Oaks - Tithing - April 1994

President Oaks speaks about the importance of paying an honest tithe. He uses a couple examples of previous church prophets to stress the importance throughout the ages.

• In a general conference in 1912, Elder Heber J. Grant declared: “I bear witness—and I know that the witness I bear is true—that the men and the women who have been absolutely honest with God, who have paid their tithing, … God has given them wisdom whereby they have been able to utilize the remaining nine-tenths, and it has been of greater value to them, and they have accomplished more with it than they would if they had not been honest with the Lord.”
• In 1929, President Heber J. Grant said: “I appeal to the Latter-day Saints to be honest with the Lord and I promise them that peace, prosperity and financial success will attend those who are honest with our Heavenly Father. … When we set our hearts upon the things of this world and fail to be strictly honest with the Lord we do not grow in the light and power and strength of the gospel as we otherwise would do.”

Paying tithing is a reflection of our faith. Our view of the blessing of tithing influence how we behave. Strong faith helps us understand our personal reliance on the Savior for making sacrifices with money.

• Some people say, “I can’t afford to pay tithing.” Those who place their faith in the Lord’s promises say, “I can’t afford not to pay tithing.”

Tithing is the same principle all around the world. No matter what the dire circumstances are, the Lord still expects all of his children to pay an honest tithe.

• The law of tithing and the promise of blessings to those who live it apply to the people of the Lord in every nation. I hope our members will qualify for the blessings of the Lord by paying a full tithing.

Tithing is a precursor to living the law of consecration. It teaches to us sacrifice a little in preparation for when God might ask us to sacrifice all we have for Him. Living this law helps prepare us for exaltation.

• The payment of tithing also brings the individual tithe payer unique spiritual blessings. Tithe paying is evidence that we accept the law of sacrifice. It also prepares us for the law of consecration and the other higher laws of the celestial kingdom.

Tithing is for people in the church and people outside the church. It is a biblical teaching and observed by Latter-day Saints and non-members alike. To illustrate this, President Oaks talks about other people who observe this law that are not of our faith.

• A few years ago the New York Times carried a feature article on a dozen highly paid professional athletes who were giving a fixed share (usually 10 percent) of their income to their church. None of the featured athletes was LDS. If the names of our tithe-paying LDS professional athletes had been added to the list, it would have been much longer.

President Oaks tells a story shared by a former BYU President about a businessman who was not a member of the church:

• There are accounts of good Christian businessmen who promised to give the Lord a share of their profits and then attributed their business success to the fact that the Lord was their partner. BYU president Ernest L. Wilkinson, who often spoke of the blessings he had received from paying his tithing, quoted this statement from a non-Mormon businessman:
• “We would not lend a neighbor money with which to run his business without interest. Neither would we expect him to lend us money without paying interest. I found I was using God’s money and the business talents He had given me without paying Him interest. That’s all I’ve done in tithing—just met my interest obligations!”

I am grateful for the principle of tithing. Many blessings come to those that are willing to sacrifice for the building up of the kingdom of God. How grateful I am to having a loving Father in Heaven who uses such a simple principle to help me prepare to live higher laws in the future.