General Conference From the Past: “Anonymous”

Posted on March 2, 2007 by Nola Redd

In April of 1983, Elder Thomas S. Monson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a wonderful talk entitled “Anonymous.” In it, he expressed the joys of giving solely to give, of doing good for the sake of goodness. He particularly cites the happiness that comes with anonymous works of righteousness. Throughout the scriptures, Christ did many miracles. At various points, He asked those healed to “tell no man”. Sometimes they obeyed; sometimes they did not. Either way, Christ did not do His miracles to impress or to convert. He did not do them to be lifted up and … Continue reading →

Tithing: Does God Really Expect Me to Give Ten Percent?

Posted on February 6, 2007 by

My husband was sitting with a coworker, Kevin, discussing faith. Kevin was an atheist who borrowed concepts from several world religions, my husband, Josh, a committed Christian. Kevin said something like, “Did you know the Bible teaches that Christians should give ten percent of what they make to their church? Can you imagine what would happen if people actually did that?” He was incredulous. “Yes, I can believe it,” Josh replied, “Our family tithes.” It’s interesting to contemplate a non-Christian’s view of giving such a substantial amount of money to a church. What becomes discouraging is realizing that a very … Continue reading →

Giving One-Hundred Percent

Posted on January 31, 2007 by Melissa J

We got nothing less from Jesus Christ as He became a sacrifice for us. God could have saved us any way He wanted but chose to save us by brutal sacrifice on a cross. Why? I don’t know for sure. I do believe God knows exactly what it feels like to be man. He understands temptation, injustice, and pain. He understands the value we have in life itself. Our sin was so great, only God Himself could have saved us. 1 Colossians 2:9-10, “For in Him dwell all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, … Continue reading →

The $10.00 Club – Giving Away Goes a Long Way.

Posted on January 24, 2007 by Michelle Vandepas

Over the last few days I posted a blog about giving away your money, and another with a few tips on how to do so. Today I am going to share one way some friends and I got together to give away only $10.00 per month – and how it helped a bunch of local organizations. Here was the premise: Everyone spends $10.00 that month. No more or less, We each budgeted $10.00 We choose a local organization that needed our help and/or supplies. The organization provided a short presentation about their cause to us when accepting our donations. This … Continue reading →

More Tips on Giving Away your Cash

Posted on January 23, 2007 by Michelle Vandepas

In my last post I talked about giving away a bit of your cash. Start with a small amount, but do it every month and watch your horizons expand. The principles of giving can be found in every spiritual practice from Christian tithing to Hindi Seva (giving of yourself). Why is giving encouraged? Giving does more for you than for the person receiving, although of course it helps the person in need as well. It helps build our inner strength, character, stretches our compassion, helps us live outside of our selfish selves. In other words, giving is good for us. … Continue reading →

Finances and Giving

Posted on December 19, 2006 by Melissa J

Admittedly, I am not the best person to be giving advice about giving and finances; so I’m not going there. There does seem to be a supernatural impact in giving though whether by our time or with money. I remember years ago when my husband and I were starting out. We were poor. We prided ourselves in not getting over our heads into debt, but did find ourselves charging our rent a couple times to make due. He was working 40 hours a week and I about 30. We were just beginning to understand what leaning on God for our … Continue reading →

The BMK Fund

Posted on December 15, 2006 by Courtney Mroch

In 1999, a dear friend of mine gave me a set of books that forever changed my life. They were Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy and Something More. Because of these books, I learned how to appreciate my life anew. And I learned of new ways in which to bring harmony to my life, like with feng shui. One of feng shui’s tenets is that respecting natural resources is essential for inviting in good chi (life energy). For instance, water represents wealth. Ignoring even the slightest drip sucks away chi as well as literally … Continue reading →

Devotions of Giving

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Lisa Kennedy

In my previous entry in the “Devotions” series I wrote about desires that Christians should have such as a desire for God’s Word. One I did not mention in that article, although very important, is that a Christian should have a desire to give. First off, I want to mention a very important point. A devotion on giving would be greatly lacking without the mention of the greatest gift of all: Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. John 3:16 states: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but … Continue reading →

Top Ten Resources for Charitable Giving, Part II

Posted on December 2, 2006 by Sherry Holetzky

Here are seven more excellent resources, continued from Part I. 4. Operation Christmas Child This organization offers you a way to send a gift as well as the message of Jesus to children in need overseas. You simply fill a shoebox with goodies, gifts, supplies, your message, and your gift will be sent. 5. Groups for our Troops Speaking of overseas, please see “Don’t Forget the Troops during the Holidays” for links to three well-regarded groups that help provide care packages to our troops. Please note that packages do take a while to reach distant destinations, so you’ll need to … Continue reading →