Position Statement:
I have been teaching my family members, and my children the
principles of financial management. I involve them in creating a budget and
setting family financial goals. I teach the principles of hard work, frugality,
and saving. I stress the importance of obtaining as much education as possible
in this area because it’s so important to start young. My parents never taught me about money, it
was never polite to talk about in my home.
I’ve learned that, though my parents and remarkably good with their
money and standards, that I needed to change this in my family. Before every month, we sit down together and
plan out the month and what we need or want. Then we don’t overspend and my
kids don’t throw a fit when I tell them, “Sorry, we didn’t budget for that.”
Living
Prophets & Apostles:
1. I have a dear friend who, in the early
years of his marriage, was convinced he and his family needed a four-wheel-drive pickup
truck. His wife was sure that he did not need but merely wanted the new
vehicle. A playful conversation between this husband and wife initiated their
consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of such a purchase.
“Sweetheart, we need a four-wheel-drive
truck.”
She asked, “Why do you think we need a
new truck?”
He answered her question with what he
believed was the perfect response: “What if we needed milk for our children in
a terrible storm, and the only way I could get to the grocery store was in a
pickup?”
His wife replied with a smile, “If we buy a new truck, we
will not have money for milk—so why worry about getting to the store in an
emergency!”
2. Too many people in our country today are developing the
attitude that government is obligated to care and provide for them. In many
ways, government has fostered this attitude, but the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints know
better.
3. Parents need to teach children very early that a solid
financial base is a very important element in a happy home. We can do much with
our young people to help them find satisfying, rewarding employment. We should
encourage them to do well in their schoolwork and to learn to take advantage of
opportunities that will help build a solid base for their future security.
4. Brethren, please do not think that this is someone else’s
responsibility. It is mine, and it is yours. We are all enlisted. “All” means
all—every Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood holder, rich and poor, in every
nation. In the Lord’s plan, there is something everyone can contribute.
5. We also will pray for the strength to learn from, change,
or accept our circumstances rather than praying relentlessly for God to change
our circumstances according to our will. We will become agents who act rather
than objects that are acted upon (see 2 Nephi
2:14). We will be blessed with spiritual traction.
6. Be careful of the many attractive offers to borrow money.
It is much easier to borrow money than it is to pay it back. There are no
shortcuts to financial security. There are no get-rich-quick schemes that work.
Perhaps none need the principle of balance in their lives more than those who
are driven toward accumulating “things” in this world.
Any
Prophet, Apostle, or General Conference Address:
7. When it comes to overcoming being greedy, selfish, and
overly indulgent, we all need a lot more help. In his candid manner, President
Brigham Young said: “The worst fear … I have about this people is that they
will get rich in this country, forget God and His people, wax fat, and kick
themselves out of the Church. … My greater fear … is that they cannot stand
wealth.”
8. I am confident that we will literally be called upon to
make an accounting before God concerning how we have used [our resources] to
bless lives and build the kingdom.
9. Cut the amount of money you spend on recreation by 50
percent. Do fun things that do not require money outlay but make more lasting
impressions on your children.
10. The prophet Jacob said to his people:
“Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor
for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the
words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon
that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight
in fatness” (2 Ne. 9:51). Brothers and sisters, remember to always pay
a full tithing.
No comments:
Post a Comment