Paying LDS Tithing online with Bill Pay

How (and why) to set it up

If you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (AKA LDS, Mormon), then you are familiar with how to pay tithes and offerings to the church by filling out a tithing form and giving it to your bishop. If you are like me, this is about the only time you ever write a check. For most of my recurring expenses, I use my bank’s “Bill Pay” to automatically send the payment. It is easier to do it that way, and keeps me from forgetting to pay it. I have often wished I could do this with my regular tithing payments to the church. I have recently discovered that you can.

Why would I want to do so, you ask? The main reasons (many would list #4 as a strong reason #1):

1. It is easier. I get the same amount each paycheck, and then it takes care of itself. No more filling out forms, obtaining envelopes, and remembering to give them to a bishopric member at church.

2. I can set it up to pay every 2 weeks, pulled from my account on my payday (biweekly). This way I am “paying my tithing first”, right when I receive the increase.

3. I’ll never forget, then end up needing to write a big painful check all at once.

4. It is more secure. Less chance I or a bishopric member will lose my payment.

5. Local clerks, bishopric members, and other members with access to MLS never see what you have paid. At tithing settlement, you simply tell the bishop you paid to church headquarters and are a full tithe payer dispite the $0 balance on your statement.

How to set it up:

1. Fill out the BillPay Authorization Form and email it to donations@ldschurch.org. Within a day, you will get a return email confirming receipt of the form, and providing additional instructions. Those instructions look like this.

2. Set up a payee in your bank’s online bill payment system. The payee name needs to be “LDS-Tithing”*. Use your membership number as your account number, using the format ###-####-#### (include leading zeros and dashes). Use the address:

50 East North Temple Street

Room 1521

Salt Lake City, UT 84150

Phone: 801-240-2554

3. Send a one-time small payment, and then email donations@ldschurch.org to let them know you have sent your first payment. They will respond with a confirmation email when payment is received.

4. Now you can go into your bank’s bill payment system and enter a recurring payment for your regular tithes. Done.

5. If you would like to make a donation to another fund other than tithing, repeat step 2 above, using instead one of the following names:

· LDS-Fast Offering

· LDS-Missionary (General)

· LDS-Book of Mormon

· LDS-PEF

· LDS-Other

Note: All donations to the above categories go to the church’s general fund and not your ward fund. For this reason I recommend continuing to pay fast offerings and missionary offerings to the ward (give the deacons something to pick up on Fast Sunday).

*Note to Chase customers: There is a bug in the Chase Bill Pay system that makes “LDS-Tithing” payments go to the Book of Mormon fund. As a workaround, when doing step 2 above, you will get a pop-up offering some pre-set up funds to use rather thatn “LDS-Tithing”. Choose the “Tithing – LDS” option with the address which includes room 1521. I did this at the church’s instructions, and all is well.

Questions or comments? Feel free to email me. My email address is ryan at ryanaz dot com (spelled out to keep spammers from finding my address online.

To develop enduring faith, an enduring commitment to be a full-tithe payer is essential. Initially it takes faith to tithe. Then the tithe payer develops more faith to the point that tithing becomes a precious privilege. Tithing is an ancient law from God. 9 He made a promise to His children that He would open “the windows of heaven, and pour … out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” 10 Not only that, tithing will keep your name enrolled among the people of God and protect you in “the day of vengeance and burning.”

-Russell M Nelson, April 211 Conference

I like general conference, but I have to admit there is one way that for me it could be improved.

So I improved it.  

By speeding up the rate at which the speakers speak (and the choirs sing) by 20%, without increasing the tone, what you have left is a conference that I find easier to listen to. At this speed, my mind is less likely to stray off on tangents, or allow me to fall asleep.

I put these on a CD and listen to them during my commute.

Give it a try, and let me know how you like it.

Click here to go to my Conference download page.

Two big mouths. And fish too.

News Flash: The 21 year drought is over. Ryan went fishing. No spear or hat involved (OK, I was wearing the hat).


