What blessings have you noticed in your life as you’ve chosen to faithfully pay tithing?
"Spiritual and temporal blessings come into our lives as we live the law of tithing.
I want to describe two important lessons I have learned about the law of tithing. The first lesson focuses upon the blessings that come to individuals and families as they faithfully obey this commandment. The second lesson emphasizes the importance of tithing in the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all of the world. I pray the Holy Ghost will confirm to each of us the truthfulness of the principles I discuss.
Lesson Number 1—Significant but Subtle Blessings
Sister Bednar’s mother is a faithful woman and an inspired homemaker. From the earliest days of her marriage, she carefully has kept the household financial records. For decades she has accounted conscientiously for the family income and expenditures using very simple ledgers. The information she has collected over the years is comprehensive and informative.
When Sister Bednar was a young woman, her mother used the data in the ledgers to emphasize basic principles of provident living and prudent home management. One day as they reviewed together various categories of expenses, her mother noted an interesting pattern. The costs for doctor visits and medicines for their family were far lower than might have been expected. She then related this finding to the gospel of Jesus Christ and explained to her daughter a powerful truth: as we live the law of tithing, we often receive significant but subtle blessings that are not always what we expect and easily can be overlooked. The family had not received any sudden or obvious additions to the household income. Instead, a loving Heavenly Father had bestowed simple blessings in seemingly ordinary ways. Sister Bednar always has remembered this important lesson from her mother about the help that comes to us through the windows of heaven, as promised by Malachi in the Old Testament (see Malachi 3:10).
Often as we teach and testify about the law of tithing, we emphasize the immediate, dramatic, and readily recognizable temporal blessings that we receive. And surely such blessings do occur. Yet some of the diverse blessings we obtain as we are obedient to this commandment are significant but subtle. Such blessings can be discerned only if we are both spiritually attentive and observant (see 1 Corinthians 2:14).
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.
For example, a subtle but significant blessing we receive is the spiritual gift of gratitude that enables our appreciation for what we have to constrain desires for what we want. A grateful person is rich in contentment. An ungrateful person suffers in the poverty of endless discontentment (see Luke 12:15).
We may need and pray for help to find suitable employment. Eyes and ears of faith (see Ether 12:19) are needed, however, to recognize the spiritual gift of enhanced discernment that can empower us to identify job opportunities that many other people might overlook—or the blessing of greater personal determination to search harder and longer for a position than other people may be able or willing to do. We might want and expect a job offer, but the blessing that comes to us through heavenly windows may be greater capacity to act and change our own circumstances rather than expecting our circumstances to be changed by someone or something else.
We may appropriately desire and work to receive a pay raise in our employment to better provide the necessities of life. Eyes and ears of faith are required, however, to notice in us an increased spiritual and temporal capacity (see Luke 2:52) to do more with less, a keener ability to prioritize and simplify, and an enhanced ability to take proper care of the material possessions we already have acquired. We might want and expect a larger paycheck, but the blessing that comes to us through heavenly windows may be greater capacity to change our own circumstances rather than expecting our circumstances to be changed by someone or something else.
The stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon (see Alma 53; 56–58) prayed earnestly that God would strengthen and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies. Interestingly, the answers to these prayers did not produce additional weapons or an increased number of troops. Instead, God granted these faithful warriors assurance that He would deliver them, peace to their souls, and great faith and hope for their deliverance in Him (see Alma 58:11). Thus, the sons of Helaman did take courage, were fixed with a determination to conquer, and did go forth with all of their might against the Lamanites (see Alma 58:12–13). Assurance, peace, faith, and hope initially might not seem like the blessings warriors in battle might want, but they were precisely the blessings these valiant young men needed to press forward and prevail physically and spiritually.
Sometimes we may ask God for success, and He gives us physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience, or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace. He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence as we strive to achieve worthy goals. And when we plead for relief from physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties, He may increase our resolve and resilience.
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 shall not be room enough to receive them (see Malachi 3:10). We also will remember the Lord’s declaration:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9).
I testify that as we are spiritually attentive and observant, we will be blessed with eyes that see more clearly, ears that hear more consistently, and hearts that understand more fully the significance and subtlety of His ways, His thoughts, and His blessings in our lives.
Lesson Number 2—the Simplicity of the Lord’s Way
Before my call to serve as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, I read many times in the Doctrine and Covenants about the council appointed to oversee and disburse sacred tithing funds. The Council on the Disposition of the Tithes was established by revelation and consists of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Presiding Bishopric (see D&C 120). As I prepared in December of 2004 to attend my first meeting of this council, I eagerly anticipated a most remarkable learning opportunity.
