I can tell this post is going to end up being a multi-part post in order to address the important subject of tithing. So, here's how it's going to go:
Part 1 will lay out PRINCIPLES related to the law (tenet or precept) of tithing and give a historical summary of its application in both ancient and modern times;
Part 2 is to discuss WHAT TITHING REALLY IS versus WHAT WE THINK IT IS;
Part 3 will lay out my thoughts about HOW WE ARE TO LIVE this law so we can ultimately move from giving 10% to giving 100% in the Lord's prescribed manner;
Part 4 will address the debatable and challenging topic of HOW TITHES ARE TO BE ADMINISTERED by the Lord's church.
PART 1
Principles Pertaining to the Law of Tithing
1. Giving "tithes and offerings" has been a principle established from the "foundation of the world" for men, women and families to practice a lives of sacrifice and consecration unto the Lord.
2. Tithing is just STEP 1 of an ascending, multi-step process of sacrifice and consecration. This process, which cause men and women to learn to offer "sacrifices unto the Lord" and will eventuate in them consecrating EVERYTHING (including dedicating and consecrating their own lives and that which is most precious to them) to the Lord, in order to obtain a promise from God that will last through the eternities - the promise of Eternal Life - by God's own voice - thereby creating family and community where they are of "one heart and one mind" and "there [is] no poor among them".
3. As a follow-on to principle 2 above, tithing was/is meant to be SIMPLE and PAINLESS. If it is painful now for you to pay tithing, then either we are ignorant of what it REALLY is versus what WE THINK it is.
4. Payment of tithes (in and of itself) does not guarantee that we won't be burned at His coming, nor is our eternal salvation either guaranteed or damned by it's non-payment.
5. Tithing is and always has been a voluntary commandment. Any church that portends to hold your eternal salvation over you if you don't pay tithes to them is out of integrity with this principle.
6. Tithing is a principle with a promise attached for those who live it in righteousness.
(Note: Personally, I don't want to turn this necessarily into a long, drawn out scriptural session in which most of you won't go to the sources anyway <smile>, so I am going to touch on things in summary and spend time where I feel like it would be most beneficial for us to take the time to understand.
Also, I have read EVERY verse in ALL of our modern LDS scriptures (Old Testament, New Testament, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price) to try and understand from a strictly scriptural perspective this principle of tithing. I have also searched all the following terms: tithe, tithes, tithed, tithing on LDS.org and other scriptural databases.
Finally, I have read those verses available in the Bible from more than 8 other "translation" sources - i.e. NIV, The Message, Amplified, NLT, Douay Rheims, etc. - just to make sure that there wasn't something amiss in my desire to live this principal and ordinance in righteousness before the Lord.)
History of Tithing - The Patriarchs and Tithes and Offerings
We don't know from the scriptural record specifically WHEN the tenet or precept of tithing was given, but it appears it was commonly understood from the time of the patriarchs. It's most likely correct to assume it was taught by Adam to his descendants, but we don't know that for sure, because it's not in the record we have.
Further, when we actually first encounter it in the Old Testament, it was never defined as a law or commandment. Even when Moses taught it to the children of Israel after leaving Egypt, it was not an enforceable law with a punishment attached. The first time it is mentioned in either the Old Testament or the Inspired Translation of the Bible by Joseph Smith was when Abraham (after rescuing Lot and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah) paid tithes to Melchizedek. (
Gen. 14:20)
The next time a consecration of a tenth, or a "tithe", is mentioned is Jacob's interesting vow to God to pay his tithing. Jacob agreed to pay it, only IF God would bless him. Again, it appears it was not a commandment or enforceable law, but it was always voluntary. "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying: ‘
If
God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give
me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come back to my father’s
house in peace,
then shall the Lord be my God ... and of all that you shall
give me I will surely give the tenth unto you." (
Gen. 28:20-22 emphasis mine.)
Jacob says that he will give God a tenth, but for what purpose? At that time, we don't know for sure, but it's probably a safe bet to assume that whatever the "tenth" was, it was set aside and consecrated to the Lord to use for whatever purpose (using the material means God gave him to "care for the poor and needy" so there would be "no poor among them") that God told Jacob to use it for. I believe this is a safe assumption, because after that it then is mentioned multiple times throughout the Old Testament as part of the law of Moses. Here is what it was to be used for in according to the Law/Torah (5 Books of Moses):
- The people only were "tithed" on their food (livestock and crops);
- The food went to the Levites, Priests, and needy people (read: the poor) - those who didn't have land of their own by which they could work on and feed themselves.
- "Tithes" were not required of everyone - only those who raised
livestock or grew crops. For example, carpenters weren't required to
tithe, nor were the Priests and needy people.
Something that we need to remember is that the common, rank and file families in Israel were NEVER chastised for not living the principle of tithes and offerings. It was always the leadership who the Lord chastises for abusing/robbing the tithes and offerings of the people (see Nehemiah 13:4-12; Malachi 1:6;
2:1; and 3:7-10). We, in our own day, abuse the verses in Malachi 3 as if it was written to us to incorrectly remind us that God looks down on
us for not
paying our tithing.
