“Christmas Presents or Tithing?” Ensign, December 2020
Latter-day Saint Voices
Christmas Presents or Tithing?
I believed that the gospel was true, but could I afford to pay tithing?
Illustration by Allen Garns
I searched for a church until sister missionaries introduced me to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was baptized and confirmed a month and a half later. One of the things the missionaries taught me was the principle of tithing.
“You will receive blessings if you pay tithing,” they told me.
I was a single parent. I barely had enough money to buy food and pay my bills. Often it was a matter of paying tithing or buying food, paying my utility bills, or making a car payment.
For years, I went through stages of trying to pay tithing. Finally, I said, “If you believe the gospel is true, then you need to step out there. Once you step out there, God can bless you.”
I owed $500 in tithing, but I also needed $503 to pay some bills. I didn’t see how it would work, but I said, “I’m just going to try.” I paid my tithing. Nobody knew I was $503 short, but somebody anonymously sent me five $100 bills in the mail.
That was a turning point for me. It changed me spiritually. I realized that God loves me, that He cares for me, and that He wants me to succeed. From that point forward, I have paid my tithing. But it hasn’t always been easy.
One Christmas years ago, my eldest daughter remembers hearing me say that I could not afford to pay tithing and buy Christmas gifts for her and her siblings.
“We knew we weren’t going to get anything, but that was fine,” my daughter told me later. “We decided that we wanted you to pay your tithing.”
As always, the Lord provided, and they didn’t have to go without Christmas gifts.
For a single mother to be able to support her children and pay tithing is something major. Since I made the decision to pay tithing, I’ve been blessed. I’m not rich, but the Lord always makes a way for me.
I’ve been blessed in other ways too. The good examples of Church members and family have helped my children and me stay active in the Church. I’ve told them that’s all part of the blessing the Lord has promised—that the windows of heaven would open for us.