🌿 Who Do You Trust Anymore?
🌿 Who Do You Trust Anymore?
The older I get, the more I find myself scratching my head.
Everywhere you look, somebody is telling you what to believe.
The government tells you what to believe.
The news tells you what to believe.
The churches tell you what to believe.
The historians tell you what to believe.
The internet tells you what to believe.
Now even artificial intelligence is telling you what to believe.
And the funny thing is, half of them disagree with the other half.
A few days ago I listened to a video discussing church finances, tithing, Ensign Peak, hidden funds, and some of the history surrounding Lorenzo Snow's teachings on tithing.
Some of it was difficult to hear.
Some of it confirmed things I had already discovered.
Some of it raised questions.
And some of it reminded me of a lesson the Lord has been teaching me for many years.
🌿 The real issue isn't the money.
The real issue isn't the history.
The real issue isn't even the institution.
The real issue is:
Who are we trusting?
📜 The Pattern We See Throughout Scripture
One of the great warnings of scripture is the danger of trusting the arm of flesh.
Nephi warned:
"Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm." (2 Nephi 4:34)
Moroni warned us not to deny the revelations and gifts of God.
Joseph Smith taught repeatedly that every person could receive revelation directly from heaven.
The Savior Himself declared:
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27)
Think about that.
He didn't say only prophets hear His voice.
He didn't say only scholars hear His voice.
He didn't say only church leaders hear His voice.
He said His sheep hear His voice.
That includes ordinary people.
People like you and me.
🤔 What About The Tithing Questions?
The recent discussions surrounding church finances have caused many people to reevaluate things they once accepted without question.
Historically, many early Saints understood tithing as being connected to surplus and increase.
Over time, the emphasis changed.
The SEC findings regarding church investment holdings raised legitimate questions about transparency and stewardship.
Those questions deserve honest discussion.
Truth should never fear examination.
But even here, I find myself asking a different question.
What was the purpose of tithing in the first place?
Was it simply to build wealth?
Or was it meant to build Zion?
📖 What Zion Looks Like
The Book of Mormon repeatedly describes a Zion society in simple terms:
"There were no poor among them." (4 Nephi 1:3)
That phrase appears over and over in my mind.
No poor among them.
Not because people were forced.
Not because people were controlled.
But because hearts changed.
People cared for one another.
People loved one another.
People shared with one another.
The Nemenhah records teach a similar principle.
Again and again they point toward caring for the poor, strengthening families, hearing the voice of the Peacemaker, and building communities based on love and consecration rather than pride and accumulation.
The focus is always on transformed hearts.
That is what Zion looks like.
🌿 The Real Danger
As I listened to these videos and discussions, another thought kept coming to me.
The greatest danger may not be hidden money.
The greatest danger may not even be mistaken traditions.
The greatest danger is allowing disappointment to harden our hearts.
Many people discover difficult things and become bitter.
I understand that.
I've walked some of that road myself.
But anger alone cannot heal.
Bitterness cannot build Zion.
The Savior's invitation has always been the same:
"Come unto me." (3 Nephi 12:20; Matthew 11:28)
Not come unto an institution.
Not come unto a movement.
Come unto Him.
❤️ Perhaps This Is The Real Awakening
Maybe hidden things are coming to light for a reason.
Maybe difficult questions need to be asked.
Maybe traditions need to be reexamined.
Maybe all of that is part of the Lord's work in our day.
But perhaps the greater awakening is learning once again how to hear His voice.
Not the loudest voice.
Not the most popular voice.
Not the richest voice.
His voice.
The world is getting louder.
The Spirit is still quiet.
And perhaps that is why learning to hear Him has never been more important.
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🌿 Zion and Consecration
One of the themes I repeatedly see in the Nemenhah records is that consecration is not primarily about money.
It is about hearts.
It is about caring for one another.
It is about making sure there are no poor among the people.
It is about hearing the voice of the Peacemaker and allowing that voice to guide our stewardship.
The purpose is not accumulation.
The purpose is Zion.
One principle that stands out to me is that the poor are not primarily cared for through programs.
They are cared for through covenant relationships and consecration.
People know one another.
Families help one another.
Communities lift one another.
Those who have abundance help those who have need.
The goal is not simply collecting resources.
The goal is caring for people.
In the Book of Mormon, the success of a society was measured by whether there were poor among them.
"And surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God." (4 Nephi 1:16)
Why?
Because:
"There were no poor among them." (4 Nephi 1:3)
That is a powerful standard.
The measure of Zion was never the size of a treasury.
The measure of Zion was whether widows were cared for.
Whether families were strengthened.
Whether burdens were lifted.
Whether the hungry were fed.
Whether people loved one another enough to share what they had.
Perhaps that is the deeper purpose behind consecration.
Not building larger institutions.
Not accumulating greater wealth.
But creating a people whose hearts have become like Christ.
A people among whom there are no poor.
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🔍 Continue The Journey
If this topic speaks to you, you may enjoy exploring other posts on this blog.
At the top of the page you'll find the search icon (🔍).
Try searching topics such as:
• Hearing the Savior's Voice
• Zion
• Personal Revelation
• The Doctrine of Christ
• Church History
• The Nemenhah Records
• Faith During Difficult Questions
The Lord is still speaking.
The question is not whether He speaks.
The question is whether we are listening.
🌿 Just something I've been pondering from the porch.
— The True Remnant
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