Avoid Debt

Today I read Doctrine and Covenants section 104. This section was about the United Order and the Lord directing the temporal affairs of the church at the time to best provide for those in need and to make sure that the Saints were all taken care of. The part of this section that stood out to me was actually a part at the very end where God tells the Saints to avoid debt and that the Saints should pay all their debts.

Earlier in this section the Lord states that they are to be agents unto themselves. I got to thinking about the counsel the Lord gives to pay our debts and why that is so important. We are taught as Latter-day Saints that we should avoid anything thing, person or activity that limits our agency and takes away our ability to act for ourselves. We usually think of things that do this as sin such as drugs, alcohol or pornography. However it occurs to me that being in debt will also take away and limit our agency in just as deadly a fashion.

When we are in debt, we are giving away our agency to use our money that we earn as we see fit. The scriptures state that we should be anxiously involved in a good cause and that we should use our excess money to bless the lives of the poor and those in need of our assistance. However, if we are in debt, we do not have excess of money because it is already assigned and allotted. And the things we put ourselves into debt for our just silly. A bigger TV when our current one is just fine and just as serviceable. A new car when our old one is still working and will get us safely from point A to point B. We have bought into the culture of credit cards as a society and we are reaping the rewards of our folly for doing so.

In our day, our leaders, the prophets and apostles we all sustained and agreed to listen to their counsel, have cautioned us to avoid going into debt except in purchasing a MODEST home that meets our needs, an education and a modest car. Many have followed this counsel and they are better off for it. Recently, back in October 2010, President Henry B. Eyring counseled us that if we are able to, we should pay off our house. My in-laws recently were able to do just this and I am so happy for them that they followed the counsel of a modern day prophet and apostle. I know they will be blessed for it. I know when I was paying a mortgage before my wife and I moved into an apartment that met our needs just fine but was significantly smaller than our home, I couldn't help think month over month just what all that money I paid to the bank for the privilege to live int hat house could do in blessing the lives of those around me.

We are counseled to get out of debt because in this day and age, we live in a time where the economy can literally crash within 5 minutes and millions of people will find themselves without work. If such a thing happened today, would you be able to accept a minimum wage job to provide for your family? Would such a job provide for all your needs? For most of us the answer is a resounding no. But for my in-laws, it would. Things would be tight, but it would provide for all their needs because they do not have a house or car payment. They have been wise stewards indeed. When we live within our means, the Lord is pleased. When we live within our means and use our excess to bless the lives of His children, the Lord takes note and we will find that we have been storing blessings for ourselves in the world to come.

As we mentioned, being in debt is just as limiting to our agency as is an addiction. And for some, being in debt is just as addictive as drugs. Some people just like to buy things and are constantly buying things they don't need, or if they thought about it, don't really even want either. When my wife and I moved to our apartment, because it was so much smaller, it really forced us to examine our possessions and decide what was truly important. There were several things that we gave, or threw away because we found that we did not actually need it and that while it might make our lives more comfortable, there just wasn't room for it.

I hope you will all follow the counsel of our leaders that we each raised our hands to the square saying we would sustain and listen to their counsel and avoid debt and if you are in debt, that you will work to get out of debt. It is just as damning as pornography and just as deadly as alcohol. We are meant to be tools in the hand of the Savior in doing good in this life and that requires money. We cannot be a tool in His hand if we have already sold ourselves to another for that which moth doth corrupt. Avoid debt just as you avoid sin and you will find great opportunities for service in this life. Until tomorrow.