If you have guessed from the title of this talk, which is “The Lord Loveth A Cheerful Giver,” that it is a talk about tithing, you are right. When told the topic was tithing, a friend said, “That’s a two word talk – Pay it.” He has a point. Why am I expanding on that? Several events that occur at this stage in a Latter-Day Saint student’s life make this a timely topic:
First, your income has or before long will show a major increase when you finish your education and the series of part time jobs that helped to pay for your schooling and start into full time employment.
Second, qualifying for a temple recommend and receiving your endowment prior to serving a mission or marrying in the temple will require that you be a full tithe payer.
Third, in choosing a spouse and planning how to deal with your combined resources, it would be wise before marriage to have discussed with the person you are considering marrying what his or her attitude is about the payment of tithing.
Fourth, if you are already married, you are seeing more clearly than before the affect a decision to pay, or not to pay, tithing is having in your life.
Fifth, as you start a family, your children will primarily look to you for training and example in spiritual matters.
Therefore, the following is intended to give you some things to think about as you deal with this doctrine that is about to play an ever increasing role in your life.
Before the world was, the Lord said as reported in Abraham 3:24-25:
… [W]e will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;’
And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; (emphasis added).
Subsequently, the world was formed and peopled, and not long thereafter, relatively speaking, the doctrine of tithing was known. Tithing was, and is, one of the ways the Lord’s people prove themselves.
We know that tithing was a concept which was practiced in the Old Testament. Tithing was part of the Levitical law. Leviticus 27:30 provides, “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s; it is holy unto the LORD” (emphasis added).
In the 14th chapter of Genesis verse 20, Abram was met by Melchizedek, King of Salem. Melchizedek blessed Abram, and Abram gave Melchizedek “tithes of all.”
So significant was Abraham’s payment of tithing to Melchizedek apparently thought to be that, as just mentioned, it is discussed in the Old Testament in Genesis 14:18-20, in the New Testament in Hebrews 7:2 and in the Book of Mormon in Alma 13:15. However, later, Malachi, seeing in his time the reduction in commitment of Israel to the law of tithing, recorded the words of the Lord with which we are so familiar, saying:
Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. “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”
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.
And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.[1]
Tithing was taught in the Book of Mormon. For example, the Lord deemed what had been said about tithing in Malachi to be so important that He commanded that statements in Malachi, including those on tithing, be written by His disciples in the new world. Then He personally taught such matters commencing in 3 Nephi 24:1: “And it came to pass that he commanded them that they should write the words which the Father had given unto Malachi, which he should tell unto them. And it came to pass that after they were written he expounded them.”
Verses 7 through 12 of 3 Nephi chapter 24, parallel verses 7 through 12 of the third chapter of Malachi.
In the Old Testament, Jacob had been aware of tithing. In Genesis 28:20-22, Jacob vowed a vow saying:
If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:
And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee (emphasis added).
Jacob sounds as though he was bargaining with the Lord: if the Lord delivers what Jacob wants, then Jacob will pay a tithe and believe. This sounds like faith following the miracle, not preceding it. Similarly, in the latter-days, when little knowledge about tithing had yet been given to Joseph Smith, this same conditional approach to paying tithing occurred.
Joseph Smith presumably became acquainted with tithing through his Bible study and then became further acquainted with that principle from his translating of the Book of Mormon. Along with much else, presumably the passages just mentioned were impressed upon him. In 1834, before he had received much specific personal divine guidance relating to tithing he relates the following:
On the evening of the 29th of November, I united in prayer with Brother Oliver for the continuance of blessings. After giving thanks for the relief which the Lord had lately sent us by opening the hearts of the brethren from the east, to loan us $430; after commencing and rejoicing before the Lord on this occasion, we agreed to enter into the following covenant with the Lord, viz. [namely]:
That if the Lord will prosper us in our business and open the way before us that we may obtain means to pay our debts; that we be not troubled nor brought into disrepute before the world, nor His people; after that, of all that He shall give unto us, we will give a tenth to be bestowed upon the poor in His church, or as He shall command; and that we will be faithful over that which He has entrusted to our care, that we may obtain much; and that our children after us shall remember to observe this sacred and holy covenant; and that our children, and our children’s children, may know of the same, we have subscribed our names with our own hands.
(Signed)
Joseph Smith, Jun.
