Lately I have been thinking a lot about giving--especially during the holidays.
As most of you know, I work at LDS Philanthropies. It is a department of the Office of the Presiding Bishopric. We facilitate philanthropic gift to the Church's priorities.
We give people the gift of giving.
We are truly changing and saving lives. Hearts are changing and happiness is growing. Many of these donors are so consecrated. Many really strive to walk as he walked.
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My Grandma Selman
When I was in preschool my mom used to drop me off at Grandma's on her way to work. Grandma and I spent a lot of time together. Time that I still deeply cherish today. One thing that always predominately sticks out to me when I think about my Grandma is how selfless she is!! I remember Grandma so willingly giving away any excess she has to people around her in need.
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living (Mark 12:41-44).
She definitely exemplifies the "widow's mite." Even today I constantly see her giving and serving others and doing what the Lord would want her to do with her time (indexing, temple attendance, visiting teaching....). She truely "giveth all that she hath."
“In this world it is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich.”
-Henry Ward Beecher
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Nearly every week at work I am able to see the JOY that comes to these donors that give. I hear stories of how these donors lives are changed--how blessings from heaven pour down upon them. How they continue to give because they love how it feels to give without expecting anything in return.
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“Wishing will not make it so. The Lord expects our thinking. He expects our action. He expects our labors. He expects our testimonies. He expects our devotion.”
–President Thomas S. Monson
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The Happy Giving Statistic
Arthur C. Brooks has giving many speeches regarding the paradox of giving.
"In 2003, while working on a book about charitable giving, I stumbled across a strange pattern in my data. Paradoxically, I was finding that donors ended up with more income after making their gifts. This was more than correlation; I found solid evidence that giving stimulated prosperity. . . . that donating and volunteering bring a host of benefits to those who give . . . [such as] happiness.
"None of this is exactly revolutionary; after all, Jesus himself taught his followers,
“It is more blessed to give than to receive... Giving empowers us to breathe more meaning into our lives ”
For the rest of the short article click HERE.
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“Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:40)
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Recently in General Conference Elder Holland gave a wonderful talk titled,
"Are we Not all Beggars?"
"Are we Not all Beggars?"
In his conclusion he said:
"In that regard, I pay a personal tribute to President Thomas Spencer Monson. I have been blessed by an association with this man for 47 years now, and the image of him I will cherish until I die is of him flying home from then–economically devastated East Germany in his house slippers because he had given away not only his second suit and his extra shirts but the very shoes from off his feet. “How beautiful upon the mountains [and shuffling through an airline terminal] are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace.” More than any man I know, President Monson has “done all he could” for the widow and the fatherless, the poor and the oppressed."
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“What we have done for ourselves alone dies
with us; what we have done for
others and the world remains and is immortal.” ― Albert Pike
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I feel that my grandmother understands this simple principle oh so well. I have thought about her example many times throughout my life. Her Chirstlike example inspired me to be better, to be more selfless and loving with "my neighbors". I see her giving so freely. My Grandma often donates to the Church. She gives without a thought about herself and what would be more economically profitable for her.
She just gives.
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"We must walk as He walked" - Thomas S. Monson
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"For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?" (Mosiah:4:19)
He is the Gift.
All that we have is because of Him. Utilizing our resources are ways in which we can share the gift and give back to him.
When we seek to serve others with love we are like the wise men who seeked out the Lord and followed the star.
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I am far from perfect when it comes to giving. I constantly need Him. He gave his life for me. He leads me to hope through the Atonement--His amazing gift to us. May we continue to share the gift by following His example. By being a disciple of Jesus Christ. By loving as he loves.
He is my Savior.
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May you keep His spirit and the spirit of giving with you throughout the year.
