An Extremely Simple Formula Which Will Ensure Extreme Financial Success

[FFH]

Are you sure you're not putting the cart before the horse? If you get behind in your tithing and bills simultaneously, I can see a few possible reasons for what's going on, just based on the correlation:

1. getting behind on your tithing caused you, somehow, to get behind on your bills
2. getting behind on your bills caused you, somehow, to get behind on your tithing
3. getting behind on both your tithing and bills was caused by some other common factor (a general lack of incoming cash, perhaps?)
4. there is no causal relationship, and the correlation between the two is just a coincidence.

Why do you assume that #1 must be correct, and not #2, 3, or 4?

Great questions/observations.

When I get behind on my tithes the negative financial results usually kick in fairly quickly for me, even if I have plenty of savings.

An accident or illness can clean you out financially. I won't risk that again, I was already out for a year, because I had neglected to pay my tithes and had pretty much abandoned the thought of every paying it again or just catching up on what I owed, it was at about that point someone pulled out in front of me while riding my bullet bike. My foot got caught between my 400 pound bike and his plastic bumper, if it had not been plastic I would have lost my foot for sure, it didn't work for a year, it was pretty messed up. A friend of mine lost his leg up to the knee in a similar accident. It was freightening how close I came to losing my foot and possibly my leg up to the knee.

It's definitely not worth the risk (not paying my tithes AND offerings). I need to stay in God's good graces, there's nothing more important than that in this life, if that's all I gain out of it, which I already know he (God) is faithful to give much more than that. All that we need he gives to us freely if we only do what he asks (commands).

When the "money flow in your life" is opened up, does God give you the money directly, or does it come through people?

No, it comes in the form of work offered to me, I have so much work offered to me I have to turn it down. People get frustrated with me because I won't do all they want me to do, in this way the "windows of heaven are opened up" and there's "not room enough" for me "to receive it". This definitely happens to a certain degree, when I pay my tithes, and seems to exponentially increase when I pay just one percent extra, that's the key, which I have neglected for far too long. I can't imagine what would happen if I committed to paying, let's say, 5 percent above and beyond my tithes or 10 or 20 percent.

John Huntsman tested this principle out and gave half his income away.

Look at the results it got him...

Google John Huntsman and Forbes and you can see where he is currently ranked. I'm not sure, haven't looked for a while.

Target and Walmart give away a percentage of all they make, that ensures their success as well. They are successful because of what they give away, not because they are so business savy.

If it comes through people, and if this is all as certain as you make it sound, what exactly happened to the free will of the people who have suddenly decided to give you more money than they would normally have done? If God's controlling their actions in this regard, doesn't that mean that, at least in part, they aren't responsible for what they do? How does that fit into your theology?

I once had a very rich man in my church want to give me money, I had just given a good amount of money away as an offering unto the Lord. I had neglected my offerings and so decided to pay a large sum all at once. I was surprised how quickly it worked.

I turned down his offer, I didn't even want to know how much it was. He wanted to take me to lunch and offer to put me through school I think, I didn't want to go to school. My bishop kept telling me just go to lunch with him and see what he wants to do for you. He was very very wealthy.

I'm not sure why I didn't want to meet with him.

Scriptures say, "To much is given, much is required". I guess I didn't want to be required to do what he might ask of me, if he was in fact going to offer me some money, which my bishop said he had definitely hinted at. My bishp said he was looking to "help a young couple in our ward (church)" and the bishop immediately thought of me and spoke to me about it. I had dropped out of college years earlier, so I didn't accept his offer, thinking he would require me to go to college if he gave me money. Whatever it was he wanted to give me, I didn't want to accept, I never went to lunch with him to find out, even though he tried to get me to go to lunch with him for months, I kept putting him off until I moved away. I felt bad I didn't at least go to lunch with him. Sometimes I think back on that and kick myself. I have a hard time taking money from others. I would definitely rather earn it myself and not have any strings attached I guess.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

BTW FHH...
when you give...
expecting something in return...
it's not really giving at all.

It is giving still, but giving with an expected reward does seem to take the charity out of it, IMO.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Well I guess if the cost of your spam =
10% of your income...

you've done it correctly. ?

(You might want to throw in the dehydrated mashed potato mix as well though,
just to be sure!)

