Soon after I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints I had to make a serious commitment to the Lord. It was to give back a tenth portion to Him. My siblings and I had a little income which barely managed to last us a month. Thinking of how little our income was and how little our tithes would be, I searched the topic of tithing in the scriptures, looking for exceptions to our circumstances.
As I was searching my topic I remembered the circumstances of the Nephites when the resurrected Saviour visited them. They had lost almost everything due to the physical upheavals attesting to His crucifixion and were very poor. Regardless of their circumstances the Saviour commanded them to write what Heavenly Father had commanded by the mouth of Malachi the prophet (3 Nephi 24:1-3).
Then I knew that even in our circumstances we are not exempt from obeying His commands. I did seek for His forgiveness for not acknowledging His divine provision to all those who seek to come unto Him. Through that commitment we managed our daily needs. Through that experience, and others over the years, I have learned many gospel principles attached to the law of tithing.
I have learned that the important moment to show our trust in Heavenly Father and prove Him is by obeying His commandments when circumstances seem very hard to comply with. I am very grateful for the wonderful blessings of tithing. I know that obedience to the law of tithing can help us focus on our temporal and spiritual welfare.
I know that our Heavenly Father is mindful of each one of us in our difficult circumstances. He wants to bless us as we find joy in giving our skills, time and resources to help build His kingdom here on earth and walk uprightly with a clear conscience before Him, looking for His promised blessings.
