Mormon Budget

Posts Tagged ‘mormon’

This warning from a Batman costume is very telling.

Caution: Cape Does Not Enable User To Fly

One cannot simple put on church clothes and expect to be able to perform Priesthood duties with no other thought. It is not a white shirt and a tie that makes a Priesthood holder… it is personal worthiness, sacrifice and service.

I see it so often, even in my own life, where I put on the costume and act the role without giving real thought to the fact that I am acting as a representative of Jesus Christ. We don’t become the powerful priesthood holder by the way we dress or “act”, its through our actions, through choices we make when no one is looking, by consistent obedience and service. For my part, its time to up my game some; tighten up the loose ends in my life and make adjustments here and there to make sure I’m on the right path—and am not simply putting on the costume and acting the part, but being the part.

[Commence introspection here]

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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?

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I changed the scoring mechanism in the Book of Mormon Game yesterday. Its now much easier to play, telling you when you have the right book, and then when guessing the chapter, tells you you need to guess higher or lower until you get it right.
There is a 20 second penalty for each incorrect guess, so it remains competitive for those who really know their stuff, but “playable” for anyone who wants to sharpen their skills and get to know the Book of Mormon better.
Also, the reading tab is going to be updated soon so you can have a place to track your reading and auto-start where you left off.I’m hoping to complete that in the next 2 weeks!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Where is thy faith?

I’ve been studying a lot about faith recently and I’ve discovered a fresh perspective on having Faith in Jesus Christ that I’d like to share.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we should be experts on the subject of faith. We can quote scriptures to describe it, such as:

Hebrews 11:1

“…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Ether 12:6

“…faith is things which are hoped for and not seen…”

Alma 32:21

“faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.”

Joseph Smith, the latter-day prophet described faith as a

“principle of power, the moving cause of all action.”

Another writer in the early 1900s named Napolean Hill who spent 30 years studying the most successful people in America, said,

“Faith is the only agency through which the power of God can be harnessed and used by man” (T&GR)

We are constantly told we need be in possession of this stuff called “faith” and that we should be striving to develop and increase it…, but do we really understand what it is? Why is faith a principle of power, and exactly how do we go about getting it?

The standard primary answers (read the scriptures, pray, attend church) don’t explain why those activities can lead to faith and those activities don’t always lead to increased faith if we don’t understand the principle at work. Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

1 Nephi 17:47-49

"...touch me not, for I am filled with the power of God..."

“Behold, my soul is rent with anguish because of you, and my heart is pained; I fear lest ye shall be cast off forever. Behold, I am full of the Spirit of God, insomuch that my frame has no strength.
And now it came to pass that when I had spoken these words they were angry with me, and were desirous to throw me into the depths of the sea; and as they came forth to lay their hands upon me I spake unto them, saying: In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye touch me not, for I am filled with the power of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall wither even as a dried reed; and he shall be as naught before the power of God, for God shall smite him.
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto them that they should murmur no more against their father; neither should they withhold their labor from me, for God had commanded me that I should build a ship.”

There are a few examples in scripture where being so consumed by the Spirit of God causes people to lose their natural strength. Think of Lehi who after his first vision was so exhausted, he “cast himself upon his bed” (1 Nephi 1:6-7). Think also of they Ammon was teaching King Limhi and when he prayed, the King fell as if he were dead and they even considered burying him (Alma 18:40-42). There are other examples, but suffice it to say that the power of God can have a great effect on a human body. This coupled with the anguish and emotional stress Nephi was feel about his own brothers surely caused him to feel very physically weak. Laman and Lemuel apparently saw this opportunity to overpower him and be rid of his chastisement by drowning him, but Nephi called upon that same power that had weakened him to protect him. While threatening his brethren with sudden death by the power of God should they try to touch him, he commanded them to shape up so they could all ship out (pun intended).

I remember as a Bishop being so worried about some of the members in my congregation for various reasons that I actually felt sick and weak. I admit that at times when praying for them, or in counsel with my counselors about them, I’ve become overcome by the Spirit with concern for them and felt weakened. I’m sure Bishops all over the world have similar experiences. Now I try to think,

“Am I being like Laman and Lemuel?”

“Do I desire to destroy my Bishop by undermining him, mocking or making light of his suggestions?”

“Am I guilty of withholding my labor or murmuring?”

