Elder Jorge T. Becerra spoke in the Saturday morning session of the April 2026 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His focus was on putting God first and paying tithing. His address reminded me of this essay that will be included in the revised edition of Simply Prepared: A Guide to Emergency Preparedness and Food Storage.
TITHING, PREPAREDNESS, AND SELF-RELIANCE
On May 18, 1899, Pres. Lorenzo Snow, fifth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, declared “The time has now come for every Latter-day Saint, who calculates to be prepared for the future and to hold his feet strong upon a proper foundation, to do the will of the Lord and to pay his tithing in full.”1
In his travels through southern Utah that May, President Snow continually taught the members of the Church to be confident that they would be blessed both temporally and spiritually as they paid a full tithing. He taught that “The law of tithing is one of the most important ever revealed to man.…Through obeying this law the blessings of prosperity and success will be given unto the Saints.”2 And “If we will keep that law … the land will be sanctified, and we shall be counted worthy to receive the blessings of the Lord and to be sustained and supported in our financial affairs and in everything we do, temporal as well as spiritual.”3
He later taught “Here is a law revealed specially for our protection and safety, as well as for our advancement in the path of righteousness and holiness…”4
Malachi 3:10-11 (KJV) reads “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. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.”
If you are having trouble acquiring your food storage, ask yourself if you are paying a full and honest tithe. If you are not, do it. Then have faith that you will be able to get your food storage.
If you are paying a full and honest tithe, call down the blessings of heaven in your behalf. You have been promised that paying a full tithe will help you be prepared, be prosperous, be protected, and be sustained and supported in your financial affairs, all your temporal affairs, and your spiritual affairs. What more could we ask for in our preparedness/self-reliance efforts than God’s blessings and support?
- Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow (2012) p. 157 ↩︎
- ibid., p. 162 ↩︎
- ibid., p. 162 ↩︎
- ibid., p. 163 ↩︎
