Dear Rich Mormons:

 What does money have to do with religion? A lot. Read on.

Dear Rich Mormons: 

Did you know there is a caste system in the LDS church? I bet you don't, because you are at the top. Look around you and notice who is holding all the "top" callings. Notice which families are always at every Sacrament Meeting and every activity. 

Families who are more financially stable are more successful in the Mormon church. We can talk about finances specifically when we talk about tithing. If you do not pay your full 10% tithing every year, you cannot enter the temple. While you may assume that 10% is fair, in reality a family who is trying to make ends meet with $3000 a month has a much harder time giving up $300 than someone who is making $10,000 a month has in giving up $1000. Imagine trying to decide between paying your rent for the month or being able to accompany your 12-year-old daughter to the temple for her first baptism trip. These choices would never occur when your family's finances are in the upper-middle class or above.

Of course there are other issues with the church's teachings which make it difficult for those struggling to admit it. We have been taught that if you obey the commandments and follow the teachings of the prophets, you will be blessed. So that must mean that if you are struggling in this life, you must have been breaking the commandments or at least not "towing the line" as expected by Mormon daily living. If you lose your job or don't have a high paying salary, you wouldn't want to admit it, for fear of being judged.

Now let's talk about time. Did you realize that time actually takes money? The Mormon church demands full access to your time. Get up at 4:00 am to read scriptures. Have Family Home Evening every Monday night. Get your kids to all the mid-week activities. Do your visiting/home teaching. Do your "Come Follow Me" lessons every week. Prepare the lessons you will teach on Sunday. Say your prayers; write in your journal. How could you ever have time to do all of these things, AND work during the week. Well, you really can't. So, you have to chose. Should mom work outside the home and add to the family's finances? Or should someone stay home to fulfill all the requirements of the church? The LDS homes that do not face these choices are then held up as the perfect goal. However, this will never be possible to the vast majority of families. 

Rich Mormons, you must stop measuring others with the standards of your life. The requirements that set up unachievable goals create a church full of failures. Sitting in sacrament meeting and measuring my small family against the families of 5 or 6 or 10 children, I began to wonder if I was failing. Perhaps I did not have enough faith to believe that God would provide. Obviously this big families have plenty of faith.

When certain families don't show up to every activity, you might judge them as failing, yet you have no idea of the sacrifices that they might be making to get their kids to a Wednesday scout meeting. Once you have enough income, you can begin buying back some of your time. You can pay for a housekeeper or a babysitter. You can pay someone to fix your car or mow your lawn instead of trying to always do it yourself. The luxury of time can, and is, purchased. Those who are struggling to make ends meet are always going to be left behind in the culture of the LDS church. They will be judged and left on the outskirts because they physically do not have the time it takes to live up to the expectations.

The next time you start asking why it is always the same families who do everything in the church, ask yourself what luxuries you have that have allowed you to give more to the church. And remember that those families on the outskirts are trying to play the Mormon game of life, but keep drawing the "lose a turn" card.