{"id":764,"date":"2012-08-24T19:02:28","date_gmt":"2012-08-24T07:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kiwimormon.com\/?p=764"},"modified":"2012-08-24T19:02:28","modified_gmt":"2012-08-24T07:02:28","slug":"romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/","title":{"rendered":"Romney’s tithing and the case of the Mormon Blue Blood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>Seriously? So Romney doesn\u2019t want to disclose his financial returns because he feels that the amount of tithing he pays to the church should be private? \u00a0Rep. Jason Chaffetz\u2019s<\/a> \u00a0rationale is that \u00a0Romney\u2019s desire for tithing privacy is meant to save the recipients of his tithing largesse from the embarrassing position of having\u00a0their financial need nationally publicised?<\/p>\n

Bollocks!!\u00a0 Unless, as a big donor, he has the inside running on where his money is spent by the Corporation of the President, he won\u2019t have a clue where his pingers are going. \u00a0We Mormons<\/a> have been lead to believe that like everyone else\u2019s money, Romney\u2019s $millions go into a big huge tithing pot along with the $hundreds donated by that sweet\u00a0super-annuitant\u00a0couple who faithfully show up to church in their Nissan Micra.<\/p>\n

On the other hand if this were true it would indicate that despite the supposedly and much trumpeted egalitarian nature of tithing, someone with a big cheque for LDS inc. gets a degree of economic power in the church that is denied everyone else.\u00a0 Either way he needs to fire his communications advisor because the stupidity on his stump is monstrous. \u00a0\u00a0What about this from the Salt Lake Tribune?:<\/p>\n

\u201cI love tithing,\u201d Ann Romney tells the magazine. \u201cWhen Mitt and I give that check, I actually cry.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What a piffle!\u00a0 I simply can\u2019t imagine Mitt and Ann, on the eve of the Sabbath weepingly pouring over their checkbook as they fill in the stump with their weekly $76,923.07 \u00a0in anticipation of handing it onto a member of the Bishopric at church the next day.\u00a0\u00a0 People like Mitt \u00a0would most likely wire their tithing straight to church headquarters.\u00a0 Theoretically anyone can do this, but it\u2019s the preferred option for those with means.\u00a0 It keeps their contributions private from the local clerks because clearly their personal net worth shouldn\u2019t be too, too obvious to us lesser folk.<\/p>\n

There can only be one of four credible explanations for Romney\u2019s reticence to disclose:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. He hasn\u2019t paid a full tithe<\/strong>.\u00a0 This would undermine the credibility of his church leadership and indeed his \u2018worthiness. \u00a0I don\u2019t really care how much he has paid but \u00a0I\u2019m fairly confident that someone like Mitt will be concerned that his tithe be understood as a \u2018gross\u2019 and anything that comes short of that would, at least among the orthodox, come across as a spiritual shortfall.<\/li>\n
  2. He\u2019s paid too much <\/strong>and he\u2019s embarrassed by his personal generosity.\u00a0\u00a0 Its possible, but who would know?<\/li>\n
  3. Tithing is his straw-man<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 He wants the US electorate to say, \u2018Aww \u2013 what a sweet-heart, leave the poor chap alone \u2013 and here\u2019s my vote Mitt\u2019\u00a0 (hence the need to fire his communications advisor).<\/li>\n
  4. He\u2019s a Mormon blue blood<\/strong> \u2013 through and through.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    I want to clarify what I mean by point 4.<\/p>\n

    In my late adolescence I was romantically ensconced with one of these young Mormon blue bloods.\u00a0 This was a pedigree that reached the heavens through the First Presidency, with a good dose of intergenerational wealth thrown in for good measure.\u00a0 The family was impeccable, their manners were flawless, their hospitality was legendary, their morals beyond reproach.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They even looked good.\u00a0\u00a0 Everything about this family made my paltry attempts at exaltation look positively mediocre because I couldn\u2019t dress it up with the upper middle-class accoutrements that made their Mormonism look divine.\u00a0 The fact that their beautiful son had taken up with a working class bastard indigene with a bit of \u2018history\u2019 made them slightly \u2018uneasy\u2019.\u00a0 Not that they said so \u2013 they would never be that rude, but there was always a palpable sense of discomfit that I could read on the air.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong, they were always kind, and pleasant and kept their concerns to themselves \u2013 sort of.<\/p>\n