It's better than the outdated or swollen with botulism canned goods I see in the "help the needy" box at church sometimes.

 

[FFH]

when you give...
expecting something in return...
it's not really giving at all.

God asks us to test him to see if he will not open up the windows of heaven in our favor.

When we but our money in a CD or other interest baring accounts we expect a certain return.

God said if we put money into his account expect a return.

Mark 10: 30
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

I look to the end result as to where my money will be the most profitable. Giving it to God gives immeasurable returns.

How can one measure eternal life with God ??? It's not just about the money of this world, it's about eternal life and exaltation with God, which is immeasurably better than this wretched temporal world.

I will leave it all behind in a blink of an eye when Christ appears in the clouds for his own.

God states in scricpture, in various ways, expect an earthly and an eternal return on your investment if you invest in and build up his kingdom on earth.

All earthly treasures will "vanish away". Better to give it to God and ensure that your treasures last forever.

 

[FFH]

Okay, one more story...

About 15 years ago I asked a bishop, of an old ward (LDS church) I was attending at the time, what a "full" tithe was, he responded, "It's up to you to decide what that is, I personally pay on my gross, except for what I pay into the social security system". I thought that was odd, never had I heard that type of response before, but to each his own. He had his own interpretation of what a full tithe was.

I however continued to pay on my gross (before all state, federal, medicare, medicaid and social security taxes), as did my wife.

I moved out of that ward and a year or two later I happened to run into the elders quorum president of that ward, great guy, he had like 7 kids and took the bus to work to do whatever it took to keep his finances in order. He related to me that the old bishop, the one I had discussed tithing with, had drowned on a Boy Scout trip with the kids in our ward and he (the elders quorum president) was now the bishop.

He (elders quorum president) was a great example to me. He did what it took to keep his finances in order, even if it meant taking the bus to work and going without a second or third car. He had a car, which his wife drove, and an old MGB which he left parked in the garage and took the bus to work.

Did the bishop drown because he knew better than to not pay on his full gross income ????

I don't know, all I know is it's risky not to pay 10 percent on your gross income. I don't want to take the risk of offending God by not paying on my gross. Many LDS members pay on their net income, It doesn't work if you do that, in my opinion. Your cheating God and yourself out of blessings you could have and risking offending God, in my opinion.

To each his own.

 

[Panda]

This is crazy. What a ridicules concept. Bribing God to get into heaven.

 

[FFH]

This is crazy. What a ridicules concept. Bribing God to get into heaven.

It's not a bribe, it's a requirement which affords us the privilege of living with God.

Salvation and exaltation in the highest degree of glory is not attainable without obeying this extremely important principle, it's not just about the money, or what we can get out ot it, it's about living eternally with God and enjoying the blessings he enjoys for eternity.

Why settle for anything less than what God is offering us ??

It's our choice, but we're not free to choose the outcome of disobeying God's eternally binding principles.

There's no way around it.

 

[Fluffy]

The main manager and all the people I would rather not have worked with voluntarily quit

Do you believe in free will or do you believe God made them "voluntarily" quit?

 

[yossarian22]

I have absolutely no debt, but when I got behind in my tithing I also got behind in my bills.
When I pay my tithes I always have money in the bank, when I pay an offering above that, I have money overflowing.
I have gotten behind in the past on my tithe and coincidently I also got behind on my bills.

The amount of firefighters present at a fire has is directly proportional to the damage done by the fire. Guess we shouldn't call any firefighters at all then.
Or, for a more famous example, the number of televisions owned by a Russian family is directly proportional to the life expectancy of the family members. Better buy loys of TVs right?

 

[FFH]

Do you believe in free will or do you believe God made them "voluntarily" quit?

I believe in a divine plan for everyone's life, so that we can be the best that we are willing to be.

The people that quit, were not happy working here, one got called into the navy 5 months early, he had worked here for about three years, the other had a kid on the way and he couldn't afford to work here as the main manager, he had worked here for 4 years, the other dude got a job paying 4 bucks more than we were able to pay him, he had worked here for a year. All three quit at the same time.

All three were a burden to be around, they hated being here and made it harder on everyone else, since they didn't pull their own weight.

Then on top of that a new assistant manager I hired turned out to be a dud and she promptly walked out without any coaxing.