Oliver Cowdery[2]
As I mentioned previously, this was before tithing, as we know it today, had been given as a commandment to the Church. It is interesting that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery wrote down their commitment “to give a tenth to be bestowed upon the poor” conditioned on the Lord prospering them and opening the way before them that they might obtain the means to pay their debts. Also interesting is the fact that it was written. They did that “…so our children after us will remember to observe this sacred and holy covenant; and that our children, and our children’s children, may know of the same.”
Here, as with Jacob, when tithing was not well understood, they in effect bargained with the Lord to pay after the blessings were received. Four years later, the Prophet Joseph’s understanding of tithing was clarified by a revelation from the Lord, which revelation is contained in section 119 of the Doctrine and Covenants. The italicized head note to section 119 gives a helpful explanation of the background for this revelation and reads as follows:
Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Far West, Missouri, July 8, 1838, in answer to his supplication: ‘O Lord, show unto thy servants how much thou requirest of the properties of they people for a tithing.’ HC 3:44. The law of tithing, as understood today, had not been given to the Church previous to this revelation. The term ‘tithing’ in the prayer just quoted and in previous revelations (64: 23; 85: 3; 97: 11) had meant not just one-tenth, but all freewill offerings, or contributions, to the Church funds. The Lord had previously given to the Church the law of consecration and stewardship of property, which members (chiefly the leading elders) entered into by a covenant that was to be everlasting. Because of failure on the part of many to abide by this covenant, the Lord withdrew it for a time, and gave instead the law of tithing to the whole Church. The Prophet asked the Lord how much of their property he required for sacred purposes. The answer was this revelation.
Verses 1–4 read as follows:
Verily, thus saith the Lord, I require all their surplus property to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church in Zion,
For the building of mine house, and for the laying of the foundation of Zion and for the priesthood, and for the debts of the Presidency of my Church.
And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.
And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.
Today, as we know, the transfer of all surplus property is not required. With regard to the phrase “all their surplus property” mentioned in verse 1, Joseph Fielding Smith has clarified this by saying:
In more recent times the Church has not called upon the members to give all their surplus property to the Church, but it has been the requirement according to the covenant that they pay the tenth.[3]
President Hinckley has compared those seven words from the 119th section, “…pay one-tenth of all their interest annually” to the vast number of pages contained in the Internal Revenue Code, plus the regulations and revenue rulings interpreting the same, in the following way:
Tithing is so simple and straightforward a thing. The principle, as it applies to us, is actually set forth in one verse of section 119 of the Doctrine and Covenants. That fourth verse consists of thirty-five words. Contrast that with the cumbersome and complex tax codes enacted and enforced by the governments. In the one case it is a brief statement from the Lord, the payment left to the individual and motivated by faith. With the other it is a tangled web created by men and enforced by law.[4]
Elder James E. Talmage gave us a memorable way of solving questions arising from the brevity of that phrase:
When you are in doubt as to just how you should calculate your tithes, reverse the terms as we sometimes do in solving complex mathematical problems, and suppose for the time being that the Lord had said this; let us postulate this is an assumed law given to the Church: ‘In order to show my love for my people, the faithful members of my Church, it is my will, saith the Lord, that each one shall receive from my storehouse, the storehouse of my Church, at regular intervals during the year, an amount equal to one-tenth of his income.’ Now my dear brother, sit down and calculate how much the Lord owes you under that kind of law, and then go pay it to your bishop.[5]
Church leaders are provided with two volumes entitled “Church Handbook of Instructions” which is designed to help them learn their duties by providing “…an understanding of principles, policies, and procedures to apply when seeking the guidance of the Spirit.”[6] The seven words – “pay one tenth of all their interest annually” – have been refined and clarified in Book 1 of the Church Handbook of Instructions on page 134, where it says:
Definition of Tithing: The First Presidency has written: “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.”[7]
Often there is an attempt by members at further refinement or definition of the meaning of the words “interest annually.” When we try to elaborate on that subject, I am reminded of a well-read gospel doctrine teacher I heard say in teaching a lesson, “I am now going to make plain what the Lord only touched on lightly.” The presumptuousness of that is apparent. The First Presidency established the principle. We don’t need to refine or define further. It has been said, “Establish the principle and the exception is between the member and the Lord.” Similarly, in regard to tithing, we might say, “Establish the principle and the implementation is between the tithe payer and the Lord.”