Ron looked sad, and jealous, so I tried teaching him how, and when he couldn't get it, I let him hold this one. No, really. Honest.

The best part about this fishing trip - it was a last minute idea. We went first thing in the morning on a Friday, fished 2.5 hours on Saguaro Lake, then went home. I was in the office by 10:45. No one at work would have known if I would have kept from bragging.

Family Home Evening

My favorite moment from this week's FHE (Family Home Evening):

Mom: "It is important to understand we are accountable for our choices. What is accountable?"

4 year-old Nathan: "Its someone who eats people."

Me: Laugh. (that's normally my part. That and being the enforcer).

Toads

For those of you who don't know me well ... who am I kidding, both people who read this know me well. So AS YOU ALREADY KNOW, I've always been into anything that crawls, slithers, or hops. Last weekend we visited my parents in Pima, AZ. This time of year, when it rains, that little town is hoppin! Toads everywhere. Last year we caught a small Red-Spotted Toad (Anaxyrus punctatus) named Sedona, who was a valued member of our family for 9 months before dying of symptoms related to too much Nathan love. So this trip gave us a chance to pick up a couple replacements, and catch and realease hundreds more.


Nathan gets the award for catching the largest toad. He is fearless and loves small animals possibly even more than his daddy. This one is a large Sonoran Desert Toad (Ollotis alvaria). Definitely too big to take home, but fun to chase and catch.

Here is our new Red-Spotted Toad (Anaxyrus punctatus). She is larger than the one from last year, so maybe she will survive Nate's play a bit better. We've named her Sedona's Big Sister, or Sedona II. I've noted she can jump out of the terrarium if the lid is left off, so hopefully that will not attribute to her untimely demise.

This cute little guy is a Couch's Spadefoot (Scaphiopus couchii). She's a cute toad, but I don't expect we'll see much of her. She likes to bury herself, and rarely comes out.

Our other two toads, which we have had for about 1.5 years, are Chinese Fire-Bellied Toads (Bombina Orientalis). Pictured here is Walker, who is a bit shy and reserved. Not pictured is his nearly identical twin Texas Ranger, who is much more outgoing; more of a go get 'em kind of cricket hunter rather than a wait-for-them-to-come type. Of course, we love them equally.

Here's where they live. And yes, there really are 4 toads and one fake frog in this pic.

We also brought home a few hundred small tadpoles of unknown species. they were in a puddle about to dry up. Many will end up as food for the above 4 mentioned cannibals. Hopefully a few will make it to froghood and to this blog at a later date.

A walk at The Mall

After work today I decided to go on a 5 mile walk at The Mall. I had my camera with me so I took a few shots and thought I'd brake my long-time blog silence.




This is a shot of the National Mall. I took it while sitting on Lincoln's lap. OK, they wouldn't let me do that, even after I explained I'm American. But I did take it from the top of the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial.




See? Doesn't his lap look inviting? Hard to tell scale from this photo, but there's room for a dozen red blooded Americans up there!



This is me at the Vietnam and Korean War memorials. I'm the one in the blue shirt. For those that have never been there, seen here is about 1/50th of the Vietnam Memorial. The Korean War Memorial is cool because until up close it looks like an ungraved huge stone with smudges on it.



This is the WWII memorial with the Lincoln Memorial in the background. If you visit, don't miss this little "Killroy was here" gem hidden in a back crevice by an air vent.



Here's the Washington Monument and the Capitol.



Here's the White House from the Mall and from Pennsylvania Avenue.



I love the Washington DC license plates.

I'm not sure why, but this is funny.

If you've been around the internet a lot, this one is most definitely not new to you. I've been asked what I think the funniest thing on the internet is. This guy just might be it. Drat!



This is his "second attempt". Its his best, but his third attempt is quite funny too. “That’s one of the things I hate about balloons” is my favorite line from #3.

Kids, stay in school, and move out of mom's house before you turn 40.