The Basic Habits of Righteousness Never Change

 

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Priesthood session of the October 2012 General Conference.

When I, a woman, read the talks given to the priesthood holders I try to think of how what is said applies to me as a member of the church and a member of Relief Society. This week I felt drawn to what Elder Anthony D. Perkins said in his talk Beware Concerning Yourselves.

He told a story of driving over the Rocky Mountains and noticing the guardrails and warning signs, likening them to "deep personal conversion and strong family relations to help keep us on the heavenly highway," what President Nelson called, the covenant path.

Elder Perkins reminded the brethren (and the rest of us) of six fundamental principles that deepen conversion and strengthen family.

1) Praying always opens the door for divine help to "conquer Satan."

2) Studying ancient and modern scripture connects us to God.

3) Worthily participating in ordinances prepares us to take "the Holy Spirit for [our] guide."

4) Showing genuine love is at the heart of personal conversion and family relations.

5) Obeying the law of tithing is an essential element of faith and family unity.

6) Fully living the law of chastity yields confidence to stand "in the presence of God" with the Holy Ghost as our "constant companion".

My marriage is an example of the consequences of not living these six principles. I have a holy envy of couples who do. Their lives seems to be more united, serene in the face of mortal trials, and genuinely more fun, free of the strife that accompanies disobedience and being unequally yoked.

I call those six principles the basic habits of righteousness--if we do those things we are so much further ahead and so much more blessed than if we neglect them and try to keep, as Elder Maxwell said so eloquently, a summer home in Babylon.

I hope that someday I'll be worthy of the blessing of being equally yoked with a priesthood holder who lives those six basic principles.

Face the Future with Faith!

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday afternoon session of the April 2011 conference.

Elder Russell M. Nelson's address about faith is certainly timely in light of the condition of the world today. I'm so grateful for apostles and prophets (are they one and the same?). 

At the beginning of this year my sister asked me if I'd like to go on a trip to New England and Prince Edward Island in October. We made some plans but towards the end of the summer she confessed that she was fearful of social conditions and didn't want to go. We ended up going to Utah for a lovely week together. But we missed out on all the interesting historical sites in New England, and the life-long dream of seeing the place of Anne of Green Gables. Oh well. Maybe another time.

We live in a time of turmoil. Earthquakes and tsunamis weak devastation, governments collapse, economic stresses are severe, the family is under attack, and divorce rates are rising. We have great cause for concern. But we do not need to let our fears displace our faith. We can combat those fears by strengthening our faith.

We strengthen our faith by doing the things we learned in Primary: praying, studying the scriptures and words of modern prophets, participating in church meetings, worshipping in the temple, giving service to our fellow students in this mortal boarding school.

Elder Nelson encourages us to "start with your children." Teaching them by our words and actions to have faith in the Savior Jesus Christ, faith in God's plan of salvation, faith to keep all the commandments. 

Warn them that they will encounter people who pick which commandments they will keep and ignore others that they choose to break. I call this the cafeteria approach to obedience. This practice of picking and choosing will not work. It will lead to misery. To prepare to meet God, one keeps all of His commandments. It takes faith to obey them, and keeping His commandments will strengthen that faith.

I've learned as a parent that children pick up on any hypocrisy displayed by adults. They want to trust in parents and leaders whose actions match their words. This is also called integrity. We adults need to be the "do as I do" variety, not the "do as I say" kind. It's difficult and tiring, but it also gives us opportunities to teach about repentance and forgiveness as we confess our mistakes and press forward working on improving.

One commandment Elder Nelson mentions specifically is tithing.

To develop enduring faith, an enduring commitment to be a full-tithe payer is essential. Initially it takes faith to tithe. Then the tithe payer develops more faith to the point that tithing become a precious privilege. Tithing is an ancient law from God. He made a promise to His children that He would open "the windows of heaven, and pour out . . . a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Not only that, tithing will keep your name enrolled among the people of God and protect you in "the day of vengeance and burning."

Interestingly, two days before he ended his life, our son received some money (I don't know what kind of payment it was) and he did two things: paid tithing and went to the grocery store. He didn't always attend church, but he always paid tithing. He had a firm testimony of the blessings from living that commandment. 

Elder Nelson asks, "Why do we need such resilient faith? Because difficult days are ahead. Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-day Saint. Each of us will be tested."

After our son died I wanted to quit life too, not seriously, but it just seemed too hard to keep going. Except that I knew I needed to pass my tests if I wanted to be with my son in an eternal family. No giving up allowed! Elder Nelson said, "You faithful Saints do not have to fight life's battles alone. Think of that! The Lord declared, 'I will contend with him that contented with thee, and I will save thy children.'" That promise keeps me going.

  

 

Like a Dry Sponge

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday morning session of the October 1998 conference.

This weekend's General Conference was a magnificent fountain of living water. I felt like a dry sponge soaking up all the goodness: music, prayers, and talks. It was a much needed refueling in my life. We live in a time of great drought and famine, not of earthly water and food, but of living water and the bread of life. The eternal truths spoken of in conference can be feasted upon again and again. Which is one of the reasons I'm enjoying participating in the General Conference Odyssey.

