Give

Tuesday I went to the regularly scheduled devotional this week after a promise from BrightBoy that it was sure to be a good one. The speaker was Arthur C. Brooks, a public policy, economy, businessy guy from New York. I was skeptical. But after just minutes of his address, I was captivated by the power of his words.

In short he said that after hearing reports that charitable donations actually made a person wealthier, he set out to prove those reports to be false. In his mind you make money first. Give later. But again and again, his hypothesis was proven wrong. Not only that, but psychoanalytic findings also proved that those who were more charitable were also happier.

America gives charitable donations that eclipse the givings of other nations. And Utah (by no big surprise) is the leader in charitable donations in the United States. Brooks said, this is reason to be "pleased" with ourselves. Not proud. The scriptures warn against that.

This reminded me of a verse I read in D&C. It reads:

And again, verily I say unto you, my servant Joseph, that whatsoever you give on earth, and to whomsoever you give any one on earth, by my word and according to my law, it shall be visited with blessings and not cursings, and with my power, saith the Lord, and shall be without condemnation on earth and in heaven. (D&C 132:48)

The devotional came only days after we had a lesson in marriage preparation where we talked about finances and the topic of donations to the church, tithing, and so forth was brought up. BrightBoy and I both came away feeling good about our finances and I was excited to get in a consistent habit as a couple to give as much as we are able, because the price for blessings is never too high (not that you have to purchase them . . . )

After Brook's devotional, I was even more ready to take the charge to be charitable. For charity never faileth.