The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has recently introduced a way to pay tithing online in some areas. I have heard different viewpoints ranging from it being more convenient and less of a hassle to not carry around a checkbook, while some have said it would cause paying tithing to become more of a bill than a personal offering to the Lord.
I find satisfaction in paying tithing. I’m grateful that my parents taught me to never pay it grudgingly, wondering what I could have done with the extra few hundred dollars a month. I love walking up to one of the bishopric and shaking their hand and personally being accountable for the commandment.
While I don’t look down or criticize those who choose to do this, I choose not to. I’ve even heard that you can have 10% taken out of your pay check and directly deposited to the Church. Why this turns my stomach is I don’t see Tithing as a bill or something automatic. I feel it should be a choice each month to help build the kingdom and help those in need.
This is how I see it. With my auto insurance it’s directly taken out of my account each month. It’s gotten to the point when I forget I pay for it. I don’t want Tithing to be automatic, forced or forgotten. I want it to be a choice.
I’d rather it be a personal consecration to the Lord. I understand that it doesn’t matter how you sacrifice as long as you pay the one tenth that’s been commanded. As for me, I’d rather fill out the tithing slip and think about who I can help with what I’ve been given. There’s something special about that.
8ways2 
Electronic donations are such a great idea. It will reduce the work load on the bishoprics and clerks who must count checks and cash each week; they already have enough to do and their families will appreciate even a few extra minutes with them. Furthermore, it will reduce the opportunities for someone to lose or steal funds (right now I am involved in a disciplinary council involving a former bishopric member for theft.) Tithing is a little thing, if it is such a habit, we can then focus on the bigger things. As far as the author’s reasoning that it would feel like a bill or that it kind of becomes forced, you can always change your mind about doing it at any time for whatever reason. I say hello to someone from my bishopric almost every Sunday even though I make my donations only once a month, so I won’t lose that. Because my income varies a little from month to month, I will still be making out the payment online by telling the computer how much to pay each time, just like I do when my credit card statement comes, so there is a conscious thought about the fact that I am paying.
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You can find pros and cons for paying it electronically or paying it in person. As the author points out, a pro of paying it in person is you get to personally hand it to a member of the bishopric and have that connection. On the other hand, a pro of paying it online is you don’t have to wait until you go to church on Sunday to pay it. If I want to pay it after midnight on a weeknight, I can. It makes it so my religion is something I don’t just live on Sunday. 🙂
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