Unlike other religious sects professing Christianity, the Latter-day Saints do not observe the law of tithing, the ordinances of baptism, confirmation or any other sacred rite merely because the Bible records that such observances were had among the ancient saints, but for the reason that in this age of the world, God has commanded us to receive these laws and ordinances.

The law of tithing was given in the early history of God's dealings with the children of men. Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedek, according to the statement of Paul to the Hebrews. The apostle also refers to the fact that the tribe of Levi had been selected from all the sons of Israel to officiate in that order of the priesthood which has to do with the outward ordinances of tithes and sacrifice, and notwithstanding there was a higher order, of which Melchisedek was the great High Priest, those bearing the higher priesthood were not exempt from the law of tithing. (Heb. vii:4-5.)

Jacob also paid one-tenth to the Lord. (Gen. xxviii:20-22.) During the administration of Moses as the leader and lawgiver under the Almighty to Israel, tithing was enjoined as a universal law to the people of God. "And all the tithe 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. And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. He shall not search whether it be good or bad." (Lev. xxvii:30, 32, 33.) This did not require a selection of the very choicest product of the flock, the herd or the soil, neither did it justify a man in offering for his tithes the poorest or least valuable of his income. Of the flocks, each one "that passeth under the rod" was to be tithed. The custom was to pen the flocks in a corral, with a gateway too small for the passage of more than one animal at a time; and as they passed out, a man stood at the gateway with a rod in his hand, and as the tenth one of the flock went out, the man at the gate marked the animal with his rod. Thus every tenth one, whether it was good, poor or medium, was sanctified to the Lord as tithing; any disposition to offer as a tithe an inferior article was disapproved of by the Lord. In matters of sacrifice upon the altar, pointing to the sacrifice of the Great Redeemer who should be offered in the meridian of time to redeem a fallen world, Israel was positively forbidden to offer the blind, the lame or the bruised. "Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats. But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer; for it shall not be acceptable for you. * * * Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the Lord." (Lev. xxii:19, 22.)

The atonement symbolized by the sacrifices was one (the Lamb of God) free from blemish in every particular—"a pure and perfect being without spot or blemish." Not only was the offering upon the altar a reminder of the atonement as a fact, by the shedding of blood, but the character and quality of the offering must symbolize the perfect purity of the Son of God.

While tithing was not so directly pointing to the atonement, nor was it designed for that purpose, it is yet an offering to the Lord required by Him, to be used for righteous purposes and to prepare the heart of the tithe-payer to give his all to God, to consecrate all in the interest of human redemption. The Lord, in tithing, does not demand the best nor justify His people in offering that of the least value in any substance tithed. How penurious, mean and small-souled on the part of any saint it would be to offer for tithing that of the poorest value to himself, especially in the light of the fact that God is the Giver of all we enjoy, whether of a spiritual or physical nature, and in the face of His great liberality in not demanding a selection of the very best of any product which is tithed. If any man is tempted to pay the poorest calf, the poorest ton of hay, or a scabby sheep to rid himself of it, let him remember the word of the Lord to ancient Israel and the condemnation that followed when they robbed God in tithes and offerings.

These injunctions continued throughout all the history of Israel, from Moses to the Savior. Malachi says "And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?" (Mal. i:8.) It should be considered evil to offer such for tithing in our day. When Israel turned from their observance of this law, as from all others enjoined by the Almighty, the people were reprimanded severely, and were followed by the withering hand of God's displeasure. "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 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, and all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." (Mal. iii:8-12.) Thus was the law of tithing given to Israel; thus were they to be blessed in its observance and cursed if they transgressed it. As the law was given anciently for the same purposes as in this dispensation, it would naturally agree in the blessings following its observances and the curses for its disobedience. When the Savior chastised the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, He evidently approved the law of tithing, for He said, "But woe unto you Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." (Luke: xi:42.)

It is erroneously supposed by many that the laws observed by Israel previous to Christ's atonement were almost entirely obliterated, being, as many think, all fulfilled in His mission on earth. A little reflection upon this subject will correct this error in the minds of all who are diligently and honestly seeking for the truth. The Ten Commandments themselves are pre-eminently a part of the Gospel of Christ. When the young man came to the Messiah to learn the way of salvation, he was enjoined to observe the commandments, "Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery," etc. (Matt. xix;16-21.) Whatever was discontinued after the atonement was that which had been established to symbolize and teach the great atonement to come. The offerings of lambs and bullocks in sacrifice was dispensed with, as it had pointed to the coming atonement now fulfilled in the Messiah. It was replaced by the sacrament, the broken bread and the wine, both blessed and administered to the disciples and enjoined as a continuous ordinance to keep bright in memory the sufferings, atonement and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The only time when the law of tithing was not enjoined upon the people of God, so far as the Scriptures indicate, is when they not only consecrated one-tenth to the Lord, but all they had. This law of consecration, we learned, was observed in the city of Enoch. It was carried out in a measure by the ancient Saints in Palestine after the day of Pentecost: "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they all had things in common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses, sold them, and brought the prices of the things which were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made unto every man as he had need." (Acts iv:32-35.)

