Remembering Christ in All That We Do

 "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

"Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."

These were Jesus's words at the Last Supper to His disciples as He reminded them to remember Him when they take the sacrament. His sacrifice of His body and blood to wash away our sins was given so that we could return to live with Him and our Father in Heaven. Remembering Christ is not just something to think about on Sundays but a charge to carry with us in all that we do. It serves as a constant reminder to align our choices, interactions, and aspirations with His teachings, inviting His presence into every aspect of our daily lives.

Why Remembering Christ Matters

Remembering Christ anchors us in our beliefs. It reminds us of the life He lived, the teachings He gave, and the sacrifice He made for us.

In my life, I, like everyone here, have had challenges. The main difference is in the type of challenges. My challenges may be similar in some areas and quite different from most of you in others. I have had struggles with addiction, spent time locked away in a purgatory cut off from my family and friends, ruined two marriages, and deeply disappointed my mother.

For a time, I forgot Him. I forgot what He did for me. I was the cynical, arrogant young man who said, “I can do it myself,” and those doings got me in serious hot water.

Years ago, I was in that purgatory, having just returned after making more serious mistakes. After almost seven years of rarely thinking of Him, I knew it was time to return. I read every day. I prayed every day. I focused, as much as I could, completely on Him. I did all the things I should have been doing every day for the three months leading up to my parole hearing.

That hearing did not go as I had hoped it would, and I lived in that purgatory another five and a half years. At first, I was angry. I didn’t understand. I did all the things I was supposed to do. How did this happen?

For another two months, my scriptures were left on a shelf, and I again felt like the cynical, arrogant young man who wanted to do it myself. The key difference was that I had been doing all the things I was supposed to be doing—for three months. Not for the seven years I spent on parole, not for the years and years before when I had made so many bad decisions.

Once I had gone through my cooling-off period and had time to think about what happened, I realized that I needed to live it every day, not just for three months. So I picked up my scriptures again. I read, I prayed, I went back to church, and I lived it. Even in my excommunicated state, inside that purgatory, I lived it.

He remembered us in His darkest moments, in Gethsemane, and even on the cross, saying, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

In my darkest hours, after being stripped of all the time I had completed on parole, I, at first, made the decision to forget Him and do it myself. This was the wrong decision.

Over the next five and a half years, after I woke up from my pigheadedness, I tried my best to be the right kind of person. I wasn’t perfect at it, but I was a whole lot better than I had been in the seven and a half years before. I made good friends, avoided bad situations, went to church, read, prayed, sang, led the choir, taught classes, held callings, and learned from wonderful church leaders. I remembered Him.

Living as a Witness of Christ

When we remember Christ and keep Him in our thoughts, it influences our decisions, softens our hearts, and strengthens our resolve. We learn, or remember, His path, and we resolve to follow Him. When we remember Christ, we naturally become witnesses of Him to those around us. It is not enough to say we follow Christ. James said, "...faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." In 3 Nephi (3 Nephi 18:24), Christ said, "Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world."

Our words and actions can be a testimony of Christ’s love and truth, reflecting the teachings and life of the Savior. As we strive to align our actions with His example, we not only strengthen our relationship with Him but also inspire those around us to seek Him. This connection is a living testament of His love that speaks louder than words alone. For example, the scriptural counsel to "let your light so shine before men" ties directly into our daily interactions, reminding us to illuminate the path for others toward Christ’s grace and truth. By living His teachings, we inspire others to come unto Him. 

In that purgatory, I tried to be an example to those around me. I kept my language clean, I was kind to others, and I led the dog training program with a goal to help better those around me, not to seek any vainglory of position and authority. I earned respect from my fellow inmates by being an honest, trustworthy person in a place filled with some of the most vile people you hopefully will never meet.

We can remember Christ and live for Him by looking for opportunities to be the hands of the Savior, lifting others and showing compassion. We can emulate Him in our daily habits of scripture study and prayer. We can meditate on our relationship with Him to keep that constant connection to Christ.

