Finances

I am amazed by the wisdom of the leaders of our church. They all are well educated, but I would attribute their wisdom to their willingness to submit to the will of the Lord. We have been warned time and time again to be careful with our finances, even before the tough spot the country is in right now. I believe and agree with our leaders who teach that we should always have money saved up for a “rainy day”. I also endorse the counsel of getting rid of debt. I don’t believe debt is a sin, but I do believe it has the same effects as sin—by that I mean it can enslave us. Debt will follow us around our whole life if we are not wise with our money, and our families can suffer. At times it is necessary to completely change our behavior in order to free ourselves from debt, and literally gain our freedom.

 

1. “Being provident providers, we must keep that most basic commandment, ‘Thou shalt not covet’(Exodus 20:17). Our world is fraught with feelings of entitlement. . . . If our family does not have everything the neighbors have, . . . we go into debt to buy things we can’t afford, and things we do not really need. Whenever we do this, we become poor temporally and spiritually”—Elder Hales

2. “As part of this general financial caution, we encourage, if necessary, plastic surgery for both husband and wife. This is a very painless operation and it may give you more self-esteem than a new nose job or a tummy tuck. Just cut up your credit cards. Unless you are prepared to use those cards under the strictest of conditions and restraints, you should not use them at all – at least not at 18 percent or 21 percent or 24 percent interest. No convenience known to modern man has so jeopardized the financial stability of a family -especially young struggling families- like the ubiquitous credit card.”—Elder Holland

3. “…live strictly within your income and save something for a rainy day. Incorporate in your lives the discipline of budgeting that which the Lord has blessed you with. As regularly as you pay your tithing, set aside an amount needed for future family requirements.”—Elder Perry Ensign, November 1995

4. Necessary debt should be incurred only after careful, thoughtful prayer and after obtaining the best possible advice. We need the discipline to stay well within our ability to pay.”—Elder Perry Ensign, November 1995

5. "Live within your means. Get out of debt. Keep out of debt. Lay by for a rainy day which has always come and will come again. Practice and increase your habits of thrift, industry, economy, and frugality' (in Conference Report, Oct. 1937, p. 107).”—Elder L. Tom Perry, "'If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear'," General Conference, Oct, 1995.)

6. "Whenever we want to experience or possess something that will impact us and our resources, we may want to ask ourselves, 'Is the benefit temporary, or will it have eternal value and significance?' Truthfully answering these questions may help us avoid excessive debt and other addictive behavior."—Elder Robert D. Hales, "Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually," General Conference, Apr, 2009.)

7. “If you wish to get rich, save what you get. A fool can earn money; but it takes a wise man to save and dispose of it to his own advantage.”—President Brigham Young

8. “If there is any one thing that will bring peace and contentment into the human heart, and into the family, it is to live within our means. And if there is any one thing that is grinding and discouraging and disheartening, it is to have debts and obligations that one cannot meet”—President Heber J. Grant

9. “I urge you, brethren, to look to the condition of your finances. I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage.—President Hinckley (General Conference, October 1998)

10. “Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you”—President J. Reuben Clark (General Conference, 1938)