We may experience times when paying our tithing seems impossible, but if we have faith, the Lord will bless us more than we can imagine.
In the general conference address “Tithing: A Test of Faith with Eternal Blessings,” Elder Robert D. Hales says, “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.” My own experience has taught me that for a lot of people, tithing is a test—a sacrifice.
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When I was about twelve years old, my father was fired from his job. My mother’s income wasn’t enough for our family of eight. My parents had bills to pay and mouths to feed, and if they paid tithing, they wouldn’t have enough money to cover everything.
My parents had a choice to make. With fear in their hearts and a desire to take care of their children, they decided not to pay tithing. After a few months of struggling and living on a meal a day, my parents decided that things had to change. We had to trust in the Lord’s promise. The money that would have been spent on a meager meal was given to the Lord in tithing. That night, we found groceries on our doorstep. Within a week, my dad got a job, and we got out of those hard times.
I have seen what happens when we don’t trust in the Lord, and I have seen what happens when we do. I know that the Lord keeps his promises and will take care of us. He knows each of us and what we are going through, and as Elder Hales says, “The temporal and spiritual blessings of tithing are specifically tailored to us and our families, according to the Lord’s will.”
Though groceries may not appear on your doorstep, the Lord will bless your act of faith and your obedience. I have no doubt about that.
Read more of Elder Robert D. Hales’ talk “Tithing: A Test of Faith with Eternal Blessings” if you want to learn more about the blessings of tithing.
Source: General Conference
—Aidan Hill, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY MARKUS SPISKE
Read more about Tithing in Elder Henry B. Eyring’s 2011 general conference talk “The Blessings of Tithing.”
Read more about the blessings of obedience in Elder L. Whitney Clayton’s 2017 general conference talk “Whatsoever He Saith unto You, Do It.”