Fire Insurance

Look for a comforting promise here.

23 Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.

Doctrine & Covenants 64:23

I've suggested to my students to write the words, “Fire Insurance” next to verse 23.  Can you see why? It would seem that those who pay their tithing are promised they won’t be burned when the Lord returns.  But it is interesting to note that at the time this verse was given, the Church was not practicing the Law of Tithing. They were trying to live a United Order type of life. So the word “tithing” here could represent all free will offerings.

Jesus taught, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). So does 10% of your treasure return to God in the form of tithing?  A person may claim a great deal about their devotion and love for God.  But if the Lord does not have your sacrifice of tithing, He does not really have claim on your heart at all. What does where you place your treasure say about your heart?

Today’s Takeaway: If you are not already, take that leap of faith and devotion to God and pay your tithing. Surrender your treasure, and thus your heart, to the Lord who loves you so much and wants to pour you out a blessing greater than the sacrifice of your treasure. 

Yesterday, Tomorrow, or Today?

8 And verily I say unto thee, thine heart is now right before me at this time; and, behold, I have bestowed great blessings upon thy head;

 9 Nevertheless, thou hast seen great sorrow, for thou hast rejected me many times because of pride and the cares of the world.

Doctrine & Covenants 39:8-9

Sections 39 and 40 are very interesting sections of the Doctrine & Covenants. James Covill was a Methodist preacher who had pastored for forty years, but when he heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he accepted it and said that he would obey any command given from the Lord through the prophet Joseph Smith.  So Section 39 is the Lord’s revelation to him where he is told, “thine heart is now right before me at this time;”  Yet in Section 40 we learn that James Covill changed his mind and rejected the Gospel.  So here is the question: why did an omniscient, all knowing God, give this beautiful revelation to James Covill, if He knew James would shortly turn around and reject it?  For that matter, why does God work with so many people that He knows will later turn their hearts away from Him?

It is because of this important principle: God works with us in the present tense.  Although He sees all of the past, present, and future clearly, God works with us in the present.  You could go to a Patriarch and find many beautiful revelations from the Lord to people who have now turned far away from God.  So why were the beautiful blessings given?  Because if those young men and women would have continued on the path they were on that day as they got those blessings, then all of those things would have come true.

God does not work with us based on our past.  He does not work with us according to what He knows we will do.  He works with us how we are today.

Today’s Takeaway: So when is the last time you recommitted yourself to the Lord?  Did you do it on Sunday with the Sacrament?  How about this morning? Today, are you fully committed to Him?  God doesn’t care so much about how you have run the race, as much as how you are running the race of life today. How can you live for the Lord today?