LDS/Mormon tithing?

Question

Why does the Morman church keep a financial account of its individual members?
Surely god knows who pays.
Are there other churches have as much interest in members finances?

Answer 1

Well it is not so much a record of my finances but a record of donations.

It is a past of the LDS accounting and auditing structure. The idea is that money given to the church use used for good church purposes and not horded by a few.

Some money does go to individuals in the church but all money is accounted and audited -- internally and externally.

It is a measure against abuse of funds

Answer 2

The law of Tithing simply states that you pay 1/10 of your increase. How you determine what your increase amounts to is between you and God. Me personally if I were in your position I would pay tithing off of my unemployment benefits because I realize how much I need the blessings that God gives me because of my obedience. As far as being called into the Bishops office is concerned, you are only asked about tithing once a year, during "tithing settlement" and in interviews like for your temple recommend. The interviews where tithing is discussed amount to one brief question that is meant to be answered with a simple yes or no answer. The question is "Are you a full tithe payer?" Tithing settlement is about the same case, except they give you a paper that has a record of what you have given so that you can make sure that the Ward's information matches up with your information, it also helps for taxes and things like that. However to help you get an idea of how much this entire system is based off of your word I will share with you an experience a friend of mine had. Sometime ago he found out that you can have your tithing money (and other things) pulled directly out of your check and direct deposited into the Churches bank and pay your tithing that way. What he likes about doing that is that he does not have to remember to pay his tithing it is done already for him. I will make sure to mention that in all my years as an active member I have never heard of anyone other than him even knowing about the idea that you could pay your tithing in any manner other than the envelops by the Bishops office. But the reason that I mention this is that his ward was never told anything about his tithing and so when he goes into tithing settlement they give him (a temple recommend holding member of the church who also has a wife and children) a paper that says that they have not received even one penny of tithing from him. When the Bishop asks him if he is a full tithe payer he simply responds "yes" and that is that, there is nothing else that is done with it. He claims to be a full tithe payer and so, he is treated accordingly. If someone is found to be lying then is the time that something might be done. So the question you need to ask yourself is, what is a full tithe to you. Now I must also mention that part of the Bishops calling is to make sure the temporal needs of the members of his ward are being met, so it would be his part of his calling to help you out in this trying time, so I would wholeheartedly recommend that you talk to him about your financial struggles.

Answer 3

There is an obligation of the church to keep records for income tax purposes. That is the extent that every other church gets involved. They follow the command to let not the left hand know what the right hand is doing and only the record keeper knows this business of the church.
Alas it is not like that in the Mormon church. The next closest one to this is they synagogues. The seats are sold for the year and everyone knows how much you gave because of where you sit.

Answer 4

I'm interning for an accounting firm. If a person donates more than $500 to a church, than they need records from that organization to verify it to take as an itemized deductions. I've seen statements from many churches that have the dates and amounts of all donations made by the individual.

As said by the answer before me, I think it's required of them as a tax-exempt organization

Answer 5

Mormons are massive book keepers, down to how many people went to church that day and who talked ect. They provide you with how much tithing you paid for taxes as well.
My church also gives me tax info, but they also tell me were they spend th emoney, the mormon church never told me were the money went.

Answer 6

Tt's just simple book keeping, this way you know approximately how much cash to expect coming in for business purposes, ministries, outreach programs, benevolence, etc.. The bills on those buildings and staff members need to get paid.
So they can send them a Year End Statement for Tax Purposes.

Answer 7

blessfrogsnchildren, it is a deep fallacy that Mormons are expected to leave all their money to the church when they die. People CAN do it, if they want, but we are not told that we must. Our money is our money, and apart from the 10% that we should give to God to thank Him for all His blessings, we can do wat we want with our money.

Answer 8

To keep it's status as a tax-exmpt religious entity, meticulous financial records must be maintained.

Church leaders cannot tell you who to vote for either, but guess who they want for President?

These are certainly the last days. I suggest learning how to read the Qu'ran in Chinese.

Answer 9

Church is a business like everything else.

They tell you to pray to God but who gets the cheques?

Answer 10

God doesn't get any money, the churches and the preachers do. Anyone is a fool who gives more than 1% to their churches.