Trusting the Lord Through Tithes and Offerings

Before Elder Patricio M. Giuffra was baptized, missionaries taught him about tithing. Tithing means giving one tenth of the money we earn to the Lord. If you earn ten coins, one coin is for tithing. After he was baptized, he paid tithing and fast offerings with money from his summer jobs.

Later, Elder Giuffra served a mission in Chile. He and his companion taught a woman who was about 70 years old. She could not read, so they taught each lesson two times.

When they taught her about tithing, she felt very sad. She told them she cleaned houses and washed clothes for other families. She only earned enough money for a small room, some firewood to stay warm, and a little food. She said she did not think she could ever pay tithing.

Elder Giuffra felt sad too. He wondered if the Lord would make an exception for her. He called his mission president. The mission president read him the Bible story of the poor widow who gave two small coins, everything she had, to the Lord. He said there are no exceptions to this commandment. He said they should not keep this sister from the blessings of tithing.

So Elder Giuffra and his companion fasted and prayed for her. When they went back, the woman said, “Last night I knelt in prayer and told Heavenly Father that I truly wanted to become a member of His Church and that He would need to help me live this law.” The missionaries felt peace. They knew Heavenly Father heard her prayers and theirs. She was baptized the next Saturday. Her bishop said she brought her tithing every week and her fast offering every month!

Elder Giuffra said his family has been blessed many times for paying tithing. Some blessings are things we can see, and some are blessings we feel inside. His wife teaches their family, “We keep the commandments because we love God, not merely because we hope to receive the blessings that come from obedience.” We don’t obey just to get blessings.

He said paying tithing does not mean we will never have hard times. But the Lord knows us and keeps His promises in His own time and way. In Central America, Elder Giuffra has seen families who were once poor now have more of what they need. He has seen the Lord help people find jobs and get an education.

In the Bible, the Lord promised that when we pay tithing, He will open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing. Elder Giuffra said tithing shows that we trust the Lord.

A scripture for this talk: Malachi 3:10. The Lord promises to open the windows of heaven when we pay tithing.

Before he was baptized, Elder Patricio M. Giuffra was taught about tithes and offerings by the missionaries. Afterward, with money from summer jobs, he paid a full tithing and fast offerings, but he didn’t yet understand the promises connected to that law. That came on his mission, when he had the chance to teach it.

Serving in the Chile Osorno Mission, he and his companion taught a woman about 70 years old who lived with her son, a Church member. She couldn’t read and had trouble remembering, so they taught every lesson twice. When they taught tithing, she said sadly, “Elder Giuffra, I clean houses and wash clothes for several families. What I earn is barely enough to pay the rent for the room where we live, buy a small amount of firewood to keep us warm, and provide some food.” She didn’t think she could ever pay tithing. The missionaries were deeply moved. From a worldly view, she made sense.

The next morning Elder Giuffra called his mission president for advice, wondering if the Lord might make an exception. The president read him the story of the widow’s mite, where a poor widow gave two small coins, all she had, and Jesus said she gave more than everyone else. Then he said, “Elder Giuffra, you are no one to deny this sister the blessings of the law of tithing. There are no exceptions to this commandment.” Elder Giuffra said those words became engraved upon my heart.

He and his companion fasted and prayed before returning two days later. When they reviewed tithing again, she said, “Last night I knelt in prayer and told Heavenly Father that I truly wanted to become a member of His Church and that He would need to help me live this law.” A deep feeling of peace filled the missionaries. They knew the Lord had heard her prayers and theirs. She was baptized the next Saturday. Later her bishop told Elder Giuffra that she came every week with her tithing envelope, and on the first Sunday of each month, she brought her fast offering too.

Throughout his life, Elder Giuffra has seen many blessings come to his family as they paid tithes and offerings, some temporal and some spiritual, all showing that the Lord always fulfills his promises. His wife teaches their family, “We keep the commandments because we love God, not merely because we hope to receive the blessings that come from obedience.” Commandments draw us closer to the Savior and protect us. Obeying doesn’t mean we’ll have no trials, but the Lord knows our circumstances, honors our obedience, and fulfills his promises in his own time and way.

