While polygamy was Brigham Young’s defining doctrine, tithing was President Lorenzo Snow’s. As I mentioned in the first section of this document, the tithing Snow taught, and the offerings he enforced, though, were much different than the tithes and offerings taught today.
Snow did not teach that all members should pay tithing. He didn’t teach that members should pay their tithing even if they couldn’t afford to feed their families. In fact, Snow’s tithing policy, which he enforced at a time when the Church was significantly less wealthy than it is currently, mandated that only those members who had the means should pay their share to the Church. He famously taught this concept in the 1899 General Conference (a conference which has since been called the “Tithing Conference.”) 1899 was a desperate year for the Church. The Church was nearly bankrupt, swimming in debt to the Government. Pleading with the members, Snow enforced a new commandment, the new official tithing commandment of the Church.
“I plead with you in the name of the Lord, and I pray that every man, woman and child who has means shall pay one tenth of their income as a tithing.”
The Church still uses this teaching. It shows up frequently as the first written example of God’s commandment to his Children to pay tithing.
When the 2012 “Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow” was published, the quote read a bit differently.
“I plead with you in the name of the Lord, and I pray that every man, woman and child … shall pay one tenth of their income as a tithing.” [1]
It is dishonest to quote a leader of the Church, and intentionally remove a segment of the quote to change the leader’s meaning to suit the Church’s current beliefs. Lorenzo Snow did not say that everyone should pay tithing no matter what. He intentionally made a qualifying statement, which was dishonestly omitted.
The Church does not want its members to know about tithing’s history. That might make members less likely to pay. It might make the dragon’s hoard a little smaller. If members followed the words of the God of old, rather than the God of today, they’d be cutting a thread of control that’s been tied around their necks. Their eyes might be open just a little wider. Those same saints might decide to study other elements of Church doctrine, elements which have been flipped on their heads, changed dramatically. And piece by piece, doctrine by doctrine, the tower would fall.
