I don't believe you pay a full tithe.
 

If a church leader is interviewing someone for the big house, and he doesn't believe the person is paying an honest tithe, how much probing is appropriate. As a person whose lifestyle probably appears to outpace my income I have raised more than a few suspicious eyebrows when it comes to that question. Rather than taking the bait, and getting into my w2's I have always thanked the leader for his counsel and then repeated my answer, yes I pay a full tithe. No one has probed beyond that, but it makes me wonder, how far should a leader be able to investigate?

The Bishop has every single right to want as much info as possible to determine whether the member is telling the truth.

So long as he only asks one question: "Are you a full tithe payer?"

Beyond that, it isnt his business, nor his job, to audit members.

On the other side of the coin, when my uncle was a bishop, his stake president told him to honor the answers an interviewee gave during the recommend interview, even when he suspected it was not an honest answer.

I thought the whole point of interviewing with the bishop was so he would use his spirit of discernment to decide whether to give the recommend or not. But if that is not the case, why not lessen his load and have the beehives conduct the interviews?

Ugh... my last temple recommend interview, my bishop asked me if I was a full tithe payer. I said yes. He proceeded to ask me, "What to you consider a full-tithe to be?" I explained a full-tithe is payment 10% of all gross increase. He didn't seem satisfied with this, and asked how often I pay tithing! When I told him that I pay quarterly, he expressed concern that I wasn't being honest with the Lord. I should instead, he communicated, pay my tithing every time I received increase.

Under his reasoning, anybody who waits till the end of the year to pay tithing, even if it's a full tithe, isn't fulfilling his or her obligations as a full tithe payer.

He signed my recommend, but I don't think he was happy about it.

If he looks at your form at tithing settlement and sees $1.76 on it, I think he has a right to question you further.

Stumpy could still explain the plasma big screen.

Your bishop doesn't know what he is talking about.

As far as what the definition of a full tithe is "10% of one's increase" is ALL that needs to be said. Any further detail than that is inappropriate.

Ask him what the handbook says.

How exactly do you manage that? Are you a a greeter at WalMart, and live in a mansion, with an exotic car collection?

well this is really the nutmeat of my question. How what kind of additional probing is appropriate? My own situation is quite as extreme, but it is closer to your example than to anything else. Where is the line of appropriate incredulity, and what should a leader do when he honestly thinks someone has crossed that line? I guess it is up to the Spirit, but I would be pretty pissed if the "holy ghost" got it wrong.