UH – 005 – Security in an Insecure World

What is security? Is it predictability? Is it stuff? Predictable stuff? An omniscient knowledge of what will happen tomorrow?

We can have predictability without security. Stuff is just stuff. It can help us or hinder us. It can become a burden if it collects and is not shared. Stuff is not security. Therefore, predictable stuff isn't security, either? And none of us have an omniscient knowledge of what will happen tomorrow.

So in a world of unanswered questions and too many possible outcomes, how do we obtain security?

Of course real security comes through our relationship with our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. To know that we can be forgiven of our sins and obtain eternal life – a life with Heavenly Father – is spiritual security. But what about temporal security?

Forgiveness does not feed us. Atonement does not clothe us. Mercy does not shelter us. Or does it? Can it? Will it?

Consider this:

D&C 130: 20-21

20 There is a ^alaw, irrevocably decreed in ^bheaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all ^cblessings are predicated—

21 And when we obtain any ^ablessing from God, it is by ^bobedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

So if we wish t enjoy the blessing of temporal security (knowing we will always have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food in our mouths) we must obey the laws upon which those blessings are predicated. Some of those laws are honesty, hard work, industry, preparation, gratitude, and thrift.

Honesty, hard work, industry, preparation, gratitude, and thrift can take us a long way. These are character traits we can develop in ourselves. They are very good traits to have. Unfortunately, these traits hold no sway over the powers of nature nor the forces of men. While we may be honest there are those who are not. What buffers us from the choices and actions of others? If we would like the blessing of protection from forces beyond our control, what laws do we need to follow?

First, : D&C 29: 34-35

34 Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a ^alaw which was ^btemporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.

35 Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an ^aagent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my ^bcommandments are ^cspiritual; they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal nor sensual.

Every law God gives, although it may seem temporal, is actually spiritual in nature. What temporal-seeming laws have we been given to help us both temporally and spiritually? The laws of the Tithe and of the Sabbath.

The Law of the Tithe

Malachi chapter 3 is a lovely place to start:

8 ¶ ^aWill a man ^brob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In ^ctithes and offerings.

9 Ye are ^acursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

10 Bring ye all the ^atithes into the storehouse, that there may be ^bmeat in mine house, and ^cprove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not ^dopen you the ^ewindows of heaven, and pour you out a ^fblessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11 And I will ^arebuke the ^bdevourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

“…. prove me now herewith... if I will not open you the windows of heaven...” Doesn't this sound like God is daring us to try it out? To see if he won't? The presumption, of course, being that he always will. God always keeps his side of the bargain.

Prov. 3: 7-10

7 ¶ Be not ^awise in thine own eyes: ^bfear the Lord, and depart from evil.

8 It shall be ^ahealth to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

9 ^aHonour the Lord with thy ^bsubstance, and with the ^cfirstfruits of all thine increase:

10 So shall thy barns be filled with ^aplenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

So if we pay our tithing (one tenth of all our increase) we will be blessed. We will always have the necessities of life. We may not know how they will come, but they will always be there. In addition to the financial blessings, there are many blessings from tithing that have nothing to do with money (but in the end could save us a lot of money). “... health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones...”

I have noticed that when we pay our tithing, no matter how “broke” we are, our money goes farther. Our gratitude is greater and our wants are lessened. We are happier with what we have. We have an easier time finding bargains. We get sick less. Our animals stay healthy (which keeps down the vet bills). Things are sometimes really tight, but we always have a place to live, groceries in the house, and clothing to wear. In fact, the more “broke” we are, the more determined we are to pay tithing. Some would say “I cannot afford to pay tithing.” Our experience has taught us that “We cannot afford to not pay tithing.”

And that's not all! Wait! There's MORE blessings!

D&C 64: 23-25

23 Behold, now it is called ^atoday until the ^bcoming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of ^csacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is ^dtithed shall not be ^eburned at his coming.

24 For after today cometh the ^aburning—this is speaking after the manner of the Lord—for verily I say, tomorrow all the ^bproud and they that do wickedly shall be as ^cstubble; and I will burn them up, for I am the Lord of Hosts; and I will not ^dspare any that remain in ^eBabylon.

25 Wherefore, if ye believe me, ye will labor while it is called ^atoday.

D&C 85:3

3 … that he may ^dtithe his people, to prepare them against the day of ^evengeance and burning, … [and] have their ^fnames enrolled with the people of God.

Rebuking the devourer, health, plenty, spiritual strength, all nations calling me blessed? All this and peace for only 10%??? Sounds like a deal to me! (100% of what I have is God's anyway...) Do I really want that measly 10% more than I want the blessings? Do I love that 10% more than I love my God? Will I be obedient to Him even with it's difficult?

The Law of the Sabbath

From the “Bible Dictionary” at the back of my King James Bible (LDS version):

The importance of a sacred day for man to rest from his temporal labors, contemplate the world of the Lord, and assemble for public worship is a major item in person’s spiritual development. Furthermore, decay in the national religious life always follows any tendency toward carelessness in the matter of Sabbath observance. The existence of a weekly holy day is a most important safeguard; it leaves a constant reminder to the individual of his need for spiritual sustenance and his duty before God, and serves as a witness to the world that there is such a thing as revealed religion.