And like Peter was encouraged to be as he was walking on water, we can keep our focus on Christ amid life’s storms and be not afraid. Christ taught us to "love one another as I have loved you." Remembering Him helps us treat others with patience, forgiveness, and charity.

Seeing Others as Christ Sees Them

In that place, I had a friend named Jason. At some point, he had been in a car accident and received a traumatic brain injury that caused him to forget things, not be able to process as quickly, and honestly made him a little weird. But at the same time, he was a wonderful example of seeing others as Christ saw them.

Jason told me a story of a time he was on his mission, and he tried to see every person he visited while he was teaching the gospel as if they were wearing their baptism jumper, all in white. He would come and knock, visualize them in the waters of baptism, and make introductions. If they did not want to invite him in, he would ask them if he could sing them a song, and then would sing "I Am a Child of God." He told me that got him in several homes because of the pure truths that wonderful hymn contains.

We can remember Christ by being an example to others. By not hiding our light under a bushel, we can live a life worth emulating. While in that place, a friend named Matthew came to me and said, “You are always happy. How do I get what you have?” and I told him, “Come to church.” And he did.

It wasn’t the smoothest transition for him. Matthew had a rough upbringing, a physically abusive father, and an emotionally abusive mother. The idea that he had Heavenly Parents that loved him was a difficult one for him to grasp, and after a time, he stopped coming.

After I came home, he wrote me a beautiful testimony about how he had taken time to think things through and decided he should go back to church. He had become a teacher and leader in the branch and was making great leaps in his testimony.

Drawing Strength Through Christ

I was walking the track around the ballfield one day after work with a couple of friends, Mark and Lyle. Lyle was a barrel-chested tank of a man, with a crushing handshake and a warm smile. Mark was quite the opposite. He was quiet, reserved, short and round with thick glasses, and he was having trouble keeping up with Lyle and me.

Mark made the comment, "When does this get any easier?"

To which Lyle replied, "It doesn’t. You just get to where you handle it better."

I always thought that was a very profound statement that can be applied to a lot more than just exercise.

Like Lyle’s advice, remembering Christ helps us to grow stronger through our trials. For example, when I reflect on moments in my life where challenges seemed insurmountable, I see how the Savior’s teachings and presence provided clarity and resilience. These trials were not just moments of hardship but opportunities for growth, like the refiner’s fire mentioned in scripture. By remembering Christ, we are reminded of His promises and are better able to endure with faith and strength. 

In Sunday School, we often discuss the importance of challenges in our lives, and how the challenges we face help us to grow strong.

The scriptures are full of examples of this: burning off the dross, sifting wheat from the chaff, the refiner’s fire, burning out the impurities. The people in the time of Christ were a hands-on people who worked in agriculture and metal trades, among others, so it is no wonder that the stories He told related to these topics often, so they were relatable to the people.

In Matthew 11:29-30, Christ says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Alma spoke about the Lord lightening the burdens of the people when they were in bondage to the Lamanites. In Mosiah 24:13-15, we read:

"And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage. And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions."

The Lord didn’t immediately remove the people from bondage, as He did not inspire the parole board to remove me from bondage, but He strengthened them to bear their burdens with ease. I feel like He strengthened me as I studied and prayed, taught, and volunteered, so that I was able to handle my time in bondage.

Eventually, He delivered them entirely, showing His power and faithfulness. This teaches us that while we may face trials, the Lord can lighten our load and help us endure, even before complete deliverance comes.

Conclusion: Remembering Christ Daily

Remembering Christ in all that we do doesn’t mean our lives will be free of struggles. But it does mean that we will face those challenges with purpose, faith, and the assurance of His love and grace. As we take on the heaviest burdens we can carry, we will find strength, meaning, and growth. We will draw closer to Him, and in so doing, we will become more like Him.

I leave this with you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

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Is tithing still a commandment?

10 Bring ye all the ^atithes into the storehouse, that there may be ^bmeat in mine house, and ^cprove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not ^dopen you the ^ewindows of heaven, and pour you out a ^fblessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. --Malachi 3:10

In our family group chat my sister-in-law, Melanie, posed a question: Is the law of tithing about ten percent of gross income?

