Eric Poulin

Posts Tagged ‘money’

Stephen Palmer, from God’s Laws of Finance sent this link on Sunday. Its a great talk from Brigham Young from 1863, where he talks about tithing and how money affects us. Here’s a snippet:

“I could have made this whole people rich long ago if I had possessed their confidence, as I should, but if I had made them rich, through the blessings of the Lord, I expect it would have destroyed them.”

Have a read through the talk – time really hasn’t changed the way to think about money has it?

1 Nephi 17:45-46

"...he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder..."

“Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.
And ye also know that by the power of his almighty word he can cause the earth that it shall pass away; yea, and ye know that by his word he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and smooth places shall be broken up. O, then, why is it, that ye can be so hard in your hearts?”

Nephi is speaking to his brothers. He and his brothers are Jews, part of the chosen people. We should liken this to the Prophet of our day speaking to us, members of the church. Probably we have not seen an angel, but today, more than ever, we do hear the voice of God and His servants often, through conferences, magazines, scriptures, internet and at church. But, have we become desensitized?

Its interesting to note that thunder is caused by a bolt of lightning. The heat from the lightning forces the air away from the source, then when it is gone, those masses of air rush back together and we hear the CLAP of lightning as these air masses crash into each other from all directions. When the Lord shares His light with us, by speaking to us, hopefully we see the light. But if we don’t notice (are past feeling), the thunder will surely get our attention.

Having the wrong balance when it comes to money is always a curse to our spirituality. If we perceive ourselves as having too little money, this can become an obsession. We look at everything as an opportunity for income, not necessarily for intrinsic value. Service can diminish into jobs, and the constant “worry state” can cause us to ignore or not be able to feel the promptings of the Spirit. If we have a lot of wealth and perceive ourselves as totally self-sufficient, we no longer see a need for God to care for us, since we seem to be doing such a good job “on our own”. If a sentiment like this overtakes us, pursuit of Spiritual things will end, we will not be motivated to serve God and again, the Spirit will not reach our ears as readily.

In both of these scenarios, it is not the amount of money that affects us, but how we perceive our situation about money. If we have a proper balance in our minds, it will change our entire outlook and actions, and can allow us to be receptive to the promptings of the Spirit. If we are “past feeling”, the Lord sometimes will speak to us “like unto the voice of thunder” so He can get through to us. But, if we don’t change our ways one of two things may happen.

1. Like a person who requires strong medication, the body adapts to the medication, and stronger and stronger doses are needed to do the same job. If we ignore or don’t change our thinking and actions, the Lord may speak “like unto the voice of thunder”, then move to earthquakes, and then worse to get our attention. Consider the amount of natural disasters that have been increasing in magnitude and frequency around us. Surely we, as a society, have need to be humbled.
2. He may stop speaking to us altogether. If we are so past feeling, sometimes, by our agency, we no longer want to hear the Lord or His Spirit and He will simply give us that wish. This is truly a tough place because then typically the Lord speaks to others on our behalf to try and help… to get us back. Faithful home teachers, friends, Bishops often fall into this category.

Application of these ideas is not solely fitted to money of course, but I think you can see how it clearly does apply to how we think about money. Let us keep our hearts and minds soft so we do not require the Lord to take drastic measures to communicate with us. Whether rich or poor, keep a balance regarding how you think about money, and in the long term, the Lord will bless you with what you need.

1 Nephi 17:44

“Wherefore, the Lord commanded my father that he should depart into the wilderness; and the Jews also sought to take away his life; yea, and ye also have sought to take away his life; wherefore, ye are murderers in your hearts and ye are like unto them.”

Quick recap:

1. The people in Jerusalem had become wicked and were about to be destroyed because the Lord would not protect them.
2. Laman and Lemuel are like the people in Jerusalem.

Sometimes the bad comes with the good.

But… Laman and Lemuel were not destroyed. Instead, they were given the opportunity to go along with the righteous (kicking and screaming) to the promised land. Sure, they had moments of repentance, but, in the end, always showed their true colors of jealousy, pride and selfishness. They didn’t merit their opportunity. They merited destruction like the rest in Jerusalem. However, because they were related to some righteous people, they were granted something they didn’t deserve. Even if their hearts were in the right place at the beginning, they quickly became “murders in their hearts”, but still managed to ride the coat-tails of the righteous part of Lehi’s family.

How often have you seen this? A righteous wife who is struggling to do her best with a lazy, disobedient or half-hearted husband who just slides by. A husband who is trying to balance his job, calling and role as parent, trying to honor his priesthood, but his wife just doesn’t try to do her part, doesn’t support him, and complains about the time he takes to serve others. A family who has a rebellious son or daughter who pulls the whole family unit down or makes it very difficult to do what’s right. I’m sure you can name examples like this fitting each of these and more scenarios.

