What We Believe

Tithing Helps Build Up the Kingdom of God

We believe in giving one-tenth of our income to the Lord to help build up His kingdom. The law of tithing requires that we sacrifice some of our material goods in order to enjoy greater spiritual blessings.

• Tithing and other donations are given to the Lord through a member of your bishopric or branch presidency.

• Tithing funds are transmitted from wards and branches to Church headquarters, where a council that includes the First Presidency decides how these sacred funds will be used.

• Tithing pays for the cost of building and maintaining temples and meetinghouses.

• Tithing pays for the translation and publication of scriptures and lesson materials.

• Tithing helps pay for educating young members in Church schools, seminaries, and institutes of religion.

The principle of tithing has been practiced since the gospel was first taught on earth. Abraham, for example, paid tithes to the high priest Melchizedek (see Genesis 14:18–20). The Lord commanded Moses to teach the people about tithing (see Leviticus 27:30–34). Later, when the Savior visited the Nephites, He gave them the law of tithing (see 3 Nephi 24). And in our day, He restored this commandment through the Prophet Joseph Smith (see D&C 119).

To fulfill this commandment, we give one-tenth of our income to the Lord through local priesthood leaders. The funds are transmitted to Church headquarters, where a council comprising the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Presiding Bishopric determines how the sacred funds will be used (see D&C 120).

Tithing allows the Church to build and maintain temples and meetinghouses, to support seminaries and institutes, to provide materials for Church members, and to sustain missionary, temple, and family history work.

We believe in paying tithing willingly, “for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Paying tithing is a way we can help build up the kingdom of God on earth and show gratitude to Heavenly Father for blessing us with everything we have. Yet paying tithing brings more blessings into our lives. As Malachi taught: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10). Spiritual and temporal blessings can come to all who pay an honest tithe, even if the amount is small.

For more information, see Genesis 28:20–22; Malachi 3:8–11; and chapter 12 in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow (2012).

Blessings of Paying Tithing

“Tithing develops and tests our faith. By sacrificing to the Lord what we may think we need or want for ourselves, we learn to rely on Him. Our faith in Him makes it possible to keep temple covenants and receive eternal temple blessings. …

“Tithing also teaches us to control our desires and passions for the things of this world. Payment of tithing encourages us to be honest in our dealings with our fellowmen. We learn to trust that what we have been given, through the blessings of the Lord and our own diligent efforts, is sufficient for our needs. …

“To those who faithfully and honestly live the law of tithing, the Lord promises an abundance of blessings. Some of these blessings are temporal, just as tithes are temporal. But like the outward physical ordinances of baptism and the sacrament, the commandment to pay tithing requires temporal sacrifice, which ultimately yields great spiritual blessings.”

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Tithing: A Test of Faith with Eternal Blessings,” Ensign, Nov. 2002, 27.