| Tithing
began not long after the world was organized by our Father in
Heaven and Jesus Christ. Genesis 14:19-20 states: "And
He Blessed him, and said, Blessed Be Abram of the most high
God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most
high God which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And
he gave him tithes of all."
Elder
Jeffrey R. Holland helps us understand the need to pay tithing:
"First, do so for the sake of your children and grandchildren,
the rising generation, who could now, if we are not careful,
grow up in the Church with absolutely no understanding as to
how their temples, chapels, seminaries, and socials are provided.
Teach your children that many of the blessings of the Church
are available to them because you and they give tithes and offerings
to the Church. Teach them that those blessings could come virtually
no other way"
There are dozens of ways to teach tithing to children. One way
is to make it a regular family home evening topic. You could
make special "tithing boxes" for them to keep their
tithing money in, there are at least 100 articles in the "Friend,"
and "New Era," that can be accessed at lds.org, that
deal with tithing. When your children are young help them understand
that for every one dollar of allowance they receive they need
to give the Lord a dime. Teaching them while they are young
and as they age they will begin to understand the principles
behind tithing.
"Second, pay your tithing to rightfully claim the blessings
promised those who do so. "Prove me now herewith, saith
the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven,
and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough
to receive it." Malachi 3:10
Who would want to turn away blessing that are rightfully theirs?!
By keeping the commandment of tithing we are promised blessings
of; not being burned at the second coming (Doctrine & covenants
64:23), "and pour you out a blessing, that there shall
not be room enough to receive it." (Mal. 3:10;), being
worthy to enter the temples of the Lord.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks relates a personal story that illustrated
to him the importance of tithing and its great blessings;
"During World War II, my widowed mother supported her
three young children on a schoolteacher's salary that was meager.
When I became conscious that we went without some desirable
things because we didn't have enough money, I asked my mother
why she paid so much of her salary as tithing. I have never
forgotten her explanation: "Dallin, there might be some
people who can get along without paying tithing, but we can't.
The Lord has chosen to take your father and leave me to raise
you children. I cannot do that without the blessings of the
Lord, and I obtain those blessings by paying an honest tithing.
When I pay my tithing, I have the Lord's promise that he will
bless us, and we must have those blessings if we are to get
along."
Elder Holland Continues:
"Third, pay your tithing as a declaration that possession
of material goods and the accumulation of worldly wealth are
not the uppermost goals of your existence.
As
one young husband and father, living on a student budget, recently
told me, "Perhaps our most pivotal moments as Latter-day
Saints come when we have to swim directly against the current
of the culture in which we live. Tithing provides just such
a moment. Living in a world that emphasizes material acquisition
and cultivates distrust for anyone or anything that has designs
on our money, we shed that self-absorption to give freely, trustingly,
and generously..."
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]."
" This leads to a fifth reason to pay our tithes and
offerings. We should pay them as a personal expression of love
to a generous and merciful Father in Heaven. Through His grace
God has dealt bread to the hungry and clothing to the poor.
At various times in our lives that will include all of us, either
temporally or spiritually speaking. For every one of us the
gospel has broken forth as the light of the morning, driving
back the darkness of ignorance and sorrow, fear and despair.
In nation after nation His children have called and the Lord
has answered. Through the movement of His gospel across the
world, God is relieving the burdens of the weary and setting
free those that are oppressed. His loving goodness has made
our lives, rich or poor, near or far, "like a watered garden,
… [from] a spring of water … [that faileth] not.
Isaiah 58:11"
Tithing is indeed a privilege, Jesus told the Nephites that
the words of Malachi regarding tithing were so important that
they needed to be included in their own records.
3 Nephi 24: 8 -12: Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed
me. But ye say: Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings
Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this
whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that
there may be meat in my house; and prove me now herewith, saith
the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven,
and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough
to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither
shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the fields,
saith the Lord of Hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed,
for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of Hosts.
"With
all my heart, my brethren, I plead with the Latter-day Saints
to live honestly with the Lord in the payment of tithes and
offerings. .......establish this habit while you are still young
and to resolve to continue with it all the days of your lives.
I plead with you who are Church officers to plead with the people
for their benefit and blessing to increase their faithfulness
in the payment of tithes and offerings. There has been laid
upon the Church a tremendous responsibility. Tithing is the
source of income for the Church to carry forward its mandated
activities. The need is always greater than the availability.
God help us to be faithful in observing this great principle
which comes from him with his marvelous promise." President
Gordon B. Hinckley
Doctrine & Covenants 119: 3-4: "The tithing of
my people.... shall be a standing law unto them forever ...saith
the Lord."
As it is
a standing law it is also a standing blessing and honor.
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Fast
Offerings
As
members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,
we have been invited to live the law of the fast.
The law of the fast is that we are to fast whenever we feel
the need for special fortification and once a month on fast
day. We are to go without eating or drinking for two consecutive
meals, pray, and contribute a fast offering to help the poor.
The offering should be at least the cost of the two meals
that we fasted. However, in recent years, President Kimball
has said of the fast offering: “I think we should
be very generous and give, instead of the amount we saved
by our two meals of fasting, perhaps much, much more—ten
times more where we are in a position to do it.”
(In Conference Report, Apr. 1974, p. 184.)
The fast offerings are used by Bishops to meet the needs of
the poor and the needy in their wards. If the fast offering
donations exceed the need they are passed along to the Church
to be used in other areas were the needs are greater then
the donations. By paying a fast offering we are able to follow
the council of King Benjamin in that we are to "impart
of your substance to the poor, every man according to that
which he hath" (Mosiah 2:26)
"I
will tell you plainly one thing you can do. You can live the
law of the fast and contribute a generous fast offering. Fast
offerings are used for one purpose only: to bless the lives
of those in need. Every dollar given to the bishop as a fast
offering goes to assist the poor. When donations exceed local
needs, they are passed along to fulfill the needs elsewhere."
(Joseph B. Wirthlin, "The Law of the Fast," Ensign,
May 2001, 73)
President
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., had this to say: “The fundamental
principle of all Church relief work is that it must be carried
on by fast offerings and other voluntary donations and contributions.
This is the order established by the Lord. Tithing is not
primarily designed for that purpose and must not be used except
in the last extremity.”
Fast offerings provide aid not only to ward members, but to
any people in need through out the world. Here is a list of
headlines of articles regarding the church's worldwide aid
efforts. (Full articles can be found by searching on lds.org)
-
Church
Sending Aid to Kosovar Refugees
3 April 1999
-
Mongolian
Flood Victims Receive Aid From Church
29 July 2003
-
Church
Sends Aid to Flood-Stricken Zimbabwe and Mozambique
8 March 2000
-
Unique
Partnership Provides School Supplies to Needy Children
24 May 2001
-
Church
Aids Hurricane Victims
20 August 2004
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