why this would be of more interest to rich people anyway. The current system of manual donation (fill out donation slip, write a check, hand it to bishopric member or mail it to bishop) is very 20th century and annoys me. I pay virtually all my other bills online and automatically. I wish I could do the same for tithing. A rich person can have their accountant do all the work, and since no doubt a rich person wants to be sure to have the donation show up as a charitable donation for tax purposes, this is most likely.

There would be far, far more normally-monied members who would be interested in this than richies. And there is no reason why donation information acquired this way couldn't be reflected in ward records, anyway.

[Tacenda]

Thanks for that.

Hmmm. As a financial clerk, I can tell you that no donor's tithing amount is public. The only people in a ward who are privy to donation information are the bishopric, the ward clerk and finance clerk, and in some wards perhaps the executive secretary. This information is supposed to be kept confidential.

I don't know why this would be of more interest to rich people anyway. The current system of manual donation (fill out donation slip, write a check, hand it to bishopric member or mail it to bishop) is very 20th century and annoys me. I pay virtually all my other bills online and automatically. I wish I could do the same for tithing. A rich person can have their accountant do all the work, and since no doubt a rich person wants to be sure to have the donation show up as a charitable donation for tax purposes, this is most likely.

There would be far, far more normally-monied members who would be interested in this than richies. And there is no reason why donation information acquired this way couldn't be reflected in ward records, anyway.

I meant public to the clerks/bishop not to anyone else.

[DavidB]

Here is the LDS Bill Pay form I was sent

You do not need to sign up with the site to download the form. I seem to recall there was a second form, but I am not sure about that.

Edited January 26, 2013 by DavidB

[Calm]

I meant public to the clerks/bishop not to anyone else.

My impression of those who don't like anyone to know their tithing amounts in the ward is in part that they see this knowledge as setting up expectations for other donation amounts, high tithing amounts means they are expected to give high fast offerings and missionary funds, etc. and they believe they will be judged harshly if they don't donate in those amounts....whether or not anything is actually said. I've also seen complaints from those who have chosen to change their amounts as their interpretation of tithing changes or their beliefs have weakened and they have chosen to give less...that the bishop or others can compare to what has been given in the past and make judgments about them that way.

If one stays in the same ward for a long time, with the turnover in bishoprics, etc. it can end up with a number of individuals in the ward knowing what one has paid in tithing over the years (not all the years, but here and there) and for those who prefer such things to be completely private for whatever reason, I can see why this might bother them and they prefer to pay tithing in a more private manner where those local won't know the amounts.

I would assume that most in the position of knowing don't really care and may not even register beyond a vague estimate what a person's income likely is and not keep track of details or even generalities at all, but not all members of bishoprics, etc. are instantly honest or have integrity or lack envy and I can see on occasion someone learning and sharing information inappropriately or taking that information and having it affect how they treat a person and having that in turn affect how others in the ward treat them, both for those who are low tithing payers and those with greater amounts.

Edited January 26, 2013 by calmoriah

[Tacenda]

My impression of those who don't like anyone to know their tithing amounts in the ward is in part that they see this knowledge as setting up expectations for other donation amounts, high tithing amounts means they are expected to give high fast offerings and missionary funds, etc. and they believe they will be judged harshly if they don't donate in those amounts....whether or not anything is actually said. I've also seen complaints from those who have chosen to change their amounts as their interpretation of tithing changes or their beliefs have weakened and they have chosen to give less...that the bishop or others can compare to what has been given in the past and make judgments about them that way.

If one stays in the same ward for a long time, with the turnover in bishoprics, etc. it can end up with a number of individuals in the ward knowing what one has paid in tithing over the years (not all the years, but here and there) and for those who prefer such things to be completely private for whatever reason, I can see why this might bother them and they prefer to pay tithing in a more private manner where those local won't know the amounts.

I would assume that most in the position of knowing don't really care and may not even register beyond a vague estimate what a person's income likely is and not keep track of details or even generalities at all, but not all members of bishoprics, etc. are instantly honest or have integrity or lack envy and I can see on occasion someone learning and sharing information inappropriately or taking that information and having it affect how they treat a person and having that in turn affect how others in the ward treat them, both for those who are low tithing payers and those with greater amounts.

Well said Cal. My bro. in law was a finance clerk and once told my husband he was disappointed in people getting help from the church when they own nice boats, cars etc. So I can see how judgements could be made in the minds of some finance clerks.

[Calm]

Well said Cal. My bro. in law was a finance clerk and once told my husband he was disappointed in people getting help from the church when they own nice boats, cars etc. So I can see how judgements could be made in the minds of some finance clerks.

And I can understand how it would be hard to not make such judgments especially if one knew of others who were not getting as much but appeared to be more in need. Also when one has been careful and lived according to the advice of the prophets, keeping out of debt etc. and because of such wisdom is lacking in the toy and luxury department in comparison with some of those seeking help from the Church, it can be hard to see them get that help without appearing to have to make sacrifices to get it (such as selling that boat or fancy car).

I have to admit that when I had an acquaintance that was always talking about the latest computer or craft gadget they had gotten that cost several thousands dollars, whose home was wall to wall videos and computer games and the family always going out to eat....where the parents were also not working and living on government welfare and asking for help from the Church as well and who would complain about having to wait a month to purchase a new toy and then the next month complain about not having enough to pay the very low rent or being able to afford dental work for the kids (that could have been paid for by the new toy)....have to admit I had some pretty harsh judgments of them during those times, especially when I saw how it was setting the kids up for the same kind of mistakes in their lives as they got older. I am grateful I have never been in a position where I was exposed to those kinds of details on a regular basis as the temptation to make those kinds of judgments would appear to be strong for me...at least in that case. I think that family was the only one I ever knew well enough to fall into that trap of judgment besides my immediate family members and that was because of their tendency to share too much information with everyone and not because of any lack of church confidentiality by anyone. My husband has been in the position of knowing people's financial status quite often over the years and I have never heard him utter one word of judgment in that way and I am thankful for his example.

