Give Gifts to Honor God

John W. Welch

Jesus said that we should give our gifts in secret, not to be seen of men. For this reason, of course, none of us have ever seen a plaque on the wall in the back of our chapels that lists the top ten tithing donors of the ward. It would be outrageous to do that. In some social settings, those who give most command more respect. We understand why that happens, but Jesus taught that the Father, who seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly. Thus, our donations are given completely confidentially.

Even if a bishop wanted to look at the tithing receipts handed out at the end of the year for tax purposes, they may not be a complete record of a person’s tithing, because we can donate directly to the tithing office. The Bishop never gets a report from the tithing office, and tithing settlement is on the honor system. We go to great lengths in the Church to see that such gifts and contributions are given in secret. Those funds are treated as consecrated gifts. They are used by revelation as directed by the Prophet.

John W. Welch Notes

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