Is it hard to live the commandments of God?

A lot of people seem to think that it is much easier to not live the commandments of God, than it is to live them. In the immediate moment, I definitely agree. It is always easier to "go with the flow", at least it is until you hit the rapids, or plunge down the waterfall. But, let's face it, who doesn't have rapids and even waterfalls in their life? Who would travel down a dangerous river completely ignoring the guidance of the seasoned guide? 

Does Obeying the Commandments of God take away my Freedom?

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2009-06-27-the-freedom-to?lang=eng

Some people have had enough of the immature and prideful accusations from people who use religion as a club. Beating upon others, they declare,"You did that. You are bad!", and, "I keep every rule, so I am better than you!" I almost expect next to hear the childish taunt of, "Na, na, Na, na, na", ending with, "I'm going to tell Mommy on you!"  Fed up, some people, understandably, want nothing more to do with the commandments of God.

Being a parent and grandparent has given me an interesting perspective on rules, yes, even commandments. When a child is young you can try and reason with them and try and convince them of the wisdom of doing as you have told them, but it doesn't work.

Family Evenings Together

We’re not sure how it happened. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we tried formal family home evenings. Some went well, and some didn’t. At the same time we were reading scriptures and stories to our children most nights. They loved it and kept asking if it was “reading time” yet. We were amazed!

Gradually, what had begun as family scripture reading, evolved into something much more. We were spending more and more time discussing what the scriptures meant and how to apply them in our lives. We talked about Joseph of Egypt’s  integrity, and forgiveness; Daniel’s keeping the Word of Wisdom; Esther’s courage; Nephi’s faith; Alma the Younger’s repentance and humility; and of course, the example of love and perfection of the Savior. Abraham and Job made us ponder the purpose of trials in life. The Pearl of Great Price provided deeper perspectives into the Plan of Salvation.  The Doctrine and Covenants showed us the way to the Celestial Kingdom.

As we studied the lives of people in both ancient and modern times, we came to better understand the commandments; the joy of keeping them and the  consequences of disobedience.  Our love for the scriptures and for each other grew as we shared our experiences, insights, questions, and testimonies in a safe, informal, environment.   Finally, we realized that we were having family home evenings not just once a week but five to seven times each week! We were simply using the scriptures as our manual.

Help to Get out of Debt

In January of 1999, we came a sobering realization- without overtime money we could not pay our bills!  We rechecked the figures many times, but there was no denying the seriousness of our situation.  We were thousands of dollars in debt, without any savings, or enough regular income to cover our monthly expenses.

We started asking ourselves questions.  Mainly, how did we get into this predicament?  That was easy- we’d been raising several children and there had been many medical bills which even our good health insurance hadn’t covered.  Yes, there had been considerable expenses, but this really didn’t justify our debt.  We took a closer look at our spending habits.  Soon, it became apparent how we became so far in debt.  It really was easy.  We had been basing our financial decisions on emotion.  Our criteria was simply whether one of us “deserved” something, or with our income we “should” be able to afford it, or it was a “sale too good to pass up”.  “Get it if you really need it, but don’t buy it if you don’t really need it”, was our nebulous creed for managing finances.  We each bought what we thought we needed.  We spent money when we had it and charged when we didn’t.  We were amazed that we weren’t even deeper in debt!

Tithing Helps Us Get Out of Debt

We had only been married a few years when we sold our trailer and bought our first home. Though we were thrilled to have a real home, there were many unexpected expenses, and we quickly became overwhelmed by our debt. Consequently, my husband began juggling paying bills. Tithing* was viewed as just another bill and often paid a month or two late when we felt we could afford it.

Soon, to our dismay, we discovered that all we were paying each month was the interest on our debt. We tried everything we could think of to get out of debt, but nothing changed. Finally, we decided to trust the Lord’s promises and pay our tithing first. Though we never fully understood how it happened, several months later we found ourselves out of debt. We were now a humble and grateful young couple who had learned that we would receive help beyond our abilities if we would just keep the Lord’s commandments.

I wrote more about our experience in getting out of debt in this article  https://www.lds.org/ensign/2002/07/climbing-out-of-debt?lang=eng

*As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we covenant to return 10% of  our income to the Lord.
https://www.lds.org/topics/tithing?lang=eng

Tithing Protected Us

We had heard that if you paid your *tithing the windows of heaven would be opened and the devourer would not destroy your fruit, but we never understood what that meant until then. It was 1982 and we were on our way to my parents’ home to spend Christmas with them when a blizzard blew in. After fighting icy roads for a few miles, we decided to turn back. Disappointed, but grateful to be safely home, we called and told my parents that we were unable to come, then checked on the Cambodian family who were staying with us in our basement. We had agreed to sponsor this family of seven, with the help of our community, so that they would not be shot in the refugee camp purges which were occurring at that time.

