On paying fast offerings - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

Tex · 12-10-2008, 01:10 PM

With tithing settlement going on at this time, I wanted to comment on a thought about the disbursement of fast offerings. I have often heard it said that trusting the bishop is key to being at peace with how fast offering funds are allocated. I even had a missionary companion who insisted this was the secret to making the law of consecration work: trust in the bishop.

I want to respectfully disagree.

It ought to be completely irrelevant who the bishop is, or how he allocates donated funds. (I'm speaking spiritually, not academically here.) How I pay my fast offerings is a completely separate and distinct spiritual issue from how those funds are then disbursed, and with good reason. Are we to think that if we have a bishop with whom we disagree, or (let's say for argument) who may even be untrustworthy, that the Lord will excuse us for staying our hands?

How I pay my offerings is completely between me and the Lord. The only place the church intervenes in that relationship is for temple recommend worthiness. Tithes and offerings are one of those rare instances in scripture where the Lord actually commands us to prove him. How many other places in scripture do we receive this charge? I haven't done a search, but I can't think of any. Normally it is the Lord proving us, but in this instance it's different.

Personally, I believe the crux of faith in paying offerings is not whether we trust the bishop, but whether we trust the Lord. And I believe the key to making consecration work is not trust in man, but a complete detachment from material things. Men and women who successfully had all things in common were more concerned about their reward in heaven than their reward on earth. It is instructive that the event immediately proceeding the end of consecration in 4th Nephi society was "the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world."

My advice: forget the bishop. Forget whose mortgage gets paid (yes, I've seen it happen). Prove the Lord by donating generously, and you will be rewarded either on earth or in heaven.

MikeWaters · 12-10-2008, 01:27 PM

I think dealing with $ is probably the worst part in being a Bishop.

ute4ever · 12-10-2008, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tex

My advice: Prove the Lord by donating generously, and you will be rewarded either on earth or in heaven.

Plagarist.

12-10-2008, 01:10 PM	#1
Tex Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 8,596	On paying fast offerings With tithing settlement going on at this time, I wanted to comment on a thought about the disbursement of fast offerings. I have often heard it said that trusting the bishop is key to being at peace with how fast offering funds are allocated. I even had a missionary companion who insisted this was the secret to making the law of consecration work: trust in the bishop. I want to respectfully disagree. It ought to be completely irrelevant who the bishop is, or how he allocates donated funds. (I'm speaking spiritually, not academically here.) How I pay my fast offerings is a completely separate and distinct spiritual issue from how those funds are then disbursed, and with good reason. Are we to think that if we have a bishop with whom we disagree, or (let's say for argument) who may even be untrustworthy, that the Lord will excuse us for staying our hands? How I pay my offerings is completely between me and the Lord. The only place the church intervenes in that relationship is for temple recommend worthiness. Tithes and offerings are one of those rare instances in scripture where the Lord actually commands us to prove him. How many other places in scripture do we receive this charge? I haven't done a search, but I can't think of any. Normally it is the Lord proving us, but in this instance it's different. Personally, I believe the crux of faith in paying offerings is not whether we trust the bishop, but whether we trust the Lord. And I believe the key to making consecration work is not trust in man, but a complete detachment from material things. Men and women who successfully had all things in common were more concerned about their reward in heaven than their reward on earth. It is instructive that the event immediately proceeding the end of consecration in 4th Nephi society was "the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world." My advice: forget the bishop. Forget whose mortgage gets paid (yes, I've seen it happen). Prove the Lord by donating generously, and you will be rewarded either on earth or in heaven. __________________ "Have we been commanded not to call a prophet an insular racist? Link?" "And yes, [2010] is a very good year to be a Democrat. Perhaps the best year in decades ..." - Cali Coug "Oh dear, granny, what a long tail our puss has got." - Brigham Young

12-10-2008, 01:27 PM	#2
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,367	I think dealing with $ is probably the worst part in being a Bishop.