I love the name of the talk this first quote came from, "Tithing, a Commandment Even for the Destitute." I think it should have been titled, "Especially for the Destitute." I see the Lord's hand in so many things these last few months when our cupboard has been "bare." The garnishments of Don's wages, the foreclosure on the house. Yet, each pay period tithing comes out of his check first. I, on the other hand, have a harder time, yet I am striving to pay my tithing also. It isn't as "easy" as it is with Don's check. His comes out by bill pay. We set it up & don't have to worry about it. My savings account doesn't have that option.
"...the truer measure of sacrifice isn't so much what one gives to sacrifice as what one sacrifices to give. Faith isn't tested so much when the cupboard is full as when it is bare. In these defining moments, the crisis doesn't create one's characterit reveals it."
--Lynn G. Robbins, "Tithing, a Commandment Even for the Destitute," Ensign, May 2005, 34
This next story is something I should've had 34 years ago when I started working in the Missionary Department in the Church Office Building. I had a very hard time with the "human-ness" of the General Authorities.
"May I offer counsel of a general nature, first with comments about General Authorities. We recognize them as instruments in the hand of the Lord, yet realize that they are ordinary human beings. They require haircuts, laundry services, and occasional reminders just like anyone else. President [Ezra Taft] Benson once shared with us a story to illustrate. He said:
" 'Orson F. Whitney . . . was a great man to concentrate. One day when he was traveling by train, he was so preoccupied that he did not notice the train pass the station where he was to get off. So he had to [be driven] back to where he should have been. Meanwhile the stake president waited and waited. . . . Finally when he decided that something had more than likely happened to Brother Whitney and he was not going to make it, they commenced the meeting. As Elder Whitney approached, he was greeted by the opening hymn, which was "Ye Simple Souls Who Stray." '
"We honor such a man because of his extraordinary calling. His official acts are valid on earth and in heaven."
--Russell M. Nelson, "Honoring the Priesthood," Ensign, May 1993, 40
