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Date Posted: 08:19:48 09/17/11 Sat
Author: George
Subject: Re: The Priesthood Scam
In reply to: Lois 's message, "Re: The Priesthood Scam" on 00:34:10 09/17/11 Sat

>>A man who makes $42,000 a year working in a hardware
>>store is called to the priesthood. After taxes, he has
>>a net income of 33,000, so he pays $3,300 to the
>>church to make himself elibible for the priesthood.
>>So he has $29,000 to live on. Ever after, if he wants
>>to keep his priesthood card, he will have to pay ten
>>percent of his income to the church.
>>
>>A man who is a paid employee of the church priesthood
>>(in a position requiring ordination) makes $50,000 a
>>year. After taxes, he has $40,500 net income, so he
>>pays 4,050 dollars to the church so that he can keep
>>his priesthood, so that he will continue to be
>>eligible to keep his job. He has $36,450 left to live
>>on. But priests in the Restored Church are not
>>supposed to be paid for their efforts -- as witnessed
>>by the Book of Mormon. So, what has actually happened
>>is that the man has received a $50,000 grant from the
>>church. He isn't supposed to be paid, so the money is
>>not income. If he has no other job, then he really has
>>not earned any money. So he has merely funneled $4,050
>>back to the church out of the "grant" that he
>>received. There is no tithe involved here. The man is
>>simply a parasite on the back of the church.
>>
>>If you are having to tithe out of income from a real
>>job, you are by no means a member of the elite in the
>>CofC. You are giving them ten percent of your money.
>>The paid priesthood member is only giving 10% of the
>>church's money back to it, so the church realizes a
>>loss from this man's membership in the church and in
>>the priesthood.
>>
>>The man working in the hardware store contributed
>>$3300 a year to the upkeep of the church as a
>>condition keeping of his priesthood.
>>
>>The paid member of the hierarchy pays less than
>>nothing to the upkeep of the church. Every year that
>>he is a member and a member of the priesthood, the
>>church realizes a $45,950 loss. Even the taxes he paid
>>on his free money were paid with free money from the
>>church.
>>
>>I call it "free money," because if other members of
>>the priesthood are having to work with no
>>compensation, then priesthood office is considered to
>>be a membership privilege for which one pays dues. The
>>hierarch in the church pays no dues. The church is
>>paying all his bills, and he "contributes" only those
>>services that those who are not as clever as he are
>>required to pay for the privilege of doing.
>>
>>Why is there this dichotomy in the church? Looks like
>>just another part of the scam to me. But, as I stated,
>>the paid members of the hierarchy are ecclesiastical
>>politicians, and politicians are known for ripping
>>everybody else off.
>>
>>George
>
>If paid employees of the church want to give more
>money to the church, then first they can "expand
>ministries" and give themselves a raise so that they
>can afford to give more.
>
>Lois
>
> >href="http://www.cofchrist.org/news/10min/">http://www.
>cofchrist.org/news/10min/
>
>"In January and February, priesthood members in the
>United States will receive an invitation from
>President Steve Veazey to consider increasing their
>giving to World Ministries by $10 or more a week. With
>16,000 priesthood members in the United States, that
>could mean an additional $8.3 million to launch and
>expand ministries in our communities throughout the
>world. Imagine what could happen!"

In the Restoration, by scriptural definition, any paid priesthood members are parasites.

This parasitism is why, despite the Constitution's very, very limited proviso that Congress can't vote to construct a national religion, judges have ruled that religion must be completely separated from government. It is a fool's errand, though, since the irrationality of human beings makes us all deeply religious, even the atheist, who worships the intellect that allowed him to "discover" beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no God. In Mexico, clergymen are not allowed to own real estate, since the abuses of Great and Abominable Churches with paid hierophants/psychics was felt by the whole country. All politicians are bad, but ecclesiastical politicians are the worst of the lot, because they smear God by claiming his approval of their doings. That doesn't mean that God wants to haul them into court and sue their royal heinies, but it is an offense against Him that drives those who need Him away from Him.

Could you imagine either the LDS church, or the Community of Christ as our "state church?" The IRS would collect the tithe money along with the taxes for the secular government. And if you criticized the First Presidency, you really would get "silenced." God has protected us from the depredations of the CofC, not by wise modern revelations in the CofC scriptures, but by a wall between church and state that people imagine they invented on their own. The reason is that God, although he supposedly talks to the CofC leadership on a regular basis, doesn't even trust them.

That does eliminate all thievery and fraud, it just removes the clergy from the list of those we have to fear.

George

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