I thought that was a fair question and pondered it as the family discussed, mostly because I was at work and couldnt devote the time to it that it deserved.

I looked up the relevant verses so I had a solid foundation for my response:

The Old Testament

30 And all the ^atithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.

31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.

32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the ^arod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. --Leviticus 27:30-32

Here we read that the law was the tenth animal to pass under the rod as the herdsman was counting out the new cattle (cattle being whatever animal the herdsman raised). 

So if I had a hundred head of sheep, goats, mules, whatever, and the new ones born that season are my increase, and i count them, every tenth goes to the Lord. This is a law of the tithe, gross increase.

And not just for herdsmen:

22 Thou shalt truly ^atithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. --Deuteronomy 14:22

Again, the "increase" is what is added to your holdings that year.

Melanie says that some people she knows have decided the increase is what is left over after paying their bills, and pay 10% on that. But that isn't what the scriptures say. It is very clear pay 10% gross, if you take 2 seconds to think about it. 

No where in the Bible does it say to sell the sheep required to cover the expenses on your farm, pay your ranch hands, and the water carriers, and what's left over, return 10% to the Lord. It says count the increase of your grain and your animals, and one-tenth is the Lord's.

The New Testament

Some say Jesus broke the old laws when he came, but that isn't what Jesus says:

17 ¶ Think not that I am come to ^adestroy the ^blaw, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the ^alaw, till all be ^bfulfilled. --Matthew 5:17-18

He clearly says nothing will change from the law until ALL is fulfilled. So 10% is still the rule.

Doctrine & Covenants 119

Melanie's brother, Chris, brought up in D&C 119 where it says "one-tenth of all their interest annually." From this he thought it meant not gross wages.

Let's look at the whole verse:

4 And after that, those who have thus been ^atithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord. --D&C 119:4

I disagree that this does not refer to gross wages. I don't think this is a change in the law of tithing at all, but a return to it. 

For a time, the Saints were required to give all that they could to the church to help build it up. People were giving their life savings, selling land, herds, whatever they could because they believed in the Book of Mormon and that Joseph Smith was the Prophet of God in the latter days.

D&C 119 is short, let's look at the section up to verse 4 to get a greater context:

1 Verily, thus saith the Lord, I require all their ^asurplus property to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church in Zion,

2 For the building of mine ^ahouse, and for the laying of the foundation of Zion and for the priesthood, and for the debts of the Presidency of my Church.

3 And this shall be the beginning of the ^atithing of my people.

4 And after that, those who have thus been ^atithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.

So "after that" refers to after "all their surplus property", then return to 10% of their "interest annually".

My understanding of interest in this context is thus:

"interest is on top of principle. so if what i own is principle, then anything added unto it would be interest. each year i add to my holdings, in the form of income, and pay tithe on my increase."

I find that to be pretty straightforward, and upholds the law as written in the Bible.

Tithing is a commitment to the Lord, not the church

When I was baptized I asked the bishop if I was supposed to pay 10% of gross or net. He told me that most pay gross, but it is a commitment to the Lord, so I should do what I feel is right. 

In our conversation, Melanie posed several challenges:

Melanie: "I’ve always paid 10% gross. But the point is more philosophical. Is this something we do out of tradition? Are we missing the mark? Are we paying twice as much as we need to pay and thereby putting ourselves in more financial stress than we need to be in? Because, as we discussed, paying extra tithing does not equal extra blessings from obeying that law."

To which I replied:

If you live within your means, tithing should be part of that means and not something that endangers your lifestyle. And you paying extra may not afford you more blessings, but what about those that the tithing funds go to help?

are they not blessed by your charity?

do you pay tithing only to get a blessing?

Melanie: We’ve always paid tithing first. Still do. 

When we feel like we have extra, we give a bigger fast offering. Or we have given people of our excess who are in need. I feel like those donation helps people more than my tithing, which goes in the general church coffers and doesn’t make a dent. 

But let’s say you believed that you were supposed to pay 20% your whole life. Sometimes you could afford it more than others. But when economy went to crap it became harder to pay the bills and buy the groceries. Because, you know, you pay the tithing first it’s the other things you don’t have money for. But then you learn that you’re only supposed to pay 10%. Would you refuse to consider paying less?

