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<\/a>Somehow I missed it when it occurred, but an article written by . . . \u00a0well, written by me<\/em> went up a couple of days ago in Meridian Magazine<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cHearing Wilford Woodruff\u2019s Testimony in His Own Voice.\u201d<\/a> \u00a0I hope that you\u2019ll read it. \u00a0And I hope that you\u2019ll enjoy it.<\/p>\n Also in the \u201cme section\u201d of this blog: \u00a0I joined in the recording of an audio podcast earlier today with Scott Woodward<\/a> and Casey Griffiths<\/a> for their \u201cChurch History Matters\u201d<\/a> series, under the auspices of Scripture Central. \u00a0The subject was apostleship and succession in the presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>, to which they\u2019ve devoted several prior episodes<\/a>. \u00a0My understanding is that it will be up by Tuesday morning of next week.<\/p>\n You might also enjoy\u00a0Hugh Nibley Observed<\/em>: \u201cHugh Nibley, World\u2019s Worst Politician,\u201d<\/a> written by his son, Alex Nibley<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMeet Thomas Sharp, Six Days in August\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cActor Dave Martinez shares his experiencing playing the bad guy \u2014 Thomas Sharp. Dave tried to step into Thomas\u2019 experience and play the part as if it was happening to him. \u201cIf I had the events that Thomas Sharp witnessed happen in my life\u2013a new community encroaching on MY county, MY land and MY rights . . . how would I react?\u201d Dave could see Thomas was human being with flaws and very real concerns. What will YOU learn from Thomas Sharp\u2019s experience as a witness to those events?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As you might have been able to figure out by now, I\u2019m a believer in the power of film. \u00a0Here\u2019s an upcoming movie that you might want to see. \u00a0I certainly intend to see it, if I\u2019m able: \u00a0\u201cStory of Miraculous Rescue Comes to the Big Screen\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Several years ago, after I had posted a blog entry here about Church finances, one disaffected former Latter-day Saint managed to turn the discussion \u2014 as often happens in such cases\u2014to the damnably wicked biblical expectation and practice of tithing, which has been reaffirmed in latter-day revelation.<\/p>\n Latter-day Saints, he argued, aren\u2019t really free to choose to tithe or not to tithe, because, without being full tithe-payers, they won\u2019t be counted as members in good standing of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.\u00a0 Which means that they won\u2019t be able to enter the temple, be ordained apostles, and such like.<\/p>\n And, of course, it\u2019s true:\u00a0 Not a full tithe-payer?\u00a0 No apostleship for you.\u00a0 No temple wedding.\u00a0 No luxurious three-year vacation as a mission president in Mongolia.<\/p>\n (It should not be forgotten, however, that one can be a full tithe-payer while literally paying nothing.\u00a0 If you have no income, your full tithe is zero. \u00a0And this isn\u2019t merely theoretical. \u00a0As the bishop of a relatively impoverished singles ward some years ago, I admitted several young people to the temple who were, at the time, paying no tithing. \u00a0They were full tithepayers.)<\/p>\n Unwilling to tithe your income or, absent income, to profess yourself a full tithe-payer?\u00a0 Then you won\u2019t be rewarded with appointment as a bishop and will be denied the enhanced leisure, the vast recreational opportunities, the eminent social status, and the lucrative financial benefits that accompany that sinecure.<\/p>\n However, it seemed to me that the complainant was misusing the concept of freedom to suggest that we aren\u2019t free to choose not to tithe simply because, to be more precise, we\u2019re not free (if we have income) to choose to withhold tithing without that choice entailing consequences<\/em>.\u00a0 But those are quite distinct things.<\/p>\n It\u2019s true that, if I don\u2019t buy movie tickets, I won\u2019t be able to take a seat in the theater to watch Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible XXXVIII: Adventures with Dentures<\/em>.\u00a0 But I\u2019m still totally free to make that decision.\u00a0 If I don\u2019t practice the violin for hours every day, I won\u2019t ever perform onstage at Carnegie Hall.\u00a0 But I\u2019m entirely free to practice or not to practice.\u00a0 If I don\u2019t pay for a subscription to Cigar Aficionado<\/em>, I won\u2019t receive that magazine in the mail.\u00a0 If I don\u2019t renew my gym membership, I won\u2019t be permitted to work out on their equipment and, as a result, my legendarily buff appearance will be endangered.\u00a0 If I refuse to look through the telescope, I won\u2019t see the rings of Saturn.\u00a0 If I don\u2019t study hard, I won\u2019t go to an elite law school.\u00a0 All such decisions are free.\u00a0 That they entail certain consequences makes them no less<\/em> free.<\/p>\n In order to render my point absolutely clear, I make a choice every day when I get into my car to drive on the right side of the road: \u00a0In doing so, I comply with a perfectly arbitrary rule. \u00a0In Australia and New Zealand, in the United Kingdom and Japan, the rules demand that I drive on the left<\/em> hand side of the road. \u00a0If I were to insist nevertheless on my privilege to drive on the right, I would shortly into oncoming traffic and would, very possibly, end up quite dead..<\/p>\n I trust that I\u2019ve made my point:\u00a0 Such decisions are entirely free.\u00a0 Unfortunately, though, they typically entail (sometimes grave) consequences. And Latter-day Saints aren\u2019t the only people who will occasionally point that out.<\/p>\n Are we free to tithe or not to tithe? \u00a0Yes. \u00a0Absolutely. \u00a0But here as elsewhere, our decisions will entail consequences.<\/p>\n<\/a>
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