We are currently in Portland, OR on a work trip/vacation. The ward that we attended this morning was excellent (as all wards are). We both especially loved one of the speakers in sacrament meeting. He spoke on the law of tithing! In our church we pay 10% of our income to the Lord. I wanted to share some key points that the speaker touched on and also share the talk that he referenced quite a bit.
First of all he started by saying that paying tithing is a PRIVILEGE. He said there are 7 reasons why we need/want to pay tithing. I can only remember 6 because I didn't start writing them down until half-way through the talk so I will share what I remember.
1. We pay our tithing so that God will pour out blessings upon us.
2. We pay tithing to express love to a generous & loving Heavenly Father.
3. We pay tithing as a declaration that material wealth and possession is not the most important goal in our mortal lives.
4. We pay our tithing as an affirmation that we are on the Lord's side.
5. We pay tithing so that we have church buildings to meet in, temples to worship in, etc.
6. We pay our tithing because we are indebted to God. He has given us all that we have and His only requirement in return is that we give 10% of what He has blessed us with.
The last one is especially important I thought. Here is what Elder Talmage said about paying tithing:
Paying tithing is not a token gift we are somehow charitably bestowing upon God. Paying tithing is discharging a debt. Elder James E. Talmage once described this as a contract between us and the Lord. He imagined the Lord saying: “ ‘You have need of many things in this world—food, clothing, and shelter for your family … , the common comforts of life. … You shall have the means of acquiring these things; but remember they are mine, and I require of you the payment of a rental upon that which I give into your hands. However, your life will not be one of uniform increase … [so] instead of doing as mortal landlords do—requir[ing] you to … pay in advance, whatever your fortunes or … prospects may be—you shall pay me … [only] when you have received; and you shall pay me in accordance with what you receive. If it so be that in one year your income is abundant, then … [your 10 percent will be a] little more; and if it be so that the next year is one of distress and your income is not what it was, then … [your 10 percent will be] less. … [Whatever your circumstance, the tithe will be fair.]’
“Have you ever found a landlord on earth who was willing to make that kind of [equitable] contract with you?” Elder Talmage asks. “When I consider the liberality of it all,” he says, “… I feel in my heart that I could scarcely raise my countenance to … Heaven … if I tried to defraud [God] out of that [which is rightfully His].”
Click HERE to read the remainder of Elder Holland's talk on tithing. I have always loved to pay my tithing. It is not something I think of as a sacrifice. It is rent for my existence here on Earth. By paying tithing we are only receiving an increase in the blessings that God can give us! I have a lot of experience with seeing the blessings of paying tithing. If I had not paid my tithing then I never would have been able to afford tuition for school. If we were not paying our tithing now then I know that my husband and I would be paying off student loans for years. But instead we are on the path to being student loan/debt free by the end of this year. It is all because of tithing. Whenever we feel discouraged about meeting our goal, we pay our tithing and immediately we see extra bonuses from work roll in, and news of raises this year, and the stock we have scheduled to sell always jumps up right before it sells. These are not coincidences, they are blessings of paying our tithing. I know that if we follow the commandments of the Lord and pay our tithing we will be blessed beyond measure! So hop to it and start putting the payment of tithes as first priority in your financial lives!
Showing posts with label tithing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tithing. Show all posts
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Friday, August 7, 2009
Pay in Faith
This is just going to be a quick post. Nothing major or profound, just a little miracle to me.
I know that when the Lord says he will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon us, he is being very literal. I know that when we pay tithing we are actually paying with faith, and not money. We show our faith by paying, even when it feels as if paying would be cutting off a limb because that money is so necessary to our survival here.
I have had times in my life where I had to decide to pay my tithing or have food. I paid in faith, knowing that Heavenly Father would bless and provide for me. Shortly thereafter I received two big bags of food. I once had to decide between paying tithing or paying for school. I had all the money to the penny in my account for school. Paying my tithing would leave me short. I chose to pay tithing after all. After a bit of go around with the school, it turned out I didn't have to pay any of the money they were demanding from me. Tithing requires faith. When we pay in faith miracles happen. We may be tested and tried, but we will never ever be left alone. When we pay our tithing we are showing the Lord we rely on Him and we trust Him. I know that sometimes it can be hard, but I also know that it is always always worth it and the return is much bigger then the "investment."
source
I know that when the Lord says he will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon us, he is being very literal. I know that when we pay tithing we are actually paying with faith, and not money. We show our faith by paying, even when it feels as if paying would be cutting off a limb because that money is so necessary to our survival here.
I have had times in my life where I had to decide to pay my tithing or have food. I paid in faith, knowing that Heavenly Father would bless and provide for me. Shortly thereafter I received two big bags of food. I once had to decide between paying tithing or paying for school. I had all the money to the penny in my account for school. Paying my tithing would leave me short. I chose to pay tithing after all. After a bit of go around with the school, it turned out I didn't have to pay any of the money they were demanding from me. Tithing requires faith. When we pay in faith miracles happen. We may be tested and tried, but we will never ever be left alone. When we pay our tithing we are showing the Lord we rely on Him and we trust Him. I know that sometimes it can be hard, but I also know that it is always always worth it and the return is much bigger then the "investment."
source
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Ambo & the Law of Tithing
I'm really excited that we are all 'forced' to introduce ourselves now. Since it's Wednesday, I'm up:
Hello, my name is Amber and I'm a Gospel-Addict.
