We had tithing settlement this morning at 9:20 (which I had grumbled about because we don't have church until 2:00 and I wasn't keen on getting up and ready so early) and ended up having a very spiritual experience.
Our Bishop is a great man and one who has always seemed to me to be the kind of man who was born to be a Bishop. He loves everyone and desires all to come unto Christ and feel the happiness the gospel brings. But he is a talker, which means the 10 minute appointments set for tithing settlement are really more like 20, so he is always running way behind (we were originally scheduled for noon last Sunday but he was too far behind, so we rescheduled for early this week).
Anyway, he brought us into his office and was talking to us and asking us how our year has been. He asked both kids about any big events that happened this year, and Whitney said "We put our Christmas tree up really early this year!" Which was funny but not what he had in mind. Then Landon said, "We've done better about reading the scriptures every day as a family." This was good, but also not what the Bishop had in mind. So I said, "I assume you're talking about Landon receiving the Priesthood and becoming a Deacon."
This is what he meant, so he started saying what a privilege it has been to get to know Landon and to feel of his spirit. Earlier this summer, about a month before Landon turned 12 we had a Stake Lagoon Day and Landon went with a friend from the ward. At one point he ended up standing in a long line for a ride with his friend and with the Bishop and his son, so the Bishop ended up quizzing him on all the Articles of Faith and their meanings. He said it was at that point that he knew Landon was really someone special, and that he has felt that over and over these past months since Landon has joined the Deacon's Quorum.
I think Randy and I were already feeling rather tender at this point, but then the Bishop went on to talk about paying a full tithe and the blessings that come from paying a generous fast offering. He talked about the story of Cornelius found in Acts 10 and got very emotional as he talked to the kids about their parents (us, what the?!) paying a generous fast offering. We were all in tears! We felt the spirit so strongly and were so moved by his words that Landon, Randy, the Bishop and I all had tears rolling down our cheeks. I think this was a new sensation for Whitney, she later said she felt the Spirit but didn't cry.
I am so grateful for this experience and for the blessing of having such a good Bishop. I'm thankful that Randy is so good about paying our tithing and that he is a righteous example for our kids. I have been feeling more and more blessed lately as I see so many people around us struggling. We certainly have our issues, but I am very thankful that standing firm in the gospel isn't one of them. We have the really important things in place and this becomes increasingly valuable as time goes on and as the kids get older. I love my broadened perspective at this stage of my life and am relieved and grateful that I have come through my earlier years full of faith and with a strong testimony. It would have been very easy not to come through some of our trials on the Lord's side.
Comment Window Tidbit: We woke up to about 6 inches of snow this morning and it hasn't stopped. I' so glad we put our Christmas stuff up last week. I am fully immersed in my Christmas state of mind.
Showing posts with label Tithing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tithing. Show all posts
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Sunday Thoughts
Last Wednesday at school the 9th graders got to participate in an activity called "Reality Town". They were each given a paper that told them what their career was, how much money they made per month (before and after taxes) and what their personal life was like (i.e., single, divorced, married, with or without kids). They were all given a checkbook with the starting balance of their monthly salary after taxes, then set loose in the gym where there were many booths set up representing the bank, the grocery store, the car dealer, daycare, beauty salon, property taxes, entertainment, chance, insurance, and so on.
I was assigned to work the donations booth with a girl who works for United Way. Together we told all the kids that visited our booth (which was supposed to be everyone) that they did not have to make a donation, but that if they would like to they could decide what amount they'd like to donate and where they'd like the money to go (Cancer Research, Church, Homeless Shelter, Humane Society, Education, etc.).
It was a fun way to spend my day (I had no idea that's what I'd be doing when I showed up at school that day) and was so interesting to watch the kids as they "spent" their pretend money.
I was particularly moved and impressed by the kids who came to our donation booth to pay their tithing. Even though the money was just pretend, it was still hard to write a check for $516 dollars or whatever amount was 10% of their earnings. For some kids there was no question at all that that's what they would do, but for many others there was a long pause and then a small donation of $10-20.
