pam Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 In a facebook LDS discussion group, someone mentioned that the Church is going to change how they do fast offerings. With more and more people doing online fast offerings (which I do), sending the Aaronic Priesthood out is becoming a waste of time for many of them. So what this person mentioned was that the Aaronic Priesthood would be able to log into an account that shows who has already paid fast offerings on that particular Sunday via online. They could even do this from their home computers. Now if this is true, I'm not sure how I feel about this. Fast offerings, like any other donation, is a private thing to me and I'm not sure I like the idea that young men have access to that information just by logging into some account. Has anyone else heard this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estradling75 Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 I have not heard that... I have heard and experienced first hand with my sons that... Anyone that claims to pay online is being noted and (presumably) removed from the collection routes. (My family is removed). This will result in smaller routes and only going to the homes that still pay or are hard to contact. Of course this is just my ward other might be doing it differently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefche Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 I haven't had the AP come to my house in years. I don't think our ward does it and hasn't for a very long time. I've not heard this. I understand your reticence, but if this is true, then I'm going to view this as a part of the clerk's job. Whenever I would hand in my tithing slip (with fast offerings or others), the bishopric member would then give those to the clerk. The clerk was responsible for recording the donation, collecting the money and then depositing the money. So, someone knew about my donation and how much I gave. Having a young man do this would be similar to me. I'm not sure if that YM will be able to see everything or just the fact one donates online. I'd be surprised if they give a YM the responsibility to know the amount of the donation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 Door-to-door collection of fast offerings has been mostly extinct outside of Utah for quite a while now. I highly doubt that Aaronic Priesthood holders would be given access to information on who has paid a fast offering. EarlJibbs and Blackmarch 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 I hadn't heard this one. It doesn't pass the smell test. I'd guess that it was a slight mischaracterization of something else that may be already in place. The clerks have a list of people who have told them (or whatever appropriate party) that they pay with their tithing slips. Their names are placed on a list of those who pay by other means than by AP collection. The remaining names are given out to AP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 If anything I'd think that they might show who has paid, but not what they paid. Even with online payment, we put some aside to give to the Aaronic priesthood, to give them the privilege of doing their duty. It will be interesting to see if, over time, our ward stops sending them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 I have never, even once, ever received a Fast Offering collection visit from anyone, since leaving Utah in the '90's. I've been in 4 different stakes and 3 different wards in that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estradling75 Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 41 minutes ago, Vort said: Door-to-door collection of fast offerings has been mostly extinct outside of Utah for quite a while now. I highly doubt that Aaronic Priesthood holders would be given access to information on who has paid a fast offering. My experience as been a bit different. I spent the majority of my life outside Utah. I collected as a youth, I had visits as an adult.. when my sons came of age they collected... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeedleinA Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) My son has been collecting fast offerings for almost 2 years since he became a deacon. We live outside of Utah. As a Ward Council we made an artificial list of members who would be willing to have the boys come by and collect. This was done mostly as a benefit for the boys. In our instance, with the member's help, it still artificially lives on in our area. Edit: Sorry. As for the rumor, I have not heard that, and like others, I would doubt it or think it was a misinterpretation of something else. Edited February 18, 2016 by NeedleinA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 Interesting different experiences. Maybe Colorado is just weird? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaseamaster75 Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 If you live in the Mormon Belt door to door fast offering might still be a thing, but I doubt it has traction in other parts of the country (unless you have an over zealous bishopric). Certainly not where I live on the west coast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted February 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 We still have someone come around every fast Sunday. And every fast Sunday I tell them I have paid it online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeedleinA Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 21 minutes ago, pam said: We still have someone come around every fast Sunday. And every fast Sunday I tell them I have paid it online. Maybe slide a note in the donation envelope that says: "Wink, wink...I donate online only. Not sure the deacon is passing on this message, so here is a friendly little note". pam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted February 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 7 minutes ago, NeedleinA said: Maybe slide a note in the donation envelope that says: "Wink, wink...I donate online only. Not sure the deacon is passing on this message, so here is a friendly little note". Not a bad idea. Thanks. NeedleinA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) Yeah, that might be what is required. Deacons are not the best at passing it on. I told the deacons this two months in a row. Then I told the YM leaders who were coordinating the routes. They stopped coming. BTW, did you hear that they are increasing tithing from 10% to 20%? It is an effort to end free agency. Agency will no longer be free, but a surcharge will be required whenever it is used. Edited February 18, 2016 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarlJibbs Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 While I lived in Utah, we were encouraged in one ward not to pay fast offerings with tithing if you could help it so that the Aaronic Priesthood could perform their duties. I didn't mind it. Now, living outside of Utah, there is no way that we could get to everyone's houses in a timely manner. It's a 45 minute drive from one end to the other for our ward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 1 hour ago, estradling75 said: My experience as been a bit different. I spent the majority of my life outside Utah. I collected as a youth, I had visits as an adult.. when my sons came of age they collected... I obviously spoke too broadly. I, too, collected fast offerings as a deacon while we lived in Tacoma, where member population density was high enough that it could reasonably be done by car. Probably "rare" would have been a better word choice than "mostly extinct". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefche Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 15 minutes ago, EarlJibbs said: Now, living outside of Utah, there is no way that we could get to everyone's houses in a timely manner. It's a 45 minute drive from one end to the other for our ward. My bishop lives 45 min away from the church building (and I'm not exactly sure he is the furthest from the building). Our ward is one of the largest geographically in the stake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhold Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 I can't remember the last time the AP has been sent out down here. It's been a good 15+ years at least. Everyone just does their fast offerings in with their normal tithing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 FWIW, I participate on the church's tech forums, where software like this is discussed, and there hasn't been a word. While it's possible the feature is being developed in secret / no one involved has mentioned it on the forums, it seems unlikely there would be no word of it on the forums if it were real and anywhere near release. I think it's not happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just_A_Guy Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) Wouldn't bug me, so long as the info disseminated were a simple "paid" or "not paid" without actual dollar amounts. If the deacon made the house visit, and the member just said "I already paid" or "I paid with my tithing"--well, the deacon would have gotten that info anyways. So why not just put it on a list and save the deacon the trouble? The only issue would be if a deacon reviews a list Sunday morning that says Brother Schmoe hasn't paid yet, goes to visit Brother Schmoe, and Brother Schmoe says "oh, I already paid"--the deacon may have enough information to reasonably conclude that Brother Schmoe is lying. But honestly, deacons already have a priesthood responsibility to "watch over the church" and I think it very likely that at some point the Church will expect more from them, in a ministerial capacity, than it currently does. If modern deacons don't have the discretion to keep private the information that they get in the discharge of their priesthood responsibilities--maybe we need to train our deacons better about the seriousness of their priesthood office. Edited February 18, 2016 by Just_A_Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackmarch Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 I haven't heard. It wouldn't bother me too much either way as long as the needs of the ward are being met in some manner or another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirkwood Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 I pay my whole year fast offering in January and I can't get them to take my house off the route. As for the rumor, I have never heard it and don't believe it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backroads Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 While it sounds, if nothing else, efficient I don't believe it. I only thought the AP visited the recluses... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2016 Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 Florida here. I have a son that was a deacon just last year. He has a fast offering route. He became a teacher a few weeks before his brother became a deacon. His brother took over his route. There are online payers in the route. They skip those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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