Fellow Mormons and other Tithe payers?

Question

Do you have a strong testimony of tithing? If so, can I hear it? I used to pay tithing very faithfully and had a strong testimony of it. Then we started having financial problems and it kind of fell by the wayside. I've been trying to start it up again, but seem to be really struggling with it. I could use a boost to get us back on track. Thanks!

No meanie answers, Please.

Answer 1

I would recommend reading the book of Malachi. It's only four chapters, but God showed me something very profound. Tithing is one factor where God says it's okay to put him to the test and he will in turn pour out his blessings upon a person. But there is another often overlooked factor in this. The children of Israel in this chapter were tithing but God was not accepting their offering. The reason: because they still had other issues to get resolved.

I'm not saying that you are doing this. But I found that I had issues that God wanted me to resolve, which is why God was not blessing my giving to him.

Up until that time, I've found that every time I give money to God, I get the money returned in different ways...a utility bill comes in lower than expected, food I need to buy is on sale that week, and unexpected refund or some cash comes in via a way I didn't expect, or a bill collector works out a financial arrangement so we don't have to pay the full bill. But this past time, nothing happened, I asked him why and he led me to that passage. I saw why God was not able to bless me, because my heart was not right with him.

But if ou need a story to boost you. Here is one for you: a few months back, I was in church and I felt that God was saying to put in a certain amount in offering. I could not afford that amount, but I felt like God was saying to put that amount into the offering plate. Just after that, we had fellowship time at our church where we go up to others and say hi for a few minutes during the service. When I came back to my seat, I found a check for the same amount sticking out of the top of my purse for double the amount I just put into the offering plate. Ironically, it was a check I was given a few weeks back and had totally forgotten about, but what made it amazing is that I had cleaned out my purse just two days before that and there was no check, and why was it sitting at the top of my purse? Skeptics may just think that this is coincidental, but why would that forgotten check be for double that amount I just put into the offering plate and why would it suddenly appear sticking up in my purse (nothing else was disturbed so I don't think someone was rummaging through my purse).

Answer 2

Well I hear all the time that if you pay your tithe reguarly and when you get onto a bumpy road you can choose to or not to pay! If you pay you have a possibility that someone will reach out and help you, but the same thing goes for not paying! There is no such thing as paying too much tithe! If you dont pay it you just kinda put in money say like 50 bucks for every time you forgot to pay tithing! Or just calculate how much 10 percent is from your salary and times that by about how many weeks you didnt pay for! You will truly get a blessing either way! I hope you CTR! May the holy ghost be with you!

Answer 3

Many good answers.
Julie and I have always honored the law of tithing and have always been able to get by. It hasn't been easy. We have never had extra but we have always had enough to meet our basic needs. When something would break down, we had just enough to repair or replace it. When we ran out of gas in the middle of the night, there would be somebody there to help us and keep us going. We ran short this last month because of summer commitments and two checks came in the mail that I was not expecting that helped us get through the shortage.
Ernest L. Wilkinson, former president of BYU once compared tithing to a rent on our lives. God gives us everthing and all he asks in return is ten percent.
It isn't that God needs the money. If He wanted to, He could show us where the ore deposits are that would supply all the riches we need. The point of tithing is to teach us how to sacrifice and how to obey God's commands. We show our faith and our willingness to obey by paying our tithing. He then can show forth blessings upon us in consequence of our obedience.
There is a law irrevocably decreed before the foundations of the earth upon which all blessings are predicated. And when we receive any blessing from God, it is by obedience to the law upon which it is predicated.

Answer 4

Our combined fortnightly income has never risen above $1400 (and has definitely gone below that). We've always paid our tithing, however. As a result, we've gotten by quite well on that small income.

One thing I have always noticed is, just when things start to get desperate in the clothes department, someone from church, a friend or family member, will suddenly have a clean out... and it will be just the kind of clothes that we needed.

People gave us cots, prams, double-prams, baby-clothes, cloth nappies, clothes for girls and boys, Mums and Dad, mattresses, bed linen, crockery, etc. Our needs have always been met.

We moved house recently, which was a huge expense (we got into debt). I was just thinking, "That's it! I can't stand sleeping on a mattress anymore! I'm going to buy myself a big bed!" About two days later, the relief society counsellor in my new ward rang me and asked, "You don't by any chance need a Queen size ensemble?" (Yes, it was GIVEN to us, by a some members who had just bought themselves a King Double.)

It's not that which has kept me paying tithing however. I committed to paying tithing when I first started getting my own money as a teenager. I pay it because I love to be able to help support the work of God in such an easy and simple way. It is a joy to know that, no matter how poor I am or how low I am on time or energy, there is always one way that I can serve God and my fellow man.

I pay tithing because it feels right in my heart to do so.

Answer 5

My wife and I have a testimony of tithing. We do our best to pay what we do. Even if we forget a week or so, we'll just have 2 or 3 or 4 times worth the next time.

gw

Answer 6

I had this discussion with an elder in my church because 1st quarter business had dropped 40% and I could barely afford food. He pointed me toward the story of the widow's mite in Mark 12:41-44:

"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,worth only a fraction of a penny.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Even though I have no family or friends who could give me a dollar if things got worse,I tithed anyway after I read that passage.
My business has tripled and I never went hungry.

Faith is a principle based on action.
Tithing is an action that is a sign of faith.
If you believe that God is just and will reward you for your faith and loyalty, then tithe in spite of your financial difficulties.

Answer 7

While I have struggled financially before, I always paid tithing first and a way through the trial always appeared. For me, it would be silly not to obey this law. Unlike many commandments, it is easy to determine compliance and has specific promises attached that I'd rather not do without. God keeps His promises.

I firmly believe I've been greatly blessed both temporarily and spiritually by obeying this law.

I know that if you'll commit to obey this law perfectly you won't regret it. You may still struggle occasionally since faith precedes the miracle, but the blessings are overwhelming, at least they have been in my life.

Answer 8

It is the Lords money and it should be paid to him first. My wife and I got off track for 3 years. She kept paying all the other bills first and we never had enough for tithing and she would say that we'll make it up next month.

Well it never worked out that way.

5 years ago we started paying it and then looking at our bill (just like the government takes it's share first)
anyway we are much better now -- both of us have our temple recommends now (which wasn't always the case) and even when I was laid off we always had food to eat and shelter, and I got odd jobs very fast that turned into a career.

you never know how you will be blessed -- but you will be blessed.

D

Answer 9

Yes, every time I pay my tithing, I feel so great. I feel greater paying my tithing than just regular spent money. I love commandment because we recieve blessings. I know it is true because of all the new temples being built. D&C 64: 23 always encourages me to pay my tithing. It is the best and the lord expects so little and easy commandments that we can obey and endure to the end.

Answer 10

When I pay tithing, money always seems to go further. Logically it doesn't make sense but I don't care. I pay my tithing!

My Grandfather told me about what happened to him during the Depression. He was a young man working for the phone company. He was promised that if he always paid his tithing he would always have a job. Well, when the depression hit, many people were laid off, including many that had worked longer than Grandpa. He was never laid off!