It was particularly interesting for me to see what the kids from my ward would do. A couple of the boys came to the donation booth after they'd been to many other booths and didn't have very much money left, so they wrote their small checks with red-faces and nervous laughter. One girl from our ward completely shocked me when she came and made a small donation instead of paying her tithing. Based on what I know of her and her family I was floored by her choice not to pay it first. Interestingly, she came back like an hour later and wrote another check, this time for $491 to cover tithing. I don't know if the guilt got to her or if she was waiting to see how much money she'd have left, but I was impressed that she came back.
It made me wonder what I would have done as a 9th grader with a pretend bank balance of $3, 150. In my youth, I always struggled with paying my tithing because it felt like so much money to me when I was already making so little (all those hours working at TCBY!). I didn't understand the true spirit of tithing or the concept of true obedience. My immature view was based solely around the money I was giving up, and totally disregarded the fact that everything I had came from the Lord.
This morning as we were getting ready to go to Tithing Settlement, we were explaining this concept (again) to a teary-eyed Whitney. She was gathering $1.70 to pay from the $17 of birthday cash she'd recently been blessed with. That $1.70 felt like a tremendous amount to pay, especially because she had already spent most of her money (we should have had her set it aside first) and would only have .50 cents left! It was no comfort to her to think of the big tithing check Randy had written today, because 10% of a person's increase is exactly that and feels just a easy or painful (depending on how you look at it) to the poor man as to the rich man. (Though I'd really like to give the rich man tithing a try some time!)
I have a strong testimony of tithing and know that we have been blessed because our obedience in paying a full tithe. Our blessings haven't usually been financial, but we are convinced that we have been blessed with good health and safety many times as a result of paying our tithing. We have been without insurance for a lot of years off and on and at one point for 2 years while the kids were very small, but we never had so much as an ear infection during that time!
I was assigned to work the donations booth with a girl who works for United Way. Together we told all the kids that visited our booth (which was supposed to be everyone) that they did not have to make a donation, but that if they would like to they could decide what amount they'd like to donate and where they'd like the money to go (Cancer Research, Church, Homeless Shelter, Humane Society, Education, etc.).
It was a fun way to spend my day (I had no idea that's what I'd be doing when I showed up at school that day) and was so interesting to watch the kids as they "spent" their pretend money.
I was particularly moved and impressed by the kids who came to our donation booth to pay their tithing. Even though the money was just pretend, it was still hard to write a check for $516 dollars or whatever amount was 10% of their earnings. For some kids there was no question at all that that's what they would do, but for many others there was a long pause and then a small donation of $10-20.
It was particularly interesting for me to see what the kids from my ward would do. A couple of the boys came to the donation booth after they'd been to many other booths and didn't have very much money left, so they wrote their small checks with red-faces and nervous laughter. One girl from our ward completely shocked me when she came and made a small donation instead of paying her tithing. Based on what I know of her and her family I was floored by her choice not to pay it first. Interestingly, she came back like an hour later and wrote another check, this time for $491 to cover tithing. I don't know if the guilt got to her or if she was waiting to see how much money she'd have left, but I was impressed that she came back.
It made me wonder what I would have done as a 9th grader with a pretend bank balance of $3, 150. In my youth, I always struggled with paying my tithing because it felt like so much money to me when I was already making so little (all those hours working at TCBY!). I didn't understand the true spirit of tithing or the concept of true obedience. My immature view was based solely around the money I was giving up, and totally disregarded the fact that everything I had came from the Lord.
This morning as we were getting ready to go to Tithing Settlement, we were explaining this concept (again) to a teary-eyed Whitney. She was gathering $1.70 to pay from the $17 of birthday cash she'd recently been blessed with. That $1.70 felt like a tremendous amount to pay, especially because she had already spent most of her money (we should have had her set it aside first) and would only have .50 cents left! It was no comfort to her to think of the big tithing check Randy had written today, because 10% of a person's increase is exactly that and feels just a easy or painful (depending on how you look at it) to the poor man as to the rich man. (Though I'd really like to give the rich man tithing a try some time!)
