Malachi 3 and Tithing

Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

“John the Baptist did this very thing in the meridian of time, but it remained for Joseph Smith to perform the glorious work in our day. He is the latter-day messenger who was sent to restore the gospel, which itself prepares a people for the return of the Lord” (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [1985], 629).

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

“Often as we teach and testify about the law of tithing, we emphasize the immediate, dramatic, and readily recognizable temporal blessings that we receive. And surely such blessings do occur. Yet some of the diverse blessings we obtain as we are obedient to this commandment are significant but subtle. …

“Sometimes we may ask God for success, and He gives us physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience, or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace. He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence as we strive to achieve worthy goals. And when we plead for relief from physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties, He may increase our resolve and resilience.

“I promise that as you and I observe and keep the law of tithing, indeed the windows of heaven will be opened and spiritual and temporal blessings will be poured out such that there shall not be room enough to receive them (see Malachi 3:10)” (“The Windows of Heaven,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 17–18).

Malachi 4 and Family History Work

Joseph Smith said:

“Now, the word turn here should be translated bind, or seal” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 472).

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency:

“Many of your ancestors died never having the chance to accept the gospel and to receive the blessings and promises you have received. …

“… There are more temples across the earth than there have ever been. More people in all the world have felt the Spirit of Elijah move them to record the identities and facts of their ancestors’ lives. There are more resources to search out your ancestors than there have ever been in the history of the world. The Lord has poured out knowledge about how to make that information available worldwide through technology that a few years ago would have seemed a miracle. …

“… When you were baptized, your ancestors looked down on you with hope. Perhaps after centuries, they rejoiced to see one of their descendants make a covenant to find them and to offer them freedom. In your reunion, you will see in their eyes either gratitude or terrible disappointment. Their hearts are bound to you. Their hope is in your hands. You will have more than your own strength as you choose to labor on to find them” (“Hearts Bound Together,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2005, 77, 79–80).

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

“Elijah restored the sealing powers whereby ordinances that were sealed on earth were also sealed in heaven. That would affect all priesthood ordinances but was particularly important for the sealing of families down through the generations of time, for without that link no family ties would exist in the eternities, and indeed the family of man would have been left in eternity with ‘neither root [ancestors] nor branch [descendants]’ [Malachi 4:1].

“Inasmuch as such a sealed, united, celestially saved family of God is the ultimate purpose of mortality, any failure here would have been a curse indeed, rendering the entire plan of salvation ‘utterly wasted’ [D&C 2:3]” (Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon [1997], 297–98).

Pride and Savior's on Mount Zion-Obadiah

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency:

“Pride is the great sin of self-elevation. …

“… It leads some to revel in their own perceived self-worth, accomplishments, talents, wealth, or position. They count these blessings as evidence of being ‘chosen,’ ‘superior,’ or ‘more righteous’ than others. …

“For others, pride turns to envy: they look bitterly at those who have better positions, more talents, or greater possessions than they do. They seek to hurt, diminish, and tear down others in a misguided and unworthy attempt at self-elevation. When those they envy stumble or suffer, they secretly cheer” (“Pride and the Priesthood,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 56).

Prophet Joseph Smith:

“But how are they to become saviors on Mount Zion? By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts, and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations and sealing powers upon their heads, in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead, and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 473).

Jonah and the Whale

President James E. Faust of the First Presidency:

“Many of us backslide, many stumble, and I believe firmly in the gospel of the second chance. But the gospel of the second chance means that having once been found weak, … thereafter we become steadfast” (“Stand Up and Be Counted,” Ensign, Feb. 1982, 71).

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency:

“When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following:

“Stop it!

“It’s that simple. We simply have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children. …

“Because we all depend on the mercy of God, how can we deny to others any measure of the grace we so desperately desire for ourselves? …

“The pure love of Christ can remove the scales of resentment and wrath from our eyes, allowing us to see others the way our Heavenly Father sees us: as flawed and imperfect mortals who have potential and worth far beyond our capacity to imagine. Because God loves us so much, we too must love and forgive each other” (“The Merciful Obtain Mercy,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012, 75–76).

Second Coming

Sister Patricia T. Holland, the wife of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and formerly of the Young Women general presidency:

“Recently we experienced the worst windstorm Bountiful [in Utah] has seen in several decades. … Just as I was hearing news reports of semi trucks—twenty of them—being blown over on the roadside, I looked out my lovely back window down toward our creek and saw one of our large trees go down with a crash. …

“For a moment, I confess, I was truly fearful. It was very early in the morning, and Jeff was just leaving for the office. I said to him, ‘Do you think this is the end? Is it all over—or about to be?’”

“My husband, who has deep faith and endless optimism, took me in his arms and said, ‘No, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if it were? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Christ really did come and his children really were ready for him? Wouldn’t it be terrific if evil was finally conquered, once and for all, and the Savior of the world came down in the midst of the New Jerusalem to wipe away every tear from every eye? Yes,’ my husband said, ‘in lots of ways I wish it were the end, but it’s not. It is just a stiff windstorm in Bountiful. We have got more work to do’” (A Quiet Heart, 129–30).