President Russell M. Nelson taught that tithing can break cycles of poverty that pass from generation to generation. In Central America, Elder Giuffra has seen families who once worried about their next meal now have greater stability, and people who once couldn’t afford shoes now run successful businesses through faith and hard work. He has seen the Lord open doors for jobs and education, strengthen marriages, and fill hearts with peace. President Dallin H. Oaks taught that tithing shows we accept the law of sacrifice and prepares us for higher laws.

Elder Giuffra quoted Malachi: “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.” He testified that the law of tithing is a law of faith. When we obey it, we show trust in the Lord and let Him work miracles, often in ways we don’t expect.

Scripture to look up: Malachi 3:10. The Lord invites us to prove Him through tithing and promises to open the windows of heaven.

Elder Patricio M. Giuffra, a General Authority Seventy, learned about tithes and offerings from the missionaries before his baptism. Afterward, with earnings from summer jobs, he paid a full tithing and fast offerings, though he admits he did not fully understand the meaning of the promises and blessings associated with obedience to this law. Understanding came on his mission, when he had to teach and testify of it himself.

In the Chile Osorno Mission, he and his companion taught a woman of about 70 who lived with her son, a member of the Church. She could not read and struggled to retain what they taught, so they repeated each lesson twice. When they reached tithing and its promised blessings, she said with great sadness, “Elder Giuffra, I clean houses and wash clothes for several families. What I earn is barely enough to pay the rent for the room where we live, buy a small amount of firewood to keep us warm, and provide some food.” She didn’t believe she would ever be able to pay. “Everything she said made sense from a worldly perspective,” he admitted. Though they testified of the blessings, she insisted she could not do it.

The next morning he called his mission president. Privately he wondered whether the Lord might make an exception for someone in her circumstances. The president read him the account of the widow’s mite (Mark 12:41–44) and said, “Elder Giuffra, you are no one to deny this sister the blessings of the law of tithing. There are no exceptions to this commandment.” Those words “Those words became engraved upon my heart.” The companions fasted and prayed, because they would return in two days to review the commandment before her baptism.

When they came back to tithing, she told them, “Last night I knelt in prayer and told Heavenly Father that I truly wanted to become a member of His Church and that He would need to help me live this law.” A profound feeling of peace and assurance filled the missionaries. “We knew that the Lord had heard both her prayers and ours.” She was baptized the following Saturday. After his transfer, her bishop reported that she arrived every week with her tithing envelope, and on the first Sunday of every month, with her fast offering as well.

Over his life, Elder Giuffra has seen innumerable blessings come to his family as they have lived the law of tithes and offerings, some temporal, others spiritual, all strengthening their testimony that the Lord always fulfills his promises and that the windows of heaven are opened according to our obedience. But he added an important qualifier from his wife, a principle that has become meaningful in their family: “We keep the commandments because we love God, not merely because we hope to receive the blessings that come from obedience.” Commandments draw us closer to the Savior, protect us, and help us stay free from sin and many of the world’s challenges.

Obedience doesn’t exempt us from trials. “All of us will face moments of uncertainty, financial hardship, illness, or loss. Yet even when we do not understand the purpose of our trials, we can have the assurance that the Lord knows our circumstances, honors our obedience, and fulfills His promises in His own time and way.”

He cited President Russell M. Nelson’s teaching that tithing can break cycles of poverty in poor nations and families; the same poverty continues generation after generation until people pay their tithing. In his years of service in Central America, he has seen men and women prosper temporally and spiritually: families who once worried about their next meal now enjoying greater stability, and people who once couldn’t afford shoes now running successful businesses through faith and diligent effort. He has seen the Lord open doors for employment, provide education, strengthen marriages, and fill hearts with peace and hope.

He also cited President Dallin H. Oaks: paying tithing brings unique spiritual blessings, is evidence that we accept the law of sacrifice, and prepares us for the law of consecration and the higher laws of the celestial kingdom, fulfilled as we keep temple covenants that deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ.

He closed with Malachi’s challenge and promise: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. … 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 3:8–10). His testimony: The law of tithing is a law of faith. As we obey it, we demonstrate our trust in the Lord and allow him to work miracles in our lives, often in ways that we don’t expect.