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cakelady wrote:
have you considered that maybe your decision to pay the lesser amount of tithing was itself inspired? your income has suddenly and unexpectedly decreased, and you just so happen to have come to a conclusion which will ease your financial burdens? if you believe God’s hand is at work, it seems to me He blessed you with a new understanding of tithing, just in time to help you through your financial difficulty.
I like that change of direction, cakelady. That’s an interesting way to look at it, and very plausible.I tend to lean towards your earlier statements:
cakelady wrote:i’m realizing more and more just how “hands off” God is in this earth life.
I think it was likely to happen independently, but that there are opportunities to think through what it means to us and what we want to do in light of the events that happen around us. In such moments, our character can be developed and displayed.
Quote:Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
…and wasps sting us all!
I haven’t been stung by a wasp for years, and when I have, I’ve been near foliage or trees etc. Anyway, the real punishment is that I’ve generally been enjoying church recently and missing it made for a duller Sunday. I did go yesterday though, and enjoyed it.
cakelady wrote:i know this is kind of an old topic, but…
For me this is still a fresh, current topic. So thanks for posting under it….
Quote:I thought i’d add something that hasn’t been said yet. first off, let me say that i absolutely do not believe that what happened was a punishment from God. Honestly, i’m realizing more and more just how “hands off” God is in this earth life. but, i know everyone doesn’t share my beliefs, and if you are inclined to believe God is more directly involved, then here’s another perspective. have you considered that maybe your decision to pay the lesser amount of tithing was itself inspired? your income has suddenly and unexpectedly decreased, and you just so happen to have come to a conclusion which will ease your financial burdens? if you believe God’s hand is at work, it seems to me He blessed you with a new understanding of tithing, just in time to help you through your financial difficulty.
This is definitely a comfortable interpretation. I’ve thought the same thing. I have a true believing Mormon friend in another country, far away, who of course told me that I’m shutting myself out of the elect of God group who will have exhaltation some day by doing this. He can’t phathom my thinking, but it seems right to me now. When I told him that the “pay the Lord first” commandment seems to eclipse the self-reliance requirement, and how does he reconcile this, he didn’t really have an answer. i didn’t leave the conversation satisfied….
On another track….when I think of the lost income, and then know that it’s largely replaced by my decision to redefine what a full tithe means to me, it helps. By the way, I made the decision to redefine my tithing BEFORE losing the income in my part-time job — so it’s not after-the-fact justification. The fact that I lost the income so fast after making the heartfelt decision to redefine its meaning made me wonder if it’s divine punishment. When I think of the cause of this, after doing a root cause analysis, I believe that the character of the person who fired me has as much to do with this as anything. One of my co-workers decribed him as “a scary person to work with”…”has a hard outlook on life”…etcetera.
I’ve also been burning the candle at both ends for 3 years and and its taken its toll on my health. I feel at peace knowing I can still meet my obligations in spite of losing my part-time job….provided I define tithing as I have recently.
Right now, my overpowering desire is for this whole thing to just be clear to me. How utterly mysterious God has made our life here on earth. There are times when I wonder if all that’s really required is a good honest heart toward other people….hard work. caring for others etcetera, and all this ordinance/sacrifce/priesthood holding, moving, etcetera is the invention of men. Blessed by God, but only one of a number of paths that are acceptable to Him.
SilentDawning wrote:There are times when I wonder if all that’s really required is a good honest heart toward other people….hard work. caring for others etcetera, and all this ordinance/sacrifce/priesthood holding, moving, etcetera is the invention of men. Blessed by God, but only one of a number of paths that are acceptable to Him.
im leaning more and more toward this way of thinking. especially when it comes to the idea of needing to do saving ordinances for the dead….when its physically impossible to know of everyone who’s ever lived and died on the planet. the ordinances, tithing, the priesthood, they all seem to be more about comforting the living then anything else. and the thought of needing essentially “passwords” to get into heaven, well that just doesn’t make any sense at all to me. i’m chalking it up to human ideas.
SilentDawning wrote:There are times when I wonder if all that’s really required is a good honest heart toward other people….hard work. caring for others etcetera, and all this ordinance/sacrifce/priesthood holding, moving, etcetera is the invention of men. Blessed by God, but only one of a number of paths that are acceptable to Him.
SD, a good scriptural account of this principle is how the Lord worked with the brother of Jared. The important thing was a journey needed to happen, to get the people to the promised land.The boats were just tools in the journey.
How the boats would work, or have light to support life, could be done a number of ways.
The Lord lets Mahonri Moriancumer choose one way (crystal stones touched by God’s power and light), and God reaches His finger through the veil to oblige and bless that choice.
And that is one way you can get to the promised land. Obviously, other groups did it differently, and the Lord blessed their “ways” also. In the end, it was the journey, and how the individuals learned along the journey that mattered, not the details.
I think this way about the Temple Ceremony, and possible sources Joseph Smith might have used to come up with it. And if it was blessed by the Lord, than that is fine for me. As CakeLady put it:
cakelady wrote:i’m chalking it up to human ideas.
And I think in many cases…they’re pretty good ideas and can help me feel close to God, as long as I don’t get caught up in the literal teachings that I fail to benefit from the symbolic and spiritual meanings that they are meant to convey.
I really like that, Heber. I’m sure I will be using it in the future. In fact, I am speaking in a branch on Sunday about magnifying our callings through being in tune with the Holy Ghost, and I probably will use it in that talk.
I highly doubt it. Do not look for meaning good or bad in natural events. Things just happen. You will live a healthier life not living in fear trying to explain every twist and turn in your life.
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