Posted on 02/04/2012 10:06:44 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
When Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney released his federal tax returns for the past two years, he disclosed that he and his wife, Ann, gave about 10 percent of their income to their church, a well-known religious practice called tithing.
In that way, the Romneys are typical Mormons, members of a church that is exceptionally serious about the Old Testament mandate to give away one-tenth of one's income.
But compared to other religious Americans, the Romneys and other Mormons are fairly atypical when it comes to passing the plate. Across the rest of the religious landscape, tithing is often preached but rarely realized.
Research into church donations shows a wide range of giving, with Mormons among the most generous relative to income, followed by conservative Christians, mainline Protestants and Catholics last.
Over the past 34 years, Americans' generosity to all churches has been in steady decline, in good times and in bad, said Sylvia Ronsvalle, whose Illinois-based Empty Tomb Inc. tracks donations to Protestant churches.
Ronsvalle's research shows that since 1968, contributions have slowly slumped from 3.11 percent of income to 2.38 percent, despite gains in prosperity.
In her view, churches have failed "to call people to invest in a much larger vision." She believes that explains why giving to missions, distant anti-poverty programs or faraway ministries has sunk faster than giving for the needs of local congregations.
A recent poll by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that 79 percent of Mormons said they tithed to their church, a much higher percentage than in the Catholic and Protestant world.
The former Massachusetts governor and his wife slightly underpaid their tithe in 2010 but intend to make it up when their final 2011 income becomes clear, a spokesman for Romney's campaign told The Associated Press.
Under pressure to disclose, Romney recently released his federal returns, showing he is likely to pay an effective federal tax rate of about 15 percent on $45 million in income over two years.
The returns also showed the Romneys have already donated $2.6 million to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the 2011 tax year. That brings their church donations to $4.1 million on two years' estimated income of $42.6 million.
They made other charitable contributions of $3 million as well.
Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich's 2010 return showed charitable donations of $81,000, or about 2.5 percent of his $3.2 million income. About $9,500 went to the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington; the balance of his charitable giving was not disclosed.
President Obama's return showed donations of $245,000, or about 14 percent of his $1.8 million income. The 36 contributions went to a wide range of secular and faith-based health, educational and community development groups.
A broad study called the U.S. Congregational Life Survey found that only about a third of Catholics, half of mainline Protestants and two-thirds of conservative Christians reached even the 5 percent level of giving.
Researcher Cynthia Woolever said mainline Protestants in her study gave slightly more than evangelicals in absolute dollars, but less as a percentage of income.
Her study did not include Jewish or Muslim congregations because of their smaller numbers.
Ronsvalle and others said generosity tends to be higher among evangelicals because of their regard for the authority of Scripture, where the command is repeatedly found, from Genesis 14, describing Abram's gift to God of "a tenth of everything" to Malachi 3, in which God promises blessings on those who tithe.
Rick Warren, perhaps the most famous evangelical pastor in the country, has said he "reverse tithes," giving away 90 percent of his income, including all the profits from his best-selling book, "The Purpose Driven Life."
Woolever said Catholics appear at the far end of the spectrum because the Catholic Church does not stress tithing. In addition, she said, Catholic congregations tend to be larger, diluting the sense of individual responsibility for financial support.
No one passes a collection basket at Mormon services. Instead, offerings are mailed or sent in outside of the weekly meeting rite. Mormon leaders keep an accounting, and once a year Mormon families are invited to sit briefly with their bishop, the head of their congregation, and discuss their donations.
It may sound awkward, but it's not to Brenda Grant, a retired nurse from eastern New Orleans who, with her husband, converted from Catholicism more than 30 years ago.
Grant, like many others who follow the biblical mandate, sees tithing as both a command and a voluntary gesture of gratitude to God. It is also a way to secure continued blessings, she said.
She and her husband, Earl, believe it was partly because of their fidelity through tithing that God sent them blessings after their home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
“I love this site. I love the debate. I just hope I don’t get zotted for taking a differing opinion on some things.”
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Welcome to Free Republic.
Don’t forget that we were all “Newbies” once. You’ll do fine here.
“so never had to put it on the line in a hostile arena”.
You were in uniform and ready. That’s what counts.
“to the folks enlisting in recent times when they know it’s likely they will deploy to a place where people will shoot at them”.
Amen brother.
A FULL tithe is REQUIRED for a Temple Recommend.
Around 85% of MORMONs do NOT have one!
What does THAT fact tell you??
Praying not paying. God loves your soul - not your money.
“...you are in with the big boys.”
“And at 24 I was running the largest YR group in California and a state delegate CRA and CRP. Slacker.”
______________________________
Aren’t you confusing being a “big boy” with being an adult? Your claims of how important and accomplished you were, as well as you calling someone you don’t even know a “Slacker” exhibits childish and immature behavior to me.
What’s a YR group? I assume ‘Young Republicans’? If so, our paths may have crossed if you were active in the late 60’s-early 70’s in Orange County, CA.
Give the kid a break. You were a “Noob” once yourself.
Tithing, offerings and alms are voluntary and between God and man.
What mormons do is not voluntary (between the member and the bishop ward), either you tithe or you don’t go to the celestial kingdom and get your own planet.
Big difference wouldn’t you say.
Where is your source that lds give to the less fortunate.
