A Letter Came To My Desk Yesterday...

A letter came to my desk yesterday addressed to me from some wonderful teenagers. I would like to read just one line from that letter: "We wish you the best of luck with your talk in conference, and hope that you will relate your address to us as young people in some way." ¶

I pray that my message may be related to the young people as well as the older people. ¶

Widow's Tithing

The other day I received a telephone call from one of our bishops. He said his clerk had opened a donation envelope containing a check of many hundreds of dollars. It was from a young mother who had recently been widowed through an automobile accident. This was the second time she had been widowed, even though she was still a young woman. She had been injured in the accident that took her husband's life, and had not yet completely recovered her health. She had a family of young children. The check represented a tithe on the insurance settlement she had received from her husband's death. ¶

The clerk questioned the bishop, suggesting she needed the money more than the Church, and asked if it would be proper to return the check to permit her to use the money for her own needs. ¶

Perhaps many would ask the same question. May I suggest an answer by asking another question: What did this young mother need more than money? She needed a blessing, the kind money cannot buy, a blessing of peace and comfort, of assurance, of faith, of security. She obviously was acquainted with this scripture: ¶

"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." (Mai. 3:10.) Yes, she was more than acquainted with this promise. She was converted. ¶

She accepted the Lord at his word. ¶

Another scripture, I believe, had great meaning to her: "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated — "And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." ¶

(D&C 130:20-21.) ¶

Principle of Tithing

Tithing is not a new principle. We are told that tithing was practiced as early as Abraham's time. The prophet Alma, in his discourses to his people, told them: ¶

"And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he possessed." ¶

(Al. 13:15.) We read in another sacred scripture what the Lord said to a modern-day prophet: ¶

"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, "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. ¶

"And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people." (D&C 119:1-3.) This, then, was the beginning of tithing in our day. It is not expected that we now give all of our surplus. ¶

The Lord goes on to tell us what is expected of us now: ¶

"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." (D&C 119:4.) ¶

President Joseph F. Smith's Explanation

Many ask what is one tenth of all our interest. Perhaps President Joseph F. Smith can help us understand. He said, among other things, as he delivered his concluding address in the closing session of general conference April 9, 1899, in speaking of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac on the altar: "He [meaning the LordJ wanted to put His servant to the test; to know whether he was willing to sacrifice himself or not in obedience to the requirements of heaven. That is what God wants in relation to this principle of tithing. He wants to know whether we will do our duty or not, and whether we will be honest or dishonest with Him. Every man is left to be his own judge as to what he calls his tithing, and there is a great variety of opinion as to what a tithing is. A man who works for wages and devotes his whole time to the service of his employer; and receives $1,000 or $2,000 a year for his salary, it is an easy matter for him to tell how much he owes for tithing. If I earned $2,000 a year, I should know that my tithing was just one-tenth of that. And I would not take out what it had cost me to feed and clothe myself and to pay all the expenses necessary to the maintenance of my family before I reckoned with the Lord as to what belonged to Him. ¶

Two hundred dollars would be my honest tithing, would it not? That is the way I look at it." ¶

He then goes on to discuss how a farmer might compute his tithing and how some people subtract their living expenses, tithing only their net income. Then, continuing in the words of President Smith: ¶

"Now, you are at liberty to do as you please in regard to this matter. You can choose whichever course you wish. ¶

But let me say to you that as we measure out, so will it be measured back unto us again. When we go to dickering with the Lord, probably He will dicker with us, and if He undertakes to do so, we shall get the worst of it." (Conference Report, April 1899, pp. 68-69.) As President Smith tells us, the burden of responsibility as to whether or not we are full, honest tithepayers rests squarely on our shoulders. If it were not so, how could the Lord really know of our true character and love for him? ¶

Testimonies on Tithepaying

Sometime ago a stake president bore his testimony to me regarding tithing. ¶

He said that during World War II he had been a prisoner of war in China. ¶

He held the Aaronic Priesthood at that time. He promised the Lord he would pay his obligations to him for the rest of his life if only his life were spared. Upon release from the prison camp, he collected his accumulated military pay, reported to his bishop, and paid tithing on all prior earnings. ¶

He then said, "I have paid ten percent on everything I have earned since, and I pay ten percent of that for fear I might have missed something." ¶

A few years ago I was a counselor in a stake presidency. The stake president, in reviewing the tithing record of ward and branch officers, noticed what appeared to be an excessively high tithe paid by a man of very humble circumstances. He was a wonderful Spanish-American brother who had a large family. He was sustaining a son on a mission. His only source of income was a small ditch-digging business. Thinking that he might not understand the principle of tithing, we called him in to explain. At the conclusion of our discussion, he said: "Yes, brethren, I understand; but, you see, the Lord has been so good to me and my family that I pay ten percent of the income of my business, not the money I take from it. You wouldn't deny me the blessing of trying to repay the Lord, would you?" ¶

Lesson on Tithing

President George Albert Smith teaches a very interesting and basic lesson on tithing in the story of a generous man. He tells us that a boyhood friend whom he had not seen for some time accompanied him to a stake conference. Over the years his friend had achieved success in the financial world. As they were driving home, he turned to President Smith and said: ¶

"'You know, I have heard many things in this conference, but there is only one thing that I do not understand the way you do.' "I said: 'What is it?' " 'Well,' he said, 'it is about paying tithing.' "He thought I would ask him how he paid his tithing, but I did not. I thought if he wanted to tell me, he would. He said: 'Would you like me to tell you how I pay my tihing?' "I said, 'If you want to, you may.' '"Well,' he said, 'if I make ten thousand dollars in a year, I put a thousand dollars in the bank for tithing. I know why it's there. Then when the bishop comes and wants me to make a contribution for the chapel or give him a check for a missionary who is going away, if I think he needs the money, I give him a check. If a family in the ward is in distress and needs coal or food or clothing or anything else, I write out a check. If I find a boy or a girl who is having difficulty getting through school in the East, I send a check. Little by little I exhaust the thousand dollars, and every dollar of it has gone where I know it has done some good. Now, what do you think of that?' " "Well,' I said, 'do you want me to tell you what I think of it?' "He said, 'Yes.' "I said: 'I think you are a very generous man with someone else's property.' And he nearly tipped the car over. ¶

"He said, 'What do you mean?' "I said, Tou have an idea that you have paid your tithing?' "'Yes,' he said. ¶

"I said, 'You have not paid any tithing. You have told me what you have done with the Lord's money, but you have not told me that you have given anyone a penny of your own. ¶

He is the best partner you have in the world. He gives you everything you have, even the air you breathe. He has said you should take one-tenth of what comes to you and give it to the Church as directed by the Lord. You haven't done that; you have taken your best partner's money, and given it away.' "Well, I will tell you there was quiet in the car for some time. We rode on to Salt Lake City and talked about other things. ¶

"About a month after that I met him on the street. He came up, put his arm in mine, and said: 'Brother Smith, I am paying my tithing the same way you do.' I was very happy to hear that. ¶

"Not long before he died, he came into my office to tell me what he was doing with his own money." (George Albert Smith, Sharing the Gospel with Others, pp. 44-47.) ¶

The Earth Is the Lord's

The psalmist has said: ¶

"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Ps. 24:1.) All he asks is that we return to him ten percent of that which is already his, adding that he will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings, that we shall not have room enough to receive them. It is my witness, brethren and sisters, that this is a divine law and that many blessings from on high come through obedience to it, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