    I recall one day wandering the leafy streets of Christchurch hand in hand with my beloved when I began a course altering interchange with said Mormon Prince.\u00a0 I\u2019d had enough of his regaling\u00a0 me with all kinds of impressive anecdotes about millionaire siblings,\u00a0 plains-crossing stalwarts,\u00a0 the brilliance and beauty of the inner circle, and his brushes with LDS greatness and their small intermarried gene pool.\u00a0 So in retaliation I retorted with my own story.<\/p>\n

    \u201cMy Great, Great Grandfather Te Hau Takiri Wharepapa was a renown\"\"<\/a> Ng\u0101 Puhi chief who went to England in 1863 to meet Queen Victoria\u201d.<\/p>\n

    I did all that I could do to inflate the import of my ancestor and his offspring in order to meet this boy eye to eye.\u00a0 In actual fact Wharepapa was<\/em> quite the man but in this moment some extrapolations were necessary because I was \u00a0tired of being made to feel spiritually second-class.\u00a0 At least in this place, Aotearoa\/New Zealand, \u00a0I had a whakapapa, a genealogy that made me proud\u2013 they may not have been Mormon blue blood bones \u2013 but they were good people who survived a brutal colonial incursion with grace and dignity.<\/p>\n

    I was surprised when he grew irritated with me.\u00a0 I can\u2019t exactly pin down what set him off but I am guessing that this challenge to his singular pedigree had him in a tizz.\u00a0 He was usually very articulate but in this moment when all of the words to provide a rational retort for his obvious genetic superiority evaded him, he grew peevish and cranky.\u00a0 What I believe he was trying to say was, \u201cBut my pedigree is<\/em> better than yours.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m confident that that was what he meant because he was in the habit of reminding me that the fortunate circumstances as to the conditions of his birth were consequent to his pre-earth faithfulness.\u00a0 Of course the implied binary was glaring and reflected rather badly upon my obvious ante-mortal naughtiness.\u00a0\u00a0 It was in that moment that I knew in my heart of hearts that I would never, could never marry him.<\/p>\n

    So what does this have to do with Romney?\u00a0\u00a0 This Mormon inner \u2018wealthier than wealthy\u2019 sanctum is so small and smug that Romney and his ilk\u00a0 have been deprived of the kind of worlds, and words to help them make sense of themselves.\u00a0 Rather than explore the social, economic, cultural and political trajectories that lead him to his fortune and fame, he has likely defaulted to the myopic language of the Mormon blue bloods.\u00a0 \u201cGod ordained this \u2013 I am his special servant \u2013 He needs me\u00a0 (and my money).\u201d \u00a0Beyond this explicit and implied language there are few resources with which to respond and explain one\u2019s privilege.<\/p>\n

    In any other sphere this might be considered a symptom of social narcissism, but in Mormonism our fundamentalist roots has spawned a dazzling strain of self-importance with a huge dose of theology to accompany it.\u00a0 So when it comes to his confessions of humility around his donor giving Romney has deployed a predictable rhetorical strategy to meet this challenge and confrontation.\u00a0 He has drawn upon the language of his Mormon patrology to provide a sacralized version of his impeccable financial ethics.\u00a0 Not only this, in his attempt to do so he screams resoundingly to the low-dollar-donors \u2013 \u201cThe context of my giving is superior to yours\u201d.<\/p>\n

    If you want an explanation for why Romney\u2019s\u00a0vacillation\u00a0between silence and his inappropriate extemporaneous ejaculations \u00a0\u2013 this is the reason.\u00a0 The language of Romney\u2019s brand of upper-class \u00a0elitist Mormonism is tidy, but it\u2019s tiny.\u00a0 Romney\u2019s singular Mormon world will teach him to be gracious, impeccable, charming and restrained.\u00a0 But it will never, ever challenge him to think beyond an imperialistic, haughty, superior, elitist culturally constructed theology that renders him, utterly, absolutely and unashamedly entitled. \u00a0His world has likely never given him the language to express a complex and a thoughtful faith, \u00a0to know and understand the struggles of others outside of some simple paternalistic \u00a0binaries and the service project, he has never had to know<\/em> other\u2019s truths, other\u2019s stories of suffering beyond the confession. \u00a0It is entirely possible that his elitist rarefied Mormon world has\u00a0inoculated\u00a0him from a searing, critical and personal\u00a0assault\u00a0on his entitlement that forces him to look at social inequality as a systemic problem rather than a feature of some daft bugger\u2019s poor, Godless decision making!<\/p>\n

