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Here is my assigned talk for this coming Sunday
Quote:“God’s blessings are greater than the treasures of the earth”
Scripture references are
D&C 19 v26-27, v34-41
See page 37 of Come Follow Me manual (Feb 22-28).
While I am grateful for a positive topic in these dismal times, I must admit that the scriptures listed give a different impression from the title topic. It think it verges into tithing. I pay my tithing but find it hard to get excited about it. I will probably discuss more general areas.
I need to get started on this today!
Any help gratefully received. Due to lockdown blues my mind is working slower than usual. Thank you friends!
Hi, You could go the “Money Can’t By Happiness” route, or perhaps focus on Christ’s teachings about money from the NT (the tax collector incident, “rending unto Caesar” story, “Widow’s Mite” story etc.). There is also contrasting earthy happiness (symbolized by money) vs heavenly happiness….
Those are just some of thoughts that came to mind.
That’s a toughie. Too “prosperity gospel” oriented for my liking. I’d probably be inclined to go with a very Christ centered talk about how through the Savior (Saviour in your case 
From the online Come Follow Me Manual,
Quote:Doctrine and Covenants 19, the revelation admonished Martin, “Thou shalt not covet thine own property, but impart it freely to the printing of the book of Mormon.” On August 25, 1829, he mortgaged his property to Grandin as payment for the publication. His neighbors were amazed that their sensible friend would “abandon the cultivation of one of the best farms in the neighborhood” to underwrite the publication.
Initially, Martin hoped to redeem his mortgaged farm by selling copies of the Book of Mormon. In January, Joseph Smith signed an agreement with Martin, giving him “equal privilege” to sell copies of the Book of Mormon until he had fully recouped the cost of printing. He began selling the book as soon as it was available in March 1830. Unfortunately, sales did not go as well as he had hoped.
Joseph Smith reportedly spotted a distraught Martin Harris late in March 1830 near Palmyra. According to Joseph Knight, Martin was carrying several copies of the Book of Mormon. He said, “The Books will not sell for no Body wants them,” and told Joseph, “I Want a Commandment.” Joseph’s reply referred Martin to the previous revelation: “Fulfill what you have got.” “But I must have a commandment,” repeated Martin.
He received no further commandment. However, in compliance with the earlier revelation, Martin eventually sold enough of his property to pay the debt. By so doing, he secured his place as the most significant financial supporter of the Book of Mormon and thus the early Church. None among Joseph Smith’s younger and poorer friends could have provided this critical contribution.
Ouch! Poor Martin Harris lost a good chunk of his family farm in the deal. This was the same farm that he had inherited from his father.
DarkJedi wrote:
That’s a toughie. Too “prosperity gospel” oriented for my liking. I’d probably be inclined to go with a very Christ centered talk about how through the Savior (Saviour in your case
I’m planning on heading down this route.
Also I need to try and tread carefully around politics. We’re heading into wholescale worldwide economic collapse because of recent events, so I would like to say people need to get back to basics (rather than waiting.for governments and corporations to make horrific decisions for them). The food supply chain is also weakened by harvesting problems etc.
I know that sounds negative, but I aim to make this a positive talk.
AmyJ wrote:
Hi,You could go the “Money Can’t By Happiness” route, or perhaps focus on Christ’s teachings about money from the NT (the tax collector incident, “rending unto Caesar” story, “Widow’s Mite” story etc.). There is also contrasting earthy happiness (symbolized by money) vs heavenly happiness….
Those are just some of thoughts that came to mind.
I’m going to work on something broad and positive. My main worry is this turns into a “give us tithing” talk.
I will be praising our church’s opposition to gambling, discouragement of debt and addiction recovery programs, which I think are all good things.
Roy wrote:
Ouch! Poor Martin Harris lost a good chunk of his family farm in the deal. This was the same farm that he had inherited from his father.
I feel sorry for Martin. In another time and place, the Book of Mormon could have been a big seller.
I was interested in the idea Mrs Harris (Lucy? I forget.) may have been responsible for taking the 116 pages.
Worth a read for more context: https://bycommonconsent.com/2015/12/31/financing-the-book-of-mormon/ nibbler wrote:
Worth a read for more context:https://bycommonconsent.com/2015/12/31/financing-the-book-of-mormon/
Looks like MH defaulted on the mortgage and lost 150 acres of his farm. MH inherited 150 acres from his father. I cannot be sure that the these are exactly the same acres but if I felt that I had lost/squandered the land that my father had passed down to me then I too might have been “distraught.”
MH separated from his wife Lucy in part because of the loss of the farm. She was not a supporter of the nascent Mormon movement and it is thought that she burned the 116 pages in order to put an end to the movement (or at least her husband’s involvement). I am sure she felt that her financial security was at risk. Lucy Harris died about 6 years after the publication and about 5 years after the loss of the farm.
MH was destitute in 1870 after a string of different interactions with different Mormon offshoots and he came to live with some relatives in Utah for the final few years of his life.
Hi SamBee, Ramblings follow…
if it were my assignment, here’s what I would do (but there are many other perfectly valid ways to do it, so do what you like best):
– I’d stay away from money versus treasures in heaven. I would not take the “treasures of the earth” to mean wealth, but rather the pursuit of comfort, ease, entertainment as our highest priority. (Otherwise, the message only applies to those who have money).