The same happens in money related scenarios. Some employees are hard-working and others just do the bare minimum, and do a poor job at it. Sometimes in a marriage, one spouse is trying to balance the budget while the other spends uncontrollably with reckless regard to the family finances.

Why are the less righteous or wicked permitted to do this? Well, father Lehi teaches us that there is “opposition in all things“, which makes part of our testing ground here in mortality. The Book of Mormon also teaches us that the Lord permits the righteous to go through strife, adversity and even death at the hands of the wicked, in order that the wicked may be justly judged. This of course requires an eternal perspective to understand and appreciate.

We know the Lord wishes us to be prosperous as we obey His will. Sometimes our righteous agency will bring the disobedient to prosperity. Sometimes the unrighteous agency of people will bring us to poverty. But, in the grand scheme of things, on a societal basis and not necessarily on an individual basis, the Lord prospers the righteous. Financial safety comes with obedience to the gospel, along with all other attendant (and more important) blessings. Don’t worry about the justice of the disobedient who seems to prosper. They will have their reward. Rather, focus on your obedience, service and love for the Lord and His children, and you will find all your needs met and prosperity more likely to greet you.

Toronto Temple Coin

Thanks to my good friend Gavin who pointed this one out to me.

Highlights from Haggai 1:5-9. (Old Testament, p.1166 in the LDS Edition of the Old Testament)

” …Consider you ways.
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
This saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did low upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.”

This scripture was written shortly after (17-18 years) the Jews return to Jerusalem from the captivity in Babylon.

We know that the common reference to the “mountain of the Lord” means the temple. The Lord was saying through Haggai that although effort was put in to earn wealth and provide for oneself and family, the return just wasn’t quite enough. Where were the blessings of heaven? Why did they struggle? It is revealed here that the temple had to be rebuilt and used.

Most reading this are in relatively close proximity to a temple. Are we using it the way we should? Would Haggai’s words apply to us? Make sure your temple attendence (and worthiness) is not lacking so the Lord doesn’t withhold monetary success from you because of your poor temple attendence. Temple worship is a great, peaceful experience; a way to serve others and the Lord’s purposes. And — as noted here, it can help make sure your are getting enough and more.

Making Money Your Ally by: By W. Steve Albrecht

Exerpts:

“Law 1: Pay an Honest Tithing…

Law 2: Budget Your Expenditures…

Law 3: Save Some Money Every Month…

Law 4: Decrease Your Expectations…

Law 5: Stay Free from Debt…

Law 6: Become Knowledgeable Consumers…

Law 7: Teach Family Members the Importance of Work and Managing Money…

Law 8: Make Wise Investments…

Law 9: Have a Will…

Law 10: Keep Money in Perspective…”

1 Nephi 5:14

“And it came to pass that my father, Lehi, also found upon the plates of brass a genealogy of his fathers; wherefore he knew that he was a descendant of Joseph; yea, even that Joseph who was the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt, and who was preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he might preserve his father, Jacob, and all his household from perishing with famine.”

Can a human soul have a price set to it? We know that Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver, (Jesus similarly is betrayed for 30 pieces of silver). Here Nephi reminds us that we cannot judge the value of a person with money. Joseph went on to save his entire family and all of Egypt from the famine. The Saviour saved the whole world, but his betrayal was judged to be worth only 30 pieces. Read the rest of this entry »

Ezra Taft Benson addressing BYU students about debt.

2008 OCT General Conference – Sat. Morning: Elder L Tom Perry (Let Him Do It With Simplicity):

• Stress and anxiety can be caused by ups and downs of the economy and associated circumstances
• spoke of US housing crisis, rising fuel costs. Future is not predictable, but we must
• Encouraged us to return to a simple life and living within our means to reap the spiritual blessings that come from it.
• Told story of a man who went to live in a rural area for 2 years, not as a hermit, but to live simply to figure out the meaning of life.
  • built his own home and reedom for $28.04. Planted a garden to sell food to sustain himself (made only $8.71).
  • He enjoyed spirutual benefits of a simple lifestyle.
  • He determined that to survive we need 4 things: Food, clothing, shelter and fuel.

Earthly Debts, Heavenly Debts

Exerpts:

“All too often a family’s spending is governed more by their yearning than by their earning. They somehow believe that their life will be better if they surround themselves with an abundance of things. All too often all they are left with is avoidable anxiety and distress”

Contancy Amid Change

“I would like to explain five principles of economic constancy…

Constancy #1: Pay an honest tithing…

Constancy #2: Live on less than you earn…

Constancy #3: Learn to distinguish between needs and wants…

Constancy #4: Develop and live within a budget…

Constancy #5: Be honest in all your financial affairs…”

The order of these suggestons is important. First you keep the commandments, then to change your desires, then you get to the mecahnics of a budget and continue honestly.