I learned in church today

[Pheidippides]

Been doing it for two years now. It is great.

I can't see the downside. We can just transfer it straight from our bank account if we want, saving on postage. If we say we are full tithe payers, then you can take it or leave it, but that's all you will get.

I fully realize there are many reasons to be worried about me and my family from a TBM point of view, but the fact that the worry is expressed through tithing suspicions pisses me off. Money-grubbing bastards.

When I was clerk I was uncomfortable knowing the tithing amounts of everybody else and tried to forget them as best I could. Apparently the same level of discomfort is not shared.

[wally]

Been doing it for two years now. It is great.

I am interested, how is this set up?

[Joe Public]

I am interested, how is this set up?

Someone (DH?) posted detailed instructions in one of the threads, but I don't remember exactly where.

[smokymountainrain]

Someone (DH?) posted detailed instructions in one of the threads, but I don't remember exactly where.

Stop effing around and find it for us. TIA.

[thesaint258]

Been doing it for two years now. It is great.

Amen. I've been paying through the church for a little over a year, and it's great. When I gave that tithing report to the bishop in December, he asked if I was a full tithe payer, and I said I was. He looked at me and said, "But the sheet is blank." I told him that I paid through the church, and he just said, "I should figure out how to do that myself."

[BigPiney]

Interesting in that on the new tithing slips it asks for you membership number. So that if you give in other congregations, the church can aggregate it and the ward can still give you the year end statement for taxes. At least that is what I understood to be happening. If this is the case, your year end statement may eventually come through the ward, even though you are paying directly to HQ. I have no idea if this is really the case, but my ward clerk was talking about something like this last week.

[Joe Public]

Stop effing around and find it for us. TIA.

heh

[DrumNFeather]

I can't see the downside. We can just transfer it straight from our bank account if we want, saving on postage. If we say we are full tithe payers, then you can take it or leave it, but that's all you will get.

I fully realize there are many reasons to be worried about me and my family from a TBM point of view, but the fact that the worry is expressed through tithing suspicions pisses me off. Money-grubbing bastards.

When I was clerk I was uncomfortable knowing the tithing amounts of everybody else and tried to forget them as best I could. Apparently the same level of discomfort is not shared.

This is an interesting statement. Particularly with all the talk we've had on here regarding the local ward budget. If our budgets are not impacted by how much tithing we pay...then I cannot see any advantage in someone questioning what is paid strictly from a money grubbing perspective. What am I missing?

I also think there is an unhealthy level of paranoia among members regarding the tithing they pay. When I was called as the finance clerk, I had one friend outright tell me what he made so I wouldn't have to guess...and another friend make sure that he only paid on weeks where I wasn't there to help count...and another person tell me that they pay quarterly, so if I don't see anything come in from them for a while, that's why. Folks, I was focused on one thing when counting tithing; getting it done and getting out of there...especially when doing it after 1:00 PM church. That's it.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I am on my phone (DIA free wifi!) so I can't find the link, but setting it up literally took just a few minutes. There is a church website that explains it. I took the account details and just created another entry associated with LDS donations on my credit union online billpay system and that was it. I did a small donation to test it and it worked like a charm. They email you a PDF receipt with every donation. Now paying tithing is just as simple as paying the phone bill. Privacy is an added bonus.

[pellegrino]

Interesting in that on the new tithing slips it asks for you membership number. So that if you give in other congregations, the church can aggregate it and the ward can still give you the year end statement for taxes. At least that is what I understood to be happening. If this is the case, your year end statement may eventually come through the ward, even though you are paying directly to HQ. I have no idea if this is really the case, but my ward clerk was talking about something like this last week.

if that is the case then I will be very very upset. If they're going to insist on doing that then I think we have the right to know what they are doing with it.

[Northwestcoug]

This is an interesting statement. Particularly with all the talk we've had on here regarding the local ward budget. If our budgets are not impacted by how much tithing we pay...then I cannot see any advantage in someone questioning what is paid strictly from a money grubbing perspective. What am I missing?

I also think there is an unhealthy level of paranoia among members regarding the tithing they pay. When I was called as the finance clerk, I had one friend outright tell me what he made so I wouldn't have to guess...and another friend make sure that he only paid on weeks where I wasn't there to help count...and another person tell me that they pay quarterly, so if I don't see anything come in from them for a while, that's why. Folks, I was focused on one thing when counting tithing; getting it done and getting out of there...especially when doing it after 1:00 PM church. That's it.

Yeah, but I'm sure there are more curious finance clerks out there...

[Jacob]

Just found a link to the insructions to pay directly to HQ. They got a letter from the church asking them to remove the link.
http://mormonlifehacker.com/pay-your-tithing-online/

Then I found this from some church bureaucrat:

When there is not a special circumstances need you are placing an unnecessary burden on those who manually process those electronic donations. There is manual processing to connect the donations to the membership number.

Ha. What a ridiculous complaint. Extra man hours for some data entry church employee? Compared to the extra manpower required to hand a check to the bishop, who hands it to the clerk. How makes a deopsit slip and enters it in the computer, who takes it to the bank, and then someone at HQ still has to balance the bank account.

[Pheidippides]

I am interested, how is this set up?

http://tech.lds.org/wiki/Donations_t...h_Headquarters

It's on the church website, but I had to hunt for it.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Interesting in that on the new tithing slips it asks for you membership number. So that if you give in other congregations, the church can aggregate it and the ward can still give you the year end statement for taxes. At least that is what I understood to be happening. If this is the case, your year end statement may eventually come through the ward, even though you are paying directly to HQ. I have no idea if this is really the case, but my ward clerk was talking about something like this last week.

That hasnt been my experience yet. I got my year-end statement via email. The one I got from the ward clerk only showed fast offerings.

[Pheidippides]

This is an interesting statement. Particularly with all the talk we've had on here regarding the local ward budget. If our budgets are not impacted by how much tithing we pay...then I cannot see any advantage in someone questioning what is paid strictly from a money grubbing perspective. What am I missing?

I also think there is an unhealthy level of paranoia among members regarding the tithing they pay. When I was called as the finance clerk, I had one friend outright tell me what he made so I wouldn't have to guess...and another friend make sure that he only paid on weeks where I wasn't there to help count...and another person tell me that they pay quarterly, so if I don't see anything come in from them for a while, that's why. Folks, I was focused on one thing when counting tithing; getting it done and getting out of there...especially when doing it after 1:00 PM church. That's it.

It was a cynical statement that wasn't meant to be serious. That said, my issue is not with the financial clerks. This would not have been an issue save for the conversation(s).