Members of the choir, thank you so very much for that beautiful witness of our Lord and Savior.

While in South America recently, Brother Roger Parra from Venezuela shared the following experience with me:

“In 2019, Venezuela was shaken by problems that caused a power blackout for five days. Chaos and anarchy reigned in the streets and many desperate people did not have sufficient food.

Some began looting food businesses, destroying everything in their path.

As the owner of a small bakery, I was very worried about our business.

As a family, we decided to give away all the food in our bakery to people in need. Through one very dark night, riots were everywhere. My only concern was for the safety of my beloved wife and children. At dawn, I went to our bakery.

Sadly, every nearby food business had been destroyed by looters.

But to my great astonishment, our bakery was intact. Nothing had been destroyed. I humbly thanked my Heavenly Father.

Arriving home, I told my family of God's blessing and protection.

They were all so grateful.

My oldest son, Rogelio, only 12 years old, said, ’Papa! I know why our store was protected. You and Mama always pay your tithes.’”

Brother Parra concluded: “The words of Malachi came into my mind.

’I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,

and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground.′

We knelt down and gratefully thanked our Heavenly Father for His miracle.”

All that we have and all that we are comes from God.

As disciples of Christ, we willingly share with those around us. With all the Lord gives to us, He has asked us to return to Him and His kingdom on Earth ten percent of our increase.

He has promised us that as we are honest in our tithes,

He will “open ... the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

He has promised us that He will protect us from evil.

These promises are so certain the Lord declares,

“Prove me now herewith,” a phrase found nowhere else in the scriptures.

The windows of heaven open in many ways.

Some are temporal, but many are spiritual.

Some are subtle and easy to overlook. Trust in the Lord's timing.

The blessings always come.

We sorrow with those who struggle to have the necessities of life.

The Church recently donated 54 million US dollars to provide relief to vulnerable children and mothers across the world.

And with the offerings from your monthly fast,

our good bishops help thousands each week who temporarily need food on their tables, clothes on their backs, and shelter over their heads.

The only permanent solution to the poverty of this world is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul warned that the wisdom of men understands the things of men, but has difficulty understanding the things of God.

The world speaks of tithing in terms of our money,

but the sacred law of tithing is principally a matter of our faith.

Being honest in our tithes

is one way we show our willingness to put the Lord first in our lives above our own cares and interest.

I promise you that as you trust in the Lord,

the blessings of heaven will follow.

Jesus said to give “unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God, the things that are God’s.”

The resurrected Savior asked the Nephites to write into their record His promises found in Malachi.

In our day, the Lord reconfirmed the divine law of tithing, declaring,

“This shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.

And ... [they] shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually;

and this shall be a standing law unto them forever.”

The Lord clearly directed how tithing should be dispersed, saying, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,” meaning bring the tithes into His restored kingdom, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He directed that the use of these sacred tithes would be prayerfully considered by a council of the First Presidency,

the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Presiding Bishopric, “and by mine own voice unto them, saith the Lord.”

These sacred funds do not belong to the leaders of the Church.

They belong to the Lord. His servants are painstakingly aware of the sacred nature of their stewardship.

President Gordon B. Hinckley recounted this childhood experience:

“When I was a boy, I raised a question with my father ... concerning the expenditure of Church funds.

He reminded me that mine is the God- given obligation to pay my tithes and offerings. When I do so, [my father said,] that which I give is no longer mine.

It belongs to the Lord to whom I consecrate it.” His father added,

“What the authorities of the Church do with it need not concern you, [Gordon.]

They are answerable to the Lord, who will require an accounting at their hands.” Close quote.

We deeply feel the weight of being “answerable to the Lord.”

From the generous tithes and offerings you have consecrated to the Lord,

last year more than 1 billion US dollars were used to bless those in need.

In our momentous responsibility to take the restored gospel across the world,

we have more than 71,000 missionaries serving in 414 missions.

Because of your tithes and offerings,

missionaries, regardless of their family financial situation,

are able to serve. Temples are being built across the world in unprecedented numbers. Currently, 177 temples are in operation,

59 are currently under construction or renovation, and 79 more are in planning and design.

Your tithes are allowing the blessings of the temple to be in places only the Lord could foresee. There are more than 30,000 congregations housed in thousands of chapels and other facilities in 195 countries and territories.

Because of your faithful tithes,

the Church is being established in faraway places you may never visit

among righteous Saints you may never know.

The Church currently sponsors five institutions of higher learning.

These serve more than 145,000 students. One hundred and ten thousand classes are being taught each week in our seminaries and institutes.

These blessings and so many more come in large measure from the young and old of every economic circumstance who pay an honest tithe.

The spiritual power of the divine law of tithing is not measured by the amount of money contributed, for both the prosperous and the poor are commanded by the Lord to contribute ten percent of their income.

The power comes from placing our trust in the Lord.

The added abundance of the Lord conveyed through your generous tithes

has strengthened the reserves of the Church, providing opportunities to advance the Lord's work beyond anything we have yet experienced. All is known by the Lord,

and in time we will see all His sacred purposes fulfilled.

The blessings of tithing come in many ways.

In 1998, I accompanied then- Elder Henry B. Eyring to a large church meeting in the Utah area now known as Silicon Slopes,

a community of great innovation in technology.

It was a time of growing prosperity,

and Elder Eyring cautioned

the Saints about comparing what they had with others and wanting more.

I will always remember his promise that as they paid an honest tithe,

their desire for more material possessions would diminish.

Within two years, the technology bubble burst.

Many lost their jobs and companies struggled during this time of financial adjustment. Those who followed the counsel of President Eyring were blessed.

His promise reminded me of another experience.

I met 12-year-old Charlotte Hlimi near Carcassonne, France, in 1990, while serving as a mission president.

The Hlimis were a faithful family living in an apartment with eight children.

They had a picture of the Savior and of the prophet on the wall.

In the interview for her patriarchal blessing,

I asked Charlotte if she paid an honest tithe.

She responded, “Yes, President Andersen.

My mother has taught me that there are temporal blessings and spiritual blessings that come from paying our tithing.

My mother taught me that if we always pay our tithing,

we will want for nothing. And President Anderson, we want for nothing.”

In giving me permission to share her story, Charlotte, now 45 and sealed in the temple, commented, “My testimony of tithing was very real at the time,

and it's even stronger now. I am deeply grateful for this commandment.

As I live it, I continue to be abundantly blessed.”

One day each of us will finish our earthly journey.

Twenty-five years ago, just days before my mother-in-law, Martha Williams, died of cancer, she received a small check in the mail.

She immediately asked my wife, Kathy, for her checkbook to pay her tithing.

As her mother was so weakened that she could scarcely write,

Kathy asked if she could write the check for her.

Her mother responded, “No, Kathy, I want to do it myself.”

And then she quietly added, “I want to be right before the Lord.”

One of the final things Kathy did for her mother was to hand her tithing envelope to her bishop.

My brothers and sisters, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is out of obscurity, bringing remarkable blessings across the Earth.

There will be those who cheer us forward and those who do not.

I have thought of the words of the wise Gamaliel, who, upon hearing of the miracles of the apostles Peter and John,

warned the council in Jerusalem, “Let [these men] alone:

for if ... this work be of men, it will come to nought; But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it;

lest ... ye be found even to fight against God.”

You and I are part of God's important work upon the earth.

It will not come to nought, but will continue to move across the world, preparing the way for the Savior's return.

I testify to the words of President Russell M. Nelson:

“In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between

now and the time He returns ..., He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.” This is my witness.

Jesus is the Christ. This is His holy work.

He will come again. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.