The change from observing the last day of the week to the first day of the week is not so important as is the concept and principle of the Sabbath. In either case, the Sabbath was symbolic of the mighty works of God, i.e., the creation of the earth, the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

For other references to the Sabbath see 2 Kgs. 4: 23; 2 Kgs. 11: 5-7; Isa. 1: 13; Isa. 58: 13; Jer. 17: 20-27; Ezek. 20: 12-13, 16; Hosea 2: 11; Amos 8: 5; Matt. 12: 1-13; Mark 2: 23-28; Mark 3: 1-5; Luke 6: 1-10; Luke 13: 11-16; Luke 14: 1-5; John 5: 18; John 7: 21-24; Rom. 14: 5-6; Gal. 4: 10; Col. 2: 16. Acts 20: 7; 1 Cor. 16: 2; Rev. 1: 10 Neh. 10: 31; Neh. 13: 15-22

Ex. 20: 8-11

8 Remember the ^asabbath day, to keep it ^bholy.

9 ^aSix days shalt thou ^blabour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy ^astranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in ^asix days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord ^bblessed the sabbath day, and ^challowed it.

If we take God's laws seriously, we will not work on the Sabbath day. We will treat it as a tithe of our time. (There are 168 hours in a week. Hmmm... the amount of time we're awake on Sunday... wouldn't that be close to 16 hours if we sleep 8 hours every night?)

If we take God's laws seriously, we will not require others to work on Sunday, either. If not even our animals are supposed to work, then why would we ask/require/expect one of God's children to work at the restaurant, the grocery store, the amusement park?

How does God feel when we break the Sabbath Day?

Amos 8: 4-10

4 ¶ Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the ^asabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ^bephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the ^cbalances by deceit?

6 That we may ^abuy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

7 The Lord hath sworn by the ^aexcellency of Jacob, Surely I will never ^bforget any of their works.

8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one ^amourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall ^bbe cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the ^asun to go down at noon, and I will ^bdarken the ^cearth in the clear day:

10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into ^alamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and ^bbaldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an ^conly son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.

Mark 2: 27-28

27 And he said unto them, The ^asabbath was made for man, and not man for the ^bsabbath:

28 Therefore the ^aSon of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

So we see the importance of the Sabbath. One tenth of our time to praise God and do His works. One tenth of our time to commemorate the tender mercies of the Lord. One tenth of our time to commemorate the miracle of the Atonement. One tenth of our time to commemorate the resurrection of Christ and therefore of us all.

I have six days every week to go out. I have six days every week to fart around on the internet. I have six days every week to grocery shop, get my hair cut, go swimming, socialize, earn money, and entertain myself. Is it really too much to give only one tenth of my time to the Lord? Isn't it HIS time anyway? Do I not breathe at His mercy?

Is it too much to give one tenth of my time to the Lord? Is it too much to spend one tenth of my week going to church, spending time with my family, enjoying the company of friends, learning about the gospel, writing letters to friends or shut-ins or missionaries, or even simply resting from my labors and being still so I may know that He is God?

Do not all these things have their inherent blessings? Is it not a blessing to simply have a rest? Is it not a blessing to slow down and enjoy my family? Is it not a blessing to get to go to church and learn about my Father? Is it not a blessing to socialize with like-minded people? Is it not a blessing to sing in the choir? Is it not a blessing to have time set aside to write to my friends? Is it not a blessing to have time already set aside for fasting and prayer?

Our Heavenly Father is so kind and loving that he wants to give us even more than what has been mentioned so far...

D&C 59: 9-19

9 And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself ^aunspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of ^bprayer and offer up thy ^csacraments upon my ^dholy day;

10 For verily this is a ^aday appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;

11 Nevertheless thy ^avows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times;

12 But remember that on this, the ^aLord’s day, thou shalt offer thine ^boblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, ^cconfessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.

13 And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy ^afasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy ^bjoy may be full.

14 Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer.

15 And inasmuch as ye do these things with ^athanksgiving, with ^bcheerful ^chearts and countenances, not with ^dmuch ^elaughter, for this is sin, but with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance— [meaning we are to be cheerful but not to be irreverent in our laughter and to remember to be respectful of sacred things]

16 Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the ^afulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;

17 Yea, and the herb, and the ^agood things which come of the earth, whether for food or for ^braiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;

18 Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the ^abenefit and the ^buse of man, both to please the eye and to ^cgladden the heart;

19 Yea, for ^afood and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to ^bstrengthen the body and to enliven the soul.

What amazing blessings our Father wishes to give us. Is not this interdependence on God true security? To have sacred covenants (two-way promises) truly can bring us peace and joy.

Tithe as a Covenant + Observe the Sabbath as a Covenant = Joy, Peace, Prosperity, Bodily Strength, Enlivened Soul

Is it worth 10% of what already belongs to the Lord to get it?