Oct 2013 General Conference: ELDER DAVID A. BEDNAR

The Windows of Heaven

ELDER DAVID A. BEDNAR

I always love General Conference. I try to listen to it over and over as I clean during the six month between conferences. This last conference, I really felt like there was a lot that I needed to learn and pay attention to. In order to be sure I am learning the most and getting to know the what the Lord wants me to know from these talks, I plan to write about each talk every week on my blog. This will help me sort through what I must be doing and changing. I do not plan to go in any particular order. I am going to start with Elder Bednar's talk because I felt like his message was the one most directed to me and my family.

Elder Bednar begins by stating that he is going to talk about two significant t blessings of tithing. First:

Significant but Subtle Blessings

Elder Bednar tells a story about his mother in law. "For decades she has accounted conscientiously for the family income and expenditures using very simple ledgers. The information she has collected over the years is comprehensive and informative." Just before conference started I prayed to know what I needed to change about our finances. This isn't often addressed in conference and I did not expect to be answered. I was answered the first session. I felt so much gratitude and awe that my very personal question was answered so thoroughly. I know that John and I are very frugal. Often we have kept careful accounts. However, out of frustration over our bills and spending money, we really haven't kept close track for years. It is time to do it again. I know this is the answer to help us meet our financial goals.

Elder Bednar continues the story by illustrating how his mother in law noticed the blessing of low health care costs for the family and tied this to tithing assisting the family financially. I think as I keep better records of our spending, I will see those little blessings better.  Elder Bednar says, "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. Such blessings can be discerned only if we are both spiritually attentive and observant (see 1 Corinthians 2:14)."

The subtle blessing of tithing Elder Bednar shares are:

• The blessing of gratitude: "A grateful person is rich in contentment. An ungrateful person suffers in the poverty of endless discontentment."
• Enhanced Discernment: "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."
  

The Simplicity of the Lord's Way

"The basic financial program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—for both income and disbursement—is defined in sections 119 and 120 of the Doctrine and Covenants." Talking about how the church takes care of tithing funds, Elder Bednar says that the funds are taken care of by the Presiding Bishopric and the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. The church uses two basic principles. First, the church never spends what it does not have and second the church always puts away a sum for unexpected needs. I think it would be good if John and I could figure out how to make these two principles work better for our personal finances. 

I know this talk was the answer to my prayer and I know what I need to do to change and receive the financial blessings we need to keep our house in better order.