Of All Things

After paying tithing, the most important financial habit you can develop is the savings habit. It will keep you from becoming a slave to paying interest. It will help you increase self-mastery, much like fasting. And it develops your independence and maturity. Have trouble saving? Try one of these ideas:

• Agree with your parents that as soon as you receive income, you will turn over a certain percentage to them to bank for you.

• If you have a job where payroll deposit is available to you, have your check deposited to your bank or credit union savings account. Then, withdraw or write a check for tithing and the spending money you have budgeted for.

• Above all, budget for your needs and stay within your budget.

In Doctrine and Covenants 89 the Lord instructs us to avoid harmful and addictive substances, but did you know that gambling can be just as addictive? Recent studies show that 1.3 million U.S. teens (that’s 7 percent of all young people aged 13 to 17) are addicted to gambling. Although organized gambling is illegal for minors, many teens are involved in sports gambling, Internet gambling, and personal betting.

President Spencer W. Kimball warned, “From the beginning we have been advised against gambling of every sort. The deterioration and damage comes to the person, whether he wins or loses, to get something for nothing, something without effort, something without paying the full price” (Ensign, May 1975, 6).

1. Mix equal parts cornstarch and water in a bowl.

2. Call on class members to come to the front of the classroom and scoop up a handful of the cornstarch and water mixture. Instruct them to quickly transfer the mixture from one hand to the other, back and forth. As long as they are doing this, the mixture will maintain a dough-like form and texture.

3. After a minute or two, tell the participants to simply hold the mixture in one hand. (This can be a little messy, so either have them hold their hands over the bowl or provide paper towels.) When the cornstarch and water mixture isn’t being worked back and forth, it will simply ooze through people’s fingers.

Use this lesson to illustrate the point that we must be constantly working on our testimonies, or they will slip away from us. Be sure to share your testimony with the class.

By the time most teens graduate from high school, they’ve watched 22,000 hours of television—that’s more time than they spent in a classroom—including about 100,000 beer commercials. How are you choosing to spend your free time?

Leadership tip: When you ask someone in your class presidency to help out with a project, be sure to thank them when you’re through. You might even want to send a note or make a phone call. People are lots more likely to help out again in the future if they know their work is appreciated.