Topics in this session from 1998 included tithing, hope, temples, testimony, righteousness, and a Q&A format from President Hinckley. Choosing a favorite talk is like trying to choose a favorite child. They are all great.

The talk on tithing resonated with me as we personally face challenging circumstances of a slightly reduced income and greatly increasing prices due to governmental inflation. It's good to be reminded of the financial commandments and attendant blessings to bolster our faith.

President James E. Faust talked about his father paying tithing in kind with the best of the hay and said, "The legacy of faith he passed on to his posterity was far greater than money, because he established in the minds of his children and grandchildren that above all he loved the Lord and His holy work over other earthly things." 

He told of being a young bishop and having President Henry D. Moyle, of the First Presidency, in his ward come in for tithing settlement declaring, "Bishop, this is a full tithe, and a little bit more, because that's the way we have been blessed." I can add my testimony to that. It's better to round up and give a little more, than to try and be precise with odd numbers. You can't ever out give the Lord.

I've always believed that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the answers to all of societies ills. Especially regarding poverty. I've never known or heard of any full-tithe payer being homeless, or starving, or even hopeless. President Faust quoted President Hinckley from when he spoke to saints in the Philippines, "if members, even living in poverty and misery . . . will accept the gospel and live it, pay their tithes and offerings, even though those be meager, they will have rice in their bowls and clothing on their backs and shelter over their heads. I do not see any other solution." President Faust continued, "Indeed, I believe it is possible to break out of poverty by having faith to give back to the Lord part of what little we have."

I have seen the blessings of tithing in my life. The windows of heaven have truly opened, not always in a direct monetary way, but in countless ways that add up to living prosperously. Blessings of health when there isn't medical insurance; vehicles and appliances lasting until there is money to replace them. Getting great gas milage when serving in callings that require a great deal of travel. (Here in the Midwest where branch boundaries are huge.) Finding items on sale right when they are most needed. Receiving "hand-me-downs" of all kinds of the very things we needed. Having food stretch, almost to the point of "fishes and loaves". All these constitute blessings I associate with paying a full and honest tithing.

President Faust used a favorite Joseph Smith quote, "A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation." When I hear leaders say, "Oh we can't ask the members to do that," I wonder why not? Aren't we supposed to sacrifice? And those of us who have been endowed in the temple have covenanted to consecrate our all to the building up of the kingdom. President Faust said, "Our donations are made holy by our faith." Much like the widows mite. "To be faithful members of this Church requires sacrifice and consecration."

He finished by talking about all of the sacrifices we must make to obtain the blessings. "Receiving the blessings requires the payment of tithes and offerings. Ours is not a Sunday-only religion. It demands exemplary conduct and effort every day of the week. It involves accepting calls and serving with fidelity in those callings. It means strength of character, integrity, and honesty to the Lord and our fellowmen. It means that our homes need to be places of sanctuary and love. It means a relentless battle against the bombardment of worldly evils. It means, at times, being unpopular and politically incorrect." How timely is that! 

The promise for obedience is that "Those who keep their covenants and pay their tithes and offerings will have some extra defense against these virulent modern-day forms of evil."

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Advent - Day 19

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.                                                         Isaiah 9:6

Why That Gift?

Name Withheld

Every Christmas, in celebration of the Savoir's birth, our family selects an individual or family to surprise with anonymous gifts. A few years ago we chose a family in our ward with three little children. We knew they were struggling financially, so we decided to buy them a few small toys and groceries for Christmas dinner,and leave it on their doorstep. However, each time I went shopping for those things, I felt troubled. When my husband asked me one night why I hadn't bought the gifts, I shrugged and told him I didn't know, that I just didn't feel good about it.

One afternoon a week before Christmas as I was driving past our bank, I was impressed to get a $100 bill. I immediately went into the bank to get one. When my husband came home from work that night, I told him what I'd done. Naturally, he wanted to know what we were supposed to do with it, but I didn't know.

Later that evening as we were eating dinner, I suddenly felt the money should go to the home of the family we had chosen to surprise with Christmas gifts. I asked my son to go with me to deliver the money. We left it in an envelope on their doorstep, rang the doorbell and ran. We heard nothing about it in the ensuing days and soon forgot about it. 

A year passed, during which the family moved away. Then, just before Christmas, the family visited our ward, and the sister stood to bear her testimony in Relief Society. She had a strong testimony of tithing, she said, and went on to explain that about a year ago, a week before Christmas, she and her husband had gone to tithing settlement, where they discovered they were $100 short. To be full-tithe payers they would need to pay it that night. She and her husband looked at each other in dismay. The only money they had was $100 they had worked hard to save for a Christmas celebration with their children. Since it was the only money they could spare, they gave it to the Bishop.

Through tears the sister related that they had gone from tithing settlement to home, only to find an envelop with a $100 bill in it on their doorstep. Her heart overflowed then with gratitude toward an understanding Heavenly Father. It was a Christmas she said she would never forget, and the gift she received that year was one that would stay with her always.