– I would not use D&C or MH stories. Most bishops would expect you to use those as thought-provoking references to get you started, but I also think most would be OK with members using related, but different sources, as long as the message is the same (and if they aren’t as OK with it, so what? They aren’t going to hit the trap-door button, during a talk.)
– Me? I’d start with the Sermon on the Plain (and I use the NRSV here, for clarity), which is a more earth-bound version of the Sermon on the Mount. In it, Jesus is reported to have said such things as “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” And, unlike the Sermon on the Mount (same talk, different reporter), in the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus is said to have pronounced opposing ‘woes’: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.” I would use this as a springboard to talk about focusing on doing good and being good and giving the pursuit of earthly ‘comfort, ease, and entertainment’ a back seat compared to loving our neighbors, being a peacemaker, and treating others the way we hope they treat us. Nothing wrong with pursuing the good things in life, but too often, those who do sacrifice some of themselves in doing it; and when they reach the end of their life, they might look back on the times when they laughed and they might weep with regret. The Sermon on the plain goes on to this:
Quote:But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
I would note that the vibe is very this-worldly. “Your reward will be great”, “blessed are those who are hungry now, for you will be filled”. He doesn’t say, ‘in the next life’. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God”… But he also says in Luke 17:21, “The kingdom of God is among you (or within you)” (JST: “The kingdom of God has already come unto you”). These are all this-world declarations.
So, how do we find ourselves in the this-worldly Kingdom of God? By letting go of the this-worldly “treasures” (trappings). By becoming something on the inside that is not defined by our earthly status, nor by strict obedience to commandments to satisfy requirements, but by being the kind of people that Jesus was teaching about. By being “merciful” like our Father, etc, etc, etc.
Bottom line: my version of this talk would be about what makes for a good life, which has nothing to do with (material wealth,) comfort, ease, or entertainment. But I wouldn’t equate a ‘good life’ with paying tithing, following the prophet, keeping the WoW, instead, I’d equate it with being kind when it’s difficult, on being a peacemaker, on forgiving and loving others… The inner-self that matches what we think of when we think of good people we know.
Quote:“God’s blessings are greater than the treasures of the earth”
I recently watched an episode of Steven Spielberg’s “Into the West.” It is set during the 1849 California Gold rush. A good man with a family is driven to make his fortune in gold. When his brother visits unexpectedly, he is welcomed into this venture. They soon strike it rich with an immense nugget that reminded of the approximate size and weight of the golden plates. Anyway, just as JS was once tempted by what could be purchased by that much gold – the brothers start to speculate. “What will you do with your half?” says the visiting brother. “My half?” responds the man, “It is my claim and my gold. Because you are family I will give you a share of 15% but no more.” The brothers agree on a percentage but sometime in the night the brother absconds with the huge nugget. The man gives chase even when the brother uses a canoe to escape down a rushing river. A scuffle ensues and both are drowned in the unforgiving rapids.
“Buddha teaches that the greatest wealth is contentment (santutthi paramam dhanam). Buddhism draws attention to the fact that the single-minded pursuit of material wealth cannot make human beings happy”
Quote:“The greatest wealth is to live content with little.”
― Plato
Quote:New Living Translation 1 Tim 6:6
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
This fictionalized story from Into the West has a fairly stark LDS parallel in Samuel Brannan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Brannan#:~:text=Samuel%20Brannan%20 Samuel had led a group of LDS settlers west by ship to California and became one of the early settlers of San Francisco.
He had tried to get BY to continue west to California as a veritable land of milk and honey. He was disappointed that BY Chose to settle in the comparative wasteland of the Salt Lake Valley. As the only church leader, Samuel was paid tithes by church members in the area of California. Over time, Samuel’s relationship with the church became strained. Wikipedia reports:
Quote:like many other Mormons at this time, found his focus had turned from LDS Church affairs to monetary gains.
Quote:The action Brannan took as a leader of the Vigilantes in 1851 was heavily frowned upon by the Mormons.[11] On August 25, 1851 he was disfellowshiped from the LDS Church for “a general course of unchristianlike conduct, neglect of duty, and for combining with lawless assemblies to commit murder and other crimes.”[12]
Despite making multiple fortunes over the course of his life and being known in history as the first Gold Rush millionaire…
Quote:he died without leaving enough money to pay for his own funeral.[1]:241–242 Brannan died at age 70 in Escondido, California, Sunday, May 5, 1889, from inflammation of the bowels.[15] Brannan’s body lay unclaimed in the San Diego County receiving vault for over a year until it was recognized by chance. He was given a Christian burial though and for many years, only a stake marked his grave.[2]:249–250
I would focus on God’s blessings in my life. I would pick a couple of orthodox ones and a few unorthodox ones – and use traditional Mormonese. Thanks folks. I will read these in more detail soon. I agree with On Own Now, I am not going to be talking much about physical wealth, especially at a time when many people don’t know if they’ll have a job next year. (Although most people have their heads in the sand about the economic situation.)
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