Tithing being mailed to the bishop

I am a new finance clerk and noticed that a member is having their bank send their tithing check directly to the bishop's house as an automatic payment. Then the bishop brings the check to church and we fill out the tithing slip itself. It seems like a practice that is not a safe one (like if the bishop moves or is released and the member does not change their auto bill pay settings) and I feel like the member should be having the checks sent to themselves and then fill out the slip and hand the tithing in. Is there a specific place in a church guidebook that spells out whether or not a member can mail the check to the bishop? I would like to speak with the member but wanted to make sure that I was following policy when I did so.

seabiscuit86 wrote:Is there a specific place in a church guidebook that spells out whether or not a member can mail the check to the bishop?

There is nothing wrong with mailing the donation to the bishop. That's why there's a full address and a place for a postage stamp on every donation envelope.

I see a bigger problem with them forcing you to make out the donation slip. See Handbook 1: 14.6.1.

Note that the church is rolling out a on-line donation system. I do not know the schedule. But you can see it in the menu system when you log into lds.org.

seabiscuit86 wrote:I feel like the member should be having the checks sent to themselves and then fill out the slip and hand the tithing in.

Mailing a donation to the bishop is proper. When it comes to bank bill pay checks though, I always preferred sending the check to myself, so that I could fill out the donation slip. But if the member has indicated on the memo line of the check how the funds should be credited, or has otherwise worked out something with the clerk, the check sent to the bishop should be fine.

Russellhltn mentioned that an online donation system is being introduced this year. In the meantime, you might point out to the member that they should be able to use their bank bill pay to make the contribution directly and electronically to Church headquarters (with the exception of contributions to the ward missionary fund). The ward will have full insight into the contribution as if it had been recorded by the bishopric member and clerk in a normal batch. The process only takes a few days to set up and begins with an email to donations@ldschurch.org (see this post for more information). There are links in that topic to other topics that also discuss how the process works.

lajackson wrote:Mailing a donation to the bishop is proper.

As long as it's not made out to the bishop. We had to correct a few members that filled out the bill pay instructions incorrectly and it appeared that they wanted to give the bishop a "bonus". :p

The online system will be another wonderful blessing for a great many clerks (and members alike). Awaiting it anxiously.

Thanks for all the helpful feed back and suggestions. I have a much better idea now of what can be done.