I was talking to a friend today who attends a self reliance course with me at church and we were chatting about how it talks about paying tithing first above everything else and paying it entirely and once we do that we are on the steps to become self reliant and we will be entitled to blessings of financial security.
I explained to her that the course makes me anxious because we are on less than £750 a month welfare and £475 of that goes on our rent. Leaving £275 a month to budget, that's on food, utilities, items such as shampoo, washing detergent, etc not to mention WiFi and our cell phone bills. Now think about if we paid tithing. We'd be down £75.... Leaving us with £200 to then buy all that stuff......... Not doable obviously. So we don't pay tithing out of personal choice. We'd only end up having to rely on the church for a month supply of food. Hardly furthering our own self reliance........ Anyway her and her husband are also on welfare and get about the same. They're on a little extra because of some health issues that give extra money for that because at the moment she cannot work. She told me our Bishop has been talking to her husband about still paying tithing on it............... I almost hit the roof. I don't think you should pay tithing when the government gives you money to live and its below national minimum wage for 40 hours a week work (x4 bc weeks in a month). Its about £400 short of what you'd get on your average job here a month on minimum wage. YET THEY'RE STILL EXPECTED TO PAY TITHING EVEN IF IT MEANS THEM STRUGGLING. Which clearly means we're meant to but we do not.
I looked at her and said well if Bishop ever asks us why we don't pay our tithing I'll tell him why and if we have to give up our temple recommends so be it. I'm not worrying about affording bills to pay a church sat on 100 billion in savings when I cannot even afford to save a small amount of money a month because our savings get eaten up by the need to buy extra food, or on household emergencies. Not a fucking chance am I paying tithing when I am living in poverty as it is. Not to mention we have a baby to afford now. No thanks.
