Donations Received via Bill Payer Service

[aebrown]

... one of the concerns was the Bishop's access to a member's tithing record as it relates to worthiness & temple recommend interviews.

Now as a sister, my thought would be if the question was asked about tithing & they lied, etc, then it would be between the individual & the Lord...but if a Bishop does want to know if a member is paying tithing, could he easily access this info from the department that handles EFT or would he/could he get a report (quarterly or otherwise)??

The simple answer is no. The bishop has absolutely no access to that information, and that is by policy of the Church Donations department.

In any case, it is not the bishop's role to analyze a member's income and tithing payments to make a judgment as to whether the member paid precisely 10%.

[scion-p40]

Sorry to hear that the form was out of date. I used it to set up electronic payments beginning on 28 July 2008. So far, so good. My other bills are also set up as electronic payments, so I was glad to get this info & set it up.

[lajackson]

Anyway, one of the concerns was the Bishop's access to a member's tithing record as it relates to worthiness & temple recommend interviews.

The bishop will have no access to this information. In an interview, he will ask if you are a full tithe payer. You will answer yes. That is it.

If he hesitates, or mentions that he has noticed that the ward has no record of you paying tithing, simply say that you pay directly to Salt Lake by EFT, and that you are a full tithe payer.

This is no different than the member I had in one of my wards who was very rich (a very relative term, of course), had a temple recommend, yet seemed to never have paid any tithing. It turned out he paid tithing in kind using stock each year.

But at the ward, there was no record at all, and SL would not have sent me anything, even if I had asked. I didn't.

[russellhltn]

It turned out he paid tithing in kind using stock each year.

I understand there are advantages to doing that.

[greggo]

This is no different than the member I had in one of my wards who was very rich (a very relative term, of course), had a temple recommend, yet seemed to never have paid any tithing. It turned out he paid tithing in kind using stock each year.

Just a comment:
I was the clerk for an English stake overseas, and this was often the case with members there. I always instructed the ward financial clerks to make comments on the Tithing Declaration Report for any situation that looked "funny." For situations where donors declared FT but there was no donation, for example, I suggested they add a comment such as "paid tithing directly to Church HQ," "Paid in stock to Church HQ," "Paid in previous ward," etc. (whatever was the individual situation).

[greggo]

In any case, it is not the bishop's role to analyze a member's income and tithing payments to make a judgment as to whether the member paid precisely 10%.

I can't say anything "officially," but a former bishop of mine said that it would be wrong for a bishop to question a member's tithing declaration. He can only instruct on the meaning of "full tithe" is as what is defined in the handbook (i.e. "one tenth of all their interest annually, which is understood to mean income"). To some degree, it's up to the member to interpret the meaning of "income." In other words, it would be incorrect for the bishop to say that a full-tithe payer must pay at least 10% of their "gross" income.

[SmithGW]

In answer to where the amounts go:

1. If you have a name and amount but not categories, you are supposed to contact the donor to find out which categories the amounts go to and complete a tithing slip for those amounts.

2. If you have amounts in categories but no name, complete a tithing slip with the name "Unknown" at the top and record and deposit as usual.

3. If you have an amount, no categories, and no name, complete a tithing slip with the name "Unknown" at the top. Place the entire amount in Tithing. Record and deposit as usual.

[spitfire-p40]

The simple answer is no. The bishop has absolutely no access to that information, and that is by policy of the Church Donations department.

In any case, it is not the bishop's role to analyze a member's income and tithing payments to make a judgment as to whether the member paid precisely 10%.

I appreciate your comments re: Bishop access to tithing records....it makes perfect sense to me that a members' tithing payments should not have any correlation to their temple recommend interview. That interview is sacred & should be handled as such, it is essentially an interview with the Lord; there should be no checking on tithing, attendance or otherwise. I was quite taken aback when this comment was made by the individual in the meeting. I plan to go back to the Bishop (when we meet privately) & pass on this info. My Bishop is "technically" challenged, he does not even like email. But that's ok, bottom line is that he performs his responsibilities. Having a former Bishopric member make that comment can mis-lead a new Bishop....

Thanx again!

BTW, submitted my EFT form via email, was processed quickly & will be making my 1st payment tomorrow (payday!!)

[mkmurray]

I appreciate your comments re: Bishop access to tithing records....it makes perfect sense to me that a members' tithing payments should not have any correlation to their temple recommend interview. That interview is sacred & should be handled as such, it is essentially an interview with the Lord; there should be no checking on tithing, attendance or otherwise. I was quite taken aback when this comment was made by the individual in the meeting. I plan to go back to the Bishop (when we meet privately) & pass on this info. My Bishop is "technically" challenged, he does not even like email. But that's ok, bottom line is that he performs his responsibilities. Having a former Bishopric member make that comment can mis-lead a new Bishop....

Just as a reminder, when contemplating matters like this that have to do with doctrine and Church policy, it is best to treat what the Church Handbook of Instructions says as the authority (along with the guidance and inspiration of the Spirit).

Plus, it could only help to have sections of the Handbook available to show the Bishop when you meet with him privately to discuss the matter.

[mikengray-p40]

Maybe I missed this, but when I looked at the form I would send to CHQ, it states any other offerings would go into a general fund, rather than credited back to the Ward. We have some specific needs at the local ward level for these fast offerings so if there is no way to donate electronically such that the funds end up in my ward, none of this does me any good (as I'd now need to submit tithing electronically and also submit fast offerings in the traditional way). Did I miss something?
-Mike