Tithing

1.  "Tithing develops and tests our faith. By sacrificing to the Lord what we may think we need or want for ourselves, we learn to rely on Him. Our faith in Him makes it possible to keep temple covenants and receive eternal temple blessings."

Robert D. Hales, "Tithing: A Test of Faith with Eternal Blessings", General Conference, October 2002

***************

2.  "My brethren and sisters, again I say, tithing is a law of God and is required of his followers. To fail to meet this obligation in full is to omit a weighty matter. It is a transgression, not an inconsequential oversight."  

Spencer W. Kimball, "The Law of Tithing", General Conference, October 1980

***************

3.  "I promise that as you and I observe and keep the law of tithing, indeed the windows of heaven will be opened and spiritual and temporal blessings will be poured out such that there will not be room enough to receive them."   

David A. Bednar, "The Windows of Heaven", General Conference, October 2013

***************

4.  "I testify that the principle of tithing is of God, taught to us in such scriptural simplicity that we cannot doubt its divinity."   

Jeffrey R. Holland, "Like a Watered Garden", General Conference, October 2001   

***************

5.  "Tithing is a principle that is fundamental to the personal happiness and well-being of the Church members worldwide, both rich and poor. Tithing is a principle of sacrifice and a key to the opening of the windows of heaven."   

James E. Faust, "Opening the Windows of Heaven", General Conference, October 1998

*************** 

6.  "Let us show our faith in the Lord by paying our tithing. Pay it first; pay it honestly. Teach our children to pay tithing even on their allowance or other income, and then take them with us to tithing settlement so they know of our example and our love for the Lord."   

Carl B. Pratt, "The Lord's Richest Blessings", General Conference, April 2011

***************

7.  "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."  

David A. Bednar, "The Windows of Heaven", General Conference, October 2013

***************

8.  "Paying tithing is not a token gift we are somehow charitably bestowing upon God. Paying tithing is discharging a debt."   

Jeffrey R. Holland, "Like a Watered Garden", General Conference, October 2001

***************

9.  "Pay Your Tithing!  I truly believe that the payment of an honest tithing will go a long way to ensure continued activity in the Church."   

Thomas S. Monson, "Be Thou An Example", General Conference, October 1996

***************

10.  "While tithing is paid with money, more importantly it is paid with faith. I have never met an individual who paid an honest tithe who complained about it. Rather, he put his trust in the Lord, and the Lord never failed him."   

Gordon B. Hinckley, "Let Virtue Garnish Thy Thoughts Unceasingly", General Conference, April 2007

***************

My Position Statement - Tithing

I have to admit that when I joined the church, most things made perfect sense to me.  But tithing was my biggest challenge.  It wasn't that I didn't believe in the principle of tithing, I just didn't grow up paying it.  And there were many times when I thought that I needed to pay my bills before paying my tithing, because it didn't make sense to me, that if I paid my tithing that my bills could get paid if I had enough faith.  I had a hard time wrapping my brain around that concept.  I was the one who had the bills, and I didn't expect that Heavenly Father should have to take care of them for me.  What I needed to learn was the spiritual side of tithing.  I needed to have enough faith in the principle of tithing, and the blessings that it brings, in order for me to see the true purpose of tithing.  Does God need 10% of my money?  No, He doesn't need money at all.  Everything on this earth is already His.  What God needs is to know if we have faith in Him.  That is the purpose of tithing.  And if we show Him that we have faith in Him, then He blesses us with what we need.  And often, He knows our needs before we do.  I remember seeing a Mormonad once that read, "Don't think about it as giving Him 10%.  Think about it as Him giving you 90%."  That really opened my eyes and made me think.  There isn't anything that God does, and any commandment that He gives us, that isn't for our best welfare and because He loves us so much.