Seek good and not evil, that you may live, and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said.

[Adapted from “Why I Give” by Jerry and Debbie Rushfelt, Jul/Aug 2017 Herald, p. 29]

Scriptures continue to remind us of the calling for responsible stewardship—to give tithes and offerings and comply with the financial law. In 1964 President W. Wallace Smith presented to the World Conference a revelation that spoke of stewardship in challenging terms:

“Stewardship is the response of my people to the ministry of my Son and is required alike of all those who seek to build the kingdom…Repression of unnecessary wants is in harmony with the law of stewardship and becomes my people” (Doctrine and Covenants 147:5a–b).

This challenge spoke of Christian character, in addition to obedience to the law. This added the emphasis for compassionate response to the Spirit of Jesus Christ. These words added life to our understanding of stewardship.

Doctrine and Covenants 163:9 urged us to know God as abundantly generous and to act accordingly.

“Faithful disciples respond to an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God by sharing according to the desire of their hearts; not by commandment or constraint. …Give generously according to your true capacity.”

Following this and other recent revelation, we have sought to change how we give tithes and offerings. This began simply with personal prayer to understand what it meant for us to include this instruction in our regular giving.

We abandoned our habit of giving 10 percent of our increase. Our prayers simply were to understand and decide for each week what we could “give generously” according to our “true capacity.”

We give in amounts we feel appropriate for that specific week. After a year of this adjusted way of giving, we have found our offerings have more than doubled. Indeed, we have found that our previous habits of giving had treated 10 percent as a presumed ceiling.

We have been blessed to give more than we thought we could. Our ability and desire to give have increased far beyond our expectations. We have been blessed with “an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God. Our blessings have come from parents, friends, ministers, scriptures, the church, and from the continued challenge and inspiration of the Spirit of Christ. Our venture continues, because God has both challenged and then helped us to give more responsibly, according to our “true capacity.”

Prayer Phrase

“You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity” 2 Corinthians 9:11

Spiritual Practice

Overflowing Generosity

Spend five minutes thinking deeply about how God has shared abundantly with you in very specific ways. Where do you see God’s abundant generosity in your life? Say a prayer of thanksgiving for these blessings. Now, reminded of these blessings, think about how you can bless others. In what ways can God’s abundant generosity overflow from you to others? What specific blessing will you share with another this day?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.