Five Percent?

Yesterday in the paper there was a "Letter to the Editor" from someone who proposed the idea that the LDS church cut tithing down to five percent of income due to the "hard" economic times. I kid you not. I read the letter and kept waiting for the punchline, thinking it was a joke. But it wasn't. This lady was serious. Times are hard and the church needs to help out by letting it's members off the hook. The church needs to give more.

This lady must not have any idea of the bishop's storehouse and welfare aid available to those members who are truly struggling. Or fast offerings? The bishop uses these to help out members of the ward who are in need of aid. And what about how often the church rushes to aid those, including many not of the faith, who are devastated by natural disaster? The church doesn't do enough to help it's members? I don't think so. It is the most generous and has the best organized welfare program I know of.

Now let's talk about how this woman feels the five percent members would save could be used to better help their own families. I doubt that. Most people have no idea how to use their money wisely. Look at the economy. There have been times when I actually have thought about how much we pay in tithing and think "Wow!" It's a good bit of money. But what would I do with it if I had it at my disposal? Save more? Spend it on stupid things I don't need? Go out to eat more? I don't know. The point is that I don't miss the money I pay in tithing. We get by just fine and we always have. There have been times when things were tight and yet we still paid our tithing. Those times when one wonders how things are going to work out. But amazingly, not really, the Lord has blessed us and we have made it through those tough times. We weren't dripping in jewels and sitting on piles of cash, but we had enough to take care of our real needs. There has never been a question about paying tithing and there never will be. Look at the widow and her two mites. That was all she had and yet she paid and was blessed.

Most importantly tithing is a commandment from the Lord. Those are non-negotiable. You either accept it or you don't. There isn't any haggling over price. All we have is from the Lord. EVERYTHING. And you can't give ten percent back to Him? C'mon. What's the deal with that? The Lord always blesses us for our obedience to His commandments. I just don't see how we lose out on this one. How could someone have the audacity to ask for a smaller requirement? The Lord doesn't work that way. Not only that, but we live in one of the most prosperous countries. How can someone complain about paying tithing in the United States? Try living in Africa or any struggling country. These faithful members do what is asked of them and love the Lord in doing it. They have far less than us and yet give freely. Talk about being spoiled where we live.

The bottom line is you either follow the Lord or you don't, just like with Proposition 8. You can't negotiate with the Lord when he has set the conditions. You do it and are blessed for it far beyond your imagination. Or you don't and suffer the consequences. Don't think that when you reach the judgement bar you can sweet talk your way into the Celestial Kingdom. The Lord is a little bit smarter than that. He doesn't ask of us more than we can handle. If you have a hard time with paying tithing, make changes to your budget. But don't whine about how unfair it is. One can only imagine the condition of this lady's testimony who wrote this letter. Unfortunately she has been decieved and strayed from the Lord. It can be a great warning to us all.