Last week, I critiqued a Sacramento Bee story tied to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Mormon tithing.
The top of the Bee’s report:
Mitt Romney’s tax returns reveal that the Republican presidential candidate does something fewer Americans do these days: He tithes.
Romney’s 2009 and 2010 tax returns, released Tuesday, show that he and his wife, Ann, gave 10 percent of their income, about $4.1 million, to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The couple reported income of about $43 million for the two years.
While generally positive about the California newspaper’s approach, I played editor and proposed a few questions that my markup of the reporter’s draft would have included.
My first question concerned the specific amount that Romney gave:
Can you explain the figures in the second graf? By my calculation, $4.1 million of $43 million is 9.5 percent, not 10 percent. Has there been any explanation of the apparent discrepancy?
In the comments section, Frank Lockwood of Bible Belt Blogger fame chimed in with some helpful clarification.
Meanwhile, as I had time to read other news coverage of Romney’s tithing more closely, I discovered that Associated Press religion writer Rachel Zoll had offered helpful explanation:
A campaign official said the governor bases his tithes on estimated income, since he donates to the church at the end of the calendar year before his taxes are finalized. He plans to pay above the 10 percent in 2011, to make up for the underestimate the year before, the campaign official said.
For many Mormons, the percentage of tithing varies from year to year.
“In one given calendar year, I might actually `pre-pay’ some tithing and then the next year, I’ll kind of work that into my calculation,” said Paul Edwards, editor of the Deseret News, which is owned by the LDS church. “I think that most Latter-day Saints can recognize it looks like he’s giving roughly a 10th, whether it’s one calendar year or over an extended period of time.”
On this week’s Crossroads, host Todd Wilken and I talked about the media coverage of Romney’s tithing.
We also spent a few minutes discussing my recent post on a Denver Post story on cowboy churches.
By all means, check out the podcast.
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Comments (3) |
January 30, 2012, at 3:47 pm
It really is between Romney’s bishop and the Romneys whether he has satisfied God’s injunction to donate a tenth of his “increase”. And the bishop will simply ask the Romneys to affirm it, yes or no. The bishop will NOT demand a look at their income tax return or any other documentation about their income. He does not argue about whether it was based on gross income or net after taxes or what constitutes “income”. It is done purely on an honor system, just as it is with someone earning $10 an hour.
Additionally, the Romneys donated substantially through their charitable foundation to various LDS Church funds and programs and to BYU, their alma mater. Typically Mormons contribute, in addition to tithes, to the Fast Offering fund, which is primarily money from your family food budget that was saved because you fasted for two meals on the first Sunday of the month; to funds that support the Perpetual Education Fund, a revolving education loan program for members in third world countries; the missionary fund to support missionaries whose own families lack the ability to contribute to their support; the humanitarian aid fund, to assist with aid given in countries hit by natural disasters and wars. There is a separate program to collect donations that are given directly to the Boy Scouts, which is sponsored by the Church as a recreational and character building program.
Additionally, a number of studies have shown that, like people in other denominatios, the more generous someone is in making church donations, the more they contribute to other charities as well.
The other side of this funding program is that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is very frugal with the funds it receives. No money is spent on ministers or the people who teach or provide music at church. All service, including the 20 hours a week donated by bishops, is without financial compensation, and is in addition to their own financial contributions. So Mormons not only donate money, they also donate much of the time that might otherwise be spent in making more income through more work or a part time job.
The funds received pay for the construction of new chapels (about 300 or so each year), necessitated by Church growth around the world. It also covers the costs of utilities and maintenance of existing buildings. The cost of temples (where Mormons are married for eternity) is also included, and the number of those continues to expand worldwide. While the costs for missionary support are borne by the missionaries and their families through a uniform donation to the Missionary Fund (the stipend needed for basic living costs varies with the country where each missionary works), other costs, such as flying missionaries to and from their field of labor, are supported from tithing funds. A major cost is education, including the three BYU campuses in Utah, Idaho and Hawaii, LDS Business College in Utah. The Church maintains a welfare program including farms that produce food and warehouses where it can be processed for storage and distribution; much of the labor is donated, including by persons who receive assistance from the program.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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January 30, 2012, at 10:00 pm
And so…the purpose of this post is? Thank you R T Swenson tho. Your comment was informative a worth reading.
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January 30, 2012, at 10:16 pm
To inform readers there’s a new podcast. You might notice that we do one every week.
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