But that is NOT
the correct context!
The chastisement
wasn’t for the individual who failed to pay their tithing, it was for the
dishonest scribes, priests, and leaders who misappropriated the tithes and
offerings of the people.
Now, I'm digressing just a bit, but I want to pause and ask: Why am I pointing this out? Am I advocating not needing to
pay tithing because it is voluntary law? No.
Not at all. However, I point it out so we can be careful that we don't “teach for doctrine the commandments of men”. The scriptural record is clear: Tithes and offerings were ALWAYS voluntary. But we, in modern times, sometimes have the payment of tithes wrongly held over our eternal salvation if we don't pay it. Scripturally, the Lord NEVER required members of his church to pay tithes in order to be saved eternally, but we have confused and misinterpreted some scriptures to where we are now compelled to pay tithes, not only if you want to go to the temple, but also recently reported to be baptized! But that's a subject for another time...
History of Tithing in the Latter
Days
On December 7, 1836, Bishop Edward
Partridge and his counselors officially defined tithing as 2% of the net worth
of each member of the church – after deducting debts. This money was supposed to
cover the operating expenses of the Church, and it appears to have been
adequate for a time.
Two years later, the Church was officially
eight years old and nearly 15,000 converts had already emigrated from their
homes and gathered to Missouri, the new Zion.
Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, who constituted the First Presidency at
the time, were spending all their time dealing with and settling this huge flow
of immigrants, to the exclusion of being able to provide a living for their own
families. Things reached a point where Joseph and Sidney must either needed to be
compensated for their time, or they were both going to have to stop what they were
doing and go out and get “real jobs”. On May 12th Joseph and Sidney took the matter
before the High Council of the Church. George W. Robinson recorded the minutes:
“The Presidency laid before the High Council their situation
as to maintaining their families in the situation and relation they stood to
the Church, spending as they have for eight years their time, talents, and
property in the service of the Church and now reduced as it were to absolute
beggary and still were detained in the service of the Church. It now [had]
become necessary that something should be done for their support, either by the
Church or else they must do it themselves of their own labors. If the Church
said, "Help yourselves," they would thank them and immediately do so,
but if the Church said, "Serve us," then some provisions must be made
for them.” (Scott Faulring, An American
Prophet's Record, Pg 182.)
The High Council voted eleven to one
(George Hinkle was vigorously opposed to "a salaried ministry") to
further contract the two men for their services, being careful to note that the
money was "not for preaching or for receiving the word of God by
revelation, neither for instructing the Saints in righteousness," but for
work in the "printing establishment, in translating the ancient records,
&c, &c." (ibid.)
Richard S. Van Wagoner, in his
biography of Sidney Rigdon, further explains:
“After negotiations, they agreed to offer Rigdon and Smith
an annual contract of $1,100 apiece, more than three times what the average
worker of the day could earn. Ebenezer Robinson, the High Council's clerk,
later wrote that "when it was noised abroad that the Council had taken
such a step, the members of the Church, almost to a man, lifted their voices
against it. The expression of disapprobation was so strong and emphatic that at
the next meeting of the High Council, the resolution voting them a salary was
rescinded." (Richard S. Van Wagoner, Sidney
Rigdon, Pg 230.)
Instead, what the High Council did was offer Joseph and Sidney 80 acres for their families to live on. They were
given land, but no “working capital”. Anyway, the Church was growing faster
than anyone had anticipated, so it was past time to get the Lord's opinion on
how to handle the financial end of things. Although Bishop Partridge had declared
tithing to be 2% of net worth, Partridge was not authorized to set doctrine;
only God could do that.
In July of 1838, Joseph finally put the question to the Lord
as to how all this was intended to work, and the answer is what we now know as
the “law of tithing”. This law consists of the entire chapter of D&C 119,
and takes up all of seven short verses. You can read the whole thing in less
than 30 seconds so grab your scriptures and let’s do that right now. Or just click here to read it online. Then
let's analyze it together.
First, tell the truth, let me ask you: did you even
know this is where the law of tithing was?
Yeah…me too. If you did, good for you. You're much farther along than me... Anyway, what does it say? The first thing you notice about
the law of tithing defined by the Lord here in modern revelation is that it
concisely addresses two important issues:
1.
How much members are specifically expected to contribute.
2.
What the contributions are to be spent on.
Definitions
Then in verses 3 and 4 we find out
what the Lord’s description of tithing actually is:
“And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people. And after
that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a
standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.”
It is declared that those who are
subject to tithes are to pay 10% of “interest” each year – but what exactly is “interest”?
The most relevant definition is what that
word mean to people living in Joseph Smith’s time…I mean, words mean things, right? So
what did it mean to them?
One way of determining how to assess
the meaning of the words of Joseph Smith’s revelations is to examine the 1828
edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which was the current english dictionary
during the relevant years of Joseph’s life.
So, how does Webster’s 1828
dictionary define “interest” as it related to someone’s properties or income?
