One Hundred Fold

In June I read an article from the July Ensign called "Like the Widow of Zarephath: the Miracle of Fast Offerings" that was a spiritual experience for me (note to self: these thoughts are written on page 115 of pink study journal). Money is tight here in our home and has been for a long time. What can I do to help Corey as he provides for us? What can I do to be a good steward over what the Lord provides us with? One answer came from this article in a quote by Marion G. Romney, this is an amazing promise from an apostle:

"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... A person could not give a crust to the Lord without receiving a loaf in return. That has been my experience. If 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."

Pretty amazing ~ The spirituality of the church would double!" I think that would not only help us to have no poor among us (which Pres Uchtdorf says is one of the two things that allowed Enoch to build Zion) but would also help us be more of one heart and one mind.

More insights from that article ~ page 34:
"We knew it would be a sacrifice for our family to increase our fast offerings, but we considered President Romney's teaching and promise carefully. As a family, we had been blessed abundantly and we felt a strong desire to increase our fast offerings. Within the first three months of giving a more generous fast offering, we began to see many blessings. --- During financial difficulties, giving a generous fast offering and helping the needy can be difficult, particularly when we are, like the widow of Zarephath, among the needy (our family is a little bit, mostly cause of the debt we are in partly because of our sacrifices to get M0vie M0uth going) Giving a generous fast offering, no matter the amount, requires faith int eh Lord and His promise to care for us. The lord fulfills his promises. The more we are willing to share, the more we are blessed."

"Don't give just for the benefit of the poor, but give for your own welfare. Give enough so that you can give yourself into the kingdom of God through consecrating of your means and your time." - Pres Marion G. Romney, Ensign July '82 p. 4

Another quote that I listened to on a morning walk on 7/9/16 by Elder L. Tom Perry "Called to Serve" April 1991 Gen Conf: "It is impossible to stay even with the Lord. The more you attempt to give to Him, the more he blesses your lives, yea, even one hundred fold."

I'm going to try and sacrifice more and give more to the Lord and his church, with the hope and knowledge that his promises are sure, that we can trust in Him, and that He will provide for all our needs, even one hundred fold.