GOD’S ABDUNDANCE

God’s Abundance

by Presiding Bisphop and Aaronic High Priest W. Kevin Romer

Vol. 19, Number 2, May/Jun/Jul/Aug 2018 Issue No. 75

CONSECRATED SAINTS, WITH GOD’S HELP, CREATING INCREASE AND SURPLUS

In May of this year, Bishop Kevin Romer met with the young children who live at Bountiful, teaching them that God is a God of abundance. Bishop Joe Ben Stone, the property and farm manager for Bountiful, acquired some very unique seed corn, called Hickory Cane. It is a heritage variety that is non-GMO. Because of its rarity and the demand for heritage non-GMO varieties, the cost per seed was 50¢.

Bishop Romer met with the children and explained to them the value of the seed. He explained how God is a God of abundance and asked if they would be willing to each plant a seed and take care of it until the plant is fully grow. They all agreed.

Bishop Romer then went on to explain that if they took good care of it, one seed would grow into a plant that would grow from one to three ears of corn, and each ear would have over 200 seeds. The resulting increase, then, would be from 200 to 600 seeds. Depending upon the value of the seeds when harvest came, they could be worth from $100 to $300.

At harvest, each child would then have to decide what to do with the Bountiful increase:
#1. They could eat all the corn as corn on the cob.
#2. They could eat some and save some as seed and grow a larger garden next year.
#3. They could eat some, save some for seed for next year, and sell some.

Next, the lesson turned to what, if anything, they would owe God. He created the seed in the first place and provided the rain and sunshine without which the plant would not have grown. They understood that 10% of the increase (above their needs) belonged to God and would be paid as tithing, placing the tithe in the offering plate as it was passed down the aisle at church.

Finally, they discussed what they wanted to do with what was left over. Some wanted to buy different things, from toys to food; others wanted to help the poor and needy. They would each have to decide what was important and what was not important to them. They would then give the surplus, perhaps as much as 50% of what was left over after their wants, to the storehouse to help those in need as well as to help the church.

The 50% given to the church as seed will be used in the farming operations at Bountiful. To God be the glory as we learn to see God’s infinite abundance and learn to live as stewards over his creation.