Seminary
3 Nephi 24: The Lord’s Law of Tithing

“3 Nephi 24: The Lord’s Law of Tithing,” Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)

“3 Nephi 24,” Book of Mormon Teacher Manual

3 Nephi 24

The Lord’s Law of Tithing

person filling out tithing slip

What has the Lord promised us if we pay tithing? The Savior used Malachi’s words to teach the Nephites about the law of tithing and the blessings of living this commandment. This lesson is intended to help you feel a desire to pay tithing.

Teaching the scriptures with conviction and purpose. Some gospel truths may seem difficult for students to understand and apply in their lives. Help students see the relevance of these teachings. Share your witness of the truth of these principles and the blessings the Lord bestows upon those who act in faith.

Student preparation: Invite students to read 3 Nephi 24:8–10 and to think about experiences they or others have had with the Lord’s law of tithing.

Possible Learning Activities

Your experiences

The following scenarios are intended to help students think about their experiences with the Lord’s law of tithing. Feel free to adapt them if others would be more relevant to your students.

Alternatively, you could display a tithing slip or coins and ask students about their understanding of, experiences with, and questions about tithing.

Read the following scenarios, looking for those that feel most relevant to you or the youth in your area:

  • Carlos is saving money for a phone. It doesn’t occur to him to pay tithing.

  • Sita always paid tithing when she was young, but now that she has a job and is earning more money, it has become harder to do.

  • Oneka gives all the money she earns to help her family. She wonders if she needs to pay tithing when her family needs the money.

  • Anjum doesn’t earn any money, so he wonders how or if the law of tithing applies to him.

  • Which situations do you feel are most relevant? Why?

Consider writing on the board students’ responses to the next question.

  • What questions or concerns might youth have about tithing?

Students could ponder the following questions or answer them in their study journals. Because of the personal nature of these questions, do not ask students to share their responses.

Think about your own experiences and understanding of tithing. Do you pay tithing, or are you willing to pay tithing? Why or why not? What have you learned from your experiences with tithing? As you study this lesson, seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to help you obey this law.

The Lord’s law of tithing

While teaching the Nephites, Jesus commanded them to write the words that Malachi had recorded about 400 years earlier. Malachi prophesied of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the Savior’s role in judging the wicked (see 3 Nephi 24:1–6).

Read 3 Nephi 24:7, looking for the problem the people faced in Malachi’s day.

  • How might the Nephites have been like the people in Malachi’s day?

  • What did the Lord promise the people if they returned to Him?

To encourage the people to return to the Lord and prepare for His coming, the Lord, through Malachi, taught about tithing.

Read 3 Nephi 24:8–12 and consider marking what the Lord taught about the law of tithing. Note that “the devourer” (verse 11) may refer both to pests, droughts or flooding, and even Satan.

  • What stands out to you from these verses?

    Thank students for what they share. Consider asking them to explain why the things they share stood out to them.

  • How might refusing to pay tithing be like robbing God?

    Consider displaying the following incomplete sentence.

  • How might you finish the following sentence: “If we obey the Lord’s law of tithing …”?

Here is one way you may have finished the sentence: If we obey the Lord’s law of tithing, He will pour out blessings upon us.

In Malachi’s day and in the Nephites’ day, Saints likely paid tithing by giving a tenth of their food or goods. Today “Church members give one-tenth of their income to the Lord through His Church. These funds are used to build up the Church and further the work of the Lord throughout the world” (Gospel Topics, “Tithing,” topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org). If someone does not have an income, they are not required to pay tithing, though they should be willing to in the future.

The Lord used powerful and vivid phrases when talking about tithing: “Prove [or test] me … if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (3 Nephi 24:10).

  • What do you think the Lord was emphasizing by using the words and phrases He did? What do you learn about Him?

Consider drawing a large window on the board and inviting students to write in it the blessings of obeying the law of tithing. Students could copy the window and the listed blessings into their journals. The following could help students think of or find ideas:

If students need help identifying blessings, the “Commentary and Background Information” or “Supplemental Learning Activities” sections of this lesson may help.

Invite a few students to circle on the board a blessing that is meaningful to them or that they would want in their lives. Invite them to share why.

  • How do these blessings affect your desire to pay tithing?

  • Why do you think the Lord commands His people to pay tithing?

  • How does obeying the law of tithing help us “return unto” (3 Nephi 24:7) or become closer to the Lord?

Personal application

Think about what you have learned and felt today as you read the following statement by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

Elder David A. Bednar

The honest payment of tithing is much more than a duty; it is an important step in the process of personal sanctification. To those of you who pay your tithing, I commend you.

To those of you who presently are not obeying the law of tithing, I invite you to consider your ways and repent. I testify that by your obedience to this law of the Lord, the windows of heaven will be opened to you. (David A. Bednar, “The Windows of Heaven,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 20)

Remind students of the beginning of the lesson and the questions youth might have about tithing. Ask students if anything they studied helps with the questions they mentioned. Or you could invite students to record how they feel about tithing.

Record in your study journal how you feel about tithing and why. If you feel paying tithing is or will be a struggle for you, include what you can do to invite the Lord to answer your questions and address your concerns.