Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, said Yahweh to Israel.  Thousands of years later, paying one-tenth of one’s increase continues to be the standard in my Church, a law both temporal and spiritual.  Temporal to help the poor, and to build schools and churches and temples.  Spiritual to show faith and obedience, spiritual to turn outward to others, spiritual to be sanctified through sacrifice.  Tithing and other offerings are used for Church buildings and programs, for Church institutions of higher education and missionary work, to help the poor, and to provide humanitarian assistance worldwide.  Every December, members of our Church are invited to meet with the local church leader, the Bishop, for a Tithing Settlement, where we discuss in private our tithe-paying status.  Mom and Dad put their names on the sign-up sheet for after Sunday services.  I followed the unconventional step of asking if I could join in their appointment, though we tithe our incomes separately and privately.  The Bishop thanked us for our offerings and reiterated Jehovah’s promise that for those who give to the Church, God will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing upon us that we will not have room to receive.  Our vessels will be full to overflowing.  We consider ourselves greatly blessed.  And we are grateful.

(Photo from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)