This morning I want to describe two important lessons
I have learned about the law of tithing.
The first lesson focuses upon the blessings that come to
individuals and families as they faithfully obey this
commandment.
The second lesson emphasizes the importance of tithing in
the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints in all of the world.
I pray the Holy Ghost will confirm to each of us the
truthfulness of the principles I discuss.
Lesson number one: significant but subtle blessings.
Sister Bednar's mother is a faithful woman
and an inspired homemaker.
From the earliest days of her marriage, she carefully has
kept the household financial records.
For decades she has accounted conscientiously for the family
income and expenditures using very simple ledgers.
The information she has collected over the years is
comprehensive and informative.
When Sister Bednar was a young woman, her mother used the
data in the ledgers to emphasize basic principles of
provident living and prudent home management.
One day as they reviewed together various categories of
expenses, her mother noted an interesting pattern.
The costs for doctor visits and medicines for their family
were far lower than might have been expected.
She then related this finding to the gospel of Jesus Christ
and explained to her daughter a powerful truth: as we live
the law of tithing, we often receive significant but subtle
blessings that are not always what we expect and easily can
be overlooked.
The family had not received any sudden or obvious
additions to the household income.
Instead, a loving Heavenly Father had bestowed simple
blessings in seemingly ordinary ways.
Sister Bednar always has remembered this important
lesson from her mother about the help that comes to us
through the windows of heaven, as promised by Malachi in the
Old Testament.
Often as we teach and testify about the law of tithing, we
emphasize the immediate, dramatic, and readily
recognizable temporal blessings that we receive.
And surely such blessings do occur.
Yet some of the diverse blessings we obtain as we are
obedient to this commandment are significant but subtle.
Such blessings can only be discerned if we are both
spiritually attentive and observant.
The imagery of the "windows" of heaven used by Malachi is
most instructive.
Windows allow natural light to enter into a building.
In like manner, spiritual illumination and perspective
are poured out through the windows of heaven and into our
lives as we honor the law of tithing.
For example, a subtle but significant blessing we
receive is the spiritual gift of gratitude that enables our
appreciation for what we have to constrain
desires for what we want.
A grateful person is rich in contentment.
An ungrateful person suffers in the poverty of endless
discontentment.
We may need and pray for help to find suitable employment.
Eyes and ears of faith are needed, however, to recognize
the spiritual gift of enhanced discernment that can empower
us to identify job opportunities that many other
people might overlook, or the blessing of greater personal
determination to search harder and longer for a position than
other people may be able or willing to do.
We might want and expect a job offer, but the blessing that
comes to us through heavenly windows may be greater
capacity to act and change our own circumstances rather than
expecting our circumstances to be changed by someone or
something else.
We may appropriately desire and work to receive a pay
raise in our employment in order to better provide the
necessities of life.
Eyes and ears of faith are required, however, to notice
in us an increased spiritual and temporal capacity to do
more with less, a keener ability to prioritize and
simplify, and an enhanced ability to take proper care of
the material possessions we already have acquired.
We might want and expect a larger paycheck, but the
blessing that comes to us through heavenly windows may
be greater capacity to change our own circumstances rather
than expecting our circumstances to be changed by
someone or something else.
The stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon prayed
earnestly that God would strengthen and deliver them
out of the hands of their enemies.
Interestingly, the answers to these prayers did not produce
additional weapons or an increased number of troops.
Instead, God granted these faithful warriors assurance
that He would deliver them, peace to their souls, and
great faith and hope for their deliverance in Him.
Thus, the sons of Helaman did take courage, were fixed with
a determination to conquer, and did go forth with all of
their might against the Lamanites.
Assurance, peace, faith, and hope initially might not seem
like the blessings warriors in battle might want.
But they were precisely the blessings these valiant young
men needed to press forward and prevail physically and
spiritually.
Sometimes we may ask God for success, and He gives us
physical and mental stamina.
We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged
perspective and increased patience.
Or we petition for growth and are blessed
with the gift of grace.
He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence as
we strive to achieve worthy goals.
And when we plead for relief from physical, mental, and
spiritual difficulties, He may increase our resolve and
resilience.
I promise that as you and I observe and keep the law of
tithing, in very deed, the windows of heaven will be
opened and spiritual and temporal blessings will be
poured out such that there shall not be room enough to
receive them.
We also will remember the Lord's declaration: "For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
I testify that as we are spiritually attentive and
observant, we will be blessed with eyes that see more
clearly, ears that hear more consistently, and hearts that
understand more fully the significance and subtlety of
His ways, His thoughts, and His blessings in our lives.
Lesson number two: the simplicity of the Lord's way.
