2.289 The Tithing of My People

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, a bold reminder that our lives are meant to carry his flavor, his truth, and his love to the world. Join me each day to explore one verse of scripture and one thought, striving to stay full of savor and truly live as savory salt. Hello my friends, it's great to have you with me.

Today let's be anxiously engaged in a good cause and bring to pass much righteousness. There's a lot of beginnings in Doctrine and Covenants, aren't there? We're reading this week Doctrine and Covenants section 115 through 120, as well as 3 Nephi chapters 11 through 14.

The sections inside of 115 through 120 have a lot of different things happening. And so it's difficult to kind of pick one and kind of stay on a thread as sometimes I do through the week, but that's okay. Today we're going to shift gears just a little bit.

We're going to take a look in Doctrine and Covenants section 119, where we get the institution of something that is normal for us, but would have been quite new for the people of that day. This is around what, 1838? July 8th of 1838, that we get this.

Our verse for today is Doctrine and Covenants section 119, verse 3. It is very short, but I think we can share some ideas around it. It says in verse 3, "And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people." So here, the institution of the principle of tithing in 1838 for the members of the Church.

And really, part of this institution is to help with the debts that have been incurred through the building of the temples, through the work that's happening as many of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles can't work because they're out doing the work, right? And this begins the concept of tithing. Now, the interesting thing with this one for me is I've seen the power of tithing in my life, and you know, there's, there's regularly kind of this hum over here on the side, kind of this annoying buzz, I would say, honestly, but this hum over on the side that's like, "Oh, the Church today is so financially set that, you know, they don't need my tithing anymore." My friends, I'm here to kind of share at least the gospel according to Allen.

The Lord never One of the things I love about the principle of tithing is the gratitude that comes in paying it, taking an opportunity to thank the Lord for the blessing of your income in the first place, because that's where it came from. I know that this comes on the tail end of kind of the failure of the United Order and the difficulty in the early Saints in living the full law of consecration as we all commit to as we go through the temple and make covenants with the Lord. But the law of tithing for me is a law of gratitude.

The Lord has blessed you with income, with increase, with profit, whatever term you want to use. And so here the Lord begins this idea and says, "From now on, we're going to pay one-tenth of all your interest." And it's going to be a standing law forever going forward. I know there are blessings associated for each one of us that live the law of tithing.

I've seen it in my life time and time again. I've seen it with those that I taught the principle to in missionary work and in other opportunities. I'm grateful that the Lord gives me an opportunity not just to share my gratitude verbally with him through my prayers or through saying, "Thanks, Lord, for the help you've given me," but rather to actually show the Lord my gratitude to him through the principle of tithing.

Tithing is a principle of gratitude. It's an opportunity to give back to the Lord and say, "Thank you," for what the Lord has already blessed you with in your life. That perhaps may seem a little bit of a different lens on tithing, but that's a lens that I can absolutely look at day to day and say, "I am grateful to have the principle of tithing in my life." That's all for today, my friends.

Lift up your hearts and rejoice. Cleave to the covenants you have made, and together we will be savory salt.