Ward Status Report 2008

2008 Condition of Perdido Ward

 

 

Tithing

Number of Members in Perdido Ward:

Number of Individuals who attended Tithing Settlement:

Number of Unique Donors who paid any tithing:

Number of Full tithe payers:

Number of Adult Full Tithe payers:

Number of Part-Tithe Payers:

Number of Adults, Youth, & Children who paid no tithing:

 

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].

            (Mal 3:8-10)

23 Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.

(D&C 64:23)

 

 

President James E. Faust:

The law of tithing is simple: we pay one-tenth of our individual increase annually. Increase has been interpreted by the First Presidency to mean income. What amounts to 10 percent of our individual income is between each of us and our Maker. There are no legalistic rules. As a convert in Korea once said: With tithing, it doesn't matter whether you are rich or poor. You pay 10 percent, and you don't have to be ashamed if you haven't earned very much. If you make lots of money, you pay 10 percent. If you make very little, you still pay 10 percent. Heavenly Father will love you for it. You can hold your head up proud.

Why should members worldwide, many of whom may not have enough for their daily needs, be encouraged to keep the Lords law of tithing? As President Hinckley said in Cebu in the Philippine Islands, if members even living in poverty and misery will accept the gospel and live it, pay their tithes and offerings, even though those be meager, they will have rice in their bowls and clothing on their backs and shelter over their heads. I do not see any other solution.

Some may feel that they cannot afford to pay tithing, but the Lord has promised that He would prepare a way for us to keep all of His commandments. To pay tithing takes a leap of faith in the beginning, but as Jesus said, If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.6 We learn about tithing by paying it. Indeed, I believe it is possible to break out of poverty by having the faith to give back to the Lord part of what little we have.

Members of the Church who do not tithe do not lose their membership; they only lose blessings. Through Malachi the Lord asks: Will a man rob God? But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. If we will trust in the Lord, He will open the windows of heaven to us as we give back to Him the one-tenth He asks of us. His promise is sure: I will pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Although tithing carries with it both temporal and spiritual blessings, the only absolute promise to the faithful is ye shall have the riches of eternity.9

President Heber J. Grant put it in context when he said: Prosperity comes to those who observe the law of tithing. When I say prosperity I am not thinking of it in terms of dollars and cents alone. What I count as real prosperity is the growth in a knowledge of God, and in a testimony, and in the power to live the gospel and to inspire our families to do the same. That is prosperity of the truest kind.10

(Opening the Windows of Heaven, Ensign (CR), November 1998, p.54)

 

I continue to be concerned about some of our youth who are not paying their tithing. This responsibility falls to them individually and to their parents as well. Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve has said:

The Lord desires that all His children have the blessings of tithing. Too often we as parents do not teach and encourage our children to live this law because their contribution only amounts to a few cents. But without a testimony of tithing, they are vulnerable. In their teenage years, they become attracted to clothes, entertainment, and expensive possessions and risk losing the special protection that tithing provides.

We can and must do better. The time for teaching youth about tithing is not when they turn twelve. This important and vital teaching begins much much earlier. Equal in importance is the necessity of parents setting the example for their children. How would one expect a child to value and honor this great commandment of the Lord if they see no care and obedience on the part of their parents? Parents testify to your children about the blessings and opportunities associated with payment of a full and honest tithe. Over my years of serving as Bishop I have heard individuals complain that they cannot "afford" to pay tithing. The exact opposite is indeed the truth. You and I cannot afford to not pay tithing! I know first hand of the blessings and care of the Lord for myself and my family as we have observed this great commandment. I pray the same blessing for you and yours. None of us would desire the Lord to be casual in His blessings to us we must refuse to be casual in our tithes. To those of you who are full tithe payers, thanks, to those who are not stop not paying your tithing and start

The Lord has commanded us to tithe and allows us to also participate in the building of the kingdom through several other donation categories.

