The Blessings of Tithing (Mormon)

First Presidency Message ^ | June, eo11 | Henry B Eyring

[greyfoxx39]

The Blessings of Tithing

By President Henry B. Eyring

First Counselor in the First Presidency

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God’s purpose in giving us commandments is to bless us. He wants to give us eternal life, the greatest of all His gifts (see D&C 14:7). To receive the gift of living with Him forever in families in the celestial kingdom, we must be able to live the laws of that kingdom (see D&C 88:22).

He has given us commandments in this life to help us develop that capacity. The law of tithing is one of those preparatory commandments. The law is that we give to the Lord one-tenth of all our income. It is simple enough that even a child can understand it. I have seen children hand a bishop a tithing envelope that contains one-tenth of the coins they earned.

There we must be able to feel that aOne of the blessings that comes from paying a full tithing is developing faith to live an even higher law. To live in the celestial kingdom, we must live the law of consecration. We are and all we have belong to God.

There are at least three ways that paying a full tithe in this life prepares us to feel what we need to feel to receive the gift of eternal life.

First, when we pay our tithes to the Church, our Heavenly Father pours out blessings upon us. Anyone who has consistently paid a full tithe knows that is true. The blessings are sometimes spiritual and sometimes temporal. They are given in the Lord’s time and according to what He knows is best for us.

As those blessings come, our faith is increased that God is the source of everything that is good in our lives. It becomes easier to see that consecration simply recognizes the truth that all of God’s creations are His. It makes us feel gratitude that He asks only 10 percent of what He has already given us. So we are better prepared to live the law of consecration when it will be asked of us.

Second, all of us who have paid a consistent full tithe feel greater confidence in asking God for what we and our families need. He has promised blessings even greater than we can receive when we have been faithful to our covenant to pay our tithes (see Malachi 3:10). So one of the great blessings of tithing is confidence in what the future holds. Whatever our circumstances may be, things will work out for the best. As we keep our promises, He will keep His. A feeling of peace is one of the great blessings of paying a full tithe. Those who have kept the commandment of tithing can testify that the blessing of peace is real and precious.

Third, those who pay tithing feel an increase in their love of God and of all God’s children. That increase of love comes from understanding how the Father uses the tithes we offer to bless people in this world and for eternity.

Through His authorized servants, He expends the tithes with great care. The tithe payer helps the Lord build temples, where families can be sealed forever. The tithe payer helps Him send the gospel to people everywhere. The tithe payer helps Him relieve hunger and suffering in His own way through His servants. Any of those servants can tell you how love increased because tithing was used to bless people. And so can the faithful tithe payer.

Tithing settlement is months in the future. I pray that you and your family will begin now to plan and prepare to qualify for the blessings that God pours out on all those who can declare to Him that they are full-tithe payers.

Teaching from This Message

• •

  Sometimes the best way to teach a certain principle is to demonstrate it (see Teaching, No Greater Call [1999], 164). Consider asking a family member to demonstrate what one-tenth represents. He or she could demonstrate it by separating one item from a group of 10 items. To conclude, consider inviting a family member to show how to fill out a tithing slip.

• •

  “Those you teach will benefit from each other’s participation” (Teaching, No Greater Call, 63). Invite family members to share what they believe President Eyring means by the statement “feel what we need to feel to receive the gift of eternal life.” Consider discussing the three ways in which paying tithing prepares us to feel what we need to feel to receive God’s blessings.

Youth

Enough Money

By Fabiano dos Santos da Silva

met the missionaries when I was 17. At that time my older brother and I lived together. Our mother had passed away the year before, and life was difficult. When the missionaries taught me, I could see that this Church was the church I had always sought. But the influence of my friends prevented me from going to church on Sundays.

One time I went to a Church activity during the week. Seeing all the young people laughing and playing brought me great joy. The missionaries, with the youth, took that opportunity to teach me a gospel lesson, and I felt so good I resolved to be baptized.

But even after I joined the Church, I faced challenges. I was the only member of the Church in that part of town and lived far away from the meetinghouse. My nonmember friends no longer wanted anything to do with me. When I felt alone, I prayed and felt the love of the Lord.

Each month, I received a small allotment of money from a fund my mother left. It was difficult to sustain myself with so little money. But I determined to be obedient. I paid tithing and also had to pay for transportation to seminary and Sunday meetings. I didn’t understand how, but at the end of the month, I found that there had been enough money to do it all.