If you examine the entry for “interest”, you see several definitions. What
would seem to be the most relevant definition is:
“6. Any surplus advantage”
(“American Dictionary of the English Language” entry on “Interest”, Noah
Webster, 1828)
However, the term “advantage” is not
usual to the modern vernacular in this context and so looking up the meaning of
that term also provides the following helpful definitions:
“2. Benefit; gain; profit…
7. Interest; increase; overplus”
(“American Dictionary of the English Language” entry on “Advantage”,
Noah Webster, 1828)
Okay, so “interest” is a “surplus
advantage” and “advantage” is “gain, profit, increase or overplus” – all of
these terms imply something over and above something else. However, there is
still some ambiguity here and it would be helpful to have some more
clarification.
It turns out that if you look
closely at the original revelation in D&C 119 itself there is a helpful bit
of information in the very next verse:
“Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather
unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of
their surplus properties…”
Okay, good this confirms the notion
of tithing applying to “surplus.” So, what exactly did “surplus” mean at the
time? Webster again provides clarification:
“1. Overplus: that which remains when use is satisfied; excess beyond
what is prescribed or wanted.
2. In law, the residuum of an estate, after the debts and legacies are
paid.”
(“American Dictionary of the English Language” entry on “Surplus”, Noah
Webster, 1828)
Now we are getting to some specific
information – interest or surplus increase is equivalent to an overplus or essentially
what remains when use is satisfied. It is the amount OVER what is prescribed or
wanted by the individual (or family) that the 10% of tithing is calculated
from.
Abram’s Tithing Example
How can we be sure this interpretation
is correct? Is there was some other scriptural citation about tithing that may
help? Yep, there is. Remember that Joseph Smith undertook an inspired
translation of the Bible as directed by the Lord. In his translation Joseph Smith restored many of the
"plain and precious truths" which had been removed from the scripture. Genesis
Chapter 14 included some remarkable additional verses, including a description
of the tithes that Abram paid to Melchizedek:
“Wherefore, Abram paid unto him tithes of all that he had, of all the
riches which he possessed, which God had given him more than that which he had need.”
Here from both modern revelation in
the D&C and restoration of scripture (Joseph Smith’s inspired translation
of the Bible) it clarifies that tithing is to be paid from whatever is more
than that which we have need. Basically, by examining all these aspects it is
clear that tithing as originally defined
in this last dispensation was to be paid on one’s Net Income – that is monies
left over AFTER the payment of needed expenses.
Here is where I really want to chime
in and say, “Hold on! Wait a minute! I was always taught that we were supposed
to pay tithing on GROSS INCOME!” But
that will come in Part 2 (smile) where we will define what tithing really is
versus what we “think” it is…but back to the “rest of the story” of tithing as
a policy in our modern LDS history.
Current LDS Church Policy
Could the definition of tithing have
changed since it was first given? I mean, we
believe in living prophets and revelation, right? Remember that the law of
tithing was given to be “a standing law unto them forever” in D&C 119. Perhaps
we may think that this means that the law and definition would never change,
but “reasonable” Mormon’s might allow that the law could remain standing and
simply be updated as more lines and precepts were added upon, so to speak. The 2010
Church Handbook of Instructions states
the following:
Here we see that the definition
refers back to the original revelation of “one-tenth of all their interest
annually” and is clarified to indicate that this means “income.” Okay. Well
“income” is still somewhat ambiguous here because Gross Income and Net Income
are both forms of “income”, right? Since the
definition listed in the handbook does not distinguish between the two, either
one would fit the definition.
THEREFORE, because the definition in the
current handbook is just a quote from the original revelation – we can safely
make the conclusion that tithing is to be paid as 10% of Net Income. Meaning it is 10% of your income remaining after
all needed expenses are paid. That’s it. That’s what the Lord would agree is "full tithe". My stating this definition is supported by the
words of the law of tithing as given in the original revelation (D&C 119)
in the context of early 1800’s American English and is furthermore supported by
revealed scripture in the Joseph Smith translation of the bible - Abram's tithing example above.
Conclusion
Those of us who have been conditioned by a lifetime of misconceptions about tithing may have difficulty realizing that a "full tithe" constitutes less than we probably thought it did. A LOT LESS. While there may be some things in life that are challenging, difficult to bear, or that constitute a sacrifice, tithing, when properly understood, IS NOT and SHOULD NOT be one of them. The Lord designed it to be SIMPLE, PAINLESS, and CHEAP.
Let me just insert a little reminder here and say that Tithing is Step 1 of a grand process of developing us to become like Him. Joseph Smith said,“When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation.” (TPJS, p. 147) Again, the giving of tithes and offerings is just the first part. We have another 90% to go. It's not enough to say we made to our own 10 yard line. We still have 90 yards to go!
Anyway, in my next post – Part 2 – we will examine this in more depth to try and clarify WHAT TITHING REALLY IS versus
WHAT WE THINK IT IS. It should help us get some clarity and think through a few things; for instance,
the definition of what a “needed expense” is and how taxes fit into the equation.
