Tithing a Test of Faith

Here is a copy of the talk I gave in church a couple weeks back. Due to a lack of time I had to make some cuts. That can happen when you are the third speaker if the first two people take a little extra time. I copied and pasted directly from the word document so there may be some minor tics in the copy below.

Tithing, A Test of Faith

The gospel of Jesus Christ is like an action movie. I’m a personal fan of action movies and watch them all the time much to my wife’s dismay. That poor, poor woman.

The other day I recorded the Mel Gibson classic “The Road Warrior” on the DVR. In this movie, Mel plays the wanderer Max trying to survive and kicking butt in the post apocalyptic Australian outback. He’s a man of action and actions speak louder than words.

Guys generally like action movies because people aren’t sitting around talking about something for hours on end, they are doing something. They are being real heroes, slaying dragons, fighting injustice, and doing what is right in the face of incredible odds and certain death.

We all like to believe that when push comes to shove we will stand up and do what is right. Some in life are able to do this while others fall short but we all like to believe that should the great tests of life come our way that we will rise up and not fail to act.

Human beings thrive on challenge and being tested. Our own mortality is nothing but one long test to see if we will follow the Savior. A test we learned about from our parents, missionaries, gospel study, prayer, and exercising faith but a test that was planned before the earth was even formed.

Our Savior Jesus Christ has given us everything. This world, our physical bodies, our families and everything else we value but his greatest gift to us is his atoning sacrifice and the power of forgiveness. It is by his grace that we are saved through faith in him.

But how do we manifest our faith? Is it enough to think that we believe and think that we accept his sacrifice? Is it enough to say it out loud in our homes, from the podium of our chapel, or even on the streets that we believe and have faith? This is a good start but true faith requires nurturing, cultivation, and time.

In Alma chapter 32, Alma talks about planting the seeds of faith. We read that if we plant the seed and if it is a good seed it will begin to grow. But in versus 34 through 36 we read:

34 And now, behold, is your aknowledge bperfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your cfaith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your dmind doth begin to expand.
35 O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is alight; and whatsoever is light, is bgood, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good; and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect?
36 Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.

So planting the seed is just the beginning. We have to move beyond just putting the seed in the dirt. We must nurture it, cultivate it, water it, and give it opportunities to grow.

Faith is not just believing it is doing. You have to do more than just put the seed in the ground otherwise all you end up with is a pile of weeds and not the kind that you can sell by the kilo.

During his mortal ministry, the Lord asked Simon Peter three times if he loved Him. We read in John chapter 21 that on the third time Peter replied, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.” The Lord said, “Feed My Sheep”.

A simple action the Lord asked of the man that would lead his church. This is what he asked of Peter to show that he truly loved the Savior. This action would speak louder than words the love that Peter had for the Savior. When we act on faith to follow the Lord’s will, we are showing our love for Him. We are showing our faith in Him and His Atoning Sacrifice. We are showing him that we are willing to follow Him even when it is difficult or we do not understand completely why.

Many of the commandments we are given strictly prohibit some sort of behavior. The law of chastity prohibits us from having sexual relations except within the bounds of marriage. There are many such laws prohibiting the bearing of false witness, murder, taking the Lord’s name in vain, etc.

Some of the best laws that our Heavenly Father has given us require us to do something instead of refraining from something. We are commanded to spread the gospel, to serve our fellow man, to love our enemies, do our home and visiting teaching, and forgive others. Sometimes we want to forgo the doing and emphasize the not doing because it is much easier to sit back and not do something rather than go out and be actively engaged.

I can almost imagine after mortality ends, reporting back to the Savior on our experiences here. Perhaps like an interview with the Bishop. Maybe we will be seated across from His desk and he will ask,

“Brother Orton, tell me what you did in mortality.”

“Well Master, I didn’t smoke, I didn’t drink, I didn’t lie cheat or steal, I didn’t watch R rated movies, I didn’t look at dirty magazines or internet content.”

The he kindly interupts, “That is very good Brother Orton. I am very pleased that you did not do those things. But the question still remains, “What did you do?”

Many of the things we are asked to do by our heavenly father are not easy. They may take us out of our comfort zone, be difficult or challenging at times, or be something we would rather not do.

Recently, we were asked by a Prophet of God to volunteer our time and means to the efforts to pass a ballot measure protecting the sanctity of marriage. It was difficult for many of us. It is not easy walking to the homes of perfect strangers and talking about difficult topics. Sometimes they responded with harshness. But many, many saints pushed on day after day showing the Lord through doing that they love Him and have faith that He speaks through a prophet today.

One of the first things we are asked to do when we become member’s of Christ’s church is to pay tithing.

Elder Robert D. Hales in the Nov 2002 Liahona wrote: “Tithing has been established in these latter days as an essential law for members of the Lord’s restored Church. It is one of the basic ways we witness our faith in Him and our obedience to His laws and commandments.”

Tithing: A law and a basic way that we witness our faith in him and our obedience.

Often things like obeying the law of tithing can be difficult requiring sacrifice and faith. Sometimes we refer to these opportunities to express our faith as tests of our faith. Why is tithing a test of our faith sometimes.

Tithing in this day and age involves money. Money is a funny thing. You cannot eat it. I guess if you had a lot of duct tape and patience you could build yourself a shelter from it. It cannot transport you anywhere. But it is the means of obtaining most physical things in life. Many of us work not because we find it intrinsically more enjoyable to work than it is to do other activities. We spend our whole lives trying to aquire enough that we don’t have to worry anymore but no matter how much we accumulate the worry and desire for more never subsides.

