Today I read Doctrine and Covenants section 111, which was given because Joseph Smith and several others had gone to Salem, Massachusetts for the purpose of finding money to pay off their debts. According to the introduction to the revelation along with the revelation itself, there was indeed wealth to be found in Salem but it was not the material wealth they were hoping for. This section got me thinking about tithing and the church's debt problems it had before all its members started paying a full tithe.
It's very true that the Lord's ways are not our ways but in every case I can think of, the Lord's way is better. Yes, from our mortal perspective the Lord's way can sometimes seem harsh, but the Lord always has our best interest at heart. The Lord has no need at all of our money. The Lord created the heavens and the earth and could create all the gold He wanted to if, if that was His method. However, it is not His method, His method is to bless the lives of His servants, us, and then allow us to grow by helping those around us who need it.
As we have discussed previously, the goal of all of us in coming here is to become more like our Father in Heaven. Our Heavenly Father is more concerned with others than He is Himself. While I am sure He could say the word and our very nature would change, it would not be nearly as effective as us making the conscious choice to change and help those around us. The Lord has said that there is more than enough wealth in the world to care for all His children. But it is of course not evenly distributed among those children. The reason behind that is because His children need to grow and overcome their trials.
There are two types of trials involving money that people need to overcome, not having any, or facing all the hardships from not having enough money to meet ones needs and all that can come of it. The second, and perhaps harder trial, is having a lot of money. We know the Lord will not do anything that is not for our benefit and every trial in this life is a chance for us to grow. Far too many people suffer from the love of money in this life and all that comes with it.
Think of all the people that would do just about anything for money. People sell their dignity, their integrity, even their very souls, just for money. It's completely ridiculous and are media is full of examples of people who do it everyday, both real and imagined. And sometimes it's not even a lot of money. There's a movie called the Family Man and a store clerk purposefully gives a girl back too much change in the movie to see what she will do. And the girl doesn't say anything, she just takes the money and leaves. The store clerk shakes his head and laments that the girl sold her integrity for only $9. How often do we sell our integrity, to save a few dollars? Do we notify the clerk if we are given too much change? Do we argue and haggle with companies that we have entered into agreements with just to save a few dollars that deep down we know we owe? Do we pay our debts to everyone?
Money is a HUGE stumbling block to most people. It is hard to overcome the desire to have a lot of money and live a comfortable life because we all want to be able to provide for ourselves and our loved ones. But as hard as not having any money can be, having lots and lots of money is even harder for most people. For some reason, when most people get a lot of money, they become cold hearted and are even less inclined to spend the money they have amassed. Which I have never understood. What is the point of having a lot of money if you don't use it? I can understand that not everyone wants to use their money to help others. I don't agree with it, but I can understand it. But the people who when they get a lot of money, don't use it appropriately, or at all just blow my mind. I don't understand the idea of hoarding the money. Now, setting some aside for a rainy day makes perfect sense to me, but not paying off your debts because you want to get more money? I can't understand that.
The purpose of having a lot of money is to get out of debt and then bless the lives of others. That is the Lord's plan. I hope we can all overcome the trial of money and if we happen to be blessed with wealth that we will use it appropriately and use it to bless the lives of others so that we can be an instrument in the Lord's hands. Until tomorrow.
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