I still remember the things I experienced and felt in that council. I gained a greater appreciation and reverence for the Lord’s laws of finance for individuals, for families, and for His Church. The basic financial program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—for both income and disbursement—is defined in sections 119 and 120 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Two statements found in these revelations provide the foundation for the fiscal affairs of the Church.
Section 119 simply states that all members “shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, … saith the Lord” (verse 4).
Then, concerning the authorized disbursement of the tithes, the Lord said, “It shall be disposed of by a council, composed of the First Presidency of my Church, and of the bishop and his council, and by my high council; and by mine own voice unto them, saith the Lord” (D&C 120:1). The “bishop and his council” and “my high council” referred to in this revelation are known today as the Presiding Bishopric and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, respectively. These sacred funds are used in a rapidly growing church to spiritually bless individuals and families by constructing and maintaining temples and houses of worship, supporting missionary work, translating and publishing scriptures, fostering family history research, funding schools and religious education, and accomplishing many other Church purposes as directed by the Lord’s ordained servants.
I marvel at the clarity and brevity of these two revelations in comparison to the complicated financial guidelines and administrative procedures used in so many organizations and governments around the world. How can the temporal affairs of an organization as large as the restored Church of Jesus Christ possibly operate throughout the entire world using such succinct instructions? To me the answer is quite straightforward: this is the Lord’s work, He is able to do His own work (see 2 Nephi 27:20), and the Savior inspires and directs His servants as they apply His directions and labor in His cause.
In that first council meeting I was impressed by the simplicity of the principles that guided our deliberations and decisions. In the financial operations of the Church, two basic and fixed principles are observed. First, the Church lives within its means and does not spend more than it receives. Second, a portion of the annual income is set aside as a reserve for contingencies and unanticipated needs. For decades the Church has taught its membership the principle of setting aside additional food, fuel, and money to take care of emergencies that might arise. The Church as an institution simply follows the same principles that are taught repeatedly to the members.
As the meeting progressed, I found myself wishing that all members of the Church could observe the simplicity, the clarity, the orderliness, the charity, and the power of the Lord’s own way (see D&C 104:16) for conducting the temporal affairs of His Church. I have now participated in the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes for many years. My gratitude and reverence for the Lord’s pattern has grown each year, and the lessons learned have become even more profound.
My heart swells with love and admiration for the faithful and obedient members of this Church from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. As I travel the earth, I learn about your hopes and dreams, your varied living conditions and circumstances, and your struggles. I have attended Church meetings with you and visited in some of your homes. Your faith strengthens my faith. Your devotion makes me more devoted. And your goodness and willing obedience to the law of tithing inspires me to be a better man, husband, father, and Church leader. I remember and think of you each time I participate in the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes. Thank you for your goodness and faithfulness as you honor your covenants.
The leaders of the Lord’s restored Church feel a tremendous responsibility to care appropriately for the consecrated offerings of Church members. We are keenly aware of the sacred nature of the widow’s mite.
“And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
“And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
“And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
“For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living” (Mark 12:41–44).
I know from firsthand experience that the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes is vigilant in caring for the widow’s mite. I express appreciation to President Thomas S. Monson and his counselors for their effective leadership in discharging this holy stewardship. And I acknowledge the voice (see D&C 120:1) and hand of the Lord that sustain His ordained servants in fulfilling the duty to represent Him.
An Invitation and a Testimony
The honest payment of tithing is much more than a duty; it is an important step in the process of personal sanctification. To those of you who pay your tithing, I commend you.
To those of you who presently are not obeying the law of tithing, I invite you to consider your ways and repent. I testify that by your obedience to this law of the Lord, the windows of heaven will be opened to you. Please do not procrastinate the day of your repentance.
I testify spiritual and temporal blessings come into our lives as we live the law of tithing. I bear witness that such blessings often are significant but subtle. I also declare that the simplicity of the Lord’s way that is so evident in the temporal affairs of His Church provides patterns that can guide us as individuals and as families. I pray each of us may learn and benefit from these important lessons, in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen." (The Windows of Heaven By Elder David A. Bednar Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles)
"8 ¶ Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
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.
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.
12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." (Malachi 3: 8-12)
"After a challenging year in Kirtland, Ohio, Joseph Smith arrived in Far West, Missouri, in early 1838, ready to make a new start. Shortly after his arrival, he received a revelation calling for Far West to be built up as a holy city with a temple at its center. In the same revelation, the Lord forbade the First Presidency from borrowing money to accomplish these aims. They had borrowed to finance the house of the Lord in Kirtland, Ohio, and though the blessings were worth every penny, they were still struggling to pay off those debts. How would the Saints raise the necessary means to build yet another temple city?