As a little experiment I typed the word “Money” into google. I got over 1 billion results for that term, more than I could possibly ever read in a lifetime. We even write songs about it including Money, Money by Liza Minelli, Money for Nothing by Dire Straits, Money by the Flying Lizards, Money Money Money by ABBA, She Works Hard For the Money by Donna Summer, Take the Money and Run by the Steve Miller Band, and my personal favorite Money by Pink Floyd. Not to leave out the younger crowd in the room there is also the Kanye West classic Gold Digger.

There is actually a web site listing the thirty best songs about money. One website actually had a guy bragging about his mix tape with the 10 best money themed songs from the 80s. I read online that money is the topic second only to love to be enshrined in song and since I read it online, it’s gotta be true.

Many are obsessed in our society with money. The media worships fame and it’s accompanying fortune. We refer to it as the root of evil even while we wish we had more.

There is very little in this world that you cannot buy for money. Wars have been fought over it. For many their wealth and material possessions have even become their god.

So how does the Lord tell those who love money from those that love Him? Or perhaps a better question is how do we know if we love the Savior more than we love money. Perhaps keeping the law of tithing is one of the tests of that faith and love for the Savior.

Joseph F. Smith stated this about tithing, “By this principle [of 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”

The law of tithing is a celestial law. Elder Robert D. Hales has stated,
“The law of tithing is part of a celestial law which we must live if we are to attain eternal life and exaltation in the celestial kingdom.”
In section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants we read:

38 And unto every kingdom is given a alaw; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions.
39 All beings who abide not in those aconditions are not bjustified.
22 For he who is not able to abide the alaw of a celestial kingdom cannot babide a ccelestial glory.

The law of tithing thus is not just a test of our faith in the Savior and our love for him, it is a test to see if we are to attain eternal live and exaltation in the celestial kingdom.

There are great blessings to be had from keeping the law of tithing.
In Malachi 3: 10 we read,
“Bring ye all the atithes into the storehouse, that there may be bmeat in mine house, and cprove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not dopen you the ewindows of heaven, and pour you out a fblessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it “
There will be both blessings in this life and in the life to come but it should not be for reward that we keep this commandment but because we love and have faith in the Savior. That we trust in his infinite goodness and mercy. That we believe what he tells us and value the things of God over the things of man.
I want to share with you a few of my favorite examples from the scriptures of sacrifice. The first was Adam. In Moses chapter five we read:
5 And he gave unto them commandments, that they should aworship the Lord their God, and should offer the bfirstlings of their cflocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was dobedient unto the commandments of the Lord.
6 And after many days an aangel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer bsacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
The angel taught Adam the meaning of his sacrifice but what is truly amazing is that Adam was willing to follow the commandments even though he had no understanding why. This my brothers and sisters is a true example of faith in following the commandments. After the test of his faith, it was then and only then revealed unto the man Adam that what he did was in the similitude of the sacrifice of the only Begotten.
Another great sacrifice story is told of Abraham and Issach. A truly great test wherein God commanded him to sacrifice his only son on an altar. Without explanation or understanding, the man Abraham did as he was told but was stopped by an angel. The test of sacrifice was once again a tool to teach about the sacrifice of the Savior of the world.
The last story and greatest story of Sacrifice is that of the Savior himself who gave his own life that we might be saved.
Elder Melvin J. Ballard said of this sacrifice:
“How do I appreciate the gift? If I only knew what it cost our Father to give his Son, if I only knew how essential it was that I should have that Son and that I should receive the spiritual life that comes from that Son, I am sure I would always be present at the sacrament table to do honor to the gift that has come unto us, for I realize that the Father has said that he, the Lord, our God, is a jealous God—jealous lest we should ignore and forget and slight his greatest gift unto us.”
Our Father in Heaven has given us the greatest gift he can give us, even his only begotten son to save us. A gift that requires us to act on faith, to do something, to sacrifice our desires for earthly treasures for those of heaven. When we pass the test of tithing we prove to him and ourselves that we can and do choose him over the things.
I have spoken of tests and sacrifice. When we sacrifice of our means we are outwardly expressing our faith in the savior. For some the test is difficult. As we go through life we should be striving to cast off the natural man and become Christlike. This means that we must begin to value the things of eternity over the things of mortality. It is a test of our faith and willingness to sacrifice not because of our means but because of what our hearts are set on.
In Luke 21 we read about the story of the widow’s mites and I’m not talking about the kind mites that reek havoc on your flowers. The Savior was in the temple and watching the people going in and out.
1AND he looked up, and saw the arich men casting their gifts into the treasury.
2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two amites.
3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:
It may seem like a great sacrifice to those who have little means but the sacrifice can be a test of our faith no matter what our station in life. It can even be more difficult for someone who has great means. I am reminded of the story of the rich young ruler in Luke 18 who asked what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. After telling Jesus how he had worked to keep the commandments, Jesus said,

22 …”Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the apoor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.”

I like to think that the young man after some time passed the test of faith.

If we can pass the test of our faith regarding tithing we can overcome the desires of mortality and become more like the Savior. We can be like the people Alma wrote about in Alma chapter 1:30.

30 And thus, in their aprosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were bnaked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon criches; therefore they were dliberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no erespect to persons as to those who stood in need.

May we each be able to pass the test of our faith and become men and women of action, living as the Lord has commanded, setting our hearts upon the things of God. May we each observe the Celestial law of tithing and thus gain eternal life is my hope and prayer.