They seemed fine, but showed us how some lights were not working. My husband checked the circuit, only to discover that some old wiring had come loose and electricity was arcing in our attic. In a short time, there would have been a fire. Stunned, we sat there as the realization came to us that not only could our home and all our possessions have been destroyed if we hadn’t returned home at that moment, but this family of seven might have been killed.  We felt a strong sense that it had been our payment of tithing which had protected us and this family, and we will always be grateful that the Lord kept “the devourer” away.

*As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we covenant to return 10% of  our income to the Lord.
https://www.lds.org/topics/tithing?lang=eng

Blessed by Paying Tithing

In 1972  I was a young coed at Brigham Young University; far from home, and very lonely. My grandparents’ home was only four hours away by bus, and I longed to be with someone I knew, someplace like home. There was only one problem- it cost ten dollars for the ticket. I had ten dollars, but it was my tithing* money. Since I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints two years before, I had conscientiously paid my tithing. Maybe, I could wait a couple of weeks to pay my tithing and visit my Grandparents now. After all, I reasoned, it was good to nurture family relationships, and I was even going to get some family history information from my grandmother. Perhaps, this visit could even count as missionary work since my grandparents weren’t members of The Church. My justified dreams faded  away in the bright knowledge that there was no excuse for not paying my tithing. This money was the Lord’s, not mine.

Cycle Breaker

We left the Oakland Temple, two converts filled with optimism and determination to make a celestial family. A few years later, I was in tears. Where was the loving, unified couple we had hoped to be?  Our two fussy children hardly made us a happy family. What were we doing wrong?

As I saw us repeating old family traditions, I felt trapped. Neither of us had any idea  how to do better. It was then that we began to realize that we couldn’t change by ourselves. No matter how hard we tried, we would simply go in circles and never be free from the mistakes of the past.

We began to see that the power to change came through the atonement. This thought brought us comfort and hope, but we still didn’t know what to do. I know I prayed for my husband and children to change, everyone but myself, and suspect that my husband had similar prayers. I asked for help and nothing happened. I was discouraged.

Faith - Choosing to Believe

April 5, 2016    Faith - Choosing to Believe

Written June 2014 to answer a friend's question.

I agree with you that you have to choose to believe. Some people no matter what experiences they have; no matter what they see, hear, or feel simply refuse to believe. I see the Lord's creations around me and I choose to believe in their creator. I have tried God's commandments and found them good and know they they have enriched my life and brought me and my family great happiness. I choose to believe in the giver of these guides to happiness. I have had many, many personal experiences where the Lord has helped and guided me. I trust my own experiences and choose to believe in a God who loves me. My brother once said to me that if there really was a God, then He should show Himself to him and he would believe.

Here is something to think about from the Book of Mormon - Alma 32:17 to 19
17 Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe.

 18 Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it.

 19 And now, how much more cursed is he that knoweth the will of God and doeth it not, than he that only believeth, or only hath cause to believe, and falleth into transgression?

Questions from a Jew about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Why have member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints felt the need to convert dead Jews?

When a person is Baptized they are making a commitment to keep the commandments of God. We do not believe that a person can progress and become more like God if they do not make this commitment. 

When vicarious baptisms are done, it has no effect unless the person who is dead receives it. We believe that the freedom to make your own decisions is a foundation of the Gospel. We came to earth to learn from our own experience (mistakes), and this freedom to choose for ourselves will continue after this life here on the earth is over.

We offer this baptismal commitment to our direct ancestors. We want to unite our families all the way back in time. We volunteer our time to do these ordinances, because we value family. The individuals we do vicarious baptisms for can commit to follow the Lord, but they are not baptized into The Church as many sects do.

Is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a Cult?

Some people think The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a cult. I don't know about you, but doesn't the word "cult" sound scary? I think of crazed charismatic leaders who mind control their followers to make them do horrible things. I associate things like kidnapping, abuse, and mass suicide with cults. I certainly wouldn't want to be a part of a group like that!

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are known throughout the world as great humanitarians. We are some of the first people there to help after disasters and the last to leave. How could such a church with over 15 million members around the world be considered a "cult"?