Back in 1997 my brother and I worked together at a bagel shop.  Every payday, we would gleefully go back to the local bank to cash out checks.  We would gloat over our seemingly massive amounts of "Power Units."  We had been told all our lives that our money was backed by GOLD. Wasn't the gold stored in Fort Knox what was providing the power to our "power units"?

For me this myth lasted until the year 2002.  I was heavily involved with the Libertarian Party of Minnesota during this period.  The party had rented a storefront on Hennepin Avenue, in the Kingsfield Neighborhood of Minneapolis.  It was a hip neighborhood, right near where I worked (at yet another bagel shop).  Shortly after helping the Libertarian Party to open their storefront offices, I noticed something.  It was a foil sticker on the window which said, "Liberty Dollar Accepted."

"What the hell is the Liberty Dollar?!" I asked.

Bob Smith was chair of the LPMN at the time.  He was quick to explain that The Liberty Dollar was a privately issued currency.  That simple explanation of fact piqued my interest in money.  I embarked on an odyssey that revealed much about my self, the nature of money, and how government by a coercive state is at odds with all striving to become free.

At that time, my understanding of the monetary system, like most of the populace, was cursory at best.  I was vaguely aware of that entity known as the Federal Reserve (FED).  I did not yet know that the FED paid pennies for each an every dollar bill they purchase (no matter what the denomination) from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  I was not yet aware that the FED lends those dollar bills into circulation, which must be paid back with interest.  I didn't know about fractional reserve banking practices engaged in by your local savings bank.

The Liberty Dollar really opened my eyes to the quagmire that the United States was in, by it's engagement in one of the biggest boondoggles ever conceived by human minds.  I started to exchange my Federal Reserve Accounting Units Denominated (backed by nothing but the threat of nuclear aggression).  I then began to circulate the American Liberty Dollar to local merchants.  I asked my employer to pay me partially in this new private currency (he politely declined).

I also began contributing American Liberty Dollars to all my charitable causes, including tithing and fast offerings paid to the church that I am a member of.  When I started paying in American Liberty Dollars, I was explicit in my instructions that my tithes and offerings were not to be deposited into any commercial bank, as it would not be credited for deposit (owing to it's existence in competition with the Federal Reserve System).  My bishop nor any of his counselors seemed to have a problem with this, as I never had any conversations with any leaders of the church regarding my tithing.

After paying my tithing and fast offerings with the American Liberty Dollar for an entire year, I was called in for tithing settlement. Tithing settlement is an opportunity to meet with the bishop of the ward, and discuss your tithes and fast offerings.  In addition to talking about provident use of resources, all members receive a record of tithes and offerings received by the church, which is used by many as a tax shelter, since such giving to the church is tax deductible.