[Saints Alive]

I have heard that US members, like those in some other countries, can pay tithes and offerings either online or in some automated way. Does anyone know about this, and how it is done? I'd like to automate it if I could, but I can find no info about it on the church website.

Thats how I pay mine, it's set up through your banks bill-pay service usually.

[rpn]

I can't see the church ever agreeing to payment by credit card. 1) It removes the personal accountability of hand delivery. 2) It would make it not real money for some people, and thus more likely to be debt that includes interest. 3) Most of the world (and members of the church) doesn't have access to credit cards. 4) it would make tithing a bill, not a free will offering, and members already have trouble with this distinction.

[ERayR]

I have heard that US members, like those in some other countries, can pay tithes and offerings either online or in some automated way. Does anyone know about this, and how it is done? I'd like to automate it if I could, but I can find no info about it on the church website.

If you have online banking you can send a check to your bishop that is marked tithing or FO. This is done through your own bank.

[Stargazer]

Here is the LDS Bill Pay form I was sent

You do not need to sign up with the site to download the form. I seem to recall there was a second form, but I am not sure about that.

All this did was install a program called FreeFileViewer -- which might be useful, I guess. Nothing about LDS bill pay was there.

[DavidB]

All this did was install a program called FreeFileViewer -- which might be useful, I guess. Nothing about LDS bill pay was there.

Personally i would delete anything a website installs.

I did not know the website would install anything,sorry about that, I tested the link prior to posting.

If you click the link again, about center-left you should see DOWNLOAD THIS FILE, click that button enter the captcha code and the file should download.

[Ticketyboo]

Here in the UK, members who are taxpayers have had the option of having a regular sum of money debitted from their bank accounts monthly through Gift Aid. This then ensures that a 25% tax return is added to those donations.

Those who have irregular sums of money, but still want to take advantage of Gift Aid can still mail in a cheque to the Gift Aid department.

Both fill out a form similar to a tithing slip, which included various dispersements that the donor might want to make, but the donation is counted as a whole & the 25% is effectively added to their tithing.

eg if I paid £80 tithe & £20 Fast offering, the whole contribution of £100 would accrue a 25% tax return which would be added to my tithing at the end of the financial year, so my tithing settlement would effectively be £105 tithe £20 Fast offering.

Members are free to use this to either enhance their offering, or effectively reduce the ammount that they would pay via a normal tithing slip at their unit.

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

I have heard that US members, like those in some other countries, can pay tithes and offerings either online or in some automated way. Does anyone know about this, and how it is done? I'd like to automate it if I could, but I can find no info about it on the church website.

Other Churches in other contries used to do this, you would have to ask it to stop.

[Damien the Leper]

I think church buildings should have Tithing Kiosks where members can swipe their card rather than use the old school stone tablet (the check). Unless, of course, they have cash.

They should also be able to pay online.

And don't give me all that rubbish about either of those methods being "impersonal". You're paying tithe...not attempting small talk with a member of the bishopric.

[Stargazer]

Personally i would delete anything a website installs.

I did not know the website would install anything,sorry about that, I tested the link prior to posting.

If you click the link again, about center-left you should see DOWNLOAD THIS FILE, click that button enter the captcha code and the file should download.

Oh, I let it install the program, thinking it might be useful.

I went back to the link and this time it just displayed the File Dropper page with a prompt to upload something (not download). This is weird.

[Stargazer]

I think church buildings should have Tithing Kiosks where members can swipe their card rather than use the old school stone tablet (the check). Unless, of course, they have cash.

They should also be able to pay online.

And don't give me all that rubbish about either of those methods being "impersonal". You're paying tithe...not attempting small talk with a member of the bishopric.

I agree. But if the church did that, somebody would complain that it has gotten too "commercialized". The same people who whine and complain that City Creek is too upscale for the Church to have contributed to. But lest I derail my own thread, please ignore me.

[bhive]

I pay this way every two weeks. My tithing funds are transferred automatically to another account, from which I have an automatic bill pay set up every 2 weeks that sends to church HQ. I get an e-mail on a monthly basis that shows my donations for the month, and then at the end of the year, I receive an end-of-year statement.

I had three large cash donations (between 4 and 600 dollars cash) I gave to bishopric members go missing in a single year, so I contacted the church about it. The bishopric and clerks could not account for it, they are supposed to keep all the white slips and had none of the three in question. (I showed them the yellow slips to show the three donations.) This was uncovered in a tithing settlement, but nothing was ever resolved, with a "well that could just happen, I suppose." I was not satisfied, so pay directly to church HQ now.

[Tacenda]

I pay this way every two weeks. My tithing funds are transferred automatically to another account, from which I have an automatic bill pay set up every 2 weeks that sends to church HQ. I get an e-mail on a monthly basis that shows my donations for the month, and then at the end of the year, I receive an end-of-year statement.

I had three large cash donations (between 4 and 600 dollars cash) I gave to bishopric members go missing in a single year, so I contacted the church about it. The bishopric and clerks could not account for it, they are supposed to keep all the white slips and had none of the three in question. (I showed them the yellow slips to show the three donations.) This was uncovered in a tithing settlement, but nothing was ever resolved, with a "well that could just happen, I suppose." I was not satisfied, so pay directly to church HQ now.

Wow, that would be hard to swallow for me!