Joel 1:14-15 Power of Temple Work

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“Do you young people want a sure way to eliminate the influence of the adversary in your life? Immerse yourself in searching for your ancestors, prepare their names for the sacred vicarious ordinances available in the temple, and then go to the temple to stand as proxy for them to receive the ordinances of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. As you grow older, you will be able to participate in receiving the other ordinances as well. I can think of no greater protection from the influence of the adversary in your life” (“The Joy of Redeeming the Dead,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 94).

Amos 3:7

Ezra Taft Benson

Excerpts from “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet”

(Address given Tuesday, February 26, 1980 at Brigham Young University)

First: The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.

Second: The living prophet is more vital to us than the Standard Works.

Third: The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.

Fourth: The prophet will never lead the Church astray.

Fifth: The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or diplomas to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.

Sixth: The prophet does not have to say “Thus saith the Lord” to give us scripture.

Seventh: The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.

Eighth: The Prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.

Ninth: The prophet can receive revelation on any matter—temporal or spiritual.

Tenth: The prophet may well advise on civic matters.

Eleventh: The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.

Twelfth: The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.

Thirteenth: The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency—The highest quorum in the Church.

Fourteenth: The prophet and the presidency—the living prophet and the First Presidency—follow them and be blessed—reject them and suffer.

The Word of Wisdom

In 1919 Creed Haymond was a runner representing his college in an annual track meet involving 1,700 men. The night before the meet, Creed’s coach said, “Creed, I’m having the boys take a little sherry wine tonight. I want you to have some, just a little of course.”

“I won’t do it, Coach.”

“But, Creed, I’m not trying to get you to drink. I know what you Mormons believe. I’m giving you this as a tonic [refresher].”

Creed responded, “It wouldn’t do me any good; I can’t take it.”

His coach said, “Remember, Creed, you’re captain of the team and our best point winner; fourteen thousand students are looking to you personally to win this meet. If you fail us we’ll lose. I ought to know what is good for you.”

Creed believed in the greatness of his coach and knew that the other coaches felt a little wine was useful when men have trained muscles and nerves almost to the snapping point. He deeply wanted to give his best efforts for his team, but he looked his coach in the eye and said, “I won’t take it, Coach.”

The coach replied, “You’re a funny fellow, Creed. You won’t take tea at the training table. You have ideas of your own. Well, I’m going to let you do as you please.”

Creed was left in a state of extreme anxiety. He worried what he could say to his coach if he performed poorly the next day. He was going against the fastest men in the world. Nothing less than his best would do. His stubbornness might lose the meet for his college. His teammates were doing as they were told. They believed in their coach. What right had he to disobey? Only one reason: he had believed all his life in the Word of Wisdom. He knelt and earnestly asked the Lord to give him a testimony regarding the source of the revelation he had believed and obeyed. He then went to sleep.

The next morning, all the boys on the team except Creed were sick. Creed’s coach was unsure why. Creed suggested, “Maybe it’s the tonic you gave them.”

“Maybe so,” answered the coach.

As the events of the track meet got under way, it was plain that something was wrong with Creed’s team. In event after event, his teammates performed well below what was expected of them. One teammate was even too sick to participate in his event.

Then the 100-yard (91-meter) dash was announced; it and the 220-yard (201-meter) dash were Creed’s races.

The starter shot the pistol for the 100-yard dash, and every man started running except Creed. The earth gave way under his foot because of a hole made by a previous runner, and Creed came down on his knee behind the starting line. He got up and ran his hardest. At 60 yards he was last in the race. He then began passing other runners, and at the last moment he swept past the leader to win the race.

Through a mistake in planning, the finals of the 220-yard dash came five minutes after the last heat of the semifinals in which Creed had just run. Creed had already run in three races that day, but he would not be allowed any more time to rest.

This time Creed shot from his marks and soon sprinted away from the crowd of runners. Creed was the first across the finish line with a time of 21 seconds, the fastest time the 220-yard dash had ever been run by any human being.

As Creed Haymond was going to bed that night, the question he asked the night before about the divinity of the Word of Wisdom came back into his mind. Events of the previous day passed before his mind: his teammates’ decisions to take the wine and their failure in their events, and his decision to abstain from the wine and his victories. As he lay in bed contemplating, he received the assurance he had sought about the Word of Wisdom being from God. (Adapted from Joseph J. Cannon, “Speed and the Spirit,” Improvement Era, Oct. 1928, 1001–7.)

Elder David R. Stone of the Seventy:

“Let us clearly understand the pressures that the four young men were under. They had been carried away as captives by a conquering power and were in the household of a king who held the power of life or death over them. And yet Daniel and his brothers refused to do that which they believed to be wrong” (“Zion in the Midst of Babylon,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2006, 92).

President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

“I have come to know … that a fundamental purpose of the Word of Wisdom has to do with revelation. …

“If someone ‘under the influence’ can hardly listen to plain talk, how can they respond to spiritual promptings that touch their most delicate feelings?

“As valuable as the Word of Wisdom is as a law of health, it may be much more valuable to you spiritually than it is physically” (“Prayers and Answers,” Ensign, Nov. 1979, 20).

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught about not defiling our physical bodies:

“When we understand our nature and our purpose on earth, and that our bodies are physical temples of God, we will realize that it is sacrilege to let anything enter the body that might defile it” (“The Magnificence of Man,” Ensign, Jan. 1988, 68).