How important is it to be an honest tithe payer? Lorenzo Snow said: “…[P]art of a tithing is no tithing at all, no more than immersing only half a person’s body is baptism.”[8]
Why do we pay tithing? Adam, when asked why he made sacrifices, said, “I know not, save the Lord commanded me.”[9] Going back to the beginning of the world and the beginning of these remarks – we were sent here to prove ourselves and see if we, “…will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.”[10] Joseph F. Smith said:
By this principle (tithing) the loyalty of the people of the 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….There is a great deal of importance connected with this principle, for by it ye shall know whether we are faithful or unfaithful….But when a man keeps all the law that is revealed, according to his strength, his substance, and his ability though what he does may be little, it is just as acceptable in the sight of God as if he were able to do a thousand times more.[11]
Tithing has, since near the beginning of recorded scripture, been a test of faithfulness. This was similarly the case after the Restoration. In 1844, after the martyrdom, the Quorum of the Twelve had printed in the Times and Seasons a message entitled “An Epistle of the Twelve to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo and All the World – Greeting.” This epistle said, in part, with regard to tithing:
And let this law or ordinance be henceforth taught to all who present themselves for admission into this church, that they may know the sacrifice and tithing which the Lord requires, and perform it; or else not curse the church with a mock membership as many have done heretofore.[12]
A “mock membership?” – isn’t that an interesting forceful phrase?
Beyond the requirement aspect of tithing, Matthew Cowley speaking about why to pay tithing, during a talk in the Northwest, said:
President Stratford, here, for instance could say to me, ‘Brother Cowley, we will go into business together. I’ll furnish all the capital, all the blessings, all the resources. You look after the business. Call upon me when you need me for any advice. I’ll be around. I’ll be available if you need me. If you have any difficulties, call on me. Then when the profits come in, you keep ninety percent and give me ten, and then I’ll put my ten percent right back into the business. How would you like that?’ My, I would like to have him for a partner on that basis. Well, that’s the kind of partner we have, brothers and sisters. The sun, the rain, the blessings of heaven, the windows are open. My, how they are opened here in Oregon. The windows of heaven are open, and down it comes. The lands bear fruit. ‘You run the business,’ God said. ‘I am there to give you counsel, and when the increase comes in, you keep ninety percent and give me my ten, and I will put every penny of it right back into the business.’ That is just exactly what he does. Every penny of his ten percent comes right back into his business here upon the earth.[13]
How it comes back is worthy of discussion because it is not limited to a monetary return. While working with missionaries, I saw that the hope of receipt of immediate tangible monetary blessings was the principle reason some missionaries were using to convert investigators to the principle of tithing. They would teach by using examples such as, “I paid my tithing, and the next day I found a wallet with the same or a greater sum of money in it,” or, “I got a raise,” or, “I received an inheritance,” etc.
I have no doubt that some times this sort of thing happened and happened promptly, but I think it is neither wise to pay tithing in reliance on that nor do I feel such a tithing accompanied by such an expectation has involved a sacrifice. The Old Testament prophet David, wanting to buy land on which to erect an alter to make sacrifices to the Lord would not accept a gift of such land for the alter nor the gift of the requisite animals for the sacrifices from Araunah saying, “… [N]ay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.”[14]
Incidentally, it is interesting to note that this land that David wanted to purchase to evidence a sacrifice was later the site on which his son, Solomon, built the temple.[15]
I believe the payment of tithing to be a way to prove ourselves. I believe it to be fulfillment of a commandment and an obligation, whether or not it is accompanied by any recognized blessings. I believe that by obedience to that commandment we may be blessed in the Lord’s own way and on the Lord’s own time schedule. Having said that, I have a rock solid testimony that blessings do come, though sometimes not recognized immediately. They come in a multitude of ways, but I don’t think tithing should be paid in reliance on that. To do so would make it more analogous to an investment. As we make a voluntary sacrifice to show our obedience to his commandments and our love for the Lord and his work, when the blessings do come we recognize again the source from which they flow.
