Torostoros

Interesting, so it won't appear on-screen but it will appear when the same record is printed? No wonder I never noticed it; I always preferred things on-screen and tried to minimise printing.

Elder Packer may have said something to that effect, but if he did I'm betting he was quoting President Kimball, who wrote in his book (The Miracle of Forgiveness): 
"Another error into which some transgressors fall, because of the availability of God's forgiveness, is the illusion that they are somehow stronger for having committed sin and then lived through the period of repentance. This simply is not true. That man who resists temptation and lives without sin is far better off than the man who has fallen, no matter how repentant the latter may be. … His sin and repentance have certainly not made him stronger than the consistently righteous person."
 
Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave an address at BYU in 1990 (See the July 1992 Ensign) where he said this:
"Some Latter-day Saints who wrongly think repentance is easy maintain that a person is better off after he has sinned and repented. "Get a little experience with sin," one argument goes, “and then you will be better able to counsel and sympathize with others. You can always repent.”
I plead with you, my brothers and sisters, my young friends and my older friends, avoid transgression! The idea that one can deliberately sin and easily repent or that one is better off after sinning and repenting are devilish lies of the adversary."
 
Hope this helps!

I'm assuming you use what we call BPAY in Australia (using online banking and the Church's online biller code) when you talk about paying the Church directly. If that's the case (I could be wrong; you could be posting them cash for all I know), then the local ward, via MLS, certainly can see your donations and the dates they were made. It all shows on MLS - all members have their donation summaries (can't remember the exact word) printed from MLS at Tithing Settlement time.
Even at any other time, anyone with the MLS access for finances can print a record showing all donations made by a person between certain dates (dating back years if they so choose); this is possible regardless of whether said donations were made via traditional tithing-slip-given-to-Bishop methods or the online billing method.

I'm assuming you use what we call BPAY in Australia (using online banking and the Church's online biller code) when you talk about paying the Church directly. If that's the case (I could be wrong; you could be posting them cash for all I know), then the local ward, via MLS, certainly can see your donations and the dates they were made. It all shows on MLS - all members have their donation summaries (can't remember the exact word) printed from MLS at Tithing Settlement time.
Even at any other time, anyone with the MLS access for finances can print a record showing all donations made by a person between certain dates (dating back years if they so choose); this is possible regardless of whether said donations were made via traditional tithing-slip-given-to-Bishop methods or the online billing method.