How to pay tithing online?

[lajackson]

Here's the challenge to this option of having a check sent to your home address.

Which is why it is so nice that you no longer have to do this if you have a U.S. bank account.

No check banking has been a way of life in Europe and other countries for a decade or longer. Some of my children have accounts where they are not allowed to write checks.

To pay his tithing, a general authority from Europe had to open a checking account when he moved to the U.S. I have always wondered if he has been overseeing the effort to get electronic contributions going for U.S. members.

[johnshaw]

My Bishop, in Sacrament Meeting this past Sunday, got on members about putting a note in the Fast Offering envelope the Deacon's bring around on Sunday morning. They kept saying I pay my FO when I pay my tithing and wanted to be removed from the route. He said that 'The Church' is trying to build these Deacons and get them ready for missions and that this is one of their priesthood responsibilities and members needed to decide whether they 'Stood with the Church' or not.

Later in a combined P/RS lesson on technology, a ward member asked me about paying tithing online. I didn't want to touch that with a ten-foot-pole so I deferred to the Bishop. The Bishop said it was only being beta tested in one place and that it's a long way off still.

So, it appears, that many may still be in the need of writing a FO check even if they can do everything else online.

[lajackson]

So, it appears, that many may still be in the need of writing a FO check even if they can do everything else online.

Having been a bishop twice, I would merely comment that yours is about to get a real surprise, and it will be sooner rather than later. However, I love my bishop with all of his quirks and traditions, and the Church is still true.

If I faced that situation, I would just leave the part of the note off asking to be removed from the FO route. I am confident I still "Stood with the Church" when the checks in my checking account went away.

He might also be surprised that, as an adult, I have never lived anywhere in my life where the deacons collected fast offerings using the blue envelope system, although I am very familiar with it. Somehow, we've managed successfully to send out faithful missionaries just the same.

Actually, I could really be feisty and just put a note in the FO envelope with my savings account and bank routing number.

But that's both ill-advised and off topic.

[johnshaw]

My personal correspondence with him after the meeting indicated much the same. I told him it was fully documented at the clerksupport.lds.org site. That I've been doing this for 20 years myself, and only after my move back to Utah 8 months ago have I had deacon visit my home in the last 20 years.

[allenjpl]

My Bishop, in Sacrament Meeting this past Sunday, got on members about putting a note in the Fast Offering envelope the Deacon's bring around on Sunday morning. They kept saying I pay my FO when I pay my tithing and wanted to be removed from the route. He said that 'The Church' is trying to build these Deacons and get them ready for missions and that this is one of their priesthood responsibilities and members needed to decide whether they 'Stood with the Church' or not.

Hrmm. Whether the deacons go out to try and collect fast offering at all is up to the bishop's discretion. I've never been in a ward where the YM were physically capable of handling more than the tiniest fraction of the active members anyway.

[lajackson]

Hrmm. Whether the deacons go out to try and collect fast offering at all is up to the bishop's discretion. I've never been in a ward where the YM were physically capable of handling more than the tiniest fraction of the active members anyway.

Perhaps we could start sending the deacons out with scanners that will interface with the cell phones they probably already have and transmit the donation directly back to the clerk's office.

Just kidding, of course. But we do need to get back on topic, fun as it is to digress. The rest of the moderators will get after me pretty soon if I don't suggest we get back to discussing paying contributions online, at least in this Topic.

[jcarroll]

Online Donations are official and are "rolling out" to areas in 2015:
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/f ... -donations

Church Approves Electronic Method to Submit Tithes and Other Charitable Donations
SALT LAKE CITY —
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has approved an electronic method for members in the United States to pay tithing and submit other charitable donations.

The Online Donations system will allow members in the United States an additional method to submit their contributions to the Church. Historically, donation envelopes and contributions were given to priesthood leaders in each ward and branch. In the future, this same process may still be used. However, for those who wish, they may make their contributions through the online donation system developed by the Church.

[robartsd]

The impression I get is that the a small staff at CHQ handles the setup bill pay but donations made through bill pay once properly set up do not require manual processing. I contacted donations@ldschurch.org inquiring about paying using bill pay myself and informing those who currently use bill pay to mail a check to the bishop about this method.

My message was sent shortly after 5 pm MDT yesterday, a reply came shortly after 8 am MDT today - so it does not seem like they are swamped. They did state:

The new online program and simply paying directly to the ward are the preffered methods to pay tithes.

The option of your banks bill pay program is still approved.

From handbook 1 14.4.1

They provided the form and did state that the form can be passed along. To me it seems that the order of preferrence for paying donations is:
1a) Place donation in donation envelope with completed donation slip and deliver to bishopric.
1b) The new online donation system (where available).
2) Set up bill pay with headquarters.
3) Send funds directly to the bishop along with instructions for completing the donation slip.

If you read the handbook and the message from donations@ldschurch.org together with a very narrow interpretation, option 3 is not an approved method.

[robartsd]

In my response with the bill pay form, I specifically asked not to be set up with bill pay if it incurred either transaction fees or manual processing of transactions at church headquarters. The response I received simply provided instructions for setting up bill pay with my bank, emphasising the importance of following instructions exactly in order to ensure that the payment is processed automatically. My form was sent about 9:30 am MDT with instructions recieved at 1:00 pm MDT.

My personal belief is that the only reason that this is not a preferred method is that if not setup properly, the transaction will not be processed automatically. I plan to share this information with my bishopric and financial clerk and expect that we will contact those who currently send bill pay checks to the Bishop to let them know that they can set up bill pay directly to the church.

[scgallafent]

My personal belief is that the only reason that this is not a preferred method is that if not setup properly, the transaction will not be processed automatically. I plan to share this information with my bishopric and financial clerk and expect that we will contact those who currently send bill pay checks to the Bishop to let them know that they can set up bill pay directly to the church.

Another option would be to have them hold on until the new payment system is available to your ward.