The Law of Tithing as a Temporary Substitute for Consecration

The law of tithing a temporary substitute for consecration. — Faithful observance of this lower law absolutely essential. — Attitude of those who do not pay full tithing. — Good reasons for regular and prompt payment. ¶

My soul has been fed, during this conference, by the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, which has been with us, and by the testimonies which have been borne, as well as the valuable instructions given by the servants of the Lord as they were actuated by His Holy Spirit. ¶

I very earnestly desire that the time which I shall occupy, this morning, may be profitable unto us all. To this end I pray the Lord to bless me, and I solicit your sympathy and prayers of faith. ¶

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.* * Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." ¶

I read a stanza from a hymn in our hymn book: ¶

"Glorious things are sung of Zion, Enoch's city seen of old; Where the righteous, being perfect, Walked with God in streets of gold. ¶

Love and virtue, faith and wisdom, Grace and gifts were all combined; As himself each loved his neighbor; All were one in heart and mind." ¶

Quoting from the first speaker this morning, Whenever the Gospel has been upon the earth in its fulness, the law of consecration and united order has been given unto the people of the Lord, such as obtained with Enoch and his people, when they attained such a degree of excellence in faith and righteousness. They not only loved the Lord with all their hearts but, as represented in the hymn, "As himself, each loved his neighbor." That is what we may properly call the higher law, the law of consecration, the united order. Some may ask, — If that law has been given to the people whenever the Gospel in its fulness has been upon the earth, how is it that we Latter-day Saints, living in the dispensation of the fulness of times, when the Gospel in its fullness has been restored to the higher law. It was taken from high law of consecration? In answer I might say that the law was offered unto Israel in these last days, as I understand it, but the people were not prepared to live the higher law. It was taken from us, and, for the time being at least, we have been given the law of tithing, the revenue law of the Church, and we are required to live this law. Great promises are given unto us if we will be faithful in observing this law, and condemnation is predicated upon us if we reject it. I am reminded here of ancient Israel and their experiences. Paul, in speaking of them to the Hebrews says : "For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them : but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed With faith, in them that heard it." In his epistle to the Galatians, he writes to this effect: The law of carnal commandments was given to Israel as a schoolmaster, to bring them up to a condition of faith where they could receive the higher law and enjoy the blessings of the holy priesthood. The Lord revealed, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that Moses and the Holy Priesthood were taken out of the midst of Israel, because of the hardness of their hearts. But, we ought to be worthy to receive this higher law and be able to live it. That people, whose faith was of such a weak character that they were not permitted to enjoy the blessings of the Holy Priesthood, such as we enjoy today, were given the law of tithing. Israel had to pay tithing. The tribe of Levi was selected from the other tribes to minister in the priest's office, and they were supported by the tithes of the people of the other tribes; while they in turn had to pay their tithing upon all that came into their hands. In view of the greater blessings given to us, we ought to be more faithful than were the children of Israel under those conditions ; but the truth is that some are not living up to this law of tithing as strictly as we ought to do. Since we are in this condition, it would be useless to give unto us a higher law, requiring greater sacrifices. The observance, on the part of the Latter-day Saints, of the law of tithing, such as the Lord has given to us, as recorded in the 119th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, is an absolute necessity for the upbuilding of the kingdom of our Father in the last days. A true observance of this law is necessary for our temporal and spiritual blessing, and eternal salvation. The Lord has promised that, if we observe this law, He will bless us temporally. We had an example related here by Elder Baliff, where the man who paid his tithing had his wages increased. That is only one instance out of thousands that might be cited, illustrating how, in a temporal way, the Lord has blessed those who have paid their tithes faithfully. He has said, as recorded in Proverbs, 3rd chapter, "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase ; so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." Then, He has told us, through Malachi, some of the things that will befall those who do not keep this commandment. When Israel failed to comply with this law, He charged them as being robbers, "vea robbers of God," and called them to repentance. I take it that the same terms might be applied to us if we disregard that law today; yet, it is a fact that some deserve it. ¶

I remember, as I read in the Scripture, that, when the law of consecration was in vogue among the Saints at Jerusalem, a certain man and wife, Ananias and Sapphira, were commanded to dispose of their property and bring the proceeds of the sale in to the common treasury of the Church. You will remember their fate, that which befell them because they undertook to deceive the servants of the Lord. They sold their properties and brought only a part of the proceeds to Peter, and Peter, by the power of the Holy Ghost, discerned and understood the intended deception on the part of Ananias. By the power of the Lord, Ananias was stricken dead ; and because his wife was a party to the deception, she also, by the same power was stricken. ¶

