A Ministry of Meetings: The Apostolic Diaries of Rudger Clawson, p 87; “2 p.m. Meeting called to order by Pres. Pond. Pres. Snow said that the Lord had shown him that the people of His Church must wake up and obey the law of tithing, or calamities would come upon them. Read the revelation on tithing and made some remarks upon it. “I say to you in the name of the Lord,” he said, “if you will pay your tithing in full, the Lord will forgive you for your disobedience in the past.” – emphasis mine
Ephesians 1:6-7; “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace”.
Historically speaking the LDS Church has prided itself on slamming the Catholics for taking money in lieu of forgiveness. (1 Nephi 13:8) And here we are reading they’re doing that very same thing. Hmm…imagine my surprise.
The truth is that God doesn’t want your money. He doesn’t need your money – He’s God. What’s He to do with your measly 10%? Buy a car or go on vacation?
He OWNS your money. He OWNS the stuff you have. He GAVE you the job you have. Why would He forgive you of your dishonesty if you pony up? You can’t bribe Him or pay Him off with something He already owns.
God has given us every stitch of clothing we wear and each morsel of food we ingest as a gift. As a sign of devotion and appreciation to Him Christians pay tithing. Our lives are blessed exponentially by giving to the Lord, but make no mistake my friend; God isn’t going to bring calamity upon you for not doing so!
Jesus gave us two ordinances to obey – communion and baptism. That’s a pretty narrow window wouldn’t you say? Neither of those two words fit the definition of paying tithe.
When your conscience tells you to start loosening the purse strings, it’s because the Holy Spirit is convicting you.
The only way to be forgiven for your poor behavior and sin is through Jesus’ spilled blood, not handing over your debit card.
Tithing is a commandment, and the faithful will obey it. Yes, we are still expected to follow the Lord’s commandments if we love him. See John 14:15. The straight and narrow way he referred to is a lot more than baptism and communion-it is faith and obedience, and that means all that the Lord says, not just what you or your congregation approves of.