This past weekend we were able to hear from living Prophets and Apostles. As the world seems to be getting darker and more confusing, they offer us light and hope. That light and hope come through a loving Father in Heaven who wishes to bless us, Jesus Christ who has atoned for our sins and pains, and the Holy Ghost who offers direction.
We are promised D&C 82:10 that if we do his God’s will, he will bless us. That is a conditional statement. He will bless and sustain us if, and only if, we take action and follow the guidance He has given us. We must do our part. There is only so much that others, can do for us. At some point we have to take responsibility for our actions, our hearts, our choices. The Lord can afford us opportunities, Christ can wait for us with a healing touch, and the spirit can guide and direct, but they will never force us; we must take action and do what it takes to receive their blessings. In James we read, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” We come to church, we listen to conference, we discuss ways we can improve, but do we actually DO those things? Or are we deceiving ourselves about our dedication to and standing with the Lord? We each have to search our hearts and scrutinize our behavior to answer that question.
Today I am going to speak on a few ways we can be doers of the word that we might set our houses in order.
First, we must live within our meansThe last year we were at BYU, I had the opportunity to TA for yoga class. As an assistant, my main job was to make sure the students didn’t hurt themselves by doing moves incorrectly or too advanced for their level. On one particular occasion I noticed two beginners who, throughout the class, immediately went to the hardest variation of the poses rather than doing the beginning or intermediate modifications. It never quite worked out for them. They attempted the pose, couldn't maintain it, and got frustrated. They were comparing themselves to students who had been practicing yoga much longer than they had. They didn’t want to start at the beginning and build up; they wanted advanced perfection instantly. I knew that if they continued in their behavior, they were going to hurt themselves or quit out of frustration. In my mind I kept saying, “Do your own practice. Don't try and do someone else's practice. Work with what you have and where you are, not where you want to be or where your neighbor is."
That experience made me realize that living within our means is a mindset that affects multiple facets of our lives. It is a competitive attitude that compels us to wear the best, have the best, want the most, and achieve the highest-level RIGHT NOW.
However, we have to take life one-step at a time. The most efficient and long lasting progression comes gradually, “line upon line and precept upon precept”. We must start at the beginning, master one thing and move on to the next step, not the last step. Christ himself followed this pattern. “And he received not of the fullness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fullness; And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fullness at the first.”[3] We must be diligent and live our own lives as we remember, “it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength”[4]
In all reality to be the best, wear the best, and have the best means that we must compare ourselves to others. Comparison then prompts that little pride button inside us...
C.S. Lewis said, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, cleverer, or better looking than others. If every one else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.” [5]
Pride is one of the main reasons we tend to live beyond our means financially. We often over reach our limits and are not satisfied with necessities. We want to be comfortable, fit in, and keep up with our neighbors or friends. Meridian Magazine recently interviewed a Washington economist and member of the church, Stephen Studdert. When asked about American debt he said, “Our debt is a ticking time bomb. Last year, for example, we Americans, as consumers, spent $20 for every $19 we made. One doesn't have to be a Ph.D economist to figure out we can't sustain that for very long. At all levels, the government, corporate and personal level, we have been spending money we don't have.”
When asked what we should do about it, he said, “We ought to feel an urgency, but not a panic. It is interesting, if we listen to the words of President Hinckley and others of the General Authorities over the past years, how many times have they kindly, but firmly said to us, get your houses in order? And while you and I can't on our own fix the nation, we can certainly take care of our lives and our own houses and our own families. We have to be serious about getting out of debt individually and as families. We ought to be serious about not taking on more debt. We ought to be serious about living within our means. We ought to be serious about higher education for the best employment we can qualify for, and we ought to be serious about things like food storage and family preparation. Because financing [is] so readily available, [we splurge].”[6]
Our Bishopric recently read a letter from our current First Presidency urging us yet again to set our houses in order. We must evaluate our lives and our spending habits and change our ways if needed. Are we using prudence and wisdom when it comes to credit card debt and financing? Are we buying expensive and unnecessary items when we can’t afford them? Even if we can technically afford them, do unnecessary purchases dip into our emergency funds or tithing?
Now here’s the kicker: if we’re falling short in this area, are we willing to change? The Prophets, speaking for the Lord, can only warn, prod, and ask that we do these things. It is our responsibility to actually do them. I know that Matt and I have had 4 or 5 home evening lessons on 72-hour kits and food storage. We’ve made lists and talked about doing something, but we have yet to actually do it. Ultimately we can plan and talk about it all we want, but unless we actually take action and get our houses in order, we will not reap the blessing of being prepared and following the Prophet’s counsel when hard times come.
How do we get out of debt? This is obviously too big of a topic to try and tackle in a 15 minute talk, but I will mention a few ideas. First of all, we must avoid taking on new debt. If we can’t afford it, and we don’t need it to live, we shouldn’t buy it. As said in one SNL skit, there is “a unique program for managing debt. It’s called ‘Don’t buy stuff you cannot afford.’” Second, we must be wary of store gimmicks and credit cards that make promises such as no interest or payments for 2 years. Once the introductory term is over, chances are you will be hit with outrageous fees and interest, creating yet a bigger black hole of debt. Third, there really are only two ways of changing your debt to income ratio. One is to get more money. The other is to cut spending. It is not always possible or reasonable to get more money, but it is almost always possible to cut out luxuries. It may take some redefining and re-prioritizing, but it can be done.
