Alright, so Latter-day Saints believe that in order to return to live with God the Father and become more like Him after this life in the highest degree of heaven—God has asked that as an expression of our faith, we make and keep certain covenants with Him, which we do via ordinances. The first ordinance that sets you on this covenant path is baptism, which generally takes place in a baptismal font in one of our church buildings. Many later ordinances are performed in Latter-day Saint temples. We take these ordinances seriously and believe that members need to prepare themselves spiritually before making those promises with God—you need to be able to keep those promises. Thus, there are some basic standards that must be met in order to obtain a temple recommend which gives you access to temple ordinances.
Today, the temple recommend interviews consist of 15 questions. One of those questions is, “Are you a full tithe payer?” If you are not a full-tithe payer, your request for a temple recommend may be denied. This has led some people to wonder, “Does [the] tithing requirement for entry into LDS temples amount to Mormons buying their way into heaven?” Well, let’s talk about it.
People who want to join the Church through baptism are interviewed beforehand to make sure they’re spiritually prepared and are aware of what they are committing to. In this interview, you have the opportunity to share your testimony of Christ and the restored gospel, and at that time you agree to strive to live by Church standards—for example, you agree to keep the Sabbath Day holy, to obey the Law of Chastity, and the Law of Tithing.
You will notice that when you are later interviewed for a temple recommend, a lot of those same baptismal interview questions show up again. Why? Because it doesn’t make a lot of sense for you to make additional commitments with God if you aren’t able to live up to the commitments you’ve already made with God at baptism. Tithing isn’t something that suddenly becomes important when you want to enter the temple. It’s something you committed to at baptism.
To read the entire article: Saints Unscripted/Faith&Beliefs
