Tithing (the practice of giving a tenth of one’s income),[1] has been around since at least the time of Abraham (see Genesis 14:18-20). Ancient Israel was constantly reminded of the necessity to pay a tithe, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8). On 8 July 1838, Joseph Smith, the first Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,...

Mitt Romney‘s tax returns were released Tuesday, January 24, 2011, and one feature of them deserves a little more explanation: the $4.1 million he and his wife, Ann, have contributed to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over the past two years. Romney and his wife, along with other members of The Church of Jesus Christ (often called  “Mormons“) pay  10% of their income in tithing to the Church each year....

By Amy Choate-Nielsen Deseret News Published: Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 7:00 p.m. MST David Letterman knows how to get a laugh.Like most comics, he riffs on the day’s news, deadpans the camera and revels in audacity.”Oh, did you hear about this?” the host of CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman asked his audience recently. “A campaign staffer on the Newt Gingrich campaign was fired because he was making negative...

Of all the numbers in the Pew Research Center’s recently released survey of “Mormons in America,” the highest, most overwhelming numbers are these: 98 percent of respondents said they believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and 97 percent say their church is a Christian religion. This comes on the heels of earlier surveys indicating that 32 percent of non-LDS U.S. adults say the LDS Church is not a Christian religion,...

SMITHFIELD — After dinner, three baths, four bedtime stories and a half-a-dozen goodnight kisses for 2-year-old twins Brock and Isaac and 6-year-old Ellie, Erin and Brian Thompson finally sink into the couch with weary smiles. Being parents is just what they always wanted. And they love it. “Of course we have our crazy moments,” Thompson says, “but for the most part we just try to find the good things in the day and...

As the “Mormon moment” extends into 2012, the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life today released a groundbreaking new survey, the first ever published by a non-LDS research organization to focus exclusively on members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their beliefs, values, perceptions and political preferences. Entitled “Mormons in America: Certain in Their Beliefs, Uncertain of Their...