Why Should I Pay Tithes and Offerings?
Lesson 3. Why Should I Pay Tithes and Offerings?
Overall Objective: At the conclusion of this lesson, students will:
1. Realize the importance of paying tithes and offerings
2. Understand why we should give, and
3. Understand how paying tithes and offerings bring us closer to our Savior Jesus Christ.
Preparation
· Understand Reading 3: Robert D. Hales, “Tithing: A Test of Faith with Eternal Blessings,” Ensign, Nov. 2002, p. 26.
· Print out Lesson 7L: Why Do I Pay Tithing Support Material if desired.
· Materials Needed: Copies of the scriptures
Suggested Lesson Development
Counsel from our Leaders
Many are wondering why we talk about tithing at the beginning of these lessons on personal finance when many are worrying about paying their current bills. President Gordon B. Hinckley answered this question when he counseled:
Some of you have money problems. I know that. There is never enough money in your homes. I know that. You are struggling to get along. What is the cure? The only thing I know of is payment of tithing. … It was God who made the promise that He would open the windows of heaven and pour down blessings upon those who walked honestly with Him in the payment of their tithes and offerings, and He has the capacity to keep His promise (“Inspirational Thoughts,” Ensign, Aug. 1997, 6).
· Why is it important that we walk honestly with God in payment of our tithes and offerings? (It shows that we put Him first in our lives.)
Many individuals wrestle with the commandment to pay tithing. It may be a hard thing to think about giving to others when you are watching your spending carefully. But we have been commanded to give and to help others. This section will discuss our covenantal obligations to give back to the Lord and to share with others.
President Thomas S. Monson said, “We make a living by what we get, but we build a life by what we give” (Thomas S. Monson, “A Gift Remembered,” New Era, Dec. 2001, 4). Any discussion on giving takes us back to the first lesson of this series where we discussed the key principles of personal finance. An important part of paying tithing is understanding those key principles: ownership, stewardship, and accountability.
· What is a full or honest tithe? (It is 1/10 of our increase or interest annually.)
The First Presidency wrote:
The simplest statement we know of is the statement of the Lord himself, namely, that the members of the Church should pay ‘one-tenth of all their interest annually,’ which is understood to mean income. No one is justified in making any other statement than this (First Presidency letter, 19 Mar. 1970; see also D&C 119:4).
• What does the Lord promise us if we pay our tithing? (The Lord will open the “windows of Heaven”, see Malachi 3:10.)
What Should Our Attitude Be about Paying Tithing?
We should not pay tithing just so we can receive blessings. We should pay tithing with the right attitude—willingly, cheerfully, and with faith.
Remember that everything we have belongs to God (see D&C 104:14–15). Although the words in 1 Corinthians 9:6–7 and Moroni 7:6–8 can be applied to the way we pay tithing, it is important to remember that when we pay tithing, we are merely giving back one-tenth of what God has already given us.
Having faith is part of paying tithing with the right attitude. Elder Dallin H. Oaks shared this story about his mother:
My attitude toward the law of tithing was set in place by the example and words of my mother, illustrated in a conversation I remember from my youth. During World War II, my widowed mother supported her three young children on a schoolteacher’s salary that was meager. When I became conscious that we went without some desirable things because we didn’t have enough money, I asked my mother why she paid so much of her salary as tithing. I have never forgotten her explanation: ‘Dallin, there might be some people who can get along without paying tithing, but we can’t. The Lord has chosen to take your father and leave me to raise you children. I cannot do that without the blessings of the Lord, and I obtain those blessings by paying an honest tithing. When I pay my tithing, I have the Lord’s promise that he will bless us, and we must have those blessings if we are to get along” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1994, 43–44; or Ensign, May 1994, 33).
President Joseph F. Smith told how his mother, Mary Fielding Smith, obeyed the Lord’s commandment to pay an honest tithing, and how it brought blessings to her family:
I recollect most vividly a circumstance that occurred in the days of my childhood. My mother was a widow, with a large family to provide for. One spring when we opened our potato pits, she had her boys get a load of the best potatoes and she took them to the tithing office; potatoes were scarce that season. I was a little boy at the time, and drove the team. When we drove up to the steps of the tithing office, ready to unload the potatoes, one of the clerks came out and said to my mother, ‘Widow Smith, it’s a shame that you should have to pay tithing.’ … He chided my mother for paying her tithing, called her anything but wise or prudent; and said there were others who were strong and able to work that were supported from the tithing office. My mother turned upon him and said: ‘… You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Would you deny me a blessing? If I did not pay my tithing, I should expect the Lord to withhold his blessings from me. I pay my tithing, not only because it is a law of God, but because I expect a blessing by doing it. By keeping this and other laws, I expect to prosper, and to be able to provide for my family.’ … She prospered because she obeyed the laws of God. She had abundance to sustain her family. We never lacked as much as many others did. … That widow was entitled to the privileges of the house of God. No ordinance of the gospel could be denied her, for she was obedient to the laws of God (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 228–29).
· What does paying tithing show? (That if put God first in our lives, that he will help us.)
What the Scriptures Say about Money and Giving
Much is written in the scriptures about money and giving. Think about Christ and His parables. How many of Christ’s parables concern money or similar topics, such as property or wealth?
Parables in Matthew (9 of 10) Parables in Luke (8 of 12)
The hidden treasure The two debtors
The pearl of great price The good Samaritan
The drawn fishing net The importuned friend
The unmerciful servant The rich fool
The laborers in the vineyard The lost piece of silver
The two sons The prodigal son
The ten virgins The unjust steward
The talents The Pharisee and the Publican
The ten pieces of money
It is apparent that money and related topics were just as important in Jesus’ day as they are today. From the chart above, nine of the ten parables in Matthew and eight of the twelve parables in Luke are related to money in some way or other.
· What are the blessings when we faithfully give tithes and offerings? (we will be blessed of the Lord.)
The Lord promises to bless us as we faithfully pay our tithes and offerings. He said:
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith … 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 (Malachi 3:10).
Latter-day revelation tells of another blessing for those who tithe: “Verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming” (D&C 64:23).
President Heber J. Grant stated:
The blessings we have been promised are both material and spiritual. If we give willingly, Heavenly Father will help us provide for our daily needs for food, clothes, and shelter. He will also help us grow “in a knowledge of God, in a testimony, in the power to live the gospel and to inspire our families to do the same” (Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, p. 58).
Summary
Many wrestle with paying tithing, especially when money is tight. Paying tithing is not just a nice thing--it is part of our covenantal obligations to give back to the Lord and to share with others. President Joseph F. Smith said:
The payment of an honest tithe and the giving of offerings are important ways to show our love for our Heavenly Father and our willingness to help build His kingdom on earth. President Joseph F. Smith counseled: “By this principle (tithing) the loyalty of the people of this Church shall be put to the test. By this principle it shall be known who is for the kingdom of God and who is against it” (Gospel Doctrine, 225).
By paying an honest tithing, we show the Lord that we love Him more than we love the things of this world. And we are showing our family and others that we are following the commandments of God by putting the kingdom of God first in our lives (Jacob 2:18-19).
Assignments
Reading. The assignment for this lesson was to read the article by Robert D. Hales, “Tithing: A Test of Faith with Eternal Blessings,” Ensign, Nov. 2002, p. 26.
Family Home Evening Assignment. Select one of the points from the pamphlet above. Use that point as your lesson for your Family Home Evening lesson that you teach your family. Be prepared to comment on your Family Home Evening activity next Sunday. There are also two other FHE lessons on wealth that may be used.
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