My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to 3 Nephi 20-26 in a lesson titled “Ye Are the Children of the Covenant.” This scripture block is a continuation of a discourse by the resurrected Jesus Christ to ancient Americans. The lesson was introduced with this paragraph.
When you hear people use terms like house of Israel, do you feel like they’re talking about you? The Nephites and Lamanites were literal descendants of Israel, “a branch of the tree of Israel,” and yet they felt “lost from its body” (Alma 26:36; see also 1 Nephi 15:12). But the Savior wanted them to know that they were not lost to Him. “Ye are of the house of Israel,” He said, “and ye are of the covenant” (3 Nephi 20:25). He might say something similar to you today, for anyone who is baptized and makes covenants with Him is also of the house of Israel, “of the covenant.” In other words, when Jesus speaks of the house of Israel, He is talking about you. The instruction to bless “all the kindreds of the earth” is for you (3 Nephi 20:27). The invitation to “awake again, and put on thy strength” is for you (3 Nephi 20:36). And His precious promise, “My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed,” is for you
(3 Nephi 22:10).
Like
most scripture blocks, this lesson included numerous principles, all of which would
make a good discussion. Principles included in this lesson are (1) In the
latter days, God will perform a marvelous work (3 Nephi 20-22), (2) God is
merciful to people who return to Him (3 Nephi 22; 24), (3) Recording spiritual
experiences can bless my family (3 Nephi 23:6-13), (4) The Savior wants me to
search the scriptures (3 Nephi 20:10-12; 23; 26:1-12), and (5) The Lord send
Elijah to turn my heart to my ancestors (3 Nephi 25:5-6). However, I feel
prompted to discuss another principle, Paying tithing opens the windows of
heaven (3 Nephi 24:7-12). First, I will share the scripture block.
7 Even
from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and
have not kept them. Return unto
me and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts. But ye say: Wherein
shall we return?
8 Will
a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say: Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye
are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 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.
11 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.
12 And all
nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith
the Lord of Hosts. (Emphasis
added.)
God’s
people have always been commanded to pay tithing. Genesis 14:17-20 tells us
that Abraham paid tithing to Melchizedek, the king of Salem. Malachi 3:8-11 gives
us the same wording as verses 8-11 given above.
Do
you have any idea why God requires His people to pay tithing? I can assure you
that it is not because God needs our money. He knows where all the wealth of
the earth is hidden, and He could direct His prophet how to get that wealth. In
fact, the law of tithing is given by God to His people to bless His people.
The
law of tithing is explained in Doctrine and Covenants 119. The scriptural
verses are preceded by this explanation:
Revelation given through Joseph Smith the
Prophet, at Far West, Missouri, July 8, 1838, in answer to his supplication: “O
Lord! Show unto thy servants how much thou requirest of the properties of thy
people for a tithing.” The law of tithing, as understood today, had not been
given to the Church previous to this revelation. The term tithing in the prayer just quoted and
in previous revelations (64:23; 85:3; 97:11) had meant not just one-tenth, but
all free-will offerings, or contributions, to the Church funds. The Lord had
previously given to the Church the law of consecration and stewardship of
property, which members (chiefly the leading elders) entered into by a covenant
that was to be everlasting. Because of failure on the part of many to abide by
this covenant, the Lord withdrew it for a time and gave instead the law of
tithing to the whole Church. The Prophet asked the Lord how much of their
property He required for sacred purposes. The answer was this revelation.
Then
the verses are introduced and explained as follows: Verses 1-5, The saints are
to pay their surplus property and then give, as tithing, one-tenth of their
interest annually: verses 6-7, Such a course will sanctify the land of Zion.
1 Verily, thus saith the Lord, I
require all their surplus property
to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church in Zion,
2 For the building
of mine house, and for
the laying of the foundation of Zion and for the priesthood, and for the debts of the Presidency of my
Church.
3 And this shall be
the beginning of the tithing of
my people.
4 And after that,
those who have thus been tithed shall
pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law
unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.
5 Verily I say unto
you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall
be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe this law, or they
shall not be found worthy to abide among you.
6 And I say unto
you, if my people observe not this law, to keep it holy, and by this law
sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be
kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall
not be a land of Zion unto
you.
7 And this shall be
an ensample unto all the stakes of
Zion. Even so. Amen.
The
world “interest” in this revelation means income. All members who have income
should pay tithing. Tithing is different than other kinds of donations in that
there is a specific amount stated for tithing – one-tenth of all income.
Members
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints give their tithing donations
to local leaders – the bishop of the ward or the president of the branch. The
local leaders transmit tithing funds directly to Church headquarters where a council
comprised of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the
Presiding Bishopric determines specific ways to use the sacred funds. Acting
according to revelation from God, they make decisions as they are directed by
the Lord.
Tithing
funds are always used for the Lord’s purposes – to build and maintain temples
and meetinghouses, to sustain missionary work, to educated Church members, and
to carry on the work of the Lord throughout the world. I have been a member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I have enjoyed the
blessings of having meetinghouses for Church meetings, temples for worship, and
blessings of missionary work and education. At the current time, I am gaining
more education through a Church-sponsored university and am grateful for the
tithing paid by many members of the Church.
I have also been blessed for living the law of tithing. Temporally, I have always had a place to live, food to eat, and clothes to cover my body. Educationally, I have been placed with having numerous members of my family – children, children’s spouses, grandchildren, and grandchildren’s spouses – attending Church-sponsored universities. One of the greatest ways that my family has been blessed by paying tithing is the way that the Lord helps us to stretch our funds to cover our needs and some of our wants. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared other ways that tithing blesses our lives.
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 (see Luke
12:15).
We may need and pray for help to find suitable employment. Eyes
and ears of faith (see Ether 12:19) 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 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 (see Luke 2:52) 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….
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.
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