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Choosing Honesty: A Lesson from Tithing
My beloved brothers and sisters, I would like to share with you how tithing has helped me develop and strengthen the gift of honesty in my life.
Paying a full and honest tithe has been a blessing in my life, not just spiritually or financially but in shaping the kind of person I strive to be.
Through consistent and faithful tithing, I have learned to be more honest with the Lord and in my dealings with others. It has helped me develop honesty, and this has made people trust me.
There have been moments in my life when I was faced with choices that tested my honesty. In many of these situations, it would have been very easy to take the easier, dishonest path where I likely could have gotten away with it and also benefited. But choosing to be honest always made me feel happy and at peace. It made me feel right with the Lord. And it made people trust me.
And every time I made the choice to be honest, my desire to live honestly became even stronger.
Another example of honesty that has strengthened my testimony is my sister Jennifer. I have watched her treat the law of tithing with great reverence. Every time she earns an income, she goes to the bishop’s office and fills out a slip to pay her tithing. She never takes it lightly.
I believe this habit helped prepare her for her mission. As a missionary, she was known for doing things the right way. Even though she faced challenges and sometimes felt misunderstood—which is something many of us experience when we always try to do the right thing—she nevertheless remained focused and true. Her example has strengthened my own resolve.
I also want to say that living with honesty and integrity can seem very hard and not worth it, especially when the world today seems to reward sycophancy, manipulation, corruption, and cleverness. But let us remember that the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us a better way. As stated in the thirteenth Article of Faith, “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men”.
I know that tithing is one way the Lord teaches us to be honest, and not just in one area of life but in all things.