Elders Quorum 2
Brainstorming
A friend comes to you with the following question:
"I'm struggling to pay my tithing. I have doubts about the church, and I think that my money could be better spent taking care of myself and my wife instead of building another temple."
What scriptures or experiences would you share with them? Keep these in mind, and share them when you feel it's appropriate during the lesson.
An Honest Tithe
Ponder: Am I honest in my tithes? What is the best way for my family to pay tithing?
Oaks: In the Lord’s commandment to the people of this day, tithing is “‘one-tenth of all their interest annually,’ which is understood to mean income.” The First Presidency has said, “No one is justified in making any other statement than this”
Andersen: "With all the Lord gives to us, He has asked us to return to Him and His kingdom on earth 10 percent of our increase. He has promised us that as we are honest in our tithes, He will “open … the windows of heaven, and pour … out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” He has promised us that He will protect us from evil. These promises are so certain, the Lord declares, “Prove me now herewith,” a phrase found nowhere else in the scriptures but when quoting Malachi."
Why is "[being] honest in our tithes" the phrase that Elder Andersen uses here, instead of "paying a full 10%" or "being fully obedient"?
If we understand our true relationship with God, Tithing is an easier commandment to keep.
Mosiah 2:21 - "I say, if ye should serve [God] with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants."
Blessings
Ponder: Will I continue to pay tithing when our financial future is less stable? Am I on the same page as my wife when it comes to a commitment to pay tithing?
Tithing: By paying tithing, Church members show their gratitude to God for their blessings and their resolve to trust in the Lord rather than in material things. They also help further the work of the Lord in the earth, blessing others of God’s children with the opportunity to learn of Him and grow in the gospel ... Tithing funds are always used for the Lord’s purposes—to build and maintain temples and meetinghouses, to sustain missionary work, to educate Church members, and to carry on the work of the Lord throughout the world. As with members of many other faiths, Latter-day Saints believe that the payment of tithing shows gratitude to God and brings both spiritual and temporal blessings.
Andersen: The blessings of tithing come in many ways ... Some are temporal, but many are spiritual. Some are subtle and easy to overlook. Trust in the Lord’s timing; the blessings always come.
What blessings have you noticed from paying a full tithe?
Faith
Ponder: Have I "proved" the Lord lately? Do I trust His promises?
One covenant made in the temple is that we will keep the law of sacrifice. Dedicating all that we have and are to the work of the Lord is necessary for salvation.
Moses 6:57, 62-63 - Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God ... This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time. And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.
How does the law of tithing, and by extension the law of sacrifice, bear record of Jesus Christ?