This law of consecration, which comprehended the law of tithing and much more, was also observed for some 200 years upon the American continent subsequent to the visit of the Savior to and the establishment of His Church among the Nephites upon this land. The law of consecration was revealed to the Latter-day Saints through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and will be established and carried out fully in the redemption of Zion; without it Zion cannot be redeemed.

This is the dispensation of the fullness of times, the one containing in its revelations all the keys, powers, prerogatives, authorities and blessings, enjoyed by any and all previous dispensations combined-a day of the restoration of all things spoken by the mouth of all His holy Prophets since the world began. (Acts iii:20-21; Eph. i:9-10.) Consequently the law of tithing, with other grand doctrines, has been restored to the earth. The revelation on this subject is found in the Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 119, and was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith July 8, 1838. It shows what constitutes tithing, the purpose thereof and the blessings to be received as a reward of obedience thereto.

The law specifies one-tenth of all our interests annually. This means what it says, "one-tenth of our interests;" in other words, whatever comes to us as the result of our labors in any and every vocation of life. If we lend money, whatever the interest on the loan amounts to, one-tenth of this interest is tithing. If the money is invested in any enterprise and brings a dividend, one-tenth of the dividend is the tithing. If a man is a carpenter, a blacksmith or a school teacher, and earns a salary, one-tenth of that salary should be consecrated to the Lord as tithing; and the tithe-payer has the other nine-tenths to meet his expenses and to use as a means of livelihood. Whatever the occupation, whether farmer, mechanic, professor, miner or whatever, one-tenth of his interest annually is the tithing. If questions arise, as they sometimes do, especially with the farmer regarding legitimate expenses used in producing what is left to us as a profit on our labors, the Latter-day Saint, if in doubt as to the amount to pay, is usually certain of this—that between two propositions one of which he knows is right, and the other may be but he is not sure, he is always safe to act upon that side of the question which extends to the law of the Lord the greater liberality. "It is more blessed to give than to receive." "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver," and "He that deviseth liberal means, shall stand by his liberality," while the man who complies grudgingly or studies how little he can do, and at the same time have the name and record of doing, is not the man who loves the Lord with all his heart, mind and strength, and should not anticipate a full measure of blessing attached to His law.

By an honest compliance, the individual is blessed in spirit and in temporal substance. The testimonies of thousands, and even of the widow who has paid her full tithing, is that God has increased their substance in some instances in a most remarkable manner, even as He increased in the barrel the meal of the poor widow who fed the prophet Elijah. He also has given testimony of His goodness and power and the increase of His Holy Spirit to the honest tithe-payer, who receives blessings greatly exceeding in value the increase of gold, silver or any physical substance.

In tithing is strongly exemplified the eternal law that what is given as God directs increases the substance of the giver. When men exert the intellectual talents with which they are endowed in imparting knowledge to others, their own knowledge does not decrease but is enhanced, while the active intellect grows strongly and the talents are more quickly developed and increased. When our young Elders go forth and preach the Gospel as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, the Spirit they employ does not grow less nor the gifts thereof diminish because they are constantly imparting to others, but these increase abundantly. It is just as easy for the Lord to increase physical substance as to add to spiritual blessings and powers. When we sow the grain upon the earth, it would seem thrown away, but by the law of the Great Creator, the seed germinates in it and produces again, sometimes thirty and forty fold. So it is with tithing. We may not understand fully the process, but the result is plain. God increases the faith and substance of him who freely pays his tithing.

Among the conditions associated with this law is, "those who are not tithed shall not be worthy the blessings of the house of the Lord;" and again, "He that is tithed shall not be burned" (at His coming). (Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 64:23.) It is predicted by Malachi and other prophets, as well as by the words of the Lord in the last days to the prophet Joseph Smith, that the days of God's judgment are coming upon the earth, and that the wicked, proud and rebellious shall become as stubble, "and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts." (Malachi iii. Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 64.)

In the revelations on tithing the Lord also says, "Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather into the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe this law or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you. And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you. And this shall be an example unto all the Stakes of Zion. Even so, Amen." (Doc. and Cov., Sec. 119.)

The perfection and benefits of the law of tithing could not be comprehended by men of this age of the world prior to the revelations given from the Lord. This divine instruction was necessary, and its demonstration in the lives of the people is a further witness of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith; the facts connected therewith are within easy reach of those who will investigate among the people who have actual experience and knowledge of the divine blessings that attend obedience to the law of tithing and are unimpeachable testimonies of the truth of God's word.