    Clearly, I\u2019m exercised about this, and as a New Zealander my opinion on Romney is (at least electorally speaking) meaningless.\u00a0 But the US has in the past delivered its fair share of moron Presidents who have had a lasting, even fatal impact upon the rest of the world. \u00a0\u00a0So I\u2019m begging anyone who will listen \u2013 not Romney \u2013 please.\u00a0 By all means have a Mormon as the US President \u2013 but not this kind of Mormon.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Seriously? So Romney doesn\u2019t want to disclose his financial returns because he feels that the amount of tithing he pays to the church should be private? \u00a0Rep. Jason Chaffetz\u2019s \u00a0rationale is that \u00a0Romney\u2019s desire for tithing privacy is meant to save the recipients of his tithing largesse from the embarrassing position of having\u00a0their financial need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,17,20,23],"tags":[53,57,61,64,70],"class_list":["post-764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-culture","category-mormon-conservatism","category-mormon-finances","category-new-zealand-and-us-mormonism","tag-lds-culture","tag-lds-premortal-theology","tag-mitt-romney-tithing","tag-mormon-blue-bloods","tag-mormon-elitism"],"yoast_head":"\nRomney's tithing and the case of the Mormon Blue Blood<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Seriously? So Romney doesn\u2019t want to disclose his financial returns because he feels that the amount of tithing he pays to the church should be private?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Romney's tithing and the case of the Mormon Blue Blood\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Seriously? So Romney doesn\u2019t want to disclose his financial returns because he feels that the amount of tithing he pays to the church should be private?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KiwiMormon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-08-24T07:02:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/kiwimormon.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/08\/screen-shot-2012-08-24-at-6-08-07-pm.png?w=150\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gina Colvin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gina Colvin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/\",\"name\":\"Romney's tithing and the case of the Mormon Blue Blood\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-24T07:02:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-08-24T07:02:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/#\/schema\/person\/f4801b82021fdcdf483ff9fdfff515f7\"},\"description\":\"Seriously? So Romney doesn\u2019t want to disclose his financial returns because he feels that the amount of tithing he pays to the church should be private?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Romney’s tithing and the case of the Mormon Blue Blood\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/\",\"name\":\"KiwiMormon\",\"description\":\"Mormon Reflections from the Antipodes\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/#\/schema\/person\/f4801b82021fdcdf483ff9fdfff515f7\",\"name\":\"Gina Colvin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/91d0f73ea4aecb0bf0a178457d873a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/91d0f73ea4aecb0bf0a178457d873a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gina Colvin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/author\/gcolvin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Romney's tithing and the case of the Mormon Blue Blood","description":"Seriously? So Romney doesn\u2019t want to disclose his financial returns because he feels that the amount of tithing he pays to the church should be private?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Romney's tithing and the case of the Mormon Blue Blood","og_description":"Seriously? So Romney doesn\u2019t want to disclose his financial returns because he feels that the amount of tithing he pays to the church should be private?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/","og_site_name":"KiwiMormon","article_published_time":"2012-08-24T07:02:28+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/kiwimormon.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/08\/screen-shot-2012-08-24-at-6-08-07-pm.png?w=150"}],"author":"Gina Colvin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gina Colvin","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/","name":"Romney's tithing and the case of the Mormon Blue Blood","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-08-24T07:02:28+00:00","dateModified":"2012-08-24T07:02:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/#\/schema\/person\/f4801b82021fdcdf483ff9fdfff515f7"},"description":"Seriously? So Romney doesn\u2019t want to disclose his financial returns because he feels that the amount of tithing he pays to the church should be private?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/2012\/08\/romneys-tithing-and-the-case-of-the-mormon-blue-blood\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Romney’s tithing and the case of the Mormon Blue Blood"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/","name":"KiwiMormon","description":"Mormon Reflections from the Antipodes","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/#\/schema\/person\/f4801b82021fdcdf483ff9fdfff515f7","name":"Gina Colvin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/91d0f73ea4aecb0bf0a178457d873a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/91d0f73ea4aecb0bf0a178457d873a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gina Colvin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/author\/gcolvin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kiwimormon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}