Follow Him: A Come, Follow Me Podcast - What does it mean to give to the poor? Should I give away everything I own? : follow HIM Favorites

Episode Date: January 23, 2022

The followHIM Favorites episodes now entail Hank Smith and John Bytheway answering a question from the Come, Follow Me study questions from the youth.Show Notes (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese): https://followhim.co/episodesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followhimpodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FollowHimOfficialChannelThanks to the followHIM team:Steve & Shannon Sorensen: Executive Producers/SponsorsDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: MarketingLisa Spice: Client Relations, Show Notes/TranscriptsJamie Neilson: Social Media, Graphic DesignWill Stoughton: Rough Video EditorAriel Cuadra: Spanish TranscriptsKrystal Roberts: French TranscriptsIgor Willians: Portuguese Transcripts"Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com/products/let-zion-in-her-beauty-rise-pianoPlease rate and review the podcast.

Hello everyone, welcome to this week's Follow Him Favorites. We're doing a little something different this year. Maybe you've seen it by now, where we pick a question that we've received from youth or even our own students, and kind of bringing that up as part of this week's lesson. So, John, the question that I've received from students is this idea in, and it comes up in different places, but in Moses 7, the Lord says, there was no poor among them. It comes up in fourth Nephi, comes up a little bit in in the book of Acts. This idea of there's no poor among them. And I've had students say before, am I supposed to be giving everything I have away if I don't do that. Am I a bad person if I see a homeless person on the street and I don't go over and give them money

or get them and take them to dinner? And that's what Jesus would do. Like where's the line between me living my life and moving forward and trying to reach this ideal? So do you have any thoughts on that? What would you say? Wow, that's a great one. And it comes up, I teach down at the BYU Salt Lake Center.

We're like on Fort Thwest, Third West. We see a downtown Salt Lake. We are. Yeah, some of that. And I think sometimes I like to look at the end of the sermon on the Mount, take no thought for the Mar, what you shall eat, what you shall wear,

what you shall put on. Right. Literally, we're supposed to go to the park and play H, take no thought for the mar, what you shall eat, what you shall wear, what you shall put on. Literally, we're supposed to go to the park and play hacky sack and expect, you know, who's going to, we don't have to, we should just have others feed us. And then, um, and then the book Mormon makes it clear he was speaking to the 12. I'm going to take care of you. But we all have to do that. We have to provide for our families. We look at the proclamation

to the world on the family. I'm supposed to be a provider, but then I can also have a donation to pay my tithing and fast offerings. And that is one of the fun, you know, challenges of life. What is the right balance here for me to take care of my family, my home, provide for my children, and also do what every Christian wants to do, and that is help provide for the poor and fast offerings. And I'm really grateful for fast offerings, because I know that those are going to be distributed

by people who are trying their best to be inspired, and how the church helps with the natural disasters and stuff in there. It's not just throw money at it. It's much more careful than that. And so that's a great question that's kind of hard to do and to follow him favorite. But I think it's good that you're thinking about it. It's a good challenge to try to have what's the right balance

to prayerfully figure that out. What do you want to answer, Hank? Right, well, I would say, obviously the Lord wants you to get an education. He wants you to get a career. He wants you to get a career. He wants you to move forward. So this is one of our many Christian imperatives that we're working towards. I would say that the Lord often says it is not requisite that a man or woman should run faster

than they have strength. He doesn't expect us to all be Mother Theresa. Mother Theresa is exceptional. But that doesn't give us the idea of being like, well, then I don't have to worry about it at all. No, I don't think that's true, but I wouldn't start. I wouldn't start in my community, to be honest. I mean, if I can do some things there,

obviously you want to do some good there, but let's get Zion inside of you first. And then let's get Zion in your close relationships, right? And then let's build from there instead of, do you remember that old Ezertev Benson quote, the Lord doesn't work from the outside in. Do you remember that one? Yeah.

He works from the inside out. Inside out. He said, yeah, the Lord would, the world would take people out of the slums. But Christ takes the slums out of the people and they take themselves out of the slums. That's a great way to put it, Hank, is you start here, cleanse the intervessel. That might even be the title of the talk. You start here. And it's like a circle of influence, a circle of concern, type of a thing. It's a good discussion to have in a great question. I'm not and it's like a circle of influence, a circle of concern type of a thing. It's a good discussion to have in a great question.