I am also a wife, mother, sister, friend, daughter, sports-freak, clutz, nap-time crafter, theatre-geek, and teacher. I constantly try to do my best and, most of the time, it gets me into trouble (especially in the clutz category).
I grew up in St. Louis (as alluded to in Ash's post) and, when the time came, I ventured to BYU, where I graduated in Elementary Education. Gweg and I have been married for almost five years (CRAZY--and, yes, it's true, he is Ash's cousin).
We have a happy-go-lucky 15-month-old boy named Jared and are expecting a little girl at the end of November (not planned, on our part, at least). I, too, am a SAHM with so much to do and not enough time to do it in. We live in South Texas where Gweg works as an engineer and we don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon (we're building our first house---that's how I met Trish---she's in my ward and told us about a great subdivision to build in).
Whenever I have free time I enjoy cooking, crafting, swimming, yoga, playing Wii, dancing with Jared, and---shocker---the St. Louis Cardinals! I'm currently trying to be better at going to the temple, saying consistent family prayers and having FHE. I love to learn and grow which is why I wanted to join the ranks of this blog!
As Trish mentioned in her testimony post, I bore my testimony on Sunday. Ash can verify that this is nothing new; I'm one of those people that probably bears their testimony too much. I couldn't resist it this time because I felt overwelming gratitude for Heavenly Father's blessings to my family. And, I believe it was because we pay our tithing.
Greg just recently finished grad school and this month we had to start paying his loans back, both undergrad and graduate, in addition to the rest of our monthly bills. We sat down and talked about giving ourselves very small weekly allowance for food and other expenses. Even though we were following our new rules, it didn't seem we were going to make it to the next payday. We were worried, then on Friday we got a $1000 check from a car accident we had in December. Greg and I looked at each other and immediately said a prayer because we knew where this money came from.
Elder Robert D. Hales taught:
"To those who faithfully and honestly live the law of tithing, the Lord promises an abundance of blessings. Some of these blessings are temporal, just as tithes are temporal. But like the outward physical ordinances of baptism and the sacrament, the commandment to pay tithing requires temporal sacrifice, which ultimately yields great spiritual blessings....
Would any of us intentionally reject an outpouring of blessings from the Lord? Sadly, this is what we do when we fail to pay our tithing. We say no to the very blessings we are seeking and praying to receive. If you are one who has doubted the blessings of tithing, I encourage you to accept the Lord’s invitation to “prove [Him] now herewith.” Pay your tithing. Unlock the windows of heaven. You will be abundantly blessed for your obedience and faithfulness to the Lord’s laws and commandments."
The Lord blesses us when we live the commandments righteously; sometimes in ways we can see, other times in ways we can't. I know I have a lot of things to work on, but I hope that I will always pay my tithing because the Lord has already blessed me because of it.
Hello, my name is Amber and I'm a Gospel-Addict.
I am also a wife, mother, sister, friend, daughter, sports-freak, clutz, nap-time crafter, theatre-geek, and teacher. I constantly try to do my best and, most of the time, it gets me into trouble (especially in the clutz category).
I grew up in St. Louis (as alluded to in Ash's post) and, when the time came, I ventured to BYU, where I graduated in Elementary Education. Gweg and I have been married for almost five years (CRAZY--and, yes, it's true, he is Ash's cousin).
We have a happy-go-lucky 15-month-old boy named Jared and are expecting a little girl at the end of November (not planned, on our part, at least). I, too, am a SAHM with so much to do and not enough time to do it in. We live in South Texas where Gweg works as an engineer and we don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon (we're building our first house---that's how I met Trish---she's in my ward and told us about a great subdivision to build in).
Whenever I have free time I enjoy cooking, crafting, swimming, yoga, playing Wii, dancing with Jared, and---shocker---the St. Louis Cardinals! I'm currently trying to be better at going to the temple, saying consistent family prayers and having FHE. I love to learn and grow which is why I wanted to join the ranks of this blog!
As Trish mentioned in her testimony post, I bore my testimony on Sunday. Ash can verify that this is nothing new; I'm one of those people that probably bears their testimony too much. I couldn't resist it this time because I felt overwelming gratitude for Heavenly Father's blessings to my family. And, I believe it was because we pay our tithing.
Greg just recently finished grad school and this month we had to start paying his loans back, both undergrad and graduate, in addition to the rest of our monthly bills. We sat down and talked about giving ourselves very small weekly allowance for food and other expenses. Even though we were following our new rules, it didn't seem we were going to make it to the next payday. We were worried, then on Friday we got a $1000 check from a car accident we had in December. Greg and I looked at each other and immediately said a prayer because we knew where this money came from.
Elder Robert D. Hales taught:
"To those who faithfully and honestly live the law of tithing, the Lord promises an abundance of blessings. Some of these blessings are temporal, just as tithes are temporal. But like the outward physical ordinances of baptism and the sacrament, the commandment to pay tithing requires temporal sacrifice, which ultimately yields great spiritual blessings....
Would any of us intentionally reject an outpouring of blessings from the Lord? Sadly, this is what we do when we fail to pay our tithing. We say no to the very blessings we are seeking and praying to receive. If you are one who has doubted the blessings of tithing, I encourage you to accept the Lord’s invitation to “prove [Him] now herewith.” Pay your tithing. Unlock the windows of heaven. You will be abundantly blessed for your obedience and faithfulness to the Lord’s laws and commandments."
The Lord blesses us when we live the commandments righteously; sometimes in ways we can see, other times in ways we can't. I know I have a lot of things to work on, but I hope that I will always pay my tithing because the Lord has already blessed me because of it.
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