[6]
For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt
lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign
over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.
[7]
If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of
thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt
not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
[8] But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.
Deuteronomy 15
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[31] He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
Proverbs 14
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[20] A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
[22] He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
Proverbs 28
"Haste to be rich" may apply to "get rich quick" schemes.
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[8] Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
[9] Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
Proverbs 30
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[6] Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Psalms 122
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[10]
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted
soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as
the noonday.
Isaiah 58
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[8] Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
[9] Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
[10]
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in
mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, 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.
Malachi 8
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[19]
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
[20]
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Matthew 6
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[24]
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love
the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye
cannot serve God and mammon.
Matthew 6
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Mark 4
Jesus teaches the parable of the sower:
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[3] Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
[7] And some (seeds) fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
[18] And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
[19]
And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the
lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh
unfruitful.
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Mark 12
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[41]
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast
money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
[42] And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
[43]
And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say
unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which
have cast into the treasury:
[44] For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
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[38]
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and
shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For
with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you
again.
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Luke 6
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[15]
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a
man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth.
[27]
Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and
yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these.
[28] If then God so clothe the
grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the
oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
[29] And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
[31] But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
[32] Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
[33]
Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not
old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief
approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
[34] For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
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Luke 12
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[1] AND he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.
[2] And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.
[3] And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:
[4]
For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of
God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
Luke 21
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[19] But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4
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[6] But godliness with contentment is great gain.
[7] For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
[8] And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
[9]
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into
many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and
perdition.
[10] For the love
of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they
have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows.
[11] But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
1 Timothy 6
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[30]
But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world. For
because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the
meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their
treasure is their God. And behold, their treasure shall perish with
them also.
[51] Wherefore,
do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for
that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the
words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and
feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let
your soul delight in fatness.
2 Nephi 9
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[17] Think
of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and
free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you.[18] But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.
[19]
And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if
ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe
the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and
administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.
Jacob 2
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[14] Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them with you.
Alma 39
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Interest
Finally,
the fourth item, the bank. It is a symbol of our financial well-being.
I learned a great lesson early in my business career. My boss called me
into his office. I could tell he had something on his mind. He said,
“Give me a definition of interest.” Of course, I reached back in my
training and gave him a definition I had learned from a textbook. He
said, “No, no, no, that’s not the one I want. You listen and remember
this one: Thems that understands it, earns it; and thems that don’t,
pays it.”
Now it doesn’t
take a genius to understand that before you can collect interest, you
must first have some savings. Having savings while continuing to
increase one’s standard of living requires understanding of one simple
practice and then religiously applying it. After paying your tithing of
10 percent to the Lord, you pay yourself a predetermined amount
directly into savings. That leaves you a balance of your income to
budget for taxes, food, clothing, shelter, transportation, etc. It is
amazing to me that so many people work all of their lives for the
grocer, the landlord, the power company, the automobile salesman, and
the bank, and yet think so little of their own efforts that they pay
themselves nothing.
L. Tom Perry, “Becoming Self-Reliant,” Ensign, Nov. 1991
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Interest, Debt
Third,
avoid excessive debt. Necessary debt should be incurred only after
careful, thoughtful prayer and after obtaining the best possible
advice. We need the discipline to stay well within our ability to pay.
Wisely we have been counseled to avoid debt as we would avoid the
plague. President J. Reuben Clark fearlessly and repeatedly counseled
members of the Church to take action.
“Live
within your means. Get out of debt. Keep out of debt. Lay by for a
rainy day which has always come and will come again. Practice and
increase your habits of thrift, industry, economy, and frugality” (in
Conference Report, Oct. 1937, p. 107). We should have displayed in a
prominent place President Clark’s description of interest:
“Interest
never sleeps nor sickens nor dies. … Once in debt, interest is your
companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip
away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties,
demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course
or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you” (in Conference Report,
Apr. 1938, p. 103).
L. Tom Perry, “If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear,” Ensign, Nov. 1995
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Financial Preparedness
We
must recognize that financial problems are the reason for much
unhappiness and are certainly a major factor in family difficulties and
divorce.
The Lord has told us that if we are prepared, we shall not fear (see D&C 38:30). What a blessing it is to be free from financial fear.
I would like to suggest a three-point formula to attain and maintain financial preparedness:
1. Pay your tithes and offerings.
2. Get out of debt and stay out of debt.
3. Use your surplus funds wisely.
This formula is equally applicable to young and old.
Franklin D. Richards, “Personal and Family Financial Preparedness,” Ensign, May 1979
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Spencer W. Kimball
“President Brigham Young expressed his fears that the riches of the world would canker the souls of his people in our own dispensation, when he said:
“Take
courage, brethren ... plow your land and sow wheat, plant your
potatoes. It is our duty to preach the Gospel, gather Israel, pay our
tithing and build temples. The worst fear I have about this people is
that they will get rich in this country, forget God and His people, wax
fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people
will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty, and all manner of persecution and
be true. But my greatest fear is that they cannot stand wealth.
“Brigham
Young also warned that Latter-day Saints who turn their full attention
to money-making soon become cold in their feelings toward the
ordinances of the house of God. They neglect their prayers, become
unwilling to pay any donations; the law of tithing becomes too great a
test for them; and they finally forsake their God. They fall under
Jacob's stricture: ‘But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things
of the world. For because they are rich they despise the poor, and they
persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures;
wherefore, their treasure is their God. And behold, their treasure
shall perish with them also.’ (2 Nephi 9:30)
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