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Category: Church

Church,Faith,Life

Tithing

posted on : February 17, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

When I was a young child my mother was a stay-at-home mom, and she was an active member of our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints).  She wanted to follow the commandment to pay tithing but my dad was dead set against it.  When they had married she didn’t even know he was actually a member of the church which means he was obviously very inactive.  She had later met the missionaries when they were going door-to-door and was almost instantly converted.  She would have loved for my dad to have become active but he was totally against the church.  In those days men often controlled the money and gave their wives a set amount from which to run the family and household, and in my family’s case this is what happened.  She wanted to be obedient to the commandment and she also wanted the blessings that come from paying tithing so unbeknownst to my dad, she paid it on the household money he gave her. Later, after they were divorced and she was only earning minimum wage to support her kids while going to school (they didn’t have the deadbeat parent laws then and for some reason my dad didn’t feel it was necessary to pay child support), she often said that the only reason we made it was because she paid her tithing.  President Gordon B. Hinckley said “Tithing is a matter of faith, not finance” and my mom believed this was a true principle because on the very little money she earned to support a family of six she still paid her tithing faithfully. In my life I have also seen the blessings that come from paying tithing, especially when I was a very poor student at BYU.  I had very little money but I always had what I needed and I believe it was because I paid my tithing.  Tithing is a matter of faith, not finance!

Church

The Sun, The Son

posted on : January 8, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

Years ago I heard a woman speak of a trip to Alaska.  She said that even though Alaska has a shorter growing season, the fruits and vegetables grow to be very large because of the increased hours of sunlight. So I looked it up and things really do grow bigger in Alaska because that state has as much as 20 hours of sun per day which not only causes vegetables to grow bigger but things like carrots are sweeter too. Of course that brings thoughts to my mind of how people grow bigger too in the light of another Son, Jesus Christ. When we allow His light to shine on us our capacity increases and we become bigger and better than we ever thought possible. Not only do our hearts grow but our knowledge increases and our capacity to serve enlarges.  His love allows us to love ourselves and others. When we realize that He suffered the atonement because He loves us we begin to see our true worth and value and the worth and value of others.  His love beckons me to keep the commandments and follow Him.  His love teaches to me to reach out to others and His love urges me to learn more about Him and His ways.  As I study the scriptures and writings of the prophets my knowledge increases.  When I have a question and study and ponder it, sometimes I am filled with knowledge and light regarding the answer, an answer that could only come from God.  Because of His light I am able to learn not only of spiritual matters but also of things regarding my life in this world. After all, He is the Great Creator of all things and He has all knowledge.  He can give me knowledge on how to best help my children, how to solve financial problems or how to forgive someone. He can help me learn about anything!  As I study His word I am taught to reach out and serve others as He did.  “Come follow me” He taught and He spent His whole life in service to others, in word and in deed.  I remember a time when I was pregnant with my seventh child and I was so, so very tired.  It was Monday night and time for Family Home Evening and my husband was away on a business trip, and it was 6 noisy, energetic children and one very tired mom.  I knew I needed to do Family Home Evening but I didn’t think I had it in me to do it.  Mostly I just wanted to go in the bedroom and cry from sheer exhaustion. Out of pure obedience to what I knew was right to do, I decided we would learn a new song out of the Children’s Hymnbook. I let the kids pick a song and then we put on the CD of the music to learn it.  As we sat in a circle around the music book and sang the song together over and over there came a sweet feeling and light into our home.  My children really enjoyed singing the song and even though it was a very simple Family Home Evening I really felt my capacity to serve and teach my precious children had been enlarged.  His light had increased my abilities and given me strength when I was so very tired and had enabled me to serve. The light of Jesus Christ helps each of us to become more than we ever thought possible!

Church

Praying Over Everything

posted on : September 14, 2017 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 2 Comments

In both the Bible and the Book of Mormon we are taught to pray. In Luke 18:1 we are taught to pray always and in Alma, in the Book of Mormon, Amulek teaches us that we should pray over everything including the crops of our fields.  Many years ago I bought 2 grapevines and planted them in my back yard.  My husband built a little fence for them to grow on, and my neighbor, who had grapevines, told me that I needed to prune them.  She gave me instructions on how to prune them and I went to work.  I had her look at the first one I pruned to see if I did it the right way and she told me that not only I had done it the wrong way and should have waited until March, and that the vine would bleed to death.  She then showed me the proper way to prune the grapes on the other vine, which I waited until March to do.  Worried about the dying vine I decided to pray about it.  I prayed that despite my ignorance in pruning it that it would live and I would yet be able to harvest grapes from it.  I prayed about it for several months, even after properly pruning the other vine.  I continued to pray as they leafed out and grapes appeared. Come October I had beautiful grapes and not only did my grapevine not die it produced double the grapes than the one that had been properly pruned.  I enjoyed making jelly and bottling juice because I knew that my prayers had been answered.  Of course our “crops” today are usually not grapes but the jobs we do.  We can pray about our efforts at work and for help with specific problems related to not only our jobs but all areas and aspects of our lives.  Prayer works!