Third, we must pay an honest tithing
Elder Sheldon Child spoke last Sunday morning on a connection between finances and tithing. “Tithing is a commandment from God, and when we obey His law, He is bound to bless us. We are living in challenging economic times...But regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves, if we first pay our obligation to the Lord and then use wisdom and good judgment, the Lord will help us manage the resources He has given us.”
There are 3 important points to what he just said.
- We must pay tithing before other debts and obligations.
- It doesn’t matter how much or how little we make as long as we use wisdom and good judgment.
- The Lord is bound to bless us when we obey him.
Elder Child went on to quote President Heber J. Grant. “I want to say to you, if you will be honest with the Lord, paying your tithing and keeping His commandments, He will not only bless you with the light and inspiration of His Holy Spirit, but you will be blessed in dollars and cents; you will be enabled to pay your debts, and the Lord will pour out temporal blessings upon you in great abundance.”[7]
As Elder Nelson reminded us last week, “The Church is to assist and not to replace parents in their responsibilities to teach their children.”[8] We are responsible to teach our children through both word and example. Once we align our actions and attitudes with the Prophet’s counsel, we will be in a better position to teach our children to do the same. It’s good to occasionally take note of lessons we are actively teaching our children.
Some questions we could ask ourselves include things such as:
· Are we teaching our children to work? To budget? To pay tithing? To prioritize? To save?
· Do they understand the need for moderation in all things, including cell phone usage, texting, clothing purchases, and cars?
· Will they be in for a shock when they are on their own, when you aren’t supplying them with an open money line?
· Do they understand the danger of credit card debt, financing and interest?
And you youth can ask yourselves this:
- Are you continually badgering your parents to get you the coolest gadgets, phones, computers, and clothes, regardless of price?
- Are those items necessities or wants? Do you know the difference between the two?
- Do you know how to manage your time and money wisely?
While is moving out on your own may be far off, it is in your childhood and youth that you establish good habits, temporal as well as spiritual.
I was lucky to grow up in a large family. My parents both worked very hard to meet the needs of their seven children. They were faithful in their tithes, and while money was often tight, we never lacked for the necessities. During my youth, they taught us the importance of working hard, balancing our time, and saving our money for necessary items. My hard work in high school led to scholarship offers at multiple universities, including a half-tuition academic scholarship to BYU. In addition to my high school classes and extra-curricular activities, I taught piano lessons throughout high school. By my senior year I was teaching 20 students. It was challenging at times to maintain balance in my life, but I can honestly say that I learned to appreciate hard work, budgeting, and the actual value of money and savings. When I moved out at 18, I was responsible for supporting myself. Because of the lessons and habits I learned in my youth, I was able to pay my way through college and make it out with no student debts and money in savings.
Lastly, the Lord instructs us to
"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God."[9]
Elder Nelson reminded us that while salvation is an individual matter, “Individual progression is fostered in the family…The home is to be God’s laboratory of love and service. There a husband is to love his wife, a wife is to love her husband, and parents and children are to love one another…Our Heavenly Father wants husbands and wives to be faithful to each other and to esteem and treat their children as an heritage from the Lord. In such a family we study the scriptures and pray together. And we fix our focus on the temple. There we receive the highest blessings that God has in store for His faithful children.”[10]
We are able to establish a house of prayer, fasting, faith, learning, glory, and order by establishing good spiritual habits and traditions in our families. As we make an effort to do and teach these things in our homes, the Lord will bless every member of our family with opportunities to feel the spirit and become personally converted. The Primary General President, Sister Lant put it well when she said, “We must be willing to open our hearts and minds, accept the Lord’s way, and, if need be, change our lives. Our personal conversion comes as we begin to live the way the Lord wants us to live—steadfast and immovable in keeping all of the commandments, not just those that are convenient. This then becomes a process of refinement as we strive to make each day a little better than the last. Thus our traditions become traditions of righteousness. If our parenting is based on the teachings of the scriptures and of the latter-day prophets, we cannot go wrong. If every time there is a challenge our hearts turn first and always to our Father in Heaven for direction, we will be in a safe place. If our children know where we stand and we always stand on the Lord’s side, we know we are where we need to be.”[11]
As we go through this life, we may find ourselves in situations that look bleak and overwhelming. During those times if we look to Christ, listen to the Prophet and Apostles, and obey the commandments we will be blessed with a light in the darkness. Our minds will be enlightened as to how we may overcome our challenges. As we actively become doers of the word and set our houses in order, our homes will be filled with the joy and peace of the Lord.
[1] D&C 11:13
[2] Ephesians 4:11-14
[3] D&C 93:12-14
[4] Mosiah 4:27
[5] C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity (1960), 95
[6] Meridian Magazine, An LDS Washington DC Insider Says America is in Danger http://www.ldsmag.com/ideas/080306dangerprint.html
[7] Sheldon Child, “The Best Investment”, April 2008 Conference Talk, Sunday Morning Session
[8] Russell M. Nelson, “Salvation and Exaltation”, April 2008 Conference Talk, Saturday Morning Session
[9] D&C 109:8
[10] Elder Russell M. Nelson, “Salvation and Exaltation”, April 2008 Conference Talk, Saturday Morning Session
[11] Sister Cheryl Lant, “Righteous Traditions”, April 2008 Conference Talk, Saturday Morning Session
1 comment:
Sorry I missed your talk, it looks great!
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