 

Fast Offerings:

Number of families who participated in fast offerings:

Amount Received in 2007: $11,301.42

Amount Disbursed in 2007: $7,054.50

 

Elder L. Tom Perry:

…I am a firm believer that you cannot give to the Church and to the building up of the kingdom of God and be any poorer financially. I remember a long time ago, over 50 years, when Brother [Melvin J.] Ballard laid his hands on my head and set me apart to go on a mission. He said in that prayer of blessing that a person could not give a crust to the Lord without receiving a loaf in return. That's been my experience. If the members of the Church would double their fast-offering contributions, the spirituality in the Church would double. We need to keep that in mind and be liberal in our contributions. (Welfare Agricultural Meeting, 3 Apr. 1971, p. 1.)

The Law of the Fast, Ensign (CR), May 1986, p.31

 

President Spencer W. Kimball:

Generous fast offering develops unselfishness. We wish to remind all the Saints of the blessings that come from observing the regular fast and contributing as generous a fast offering as we can.

This principle of promise, when lived in the spirit thereof, greatly blesses both giver and receiver. Upon practicing the law of the fast, one finds a personal wellspring of power to overcome self-indulgence and selfishness.

If we give a generous fast offering, we shall increase our own prosperity both spiritually and temporally.

Sometimes we have been a bit penurious and figured that we had for breakfast one egg and that cost so many cents and then we give that to the Lord. I think that when we are affluent, as many of us are, that we ought to be very, very generous.

I think we should ... give, instead of the amount saved by our two meals of fasting, perhaps much, much more-ten times more when we are in a position to do it.

            (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, edited by Edward L. Kimball, p.145-146)

 

Ward Missionary:

Number of individuals who participated in Ward Missionary fund:

Amount Received in 2007: $8,505.96

The cost per month for full time missionaries is $400. We will have Elder Bray out for another year and Elder Scott Tippetts will be home by 1 March 08.

 

Other Offering categories:

Number of participants:

    Book of Mormon: $30.45

    Humanitarian Aid: $316.75

    Temple Construction: $3.46

    General Missionary: $71.00

    Perpetual Education Fund: $676.35

    Ward Missionary: $8,505.96

 

Contention

 

Elder Bruce R. McConkie:

Contention consists in debating, quarreling and disputing about some contested matter. Disputation, debates, dissensions, arguments, controversies, quarrels, and strife or contention of any sort have no part in the gospel; they are of the devil. The gospel is one of peace, harmony, unity, and agreement. In it argument and debate are supplanted by discussion and study. Those who have the Spirit do not hang doggedly to a point of doctrine or philosophy for no other reason than to come off victorious in a disagreement. Their purpose, rather, is to seek truth by investigation, research, and inspiration. "Cease to contend one with another," the Lord has commanded. (D. & C. 136:23; Tit. 3:9.)

 

            (Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed., p.160)

 

In the later chapters of the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon the Nephites lost the support of the Lord (and their cities) as a result of "contentions and dissensions". As they contended with one another they lost the spirit of the Lord and were defeated in battle repeatedly.

Alma 51:16

For it was his (Capt Moroni's) first care to put an end to such contentions and dissensions among the people; for behold, this had been hitherto a cause of all their destruction. And it came to pass that it was granted according to the voice of the people.

Alma 53:8

And now it came to pass that the armies of the Lamanites, on the west sea, south, while in the absence of Moroni on account of some intrigue amongst the Nephites, which caused dissensions amongst them, had gained some ground over the Nephites, yea, insomuch that they had obtained possession of a number of their cities in that part of the land.

The Lord stated to the Nephites: (3 Nephi 11:29)

For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

As your Bishop and as your brother I counsel and admonish you as my Ward family to refrain from contention in all of its forms. It is damaging to the spirituality of individuals and groups and is a delight to the devil rather than our Savior. We need to please the latter and not the former. In order to be as simple as I can, be kind, support your leaders, turn the other cheek, forgive more than you condemn, don't figure you are the only one who knows something, your way is not always best, sustaining is always better than complaining, and of course this one: If you don't have anything good to say it's always better that you say nothing at all!