First eliminate the sourcess from lds news papers, and lets eliminate the “giving” that the less fortunate are REQUIRED to pay back, and eleminate what goes just to thire members alone, see what you can come up with.
Where is your source that lds give to the less fortunate.
First eliminate the sourcess from lds news papers, and lets eliminate the “giving” that the less fortunate are REQUIRED to pay back, and eliminate what goes just to their members alone, see what you can come up with.
Where is your source that lds give to the less fortunate.
First eliminate the sources from lds news papers, and lets eliminate the “giving” that the less fortunate are REQUIRED to pay back, and eliminate what goes just to their members alone, see what you can come up with.
Before the church in America became influenced by progressive/Marxist ideology, all the denominations required work of the able-bodied poor whom they assisted and, government support of the poor was very limited. Today, a lot of denominational aid to the poor consists of qualifying poor people for government programs. If the Mormons didn’t hold to such wacky doctrines, I might find their religion (or whatever it is) attractive. On the other hand, the Catholics and many Protestants in this country are dedicated to non-government schools and home-schooling. It is a big sacrifice to pay twice for the education of your children, once in taxes and a second time in tuition or in the time it takes to home-school. But, in these times of increasing socialism, this is so very important.
No, but they might be darned to heck.
Why thank you Oprah.
What you said is not Biblical.
If just being “good enough” was the way, there would have been no need for the Cross.
Methodists tithe also.
All men go to either Glory or damnation.
All men make the choice for themselves.
All men have free will.
It is that simple.
New tagline...
Know what you are talking about before running your mouth.
We give world wide.
When Katrina hit, the LDS Church was in the area handing out aide to ANYONE that needed aide. We beat FEMA(Govt workers by several days and never asked what faith are you).
When the Earthquake/Tsunami hit Japan, plane loads of aide was sent by the Church and local level, and we have very few members in Japan. It was all about helping our fellow man in need. We are the most generous church on earth and ask nothing in return.
Why the bigotry?
***
An example of bigotry is looking at someone’s skin color or race or position and saying, “You’re bad, I hate you.”
It’s not bigotry to speak the truth about doctrines of devils, which can damn you.
You would do well FRiend to read the section on eyewitness testimonies of the low character of Joseph Smith, false prophecies, errors in the Book of Mormon, and anti-Biblical Mormon doctrines in this ...
http://www.waltermartin.com/cults.html
... book. Don’t stop after reading the web site, buy the book. And then to read the section on the fraudulent beginnings of Jehovah’s Witnessism, and ask yourself, “If Jehovah’s Witnessism is false because of the truths of these testimonies and I reject Jehovah’s Witnessism, why do I accept Mormonism?”
I was born a Jew and now I believe in Jesus Christ. Most assuredly, I have answered hundreds of objections from Jews and Atheists to the Christian faith with answers that the questioners had no response to. I am not hypocritically asking you to do anything I have not done myself.
You should read the section on Mormonism in “Kingdom of the Cults” and have real answers for every issue they raise. Your eternal soul is at stake.
Lastly, read the article at http://xwalk.ca/y3nf.html, and notice that the writer of the Bible, who is God and not a man, says what happens thousands of years before it happens with accuracy and specificity unmatched by men or devils.
Do any of the writings of Joseph Smith have accuracy and specificity that match the kind we see in the above link?
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18
Jesus Christ said that the gates of hell will not prevail against his church. So this “revelation” to Joseph Smith has two lies packed up in it.
1) It makes Jesus Christ a liar, and Joseph Smith a source of greater truth.
2) This founding premise of Mormonism is that Joseph Smith was told by God not to join any church, as if buildings called churches were central to the faith and what Jesus described, as opposed to the Biblical definition that all the Christian believers in the world are collectively “the church.”
If you say the Bible has been altered, and Joseph Smith is telling the truth, then what about Jesus Christ saying ...
MATTHEW 24:35
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
MARK 13:31
31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
LUKE 21:33
33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
... is that an alteration too? If you say yes, then what about this promise from God that God will preserve his words for ever?
The words of the LORD [are] pure words: [as] silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
Psalms 12:6-7
So, the premise was laid down 700 years before Christ walked the earth, that the words of the LORD are preserved. If the words of the prophets were preserved in the Old Testament, why not the words of Jesus in the New Testament?
And there are those who say everything the LDS does is just for show. I just can't see why anyone would think that...
BTW do you have any fillings or are you sucessful enough to tithe from your earnings?
http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/portoalegre/
Well, the church is spending 4 BILLION plus on a shopping mall in SLC, while in Jan. 2006, from the Church PR department, (Deseret News Publishing Company): Edgley said, "that since 1984, the LDS Church has donated nearly $750 million in cash and goods to people in need in more than 150 countries. That averages to 37.5 million per year or about $3-$4 per Mormon member went to the poor."
A whole whopping 750 million over 22 YEARS. Only 32 million / year - that is less than 1% of the total income of the mormon church.
The salvation army - at only 1.7 million members - supply a much higher percentage of their budget than mormonism - and nearly as much in cash value.
Convoy of Hope has 89% of all income devoted to helping others.
And the mormon church didn't even break into any list by philanthropic agencies in response to the Japan earthquake.
BTW, these other agencies make their financials available to the public - the mormon church is sealed tight.
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