“Why Do You Still Pay Tithing?” Liahona, March 2013, 37
Why Do You Still Pay Tithing?
Raquel Pedraza de Brosio, Argentina
A few years ago my husband was laid off. His employers, apparently sorry for what they had done, offered him a different job, but it would require a difficult move. Nevertheless, we foresaw many blessings, including continued employment.
After moving, however, we discovered that the job was no longer available. No one had a reasonable explanation. The only thing we knew was that we were in a new place, out of work, and nearly out of money because we had paid our debts before moving and had spent the last of our savings in making the move.
My husband tried every way possible to find a full-time job. In the meantime he did minor jobs, and I did handicraft work, which provided us just enough to support ourselves after paying our tithes to the Lord. We were frugal in everything, but it was not easy paying school expenses, buying food and clothing, and finding money my husband needed to go out and look for work.
We wept much, but we never quit trusting that the Lord would bless us. And we gave thanks for the blessings we already had: daughters who were healthy and faithful, a united marriage, and supportive relatives and ward members.
Many friends who were not members of the Church asked us, “If you are in such need, why do you still pay tithing?” The answer was always the same: because the Lord has commanded it, and we do not want to rob God (see Malachi 3:8–9).
We always knew that if we were obedient, the Lord would bless us—perhaps not in the way we had hoped but certainly with what He considered best for our family. We never used our financial problems as an excuse to quit serving the Lord; in fact, our desire to serve Him increased.
Today my husband has a job that helps us make headway against the debts we acquired while he was out of work. It will still be a long time before we can relax financially, but we know that if we “bring … all the tithes into the storehouse,” God will open the windows of heaven “and pour [us] out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10).