I have a strong testimony of tithing and know that we have been blessed because our obedience in paying a full tithe. Our blessings haven't usually been financial, but we are convinced that we have been blessed with good health and safety many times as a result of paying our tithing. We have been without insurance for a lot of years off and on and at one point for 2 years while the kids were very small, but we never had so much as an ear infection during that time!
**Thoughts??**
From Mormon.org--The principle of tithing, or voluntarily giving one tenth of one’s income to God’s work, has been known since Old Testament times. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-20).
The law of tithing is how the Lord funds His Church. Today all faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints contribute one tenth of their income as tithing. Tithing funds are used for:
- Constructing temples, chapels, and other buildings.
- Providing operating funds for the Church.
- Funding the missionary program (This does not include individual missionary expenses.)
- Preparing materials used in Church classes and organizations.
- Temple work, family history, and many other important Church functions.
- Education.
When the Lord reminded His people of this law through the prophet Malachi in the Old Testament, He promised to bless those who were willing to pay an honest tithe (Malachi 3:10)
Comment Window Tidbit: We put up our Christmas decorations this morning and are listening to Christmas music. This is the earliest we have ever done this, but for some reason my seasonal time clock feels right on schedule...weird.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Sunday Thoughts
Today's Sharing Time was on how our tithing helps build temples. But part of the lesson was Malachi 3:10.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine 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.
I explained to the kids that this means that Lord promises us more blessings than we can receive when we pay our tithing. (In our church we pay 10 percent of our gross income in tithing.) I had them all draw pictures or write a list of all the blessings they could think of. It was so heart-warming to watch them get into it. The little kids drew pictures of their families, houses, and food mostly, and the older kids listed all kinds of things they're thankful for. I took 1 minute of the time and wrote a list of 21 things I was thankful for.
After that I had them wad their papers into a ball (if they weren't too attached to them) and then put them in a big basket I had brought with me. I then had the biggest man in the room come up front and make a circle with his arms. Then I dumped the basket full of papers (blessings) into his arms to see if he could hold them all. There were so many they filled his arms and spilled over onto the floor around him. The kids loved it and totally got the point of that scripture in Malachi. (Oh how I wish I could take pictures in primary, it was magical.)
It was a great reminder for me, because even though Randy's job situation has challenged us we are still greatly blessed with so many things, and I know it's because we pay our tithing every month. We don't dwell on the loss of that money, because we know it wasn't ours to begin with. The Lord has given us everything we have, so giving 10 percent back is the least we can do.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine 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.
I explained to the kids that this means that Lord promises us more blessings than we can receive when we pay our tithing. (In our church we pay 10 percent of our gross income in tithing.) I had them all draw pictures or write a list of all the blessings they could think of. It was so heart-warming to watch them get into it. The little kids drew pictures of their families, houses, and food mostly, and the older kids listed all kinds of things they're thankful for. I took 1 minute of the time and wrote a list of 21 things I was thankful for.
After that I had them wad their papers into a ball (if they weren't too attached to them) and then put them in a big basket I had brought with me. I then had the biggest man in the room come up front and make a circle with his arms. Then I dumped the basket full of papers (blessings) into his arms to see if he could hold them all. There were so many they filled his arms and spilled over onto the floor around him. The kids loved it and totally got the point of that scripture in Malachi. (Oh how I wish I could take pictures in primary, it was magical.)
It was a great reminder for me, because even though Randy's job situation has challenged us we are still greatly blessed with so many things, and I know it's because we pay our tithing every month. We don't dwell on the loss of that money, because we know it wasn't ours to begin with. The Lord has given us everything we have, so giving 10 percent back is the least we can do.
**When was the last time you made
a list of your blessings?
What do you think??**
a list of your blessings?
What do you think??**
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)