While I was sick in bed on Sunday, I was somewhat listening to a devotional on BYU TV. I don’t remember the speaker but I believe he’s member of the 70. Anyway, he was talking about when he was a mission president giving exit interviews. He was often asked by the sister missionaries how they would know when they had met the right man to marry. His answer was quite interesting and, I think, very wise. I think he mentioned a few things but the one that stuck out to me was this. He said, “ask the young man you are dating if he is a full-tithe payer. If he’s not, run the other direction. If he is, that doesn’t mean you should marry him but he’s a potential candidate.” That’s not a direct quote but that’s my paraphrase. I found this very profound because if you think about it, paying tithing is a good indicator of your faithfulness. It seems to me that when people start losing faith, tithing is one of the first things to go. And on the flip side, when people are coming back to the church, it seems like tithing is one of the last things they do to fully embrace the church. Anyway I just found that interesting and quite profound. By the way, the test is not gender specific-a young man could ask a woman he's dating the same question.
That's my two cents.
Tam, I heard the same talk and was going to blog about it too! In fact, I just mentioned it to Aaron today when I was talking to him about the water pipe. He was talking about the background check for the renters and saying he was going to ask if they were full tithe payers. The part that has stuck with me is when the speaker said, "If a person is honest with the Lord, chances are they will be honest with you." That was a really good talk. I'm glad you posted it!
ReplyDeleteThat is so true! I never thought about it that way. I will have to remember that for when my kids start dating!
ReplyDeleteoh that button at the top is cracking me up! everyone is entitled to me opinion.. oh I feel the same..I need to add you to my google reader..so I don't forget this blog.. it's a good one!:)
ReplyDeleteokay now that I have read the post, I will comment on it..
ReplyDeleteI remember a GA came to our mission and was speaking at a district meeting I think.. no a zone conference. ANYWAY.. it was Elder Hartman Rector Jr. remember him? anyway.. I remember him telling us membership/ faithfulness comes down to money.. and I was young and like noooooooooo way.. but I have learned.. it is true.. tithing is a big issue.. I understand why a little better now, having lived a little more.. it's a tough one for some people...