I know that I have been blessed by paying tithing. Obeying this commandment helped me gain a stronger testimony, serve a mission, and recognize blessings so I can strengthen new members who are facing challenges.

Children

I Can Pay Tithing

Paying tithing means giving 10 percent of what we earn to the Lord. Look at these three children doing jobs. On the first blank space by each drawing, write how much you think each child might earn for the job. On the second line, write how much the tithing would be.

(click to view larger)

Bonus question: Which of these tithe payers would receive the most blessings? (Hint: See the last paragraph of President Eyring’s message.)

[Monkey Face]

Thank you so much! *hug*

[greyfoxx39]

The Corporation must be having some cash flow problems.

10% of nothing when someone is unemployed is nothing, and billion-dollar malls must still be paid for.

I've never heard of the corporation giving anyone a hardship pass on tithing...rather, I've heard it's usually "if you pay your tithing you will find the the Lord will bless you more."

[reaganaut]

When I was Mormon, I actually had a LDS Bishop (eqiv to pastor) call my boss (also Mormon) to verify how much money I made because he didn’t believe I was paying a full tithe when I went in for my yearly ‘tithing settlement’ meeting (required to be considered ‘worthy’).

The LDS will often proudly boast about ‘doing their part’ by payig tithing, then brag that they don’t have a paid ministry. So the money goes where?

Grace is so different, now I give as I am led (more than 10% not that it matters) and where I am led. It is a joy to know that my pastor is available for me and not overworked by having a full time ‘day job’ and a full time non paying church job’ which is what the LDS do.

I thank God every day He saved me from Mormonism and the Hell it was leading me to.

[reaganaut]

BTW, most LDS parents I knew made their kids pay ‘tithing’ on their allowance and money given as gifts. I knew one set of parents who had their child calculate out the cost of all birthday and Christmas gifts and pay tithing on that full amount, even if he had to do odd jobs around the neighborhood to get the tithing money (which he also had to tithe on).

[reaganaut]

Do you think God has been generous to you because of your tithing? Or do you think he would have been just as generous if you gave less?

Be careful, too many Christians fall into the same trap as the LDS, that God blesses us BECAUSE of our tithe, which is the same as trying to bribe God.

[SouthernClaire]

When I was Mormon, I actually had a LDS Bishop (eqiv to pastor) call my boss (also Mormon) to verify how much money I made because he didn’t believe I was paying a full tithe when I went in for my yearly ‘tithing settlement’ meeting (required to be considered ‘worthy’).

Whenever an institution demands a tithe (?), it’s no longer a tithe and that crap should be illegal. Matter of fact, it is illegal. It’s extortion because they are using fear to get their damned greedy hands on the property of others. Admitted that I don’t know what a settlement meeting is, but it sounds like a case file that belongs in a prosecutor’s office rather than in a “church”.

Enough to make my blood boil first thing this morning.

My best to you, Reaganaut. I’m glad you’re out and safe in the hands of Jesus Christ.

[Elsie]

He wants to give us eternal life, the greatest of all His gifts (see D&C 14:7).

Sorry, MORMON; but EVERYONE gets this!

Where we SPEND it is determined by whether we've accepted the TRUE 'greatest gift': Salvation that the TRUE Christ has provided.

[Elsie]

One can readily SEE just HOIW important TITHEING is from this BIBLE passage:

Acts 15

The Council at Jerusalem

 ¹ Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. ³ The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. ⁴ When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

 ⁵ Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”

 ⁶ The apostles and elders met to consider this question. ⁷ After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. ⁸ God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. ⁹ He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? ¹¹ No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

 ¹² The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. ¹³ When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. ¹⁴ Simon^[a] has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. ¹⁵ The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

 ¹⁶ “‘After this I will return
   and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
   and I will restore it,
¹⁷ that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
   even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things’^[b]—
 ¹⁸ things known from long ago.^[c]

 ¹⁹ “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. ²⁰ Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. ²¹ For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

 ²² Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. ²³ With them they sent the following letter:

   The apostles and elders, your brothers,

   To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:

   Greetings.

 ²⁴ We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. ²⁵ So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— ²⁶ men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷ Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. ²⁸ It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: ²⁹ You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

   Farewell.

 ³⁰ So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. ³¹ The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. ³² Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. ³³ After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. ^{[34] [d] 35} But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

 ³⁶ Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, ³⁸ but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. ³⁹ They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

[Elsie]

Money=tithing=live the laws of that kingdom(see D&C 88:22)=blessings=mormonism.