I have a great crew now, I run the place and just got an independent audit and got a 98 percent, I've never gotten an inspection that high before. He was very impressed with my crew and the way things were being operated here. It's like night and day if you had walked into this place a month ago. The atmosphere is much much better now.

Instead of a gloomy place to work in, it's now full of some good positive energy.

Romans 8: 28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

See this link to other LDS scriptures concerning this.

 

[madhatter85]

I believe in a divine plan for everyone's life, so that we can be the best that we are willing to be.

The people that quit, were not happy working here, one got called in the navy 5 months early, he had worked here for about three years, the other had a kid on the way and he couldn't afford to work here as the main manager, he had worked here for 4 years, the other dude got a job paying 4 bucks more than we were able to pay him, he had worked here for a year. All three quit at the same time.

All three were a burden to be around, they hated being here and made it harder on everyone else, since they didn't pull their own weight.

Then on top of that a new assistant manager I hired turned out to be a dud and she promptly walked out without any coaxing.

I have a great crew now, I run the place and just got an independent audit and got a 98 percent, I've never gotten an inspection that high before. He was very impressed with my crew and the way things were being operated here. It's like night and day if you had walked into this place a month ago. The atmosphere is much much better.

Instead of a gloomy place it's a place full of good positive energy.

Romans 8: 28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

See this link to other LDS scriptures concerning this.

these are all great stories. It is amzing how well things work out when peopel are united in purpose. I have seen this in my own life, things are amazing between my wife and I when they weren't a few months ago. why are they different? because of the Gospel i am sure of it and so it she. we are happier, and more in synch with what eachother is feeling when we read the scriptures together every day, we pray morning and night, we pay our tithing, and we go to church together every week.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

It's not a bribe, it's a requirement which affords us the privilege of living with God.

So it's more of a tip to the Maitre d' of the afterlife, then?

 

[nutshell]

So it's more of a tip to the Maitre d' of the afterlife, then?

It's an expression of faith and obedience.

 

[Panda]

It's an expression of faith and obedience.

Hmm to me it seems like you give money you get reward. Sounds very much like a bribe to me.

 

[nutshell]

Hmm to me it seems like you give money you get reward. Sounds very much like a bribe to me.

A bribe is given to influence someone. Paying tithing isn't influencing God. He has simply said if you pay your tithing you will be blessed. And the reason we pay, as I already stated, is because of faith and obedience. It helps us to be humble and recognize there is something greater than ourselves.

 

[yossarian22]

A bribe is given to influence someone. Paying tithing isn't influencing God. He has simply said if you pay your tithing you will be blessed.

How is being blessed not an example of influence? You do not get blessed if you don't tither, but you do get blessed if you do tithe. Its exactly like bribery.

 

[nutshell]

How is being blessed not an example of influence? You do not get blessed if you don't tither, but you do get blessed if you do tithe. Its exactly like bribery.

So every contract is a bribe?

It's a mutual agreement with consideration on both sides, which is different than a bribe.

 

[Panda]

So every contract is a bribe?

It's a mutual agreement with consideration on both sides, which is different than a bribe.

No.

It(*bribery) is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions as an official or other person in discharge of a public or legal duty. The bribe is the gift bestowed to influence the receiver's conduct.

*added by me to help with context.

You give money to God to influence his decision. Sounds like bribery to me.

 

[madhatter85]

No.

*added by me to help with context.

You give money to God to influence his decision. Sounds like bribery to me.

We aren't influencing any decisions, It is a commandment with a promise, called a covenant.

D&C 82:
10 I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.

It's like paying for something at a store. or paying your Taxes. The IRS doesn't like you any more because you pay your taxes. It just taxes the taxes you owe if you don't pay willingly.

 

[FFH]

So it's more of a tip to the Maitre d' of the afterlife, then?

More like a payment for the good graces God affords us each day.

"In him we move and have our being". God "lends" us our very breath.

We no longer are required to sacrifice animals at the alter of ancient temples for sins, rather we sacrifice our time, talents and all that the Lord blesses us with for his glory and for the "building up of the kingdom of God on earth".

We have all sinned and "come short of the glory of God". Tithes assure us that we are always in good standing with God. Tithes seem to cover a multitude of sins. A modern day sacrifice for sins, you could say.

He who tithes "will not be burned at his coming".

It's good "fire insurance," as we say in the LDS culture.