Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints practice the Biblical principle of tithing by donating 10 percent of their income to the Church.
Tithing has been known since Old Testament times. For example, it is recorded in Genesis 14:17-20 that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. Today, tithing money is used for a variety of purposes, including humanitarian efforts and the construction of meetinghouses and temples. Tithing money also pays for the Church’s operating costs and helps fund missionary, education and genealogy programs.
Latter-day Saints give their tithing donations to local leaders. These local leaders send the money to Church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, where a committee determines specific ways to use the funds. This council is composed of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the Presiding Bishopric.
As with members of many other faiths, Latter-day Saints believe that the payment of tithing shows gratitude to God and brings both spiritual and temporal blessings, however, membership in the Church does not depend on the payment of tithes.
Former Church spokesperson, Michael Otterson, in a Washington Post Blog article said, “. . . all donations are offered voluntarily.”
“It is an honor system that works very well,” he continues, “because each member has a sense of consecrating a portion of his or her means to God’s work. Since the entire Church depends on its members to serve as lay ministers and provide service in a myriad of ways, paying tithing is simply another private yet tangible affirmation of that spirit of sacrifice.”
Read more in the Washington Post here.
Read an article by presiding bishop of the Church, Gérald Caussé, on financial self-reliance here.
Watch a video on tithing.
Mormons believe that the voluntary payment of tithes is a testimony of our commitment to follow Jesus Christ.