They do not necessarily come immediately like the found wallet or the raise nor do they necessarily come so immediately identifiable. To realize some of the broad range of ways the Lord can and has blessed the honest tithe payers, let me give you some testimonials of Latter Day Prophets:
As to temporal blessings:
The Lord can bless our land. Joseph F. Smith said, “…[W]e may sanctify, by obedience to His law [of tithing], this land that it may become indeed a land of Zion unto us;…”[16] Joseph F. Smith further said, “…[H]e will cause that the earth shall be fruitful.”[17]
As students, you may be especially interested in these two statements of Heber J. Grant, “I want to repeat to the Latter-day Saints my firm belief that God our Heavenly Father…gives wisdom to those men and to those women who are strictly honest with Him in the payment of their tithing.”[18] Further, he said, “I believe that to those who are liberal [in paying tithing] the Lord gives ideas, and they grow in capacity and ability more rapidly than those that are stingy.” [19]
As you marry and become parents, you will relate to the verse in 3 John 1:4 which says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” J. Reuben Clark said, “…[T]hereby [by paying tithing] you will have greater joy than through any other temporal activity in which you may engage.” [20]
As parents, take your young children with you to tithing settlement. When two of our children were in junior high school and the youngest was about two or three years old, as we completed our interview with the bishop during tithing settlement, he turned to the youngest and said to him, “Do you have any tithing you would like to pay?” Our son reached in his pocket. Since neither my wife or I had talked to him about being prepared to pay tithing at this time nor did we know of any income that this two or three year old had, we wondered expectantly what might come out of his pocket. With great solemnity, he pulled an acorn out and placed it on the Bishop’s desk. With equally great solemnity, the Bishop accepted it, placed it with the checks he had received, spoke briefly about the payment of tithing in kind, filled out a receipt in the tithing receipt book with our son’s name and the amount of the contribution, “one tithing nut.” It was signed by the Bishop. Our son’s face lit up as the Bishop passed the receipt across the desk. On the way home he asked his brother and sister to read the receipt to him several times and for a significant period that receipt took an honored place among his cherished belongings. As it did him, it brought us great joy to see him attempt to make his first tithing offering and “the tithing nut” is part of our family lore.
As you start your career, you might note Spencer W. Kimball’s teaching that, “No one is ever too poor to pay tithing….He can give us better salaries. He can give us more judgment in spending our money. He can give us better health, he can give us greater understanding so that we can get better positions.”[21]
Over a lifetime, it builds confidence to remember that Marion G. Romney said, “I have heard President J. Reuben Clark, a modern prophet, say over and over again that the Lord would never let one of His Saints who had been faithful in the payment of tithes and offerings go without the necessities of life.”[22]
As to spiritual blessings:
Testimonies can be strengthened. Heber J. Grant said, “If you desire …the testimony of the gospel, pay all your obligations to God and you shall have it.”[23] Twenty six years later, he said:
Prosperity comes to those who observe the law of tithing; and when I say prosperity I am not thinking of it in terms of dollars and cents alone, …what I count as real prosperity, as the one thing of all others that is of great value to every man and woman living, is the growth in the knowledge of God, and in a testimony, and in the power to live the gospel and to inspire our families to do the same. That is prosperity of the truest kind.[24]
Heber J. Grant there spoke of the blessings that pass to our family as well. Also, in that regard, George Q. Cannon indicated that, “The liberal tithe payer binds himself and his family more firmly to the Church.”[25] Further, he pointed out that, “Being thus bound…they are more likely to withstand temptation.”[26]
We may receive an increase in the Spirit of the Lord said Heber J. Grant, “… [I]f the people will pay their tithes and offerings, they will not only be blessed in their material affairs, but they will be abundantly blessed by increased outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord.”[27] And, Harold B. Lee has explained that being a tithe payer may increase our likelihood of receiving personal revelation, “By tithing…the windows of heaven would be open and blessings would be poured out that we would hardly be able to contain. The opening of the windows of heaven, of course, means revelation from God to him who is willing thus to sacrifice.”[28]
Our spiritual power can be increased. David O. McKay taught “[Tithing] is an unfailing source of spiritual power. True and constant obedience to this law will give us as much spiritual development as will obedience to any other principle of the gospel,…”[29]
“…[T]ithing teaches those fundamental elements upon which strength of character rests: viz [namely], self-control, self-denial, generosity, love for fellowmen and love for God”[30]
Our relationship to the Lord becomes more intimate. Howard W. Hunter said in Conference in April, 1964, “If we pay our tithes because of our love for the Lord, in complete freedom and faith, we narrow our distance from [the Lord] and our relationship to Him becomes intimate.”[31]
As we pay tithing voluntarily on our own initiative, we feel joy, increased spiritual strength and personal growth. These come because of our adherence to the unenforceable. I can testify that I have seen and felt many of those results in my own life and in the lives of our family. May I add one last reason to pay tithing, “God loveth a cheerful giver.”[32]
But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.[33]
Let me tell you of just two cheerful givers in my experience. First, whenever I think of the widow’s mite, it brings to mind an experience in a small branch meeting in a row house on a street in a large eastern city in which branch my wife and I served for 18 months. It was located in a very distressed intercity neighborhood that had been burned over during the riots accompanying the Martin Luther King assassination in 1968. Much of it had not been rebuilt. The people in the branch paid their tithing in part with coins and in doing so paid an honest tithe. At one of our meetings, a woman handed me an envelope with the tithing slip and the relevant bills and coins and then after doing that said to me, “If you belong to a church, you ought to contribute. I can’t contribute much, but I can contribute the sacrament bread,” and handed me a baggie with two little pieces of bread in it. As we used her bread for the sacrament, the whole experience carried an additional meaning that day. Going through my mind continually was the verse dealing with the widow’s mite and that she, out of her poverty, had given more than they all.