I sometimes think of our attitude on this question, as a people. The Lord has said — "one-tenth of your interest annually." If we part with this world's goods and obtain eternal life we will be rich, but if we lose eternal life, lose our faith, go into darkness, apostatize from the truth and lose our hope of eternal life, we will indeed be poor. I fear that because we have not complied faithfully with the requirements of the Lord pertaining to this particular law, some of us are in darkness, and the light of the Spirit does not shine in our souls; therefore, we can not have the hope of a glorious resurrection and eternal salvation in the celestial kingdom of our Father. We are told, in the revelations, that we must have an assurance that our course of life is approved of the Lord, or we can not exercise that faith which is necessary to take hold upon the blessings of eternal life. If I neglect to comply with the law, or only partially comply with the law, do I know that my course is approved of the Lord? Nay, verily, but the reverse; I would know better than any other man in the world that my course of life is not approved of the Lord; and it would be impossible for me to exercise faith sufficient to take hold upon the blessings of eternal life. Hence, the danger in neglecting our duty in relation to this very important law. I said that it is absolutely necessary for the welfare of the Church, and the advancement of the work of the Lord, that the Latter-day Saints pay their tithing. This is another great reason whv the Lord has commanded that we should give a tenth of our interest annually, that the Church may be maintained, that its temporal interests may grow and develop. The law, as given in the words of the Lord to Joseph Smith, states that we shall pay our tithing, a tenth of our interest annually. Because the law is so stated, many of our people have gotten the idea that they need pay no tithing until the end of the year, and then, when they have decided what they owe as a tithing, make settlement — providing they are able to do so. In too many instances they are not able to make full settlement when the end of the year comes. It is a dangerous procedure, and a wrong interpretation of the law. As the Lord gives to us we should tithe, at the very time that it is given. The Church needs the tithing just as much in the commencement of the year, and during the middle of the year, as it does at the end of the year. Demands upon the Trustee-in-trust are continuous, and enormous. For our own good, and for the welfare of the Church, we ought to pay when it is due, and remove far from us the temptation to withhold our tithings; knowing, as we ought to know, the injury there is to ourselves and the Church in failing to pay an honest tithing. If we put it off until the end of the year, the temptation is greater: when we come to figure out what we justly owe to the Lord — one-tenth of all our interest — it looms up big before us. We have used, perhaps, all our means as it has come into our hands ; we have felt that it was necessary to live to "the full extent of our income. We have not felt able to curtail our expenses, to live within our means, and lay by a little for the payment of our tithing. The result is that when the end of the year comes, there are a multitude of demands made upon us — our winter supply of fuel, taxes, clothing for the family, innumerable obligations, some of them unexpected and unlocked for. In addition to all these demands we have before us the settlement of our tithing. We find that some are no better prepared to pay even one month's tithing at the end of the year than they were in the month of January, February, or March, to pay the tithing due at that time. Of course, there are some who do not receive their interest monthly. This will not apply to them entirely; but when funds come into their hands, whether it be once in three months, once in six months, or at the close of the year, they should make settlement with the Lord as they obtain their substance. With the farmers, if we put our grain into bins and our hay in stacks and reserve it, holding for a better price, that we may get a little more credit" on the tithing records, we are endangering our ability to meet the obligation later on ; it is an unsafe proposition. The thing to do is to take our grain from the thresher and give one-tenth to the Lord; and hay from the field and do the same, and so with other products and interests. This requires less exercise of faith and there is less temptation to withhold any part of our tithing. We pray, "Lead us not into temptation;" the Lord expects us to help ourselves and avoid temptation. This is one means by which we can do so; and I recommend to the Latter-day Saints that henceforth we pay tithing as we go along — a just and full tithing, that we may be conscientious and our minds be free and easy, that we may know so far as complying with that law is concerned, we have done the will of the Lord and can claim the promised blessing. ¶

In order that the law of tithing may be made universal and general — realizing that we are prone to say that such instructions are for some one else, and not apply them directly to ourselves — I recommend that a course be taken such as has been taken with respect to the Word of Wisdom. It is not unusual to hear a president report in a stake of Zion that all the stake officers, and all the ward officers, in his stake keep the Word of Wisdom, as well as a very large percentage of the people. Why? Because they have adopted a system of beginning at the head, with the presidencies of stakes, to see that this law is observed — just as we have begun with the Presidency of the Church, the Twelve, the First Council of Seventy, the Patriarch and Presiding Bishopric; all these general authorities observe that law, and this movement has gone from the officers of the Church to the people. They have felt the influence of this movement, and it has become universal, or at least popular among us as a people to observe the Word of Wisdom. If we adopt the same means with this law of tithing-, which is of more importance, if possible, than the Word of Wisdom, I believe we will be able to achieve the same results. If we do so, the blessings of the Lord will be poured out upon us. We will be preparing ourselves to make the greater sacrifice, to yield obedience to the higher law, which must come before our sanctification. As long as we disregard the lesser law, in part, we know that we are not prepared for that sanctifying law of consecration. The greater the sacrifice the greater the blessing, for sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven. Let us try it. ¶

God help us to be faithful in the observance of this law, and all His laws and commandments. Let us live according to our profession of faith, that we may indeed be a light unto the world, that the world seeing our good works may be led to glorify God and to serve and worship Him. May the Lord bless us to this end, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