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FAMILY HOME EVENING ON THE LAW OF TITHING

(Based on Elder Earl C. Tingey Of the Presidency of the Seventy's talk.)

(Preparation: Buy a little notebook for each of your children to record on a weekly basis, their income and expenses. Include in their notebooks tithing envelopes, savings envelopes for their missions and education, and spending envelopes. Give this to them at the end of the lesson and show them how to use it.) (Make the scripture Scramble game poster by enlarging the print to 50, and printing it out, or copying onto a poster board.) (Assign members of the family to be the story tellers)(Get a box and put velvet or satin or nice wrapping paper on the outside and use it for your question box, print out the question strips from the lesson to place inside the box. This can be used over in other family home evenings.)(Get the gold coin chocolate candies to use for practice and refreshments)

LESSON

1. Opening song:

I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

2. Prayer: Assigned

3. Read, "Our children, as soon as they become old enough to earn means, should be taught to pay their tithing, that their names may be written in the book of the law of the Lord". (President Joseph F. Smith)

4. Learn poem: What is tithing?

I will tell you every time.
Ten cents from a dollar
And a penny from a dime.

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5. Have each family member take a scripture and fill in the blanks and read them out loud.

SCRIPTURE SCRAMBLE GAME

The doctrine of paying tithing is woven like a tapestry throughout the scriptures. Abraham paid

tithing to Melchizedek.

^{1.(Gen. 14:20) The children -- ------ were taught to bring their ------ to the Lord.}

^{2.(Deut. 12:6)"Will a man --- God? Yet ye have ------ me. But ye say, Wherein have we ------ thee? In ------ and ---------.}

^{3. (Mal. 3:8,10) "Bring ye all the tithes into the ----------, that there may be ---- in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the ---- of -----, if I will not open you the ------- of ------, and pour you out a --------, that there shall not be ---- enough to receive it."}

^{The amount of tithing we pay is the most perfect and equitable arrangement, It is one-tenth of our increase. All, from the poorest to the richest, pay the same percentage. Christ taught that principle in the story of the widow's mite: (Mark 12:41-44)}

^{"And ----- sat over against the --------, and beheld how the ------ cast money into the --------: and many that were}

^{---- cast in much.}

^{"And there came a certain ---- -----, and she threw in two -----, which make a farthing.}

^{"And he called unto him his ---------, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor ----- hath cast ---- in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:}

^{"For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her ---- did cast in --- that she had, even all her ------."}

^{4. QUESTION BOX}

^{Have a question box that each member takes a question out and reads out loud to the family.}

^{(Question strips) (can be printed out and cut ahead of time and placed into the box)}

^{By paying our tithing the eternal purposes of the Lord are carried out.}

^{______________________________________________________________________________}

^{How can we prove ourselves worthy for privileges, ordinances, and blessings? (Hint: It has to do with the lesson!)}

^{______________________________________________________________________________}

^{What law is a great exercise in faith? (Hint: It has to do with the lesson!)}

^{______________________________________________________________________________}

^{If you are too poor and don't make money, how can you still be a full tithe payer?}

⁽Joseph F. Smith once said that his mother paid "tithes of her sheep and cattle, the tenth pound of her butter, her tenth chicken, the tenth of her eggs, the tenth pig, the tenth calf, the tenth colt--a tenth of everything she raised.

^{Elder Tingey said that he was once teaching the law of tithing to a group of Church leaders in Africa who felt they were too poor to pay tithing. One brother said he had a small garden and raised geese. Elder Tingey asked, "What do the geese do?" He replied, "They lay eggs." He responded, "What if one morning you discovered 10 geese eggs in the nests of your geese?" A light flickered on in his soul. "I could take one egg and give it to my branch president," he answered. He understood, and he could become a full-tithe payer.}

^{______________________________________________________________________________}

^{______________________________________________________________________________}

^{What comes to you when you pay tithing?}

^{(A special peace that will surpass all understanding) (fears concerning your finances will diminish and you will come to know that Heavenly Father loves you.)}

^{______________________________________________________________________________}

^{5. STORY TIME}

^{1st story assigned:}

^{I was recently in Independence, Missouri, and felt a need to drive an hour north to Far West. The Latter-day Saints settled Far West in 1836 as a place of refuge from persecution. Far West became the county seat, with an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 inhabitants. It was the headquarters of the Church for a season. My own ancestors lived there.}

^{As I arrived at Far West and looked about, all I could see was rolling farmlands. There was no city, no roads or buildings. There was only a peaceful, grassy temple site containing four cornerstones, surrounded by a modest fence.}

^{In 1838 the Saints were driven from Far West. Joseph Smith and others were arrested and taken to the nearby Liberty Jail. There they languished under the most horrible conditions imaginable for six months. My own ancestors suffered terribly in Far West and almost lost their lives.}

^{As I stood in Far West and visualized what it once was, I opened my scriptures and read section 119 of the Doctrine and Covenants. This revelation was given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Far West on 8 July 1838, in the midst of these persecutions:}

^{"And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.}

^{"And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord."}

^{I thought to myself that the law of tithing could not have been received by the members of the Church at a less opportune time than then. But they received it, and the members commenced living this new law at a time when they were losing their possessions and, in some cases, their lives. As I visited Far West, I gained a spiritual testimony of the law of tithing that was stronger and deeper than I had ever before felt. Earl C. Tingey}

^{2nd story assigned:}

^{Joseph F. Smith's mother was known as "Widow Smith." She was the widow of Hyrum Smith, who was martyred with the Prophet Joseph. She once rebuked the tithing clerk who stated that because of her poverty, she should not have to pay her tithing. She said: " 'Would you deny me a blessing? If I did not pay my tithing, I should expect the Lord to withhold his blessings from me. I pay my tithing, not only because it is a law of God, but because I expect a blessing by doing it. By keeping this and other laws, I expect to prosper, and to be able to provide for my family.' "}

^{Did she prosper? Her son and grandson became presidents of the Church, and her descendants today include a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and many notable Church leaders.( Earl C. Tingey)}