Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
Elder Jorge T. Becerra · Of the Seventy · Saturday Morning Session
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Paying tithing first, before other financial obligations, is one concrete way to overcome spiritual double-mindedness and put God at the center of our lives.
Skip reading the full Moses 5 passage aloud; summarize Adam's sacrifice in one sentence and move to the discussion questions.
Before Sunday
Sunday: We're discussing tithing and putting God first
This week's discussion is based on Elder Jorge T. Becerra's talk 'Tithing, Putting God First' from general conference. He shares a personal experience of selling his car to pay tithing when he was a young father struggling financially, and he connects that act of faith to a much older pattern going all the way back to Adam and Eve. Before Sunday, think about a time when you chose to honor a commandment even though it was financially or practically inconvenient. What made you do it, and what happened afterward?
Pick one opening
Think of a time when you felt pulled in two directions, when part of you wanted to follow what God asked and another part of you wasn't sure you could afford to, literally or figuratively. You don't have to share the details. But what does that internal tug-of-war feel like? Elder Becerra calls it 'double-mindedness.' What does that word bring to mind for you?
Think of a time when you felt pulled in two directions, when part of you wanted to follow what God asked and another part of you wasn't sure you could afford to, literally or figuratively. You don't have to share the details. But what does that internal tug-of-war feel like? Elder Becerra calls it 'double-mindedness.' What does that word bring to mind for you?
Elder Becerra was a young husband and father, serving in a branch presidency, falling behind on his tithing because his business was struggling. A visiting Seventy asked him a simple question: 'Do you have anything of value?' Elder Becerra didn't answer out loud. He just went home and thought about it for days, until he cleaned up his car, posted it for sale, and prayed someone would buy it for exactly the amount he needed to clear the loan and pay his tithing.
Teach this first
From the beginning, God has asked His children to give Him the firstlings, the first and best, not the leftovers. Elder Becerra teaches that this pattern is not just a financial practice; it is a spiritual discipline that trains us to stop wavering between God and our own priorities. When we pay tithing first, we are making a repeated, concrete declaration about who comes first in our lives.
Elder Becerra testified: 'I am certain that the payment of tithes and offerings will enhance our spiritual capacity as we put God first.'
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If time remains
Elder Becerra and Elder Bednar both point to a blessing beyond the financial: spiritual illumination. The talk notes that after Adam offered sacrifice, 'the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam', suggesting that the act of putting God first opens us to greater spiritual clarity and direction.
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Counsel together
Last 3–5 minutes
This week, before paying any other bill or making any other financial decision, consciously pay your tithing or fast offering first, and if you are current, do something this week that puts God first in one non-financial area of your life, and notice what happens.
Elder Becerra promises that 'a spiritual power and direction, heretofore unknown, will come into our lives' as we keep the law of obedience and sacrifice.
Your witness: Share what keeping this law has cost you and what it has given you, not as a success story, but as an honest witness of what you have seen God do when you have chosen Him first.