Before my call to serve as a member of the Quorum of the
Twelve, I read many times in the Doctrine and Covenants
about the council appointed to oversee and disburse sacred
tithing funds.
The Council on the Disposition of the Tithes was established
by revelation and consists of the First Presidency, the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Presiding Bishopric.
As I prepared in December of 2004 to attend my first
meeting of this council, I eagerly anticipated a most
remarkable learning opportunity.
I still vividly remember the things I experienced and felt
in that council.
I gained a greater appreciation and reverence for
the Lord's laws of finance for individuals, for families, and
for His Church.
The basic financial program of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, for both income and disbursement, is
defined in sections 119 and 120 of the
Doctrine and Covenants.
Two statements found in these revelations provide the
foundation for the fiscal affairs of the Church.
Section 119 simply states that all members "shall pay
one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this
shall be a standing law unto them forever, ... saith the
Lord." Then, concerning the authorized disbursement of the
tithes, the Lord said, "It shall be disposed of by a
council, composed of the First Presidency of my Church, and
of the bishop and his council, and by my high council; and by
mine own voice unto them, saith the Lord."
The "bishop and his council" and "my high council" referred
to in this revelation are known today as the Presiding
Bishopric and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,
respectively.
These sacred funds are used in a rapidly growing church to
spiritually bless individuals and families by constructing
and maintaining temples and houses of worship, supporting
missionary work, translating and publishing scriptures,
fostering family history research, funding schools and
religious education, and accomplishing many other
Church purposes as directed by the Lord's ordained servants.
Brothers and sisters, I marvel at the clarity and brevity of
these two revelations in comparison to the complicated
financial guidelines and administrative procedures used
in so many organizations and governments around the world.
How can the temporal affairs of an organization as large as
the restored Church of Jesus Christ possibly operate
throughout the entire world using such succinct
instructions?
To me the answer is quite straightforward.
This is the Lord's work.
He is able to do His own work, and the Savior inspires and
directs His servants as they apply His directions and labor
in His cause.
In that first council meeting I was impressed by the
simplicity of the principles that guided our deliberations
and decisions.
In the financial operations of the Church, two basic and
fixed principles are observed.
First, the Church lives within its means and does not spend
more than it receives.
Second, a portion of the annual income is set aside as
a reserve for contingencies and unanticipated needs.
For decades, the Church has taught its membership the
principle of setting aside additional food, fuel, and
money to take care of emergencies that might arise.
The Church as an institution simply follows the same
principles that are taught repeatedly to the members.
As the meeting progressed, I found myself wishing that all
members of the Church could observe the simplicity, the
clarity, the orderliness, the charity, and the power of the
Lord's own way for conducting the temporal
affairs of His Church.
I have now participated in the Council on the Disposition of
the Tithes for many years.
My gratitude and reverence for the Lord's pattern has grown
each year, and the lessons learned have
become even more profound.
My heart swells with love and admiration for the faithful
and obedient members of this Church from every nation,
kindred, tongue, and people.
As I travel the earth, I learn about your hopes and dreams,
your varied living conditions and
circumstances, and your struggles.
I have attended Church meetings with you and been
blessed to visit in some of your homes.
Your faith strengthens my faith.
Your devotion makes me more devoted.
And your goodness and willing obedience to the law of
tithing inspires me to be a better man, husband, father,
and Church leader.
I remember and think of you each time I participate in the
Council on the Disposition of the Tithes.
Thank you for your goodness and faithfulness as you honor
your covenants.
The leaders of the Lord's restored Church feel a
tremendous responsibility to care appropriately for the
consecrated offerings of Church members.
We are keenly aware of the sacred nature
of the widow's mite.
"And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how
the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were
rich cast in much.
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two
mites, which make a farthing.
And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto
them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast
more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
for all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of
her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."
I know from firsthand experience that the Council on
the Disposition of the Tithes is vigilant in caring for the
widow's mite.
I express appreciation to President Monson and his
counselors for their effective leadership in discharging this
holy stewardship.
And I acknowledge the voice and hand of the Lord that
sustain His ordained servants in fulfilling the duty to
represent Him.
The honest payment of tithing is much more than a duty.
It is an important step in the process of personal
sanctification.
To those of you who pay your tithing, I commend you.
To those of you who presently are not obeying the law of
tithing, I invite you to consider your ways and repent.
I testify that by your obedience to this law of the
Lord, the windows of heaven will be opened to you.
Please do not procrastinate the day of your repentance.
I testify spiritual and temporal blessings come into
our lives as we live the law of tithing.
I bear witness that such blessings often are
significant but subtle.
I also declare that the simplicity of the Lord's way
that is so evident in the temporal affairs of His Church
provides patterns that can guide us as
individuals and as families.
I pray each of us may learn and benefit from these
important lessons, in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, amen.