Think about the last candid talk your Bishop gave. I think its pretty rare to hear a Bishop speak on a topic for no reason, just to fill time. Bishop generally speak with purpose, so listen up when they speak. When they speak about the importance of tithing or fast offerings, consider where you stand in those matters. Consider how you can serve others to make their burdens lighter. We know that time is money… so giving of your time can be a hard thing to do. In fact, whenever I go out with the missionaries to a scheduled appointment it feels like we are always stood up — people just aren’t there. I never consider this a waste of my time however, believing that the Lord pays hourly, not on commission. Giving freely of your time, talents and labor is generally a good thing. Lets listen to our leaders pleadings with us. Its unlikely they will threaten us like Nephi had to, but they will chastise, warn, prod and encourage us to do better. Don’t resent it, take it as a blessing that someone is looking out for you and cares enough to correct you before you become like Laman and Lemuel… it happens to too many of us.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

"but time and chance happeneth to them all"

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

The bible dictionary explains that the first verse in this citation is not a doctrinal pronouncement that after death there is nothing –rather, this is a worldly view – people “under the sun” believe that.

This scripture tells us that whatever vocation we choose (whatever we do with our hands) we should do our best, and put our energies into it. It also explains that no matter how smart you may be, how hard or fast your work, no matter how skilled or what brilliant ideas you may have, success comes and goes as a matter of chance. A friend of mine believes that wealth is a blessing of the Lord that is given to certain individuals and not to others, whether you strive for it or not. He explains how some wealthy, with the craziest bumbling ideas you can imagine, seem to make a tidy fortune despite themselves. alternatively, I’m sure we all know others who seems to have brilliant ideas and excellent work ethic, but never quite attain to any financial success – and teeter on the edge of poverty for their whole lives.

I personally agree with this line of thought to the extent that the Lord does bless some of us with wealth and other not. I believe that as we are obedient, more often than not, the Lord does bless us with prosperity, which often manifests itself as financial success, but this is not a hard and fast rule. In the general this applies, but specifically the case may be different, depending on what the Lord has planned for you.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The Book of Mormon Game interface

Today I launched the Book of Mormon Game (http://bookofmormongame.com), a new, completely free, online audio scripture chase game.

It’s a fun and competitive game which reads the Book of Mormon to you from a random place and you have to find where its reading from and race against a timer. Your scores will show along with ward/stake members. This game can help you become more familiar with the Book of Mormon and is a fun way to get in your daily scripture “reading”.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

1 Nephi 17:43

Jerusalem Falls

“And now, after all these things, the time has come that they have become wicked, yea, nearly unto ripeness; and I know not but they are at this day about to be destroyed; for I know that the day must surely come that they must be destroyed, save a few only, who shall be led away into captivity.”

Nephi, writing this at about 591BC, is very close regarding the Babylonian Captivity, which occurred at 586BC – just 5 years later (remember time counts towards 0 on the BC scale). As we can recall, this captivity was the reason Lehi and his family left Jerusalem. Lehi tells us this destruction and captivity was due to the wickedness of the people. Nephi reminds us about this prophecy here. There are some interesting reasons we can review (after the fact) about why the Lord spared Lehi and his family from the captivity and brought them to the promised land in the Americas.

1. The captivity lasted quite a while (until 537BC – a total of 49 years). It wasn’t until Persia overthrew Babylonia that the Jews were given permission to return to Jerusalem. Over this period of time, many of the Jews intermingled with the locals; traditions changed, even the religion changed somewhat. When they returned to Jerusalem almost 50 years later, 2 generations had passed and they had a really hard time restoring things back to the way they were. In fact, things were never quite the same, as much of the traditions evolved while in Babylonian captivity. Lehi’s family were removed from this situation and continued their religious worship unblemished by the captivity.
2. When the captivity happened, many were killed and the rest were taken to Babylon. The Jews did not bring their homes and riches with them. They were captive, not treated quite as a traditional slaves, but they certainly had their wealth taken from them with no promise of that status changing any time soon. Lehi’s family, on the other hand, left their wealth voluntarily, being led towards a promised land. They were not captives; they were free. While there is no doubt they toiled on their journeyings they were never slaves and they all had hope that the promised land was coming.

Lehi’s family, by heeding the commandments of the Lord were spared the great toils of captivity. Even Laman and Lemuel, who pushed back so many times, were spared captivity. We too can be spared many pitfalls in life by heeding the commandments. Many of the things we’ll be spared will be spiritual challenges, but also many things we can be spared from are physical things, enabling us to obtain our promised land in due time.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites