Quotes On Fasting And Fast Offerings
One of the important things the Lord has told us to do is to be liberal in our payment of fast offerings. I would like you to know that there are great rewards for so doing-both spiritual and temporal rewards. The Lord has said that the efficacy of our prayers depends upon our liberality to the poor. (See Alma 34:28.)
Marion G. Romney, "The Blessings of the Fast," Ensign, July 1982, p. 2
"Be liberal in your giving, that you yourselves may grow. Don't give just for the benefit of the poor, but give for your own welfare. Give enough so that you can give yourself into the kingdom of God through consecrating of your means and your time. Pay an honest tithing and a generous fast offering if you want the blessings of heaven. I promise every one of you who will do it that you will increase your own prosperity, both spiritually and temporally. The Lord will reward you according to your deeds.
Also:
President Marion G. Romney in the April 1971 welfare meeting, said, "'If the members of the Church would double their fast offering contributions, the spirituality in the Church would double. We need to keep that in mind and be liberal in our contributions.'"
("The Blessings of the Fast,") ( EN1982Jul:4) TLDP:200
This is from Teachings of the Latter-day Prophets, and the Ensign.
"At least once a month, fast and pray and contribute generous fast offerings. We will be blessed and protected from apostasy by so doing."
Russell M. Nelson
"Payment of our tithes and offerings can help us become independent."
James E. Faust:
"Paying tithing is discharging a debt to the Lord...
"If we obey this commandment, we are promised that we will 'prosper in the land.' This prosperity consists of more than material goods—it may include enjoying good health and vigor of mind. It includes family solidarity and spiritual increase."
"It is my firm belief, after many years of close observation, that those who honestly pay their tithes and offerings do prosper and get along better in almost every way. It is my testimony that in discharging this debt to the Lord, one enjoys great personal satisfaction. Unfortunately this great satisfaction will be known only by those who have the faith and strength to keep this commandment.
President N. Eldon Tanner (these quotes are from conference addresses)
President Spencer W. Kimball's statement on fast offerings:
"Sometimes," he said, "we have been a bit penurious and figured that we had for breakfast one egg and that cost so many cents and then we give that to the Lord. I think that when we are affluent, as many of us are, that we ought to be very, very generous. . . .
"I think we should . . . give, instead of the amount we saved by our two meals of fasting, perhaps much, much more—ten times more where we are in a position to do it."
(Conference Report, April 1974, p. 184)
"Let me promise you here today that if the Latter-day Saints will honestly and conscientiously from this day forth, as a people, keep the monthly fast and pay into the hands of their bishops the actual amount that they would have spent for food for the two meals from which they have refrained; and if in addition to that they will pay their honest tithing, it will solve all of the problems in connection with taking care of the Latter-day Saints. We would have all the money necessary to take care of all the idle and all the poor. Every living soul among the Latter-day Saints that fasts two meals once a month will be benefited spiritually and be built up in the faith of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ—benefited spiritually in a wonderful way—and sufficient means will be in the hands of the bishops to take care of all the poor."
President Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, p. 123
"Fasting turns the volume down on our bodies."
Unknown
"It is not a burden to refrain from two meals a month and give the value thereof to assist in caring for the poor. It is, rather, a blessing. Not only will physical benefits flow from the observance of this principle, but spiritual values also. Our program of the fast day and the fast offering is so simple and so beautiful that I cannot understand why people everywhere do not take it up. Hearings have recently been held in the Congress of the United States on a proposal to recommend to the president a day of fasting to raise funds for the starving people of Africa. Our own experience last spring was so easy of execution and so tremendously productive that our consecrations have blessed thousands without causing any of us to suffer in the least."
President Gordon B. Hinckley (CR Oct 1985)
"Out of a sense of love for the less fortunate among our own, let us observe the law of the fast, going without a little food - which we do not need - and contributing the value thereof and even more to help those who are in desperate circumstances."
President Gordon B. Hinckley (CR Apr 1989)
"You know that the first Thursday in each month (now the first Sunday) we hold as a fast day. How many here know the origin of this day? Before tithing was paid, the poor were supported by donations. They came to Joseph and wanted help, in Kirtland, and he said there should be a fast day, which was decided upon. It was to be held once a month, as it is now, and all that would have been eaten that day, of flour, or meat, or butter, or fruit, or anything else, was to be carried to the fast meeting and put into the hands of a person selected for the purpose of taking care of it and distributing it among the poor."
(DBY, 169)
"In our fast-day meetings, the Saints meet to express their feelings and to strengthen each other in their faith in the holy Gospel ." (DBY, 169)
"Do you not receive as much of the spirit of intelligence, of the spirit of knowledge, and the consoling influences of the Holy Ghost, to have people rise and testify of the things of God which they do know, of those things which they have experienced themselves? Does not that vividly bring to your minds the goodness of the Lord in revealing to you the truths of the Gospel? Does not that strengthen your faith, give you an increase of confidence and witness to you that you are a child of God? Most assuredly it does. Therefore, when any testify of the things of God, it strengthens their brethren, precisely as it did in days of old when they observed the counsel to, "Speak often one to another," "strengthen the brethren," and so on." (DBY, 170)
"Now, while the law requires the Saints in all the world to fast from "even to even" and to abstain both from food and drink, it can easily be seen from the Scriptures, and especially from the words of Jesus, that it is more important to obtain the true spirit of love for God and man, "purity of heart and simplicity of intention," than it is to carry out the cold letter of the law. The Lord has instituted the fast on a reasonable and intelligent basis, and none of his works are vain or unwise. His law is perfect in this as in other things. Hence, those who can are required to comply thereto; it is a duty from which they cannot escape; but let it be remembered that the observance of the fast day by abstaining twenty-four hours from food and drink is not an absolute rule, it is no iron-clad law to us, but it is left with the people as a matter of conscience, to exercise wisdom and discretion. Many are subject to weakness, others are delicate in health, and others have nursing babies; of such it should not be required to fast. Neither should parents compel their little children to fast. I have known children to cry for something to eat on fast day. In such cases, going without food will do them no good. Instead, they dread the day to come, and in place of hailing it, dislike it; while the compulsion engenders a spirit of rebellion in them, rather than a love for the Lord and their fellows. Better teach them the principle, and let them observe it when they are old enough to choose intelligently, than to so compel them.
Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p. 243:
"But those should fast who can, and all classes among us should be taught to save the meals which they would eat, or their equivalent, for the poor. None are exempt from this; it is required of the Saints, old and young, in every part of the Church. It is no excuse that in some places there are no poor. In such cases the fast donation should be forwarded to the proper authorities for transmission to such stakes of Zion as may stand in need."
Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p.244:
"Fasting without prayer is starvation".
Unknown
"It is expected that each of us will fast, that is, abstain, from two meals a month and give the equivalent value of those meals to the bishop to be used in taking care of the poor. Nobody suffers.
"I am satisfied that if everyone in the United States were to observe this simple law, the welfare needs of the nation could be taken care of without raising a single dollar of taxes for this purpose. Those who give would be blessed, and those who receive would be blessed."
President Gordon B. Hinckley
Madison Square Garden, N.Y., April 26, 1998
"Fasting is also one of the finest ways of developing our own discipline and self-control. Plato said, 'The first and the best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile.'
"Fasting helps to teach us self-mastery. It helps us to gain the discipline we need to have control over ourselves."
Elder L. Tom Perry, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
"The Law of the Fast", May 1986 Ensign, p. 32
"One of the important ways to feel the Spirit of the Lord is to give service. Thus I commend to you in this exercise program that you commit a daily act of selfless service. You may want to try a fast in conjunction with this service—not necessarily a fast from food. What if you were to fast from negative or critical or worldly talk? Or maybe you could fast from a habit that you are trying to change. As you engage in service and in the fasting from the behavior that takes you away from the Spirit, you will feel a renewal of the Spirit of the Lord.
Robert H. Daines, BYU Devotional, June 20, 2000
"The personal benefits derived from fasting are substantial. The scriptures tell us that a certain kind of devil goes not out except by fasting and prayer. (See Matt. 17:21.) The supremacy of the spirit over the appetites of the body is affirmed by the mental discipline of fasting. This strength fortifies us in our combat with other temptations prompted by physical appetites that, if uncontrolled, would be destructive to our welfare. While some have physical conditions that preclude fasting, most people are not excluded on this basis. To me, a successfully completed period of fasting from food and drink on fast day brings a degree of self-confidence. Fasting is real evidence to oneself and to his maker of gratitude for the gift of health and strength which permits one to be able to fast. Surely this is a great privilege and blessing."
Russell M. Nelson "I Have a Question," "Ensign," Apr. 1976, p. 33
"Periodic fasting can help clear up the mind and strengthen the body and the spirit. The usual fast, the one we are asked to participate in for fast Sunday, is for 24 hours without food or drink. Some people, feeling the need, have gone on longer fasts of abstaining from food but have taken the needed liquids. Wisdom should be used, and the fast should be broken with light eating. To make a fast most fruitful, it should be coupled with prayer and meditation; physical work should be held to a minimum, and it's a blessing if one can ponder on the scriptures and the reason for the fast."
Ezra Taft Benson "Do Not Despair," "Ensign," Nov. 1974, p. 66–67
"We should give generously to the fast offering and humanitarian funds of the Church. And, if we desire our families to live lives of depth and meaning, we must have the courage to examine honestly where our treasures lie and avoid the pitfalls that result from greed, selfishness, and overindulgence."
Elder Joe J. Christensen "Greed, Selfishness, and Overindulgence" - Gen. Conf. April 1999
"Fasting and prayer is a great way to receive the moral strength and the spiritual strength to resist the temptations of Satan."
President James E. Faust - Ensign, Sept. 1995, 7
"Fasting brings spiritual blessing. The law of the fast is another test. If we merely go without food to supply welfare funds, it is much of the letter, but in real fasting, for spiritual blessings, comes self-mastery and increased spirituality."
Spencer W. Kimball (TSWK, p. 145)