Me: if i had it built into my lifestyle to pay 20%, i would continue paying 20%. if things got tight i would look at my spending on luxuries where I could reduce. like i'd turn off netflix, amazon, and disney. i'd make sure all spotify and other things were off. i'd encourage my family to eat out less and have more at home meals. i would find places in my life where i could cut back a little so i still felt i was doing the right thing in paying my tithing, whatever amount that was.

i dont pay tithing because it's a bill. i pay tithing because it's what the Lord asked of us. i dont calculate how much and decide God has been cheating me because i've been paying more than i "should".

Melanie: I pay tithing because it’s a commandment, not because it’s a bill. But maybe when we struggle and pray to find out ways to cut enough costs to get by without going negative each month, maybe God looks down at us and is like, “well, you could stop paying that ridiculous amount of tithing. Then you could afford your basic groceries.” Because it is about obedience. It’s not about paying your way into a more righteous status. The amount extra you pay does not translate to a higher law. You know?

Me: i'm still not sure what your end goal is in this conversation. if you dont want to pay as much tithing, pay less tithing. it's a personal commitment to the Lord. The church gives you a tithing settlement and asks you if you're paying a full tithe. they dont look at your W2s..

Each year we in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have what we call 'tithing settlement' where the bishop provides a receipt of all tithing paid in the year and asks if you are a full tithe payer. 

There is no accountant waiting in the wings to check your W2s, 1099s, tax returns, etc. Just a simple statement of donation, and a single question.

You can handle that however you feel is right. 

But the actual law is 10% gross income.

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Teaching in Church

Sunday School teacher is probably my favorite calling, especially when your class is engaging and talkative.

The best lessons I've ever participated in are those where the conversation flows naturally, instead of being a reading of the assigned chapters and verses, and then a discussion of, "what does that verse/scripture/chapter/etc., mean to you?"

In my lessons I tend to give an interesting, dramatic summary of the story, followed by the principle that was underlying in the story. One class we read two verses and had a great discussion about those two verses for the entire 45 minutes of class.

For example, today the lesson was on Numbers 11-14; 20-24, which discusses the Israelites wandering in the desert, whining and complaining like 4 year olds the entire time. They whined about how much food they were getting, what type of food it was, it's too hot, it's too cold, i want another sucker, טִרדָה is touching me!

In one chapter, Moses sends out 12 spies/scouts, one from each tribe, to spread out amongst the land before them and try to figure out which one was the "promised land" that God told them about. Go, gather intel, see who lives there, if they're a simple village or a military stronghold, and how fertile is the ground?

One group of scouts comes back with big juicy grapes, pomegranites, and figs, says the land is lush and fertile, but there are people living on the land. One man says, "We can take 'em." and the scouts say, "Nuh-uh.. They're giants. They'll kick the crap out of us."

While the story is simple and can be made more entertaining in my retelling of it, it is the least important part of the class.

The important part is, what is the meaning of the promised land? 

...the fruit? 

...the giants? 

How can we compare them to our day?

I ask these questions and let my class think about them. They then come to the conclusions and start raising their hands to answer:

• "The promised land is a goal, or something we want."
• "The fruit is the blessings that come from striving for our goals."
• "The giants are the challenges we face."

Yes. That is the most important part of these stories in the Old Testiment. Not to follow what Moses, or Aaron, or Caleb or whomever else is doing, but how can we apply these things to our day? 

The Israelites did not have faith in the Lord that He would fulfill His promises. They constantly murmured against Him. 

5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 

7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (Num21:5-9)

The story, although interesting in it's own right, also has symbolism:

What are the fiery serpents sent amongst the people? 

What is the brass serpent placed upon the pole?

What does it mean to look upon it?

• Fiery serpents are afflictions.
• Brass serpent is Christ.
• Looking upon it is looking to the Lord in faith.

It is in this manner of teaching that my class has the most interaction/participation. They seem interested in the stories as how they can apply them, instead of just reading them in class. 

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