Tithing - Blessing of being committed

The First Presidency message for this month is on tithing. Pres. Eyring talks about the results of tithing and how it helps us. I have one quick thought that has come to me as I've talked to non-members about tithing.

Everyone pays 10% whether rich or poor. In one discussion with one of my very smart co-workers at LEK, he asked multiple questions about tithing. As I talked about the blessings we believe we receive, it led to a discussion of commitment as well. Finally, I realized something - if you're a leader of an organization and want to help people show commitment to that group, what's a key action that people can take to show a lot of commitment? Giving money. In fact, Nate Silver, a political statistician has said that the amount of money raised isn't a great predictor of success of a candidate, but the # of people that have contributed money is helpful to know in predicting success of a candidate for president. Interesting.

I know that my family has received many blessings from paying tithing. However, if I received no blessings from paying tithing besides a greater commitment to the Lord and the Church because I was "investing" in it, then it would be well worth paying. The church and the commandments bless my life in so many ways, and paying 10% to help me be a little more faithful is well worth it.

The blessings of tithe paying are there in the scriptures, and they are great (Malachi 3 and D.C. 119 and D.C. 64), but just paying tithing and receiving no other blessings besides a greater sense of commitment would be a bargain.

Have a good day.

God is mindful of us - tithing

In this life we walk by faith and it takes eyes that are willing to see and ears that are willing to hear in order to recognize the Gospel and God in our lives. (Matthew 13)

I believe that what happened to me yesterday is an example of God being mindful of me. We just returned from vacation and didn't have any food. I didn't bring any food to work as a result, which I usually do. I certainly could have bought something for lunch, but instead, I was invited to go out to lunch with an engineering candidate. I've never been invited to a lunch specifically for an engineering candidate before yesterday. Perhaps it's a coincidence, but this specific instance happened for me at LEK often as well. 2 times I didn't have food, and those two times someone invited me to eat with them and/or paid for the food.

Our apartment is another example. Jamie did some searching online, but it's helpful to actually see places before committing. We ended up only going to 3 places as we drove around to different apartments without appointments. We liked the third one enough to commit to it. Now that I've seen other apartments and know how much other people pay, I realize that we got a very good deal. If we'd seen 15 apartments we probably would have chosen this one, but we didn't have time to see 15. I really appreciate the blessing we received to end up in a very good place when we had limited time to see apartments. I also see this as the Lord being mindful of us. I assume that our payment of tithing is helpful in this regard.

God is mindful of us. I truly believe that and have been taken care of in small ways many times. It's partially because I've seen his involvement in small things that I also am convinced he is involved in the larger issues in our lives because if he cares enough that I get food for lunch, then he cares enough to watch over my family.

Tithing - preparation for the Second Coming

The need to sacrifice and pay tithing is well know. There's a famous seminary scripture mastery verse that touches on this topic in D.C. 64:

23Behold, now it is called ^atoday until the ^bcoming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of ^csacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is ^dtithed shall not be ^eburned at his coming.

Just today I noticed another verse with the same message in D.C. 85:

3It is contrary to the will and commandment of God that those who receive not their ^ainheritance by ^bconsecration, agreeable to his ^claw, which he has given, that he may ^dtithe his people, to prepare them against the day of ^evengeance and burning, should have their ^fnames enrolled with the people of God.

Tithing prepares people for the last day. Also, it's interesting that we receive our inheritance by consecration. This likely referred to the fact that once you gave everything, you inherited your needed portion, but it also has a spiritual connotation. When we consecrate ourselves, the Lord will give us his blessings; perhaps the blessings are the preparation and happiness that sacrifice brings, along with a greater abundance of the Spirit which prepares us for trials and even the last day. In fact, in some ways it's likely that if we have enough of the "fire" of the Spirit in our lives, we won't need to be purified by the "fire" that will consume the earth in the last day.

We tithe by giving the Lord all that we have (monetarily he's asked for 10%; in our lives/actions, he's asked us to give him our hearts).

Enjoy paying tithing. It's a great investment. Remember that the money is just a way to help us become more committed in all things. It's a preparatory tool.