5/17/2018 - Section 97:10-28

May 17, 2018

Section 97:10-28

Tithing of Increase & Time?, Temple & What It Offers Us, Blessings Fall Upon Our Children,

V 10 speaks about building the temple “by the tithing of my people”.  And then in v 11 he uses the words tithing and sacrifice almost as one: “Behold, this is the tithing and the sacrifice which I, the Lord, require at their hands…” This really struck me. I was talking with Bob the other day—I had this curiosity and had started wondering—probably because of being on a mission and having most of our time totally dedicated to the Lord-- if we paid a “tithing of our time” what would that be. My thought was that if I have, let’s say 50 years, of time as a relatively healthy, rational adult (that’s 20 to 70 years of age) then 5 years donated to the Lord would be a tithing of my time. I had always wanted to serve a mission for each one of our children, because I know that missions bless not just those we serve, but also our families…and our family’s families. We’ve already realized that we don’t think we’ll have non-dementia’d brains for 6 missions. But two missions will give us 3 years of my idea of tithing of our time. I certainly understand that this is not required….but wouldn’t it be a truly wonderful gift of service to give to the Lord?

Verses 11-14 give the purposes of the temple—and the Lord states purposes I have not thought of as I have served and worked in the temple: 1) a place of thanksgiving; 2) a place of instruction (and specifically for instruction in doing those things we have been called to do); 3) a place that will give us an understanding of our ministry in theory, in principle and in doctrine & in all things pertaining to God’s kingdom on earth will be conferred upon us. John Widtsoe said: “Temple work….gives a wonderful opportunity for keeping alive o9ur spiritual knowledge and strength….I am better able to value and to weigh, duties of my life, so that the little things shall not oppress me or take away my vision of the great things that God has Given us.” Apr 1922 gen conf

I love to put v 8 and 16 together. Verse 8 tells us how we should approach our time in the temple (and hopefully our time out of the temple): with hearts that are honest, and are broken, and spirits contrite—willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice—yea every sacrifice with I, the Lord shall command—and they are accepted of me. And then v 16: “and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God.” I have said before, I feel no need to “see God” for I KNOW of his reality, and I FEEL of his reality. But as I ready this, could that verse mean something like ‘see/recognize/understand God’s plan and our path within that plan’?

At the end of this section, the Lord makes great promises to us: “if she observe to do ALL things whatsoever I have commanded her”. If we can make our way down that path, our promise is found in v 25: “And I will bless her with blessing, and multiply a mulitiplicity of blessings upon her, and upon her generations forever and ever, saith the Lord your God. Amen.”