This week’s meeting after church was one of my favorites. Some people I’ve told about the class were surprised that it wasn’t cancelled for Mother’s Day, but honestly it is so fun and interesting to meet with the group that we would rather go than stay home.
Repentance and Obedience
Without getting too preachy, we discussed two principles of the Gospel: repentance and obedience. Put very simply and literally, repentance means to make a change, correct a behavior, or “turn back.” It has a negative connotation, but really is a positive thing. It’s not hard to see that we make financial “transgressions” and mistakes all the time, and that we can literally repent of these things just as we would repent from telling a lie, or stealing, for example.
Obedience is another powerful principle, and draws parallels with the Gospel. Christ gave specific commandments and asked everyone to follow them. The laws of the gospel are constant, and whenever a blessing is obtained, it is by obedience to a law. The same goes for finance, and if you know the rules and live them, you are blessed with increase.
Tithing, Fasting and Giving
We discussed several topics as a group, including tithing and fasting. Members of our church pay a 10% tithe, but unlike many churches, it doesn’t go to ministers. The funds go to help build more churches, fund missions, humanitarian aid, etc. This law with it’s associated blessings are described in Malachi 3:8-12.
In addition to the law of the tithe, we observe the law of the fast described in Isaiah 58. Each month we give up two consecutive meals and give money equivalent to the cost of those meals, or more, to our Bishop. He then distributes this money to those who are struggling in the congregation. The blessings described in Isaiah 58 are awesome, and I have experienced them in my life.
Stewardship was a big topic this week and we discussed paying the Lord first through tithing, and ourselves second. You can see more in the pictures above and below. Our facilitator mentioned some old Suze Orman CD’s he had. Even she recommended to people struggling to make ends meet that they should give money away and be charitable first. This often spurs people to be more wise with the remaining funds than they otherwise would be. Zig Ziglar often echoed this sentiment saying “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.
Conclusion
So far we haven’t really delved into anything directly related to our finances, even after 6 hours of class time. Everyone has been tracking expenses, sharing what we learn with others outside the class, and applying what we have learned (reading scripture, praying about finances, developing greater faith, etc). The next lessons get into budgeting and retirement accounts that would normally be expected in a finance course. Unfortunately the next two weeks are cancelled due to some vacations around Memorial Day, so the next post regarding this will be in a few weeks.
If you are spiritually inclined, I encourage you to check out the scriptures mentioned and even consider praying, or meditating about your finances to see if you come across any inspiration. I often take the approach to pray as though everything depends on the Lord and then act as though everything depends on me. I find this produces great results in many aspects.
I’m curious how your faith has influenced your finances, please comment below.
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