This was not a new question for the young Church. The Lord gave the law of consecration in 1831 in Kirtland to address some of the same concerns. In it the Lord commanded the Saints to freely offer what He had blessed them with to the bishop, who would then consecrate a stewardship to them on the Lord’s behalf. As stewards, the Saints would be “amply supplied” with what they needed and expected to return any surplus to the bishop of the Church to “administer to the poor and needy,” purchase land for the Saints, and build Zion.
The Lord’s revelations on consecration emphasized the doctrines of individual agency, stewardship, and accountability. Joseph taught these principles to the bishops, and they in turn emphasized the voluntary nature of the offerings and the conditional blessings associated with them.
Throughout most of the 1830s, there were two bishops: Edward Partridge served the Saints in Missouri—or Zion, the center of the Church—while Newel K. Whitney served the Saints in the Church’s only stake at that time, in Kirtland, Ohio. Joseph and the bishops tried to help the Saints obey the law, but reluctant Saints and hostile neighbors hindered these efforts. Their ministry was doubly challenging in 1837 because the Church owed large debts, and the United States slumped into a long economic depression.
Saints at the time understood tithing to refer to any amount of freely consecrated goods or money. In September 1837, Bishop Whitney and his counselors in the Kirtland bishopric declared that “it is the fixed purpose of our God … that the great work of the last days was to be accomplished by the tithing of his saints.” Referring to the promise in Malachi 3:10, they urged the Saints to “bring their tithes into the store house, and after that, not before, they were to look for a blessing that there should not be room enough to receive it.”
A few months later, the bishopric in Missouri proposed a similar but more specific policy: each household should offer a tithe of 2 percent of its annual worth after paying the household’s debts. This, the bishopric in Zion wrote, “will be in some degree fullfilling the law of consecration.”
In early 1838, as Joseph Smith was preparing to move his family from Kirtland to Far West, Thomas Marsh wrote him a letter from Missouri, conveying his feeling that “The church will rejoice to come up to the law of consecration, as soon as their leaders shall say the word, or show them how to do it.”
At the time Joseph Smith arrived in Far West, the Saints were flocking to this new headquarters from branches of the Church in the United States and Canada. They settled throughout the region, necessitating the formation of a new stake. By July of 1838, the prospects of establishing an enduring stronghold in northern Missouri appeared promising. But the daunting task of building a temple loomed. The Church needed to raise the means to build the Lord’s house in spite of other pressing needs.
With this challenge in mind, Joseph gathered several leaders on Sunday morning, July 8, 1838. It was apparently in this meeting that he received both the revelation on tithing (now canonized as Doctrine and Covenants 119) and the revelation on the disposition of tithes (now Doctrine and Covenants 120).
Joseph prayed, “O! Lord, show unto thy servants how much thou requirest of the properties of thy people for a Tithing?” The prayer is recorded in the Prophet’s journal, followed by the word “Answer” and then the revelation that is now Doctrine and Covenants 119. “I require all their surplus property to be put into the hands of the Bishop of my Church,” the Lord said. Then, in what is now Doctrine and Covenants 119:2, the Lord stated the reasons the Saints should tithe. They are the same reasons noted previously for obeying the law of consecration recorded in what is now Doctrine and Covenants 42: to relieve poverty, purchase land for the Saints, and build a temple and build up Zion so that those who make and keep covenants can gather to a temple and be saved.
“This,” the revelation says, “shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.” That instance of the word tithing is the first of three (tithing or tithed) in section 119. All of them refer to the Saints’ voluntary offering of surplus property. “And after that,” the revelation says, “those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually.” The revelation does not call it a lesser law to be replaced someday, but “a standing Law unto them forever” and applicable to all Saints everywhere.
The revelation ends with this ominous warning: “If my people observe not this Law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the Land of Zion unto me, that my Statutes and Judgements, may be kept thereon that it may be most holy, behold verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you.”
Saints in Far West heard the revelation read in the Sunday meeting held that day. Those in outlying areas heard it in the weeks that followed. Bishop Partridge, who was present at the meeting in which the revelation was apparently received, wrote from Missouri to Bishop Whitney in Ohio and explained how it was to be followed: “The saints are required to give all their surplus property into the hands of the bishop of Zion, and after this first tithing they are to pay annually one tenth of all their interest.” Bishop Partridge understood “one tenth of all their interest” annually to mean 10 percent of what Saints would earn in interest if they invested their net worth for a year.