Second, as a bishop in a large eastern city, a Spanish speaking branch had been merged into our suburban ward. One of the Hispanic members came to me confused about whether to pay 14%, 17% or more to satisfy his tithing obligations. When I inquired as to why he asked, he explained, “In the country I came from, people do not get a deduction from income tax for donations to charitable institutions. Here you do. When I pay tithing, I get back through reduced taxes a percentage of what I paid in tithing. Since I am to pay the Lord 10% shouldn’t I pass on to Him the amount by which I reduce my taxes by paying tithing?” I explained to him that the tax law expresses a public policy to encourage personal charitable giving and that the 10% he was already paying as tithing was what was requested of the Lord.
As I left the tithing settlement with that man and so many others, I was each time reminded of what a blessed way tithing is to both show our love and devotion to the Lord and to finance His work. I leave my witness with you that the act of sacrifice alone by paying tithing strengthens character and integrity which itself justifies the act but that there is so much more both recognized and unrecognized that comes to us from compliance with this commandment, and I do it in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Malachi 3:7-12, emphasis added
[2] Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., introduction and notes by B.H. Roberts, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, (1980), 2:174-175
[3] Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, A Course of Study for the Melchizedek Priesthood Quorums, Salt Lake City, Utah, (1949), 3:120
[4] Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Miracle Made Possible by Faith,” Ensign, May 1984, 47
[5] James E. Talmage, Conference Report, October 1928, 119
[6] Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 1, xiii
[7] First Presidency Letter, 19 Mar. 1970; see also D&C 119:4
[8] Lorenzo Snow, Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, Utah, (1984), 155
[9] Moses 5:6
[10] Abraham 3:24-25
[11] Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, Fifth Edition, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, (1939), 282
[12] Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., introduction and notes by B. H. Roberts Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (1980), 7:251
[13] Matthew Cowley, Matthew Cowley Speaks, Deseret Book Company, sixth printing, Salt Lake City, Utah, (1960), 171
[14] 2 Samuel 24:25, emphasis added
[15] 2 Chronicles 3:1 and footnote thereto
[16] Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, fifth edition, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, (1939), 226
[17] Ibid
[18] Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, Oct. 1921, 6
[19] Heber J. Grant, Improvement Era, Jan. 1941, 56
[20] J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1943, 11
[21] Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, edited by Edward L. Kimball, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, Utah, (1982), 212
[22] Marion G. Romney, Look to God and Live, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, Utah, (1973), 150
[23] Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, Oct. 1899, 20
[24] Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1925, 10
[25] George Q. Cannon quoted in Jerreld L. Newquist, Gospel Truth: Discourses and Writings of President George Q. Cannon, Deseret Book Company (1974), 2:301
[26] Ibid
[27] Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1899, 19
[28] Harold B. Lee, The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, edited by Clyde J. Williams, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, Utah, (1996), 206
[29] David O. MaKay, Gospel Ideals, Deseret News Press, Salt Lake City, Utah, (1953), 199
[30] Ibid
[31] Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1964, 36
[32] 2 Corinthians 9:7
[33] 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, emphasis added