Tithing Settlement Begins Tonight

In the LDS Church we have annual "tithing settlements" with our Bishop. Tonight will be the first night of many to come during the end of November and most of December. I get to meet with every member of our ward 350 or so and talk to them about charity, philanthropy, consecration, helping the poor and the needy and where they stand on the above. I have never done it before sitting in the Bishop's chair. I have done it plenty of times as one declaring my thoughts and status to the Bishop. It has always been an enjoyable experience. This time of year is the time when many of us are thinking more about being grateful and giving to others.

I have spent some time in the last few weeks thinking about what I might talk with the families of my ward about. I think I am going to ask just a couple questions to start a discussion.

• One, why do you make tithe and fast offerings? 
• Two, what blessings have you seen in your life as you have been charitable to others, whether through the making of offerings to the Church and it's programs or privately to other charitable causes?

I love my career where I help people find charitable causes. I love helping others discover the joy of giving no matter the financial capacity. As a non-paid Bishop for the LDS Church I am looking forward to talking about the joy that giving has brought into their lives.

Starting tonight and running for the next three nights I will have a family in my office every 10 minutes from 6-11pm. That should get about half the ward done. I will then try and have several Sunday's between now and the end of the year to get to the other half.

Sometime in the coming weeks I will get a post up that gives you an idea of where tithes and fast offerings are spent and the impact they have.