Shortly after Joseph received the revelation in section 119, he assigned Brigham Young to go among the Saints “and find out what surplus property the people had, with which to forward the building of the Temple we were commencing at Far West.” Before setting out, Brigham asked Joseph, “‘Who shall be the judge of what is surplus property?’ Said he, ‘Let them be the judges themselves.’”
As they were taught the will of the Lord, the Saints became accountable stewards who could choose whether or not to pay their tithes of their own free will. “Saints have come up day after day to consecrate,” the Prophet’s journal says, “and to bring their offerings into the store house of the lord.” But not all Saints exercised their agency to be wise stewards. Brigham Young later lamented that some Saints were stingy with their offerings.
At this time, the Lord also gave Joseph the revelation now found in Doctrine and Covenants 120, “making known the disposition of the properties tithed, as named in the preceeding [preceding] revelation.” It assigned the First Presidency, the bishopric in Zion, and the high council in Zion to decide how to use the tithes, making their decisions, the Lord said, “by mine own voice unto them.”
Joseph Smith’s journal notes that the newly revealed council soon met in Far West to “take into concideration, the disposing of the publick properties in the hands of the Bishop, in Zion, for the people of Zion have commenced liberally to consecrate agreeably to the revelations, and commandments.” The council agreed that the members of the First Presidency should use the funds they needed “and the remainder be put into the hands of the Bishop or Bishops, agreeably to the commandments, and revelations.”
When what is now Doctrine and Covenants 120 was revealed in 1838, Far West served as Church headquarters, and the bishop and high council there served on the council with the First Presidency. Later, the Church’s traveling high council, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, became the Church’s general high council and a Presiding Bishopric was appointed; thus, today the council is composed of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Presiding Bishopric.
Sadly, during the autumn of 1838, the Saints were driven from Missouri, their Zion-building project apparently on temporary hold and the temple marked out by only a few stones. Exiled from Missouri, the Saints regrouped in Illinois, joined by thousands of converts from the British Isles, the eastern states, and Canada. There Joseph led them as he always had—revealing the way forward line upon line—until they understood and paid, as tithing, a tenth of their overall increase, together with other freewill offerings of time, talent, and surplus property. When the Apostles invited the Saints to offer all they could toward the construction of a temple in Nauvoo, many responded, offering tools, land, furniture, and money. John and Sally Canfield consecrated all they had, including themselves and their two children, “to the God of He[a]ven and for the Good of his Cause.” In a note to Brigham Young, Brother Canfield wrote, “All I possess I freely give to the Lord and into thy hands.”
There in Nauvoo, then in Utah, and then throughout the world, the Latter-day Saints learned that if they obeyed even just the instruction to offer a tenth of their annual increase, the Church could pay its debts and begin to carry out the Lord’s instructions to build temples, relieve poverty, and build Zion. The money offered is calculable. The blessings are not." (“The Tithing of My People” D&C 119, 120 Steven C. Harper)
And here's the end part of the commentary entitled: "My tithing helps build the kingdom of God." :
"Elder David A. Bednar has given a helpful description of how tithing is used and the blessings that come from obeying this law in “The Windows of Heaven” (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 19–20). The following questions may help as you study his message:
Who determines how tithing is used after it is paid to the Church?
What is tithing used for?
What blessings come as a result of paying tithing? For example, in what ways does paying tithing strengthen your relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
What can you learn from Elder Bednar’s invitation?
How can you help others increase their faith in the Lord’s law of tithing?
See also Malachi 3:8–12; “The Tithing of My People,” in Revelations in Context, 250–55.
Elder Bednar said, "The honest payment of tithing is much more than a duty; it is an important step in the process of personal sanctification." The honest payment of tithing is truly an important step in the process of personal sanctification. It purifies our heart's desires. We are able to choose to give back to the Lord a portion of all that He has given us. We are not keeping to ourselves everything that He has given us. We are sharing a part of it with Him to help in building His kingdom.
Paying tithing strengthen our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ by providing an opportunity for us to show our faith in them and for them to prove them now, and open us the windows of heaven, and pour us out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
I can help others increase their faith in the Lord's law of tithing by sharing with them my testimony of how the Lord has been blessing me even with simple blessings like not having to spend in medication and hospitalization, and being able to keep my job and earn my income so I always have food on my table and I'm able to pay all my bills. The Lord is also providing me with means to be able to rise above my financial challenges.
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