I'm not sure it's one we can answer quickly, but I'm just glad somebody's asking the question. Yeah, and I'll tell you John, when I served as a financial clerk for a ward, that's not a calling I get very often. It only has happened once in my life. And I was so amazed. And this was back when all the donations came through that office, right? Now you can make your donations online. But I was so amazed at the giving people, the giving people gave. I don't know if that's it. It's a, it's sound like I'm in the scriptures, the giving of a giving. You have giving a given given a giving

given a given a given people. I mean there was people there are people giving so much in not just typing but in fast offerings in offerings they were and you never would have guessed I've never would have even known that this person is really pushing themselves in offerings and I thought that was such a it's always stayed with me for, you know, years later to see people do that. So, but again, you don't, you don't want to get to the point where you're, you mention hurting your, your, your family, your chances at an education, opportunity. But, but the Lord does require a lot of us, don't, don't, we don't wanna say he's not. You mentioned the verse, it's not requisite

that a man should run faster than they have strength. And I think right after that it says, but see, these things are done in wisdom and in order. It's something you think about, you grapple with, and you try to make the best judgment you can with some inspiration, but yeah, you don about, you grapple with, and you try to make the best judgment you can with some inspiration. But yeah, you don't, you don't, and you still have roles that you have to fulfill, and we do hank as fathers and husbands and members of our ward. So we have to make a living, but we also want to say, how can I in my circles bless the poor

and needy that are around us? It's a great question. Yeah, and you've told me before this too, is that it's not always about money. People can have great wealth and still be needy, right? Yeah. Need of a friend. In fact, need of a... Raw, yes.

They used to say that threefold mission of the church was proclaim the gospel, perfect the saints, redeem the dead. President Montsen added, care for the poor and needy. And now it's been restated, live, care, and invite you night, live the gospel of Jesus Christ, care for those in need. That's the whole sentence. So it might not be that they're poor, but they might have an emotional need, a friendship need, a companionship need, care for those in need, live the gospel, care for those in need, live care, and invite all to come to the Christ and

unite families for eternity. So I like, but thanks for bringing that up. Yeah, I want to bring up one last story if that's okay. John Huntsman seniors wife told the story. Now John, if you don't know who that is, John Huntsman senior senior's wife told the story. Now, John, if you don't know who that is, John Huntsman senior, he's a member of the church who didn't start out very wealthy, but he finished quite, quite wealthy. We're not talking hundreds of millions, we're even more. He just, his business is thrived. Well, his wife said long before we had any of that wealth, we each, we had our little family budget and we each got $50 of our own spending money.

And we never asked, have you ever heard this story, John? He said, she never asked, they never asked each other, what are you doing with your spending money? Because it was yours. It was your little budget item, $50 of spending money. And she said, I never asked him what he did with it. He never seemed to get anything, but I never asked him. She said, I bought myself things.

And she said, after a couple of years of this, a woman stood up in fast and testimony meeting and said, up in fast and testimony meeting and said, uh, said whoever I don't know who it is, but whoever has been giving me $50 a month for the last few years, I love you. I thank you. And John Huntsman, senior's wife said she glanced over at him. Like, and he just looks straight ahead. She said, but I knew it was him. And he's just, she said he's always been that way, that he's a giver. And I think that we can give ourselves, let's give ourselves into prosperity like that. I maybe there's something to that. Anyway, John, we probably just confused people more,

but hopefully we helped a little bit with that. Yeah, go back and read King Benjamin's speech. He even says, if you don't have anything, say I would give if I had, you know? Yeah. And he's kind of talking about, where's your heart? And that's kind of job one. Where's your heart? I would give if I had. He says, so yeah, go read King Benjamin's speech again, and it gets a little complicated, too, because he says, are we not all beggars and you should give to the beggar? But if you're downtown, there's a little sign

that says, don't give to the panhandlers. Give to the welfare agencies that really know how to help people, not just prolong their problems, but to really help them. And that's a, yeah, it's a good discussion. It is, it's a good discussion. I'm sure there's very opinions. And hopefully we added it a little bit to that and I'll read

the new thoughts. And you, John, when you said, hey, all things should be done in wisdom and order. I like giving to the church's organizations because I know that that money is going to reach the people that I want, that I'm hoping it will reach. Yes. Humanitarian aid, fast offering, the work. Right. They know how to really help not just throw money at it. Yeah. And there's very, very low cost that's going to pay anybody along the

way. I remember President Hinckley saying that, this humanitarian aid, every 100 cents of your dollar is going to get to those people. So I like that confidence in that wisdom and order. Well, thank you for joining us today. Hopefully we added a little bit to your thoughts on this. But you can write to us. You can send us a question that you have. We'll hopefully work it into a week of follow him favorite. So join us next time. It might be your question. you