Tithing

[Princess3dward]

Was having a conversation with a friend the other day and mentioned that I was returning to the Church. He's not a member and he asked me about what the church believed etc. Well the conversation eventually got round to the tithe and offerings we give to the church. I told him that we are instructed to give 10% of our income to the church as well as our fast offerings, pointing out that this was the biblical norm. So the first question he asked me is what if you cannot afford to pay a full tithe, will God reject you? I said of course no God wouldn't reject you for this, but it did get me thinking. When you go for a temple recommend you are asked if you have kept the commandments, the Word of Wisdom etc, obviously this includes tithing. Would you get a recomend if you had not paid your full tithe but were paying what you could afford to pay? What happens at the meeting you have with the bishop when you come to give an account of your tithing and you say that you have not paid your full tithe but have given as much as you could afford? I know in an ideal world we all pay our tithes and offerings, but there are people on very low incomes who try their hardest to follow the commandments but who could find it hard to pay their full tithe, and who choose to put food on the table for their family and give what they can afford to. Just wondering if what I had said was true and what the churches position is on such a situation?

A perfect response from what my dad would say:

"He can't afford NOT to pay tithing."

He is a good (in my eyes) member of the church, so I believe that is the churches stance.