Galatians 3

Faith or Works of the Law

¹ You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. ² I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? ³ Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? ⁴ Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? ⁵ So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? ⁶ So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

⁷ Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. ⁸ Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” ⁹ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

¹⁰ For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” ¹¹ Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” ¹² The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” ¹⁴ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

[Elsie]

Greyfoxx, I know this may not be the place for this, but FR has lost a great FReeper.

Bah!

ANYplace is the 'place' for prayers!

To say our squabbles can't be set aside for a moment to think and pray for others is, is... well - it ; just ain't right!

Lord; be with those who have suffered loss of their husband, father and friend. Be by their sides in these coming days, assuring them of Your presense and love.

[Monkey Face]

Thanks, Elsie!

[JoeFromSidney]

Do you think God has been generous to you because of your tithing? Or do you think he would have been just as generous if you gave less?

Be careful, too many Christians fall into the same trap as the LDS, that God blesses us BECAUSE of our tithe, which is the same as trying to bribe God.

Obviously I can never be certain. However, I don't look upon tithing as trying to bribe God. It's a recognition that everything I have originally came from Him, and I'm showing my gratitude by putting some of His gifts to His use.

[Godzilla]

I thank God every day He saved me from Mormonism and the Hell it was leading me to.

And we are too - nice to see ya pinging around here again.

[Elsie]

Let GOD be praised!

[reaganaut]

Sadly, several people have tried to litigate this and got nowhere. It appears that spiritual blackmail isn’t covered by the courts.

And, I am also glad God rescued me from Mormonism.

A ‘tithing settlement meeting’ is where the member goes in and discusses their tithing (complete with printout of what they gave) with their ‘bishop’ and affirms or denies that they have paid their tithing in full to the LDS church.

Can you imagine a Christian church even doing such a thing?

My giving is between me and God - no one else.

[reaganaut]

You can never be certain? Really? Of course you don’t see it as a bribe, but your uncertainty speaks volumes. The reasoning is “I give to God and He has to bless me because I have ‘done my part’”. That is at least the Mormon angle and I see it in Christian churches far too much.

Perhaps I am a stickler on the ‘tithing’ issue because of my Mormon background, but I don’t believe 10% is biblical.

IT IS ALL GOD’S MONEY. Showing gratitude is proper motivation, not expecting blessings. God will bless you as He will, regardless of what you do or no not give - He is God.

I give as I am led, I do not give 10% and I give where I am led.

Just be careful that you don’t assume you are blessed only because you tithe, brother.

God speed.

[reaganaut]

Thanks ‘zilla. I tried to stay away but Romney and his bots have to be fought so I’m back.

[Godzilla]

Thanks ‘zilla. I tried to stay away but Romney and his bots have to be fought so I’m back.

Like playing wack-a-mole.

[SouthernClaire]

A ‘tithing settlement meeting’ is where the member goes in and discusses their tithing (complete with printout of what they gave) with their ‘bishop’ and affirms or denies that they have paid their tithing in full to the LDS church. Can you imagine a Christian church even doing such a thing?

Um. No, I can’t. It a disgrace - and that’s calling it the nicest thing I can think of - and is so far from what tithing and Christianity represent that it makes me sick. (Kinda over the blood boiling point and now just sick.)

I DO understand how people can be blinded by the light and go for it (the abuse) over the years. Hell, I could possibly fall for it had I not read the Bible and been taught differently (that God means precisely what He says - no more, no less).

Some god the LDS serve, and not one to be very proud of if he’s demanding them tithe on the tithe and then tithe on that, and if they don’t ... “well, you ain’t gettin’ no grace and blessings of mine.”

I think I’d just take my damn ball and go back home.

Back on topic of your last post, Reag, I would be interested in knowing in which states the matters were pursued and may get to sit down and take a look during the week. I know it will take some time, but I think it would be interesting to see whatever docs are floating around the Internet and get an understanding of the Court’s mind and rulings on the matter. If you happen to know where I could start, please let me know.

Best Always, (And so happy that you are saved!)

SC

[SZonian]

Hi SC,

The LDS don’t “demand” the tithe, they equivocate by calling it a condition of worthiness. IOW, if you aren’t a full tithe payer, you can’t get a temple recommend.

If you can’t get a temple recommend, you can’t go to the temple and take out your endowments.

If you can’t take out your endowments, you don’t qualify for the celestial kingdom (highest degree of glory) and thus, don’t get to dwell in the presence of Heavenly Father.

Although, one can always use their “free agency” to not pay the tithe...but the “conditions” do not change.

Blessings,
SZ