Does the Math Have to Work First?
From “Trusting the Lord Through Tithes and Offerings,” by Elder Patricio M. Giuffra · Saturday afternoon session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
Paying tithing is how I show the Lord I trust Him, and He keeps His promises in His own time and way.
Objective
Youth will explain why tithing is about trust more than money, and will set one personal goal for how they will live this law with the money they earn or receive.
Before you teach
- Read Elder Giuffra's talk and be ready to tell the story in paragraphs 2–10 in your own words.
- Ask youth to bring scriptures or use Gospel Library on their phones, and have the talk open there.
- Write three questions on separate slips of paper (see the segment called Honest questions).
- Bring paper and pens, and something to write with on the board.
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 6 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
Fast start: Pick a side
- After a prayer, write a made-up budget on the board for an imaginary person: earns 100 a week; rent, heat and food cost 98.
- Say: this person wants to pay tithing. Ask everyone who thinks it is possible to stand on one side of the room and everyone who thinks it is not to stand on the other. No sitting in the middle.
- Ask one person from each side to give their reason in one sentence. Do not settle it yet.
The story: What would you say?
- Tell the first half of the story (paragraphs 2–5): as a young missionary in Puerto Montt, Chile, Elder Giuffra and his companion taught a woman of about 70 who cleaned houses and washed clothes. She told them with great sadness that she earned barely enough for rent, a little firewood and some food, and did not think she could ever pay tithing. Stop there.
- Role play: in pairs, one is the missionary and one is a companion asking what they should do now. Give them one minute.
- Ask two pairs what they decided. Then tell what happened: he called his mission president, wondering whether the Lord might have an exception for her. Read the first key quote.
- Finish the story (paragraphs 7–10): the missionaries fasted and prayed; two days later she told them about her prayer. Read the second key quote. She was baptized that Saturday, and her bishop later said she came every week with her tithing envelope and brought her fast offering on the first Sunday of every month.
- Whose faith grew in this story? How can you tell?
Scripture search: A widow and a promise
- Divide into two teams. Team one opens to Mark 12:41–44, the account the mission president read to Elder Giuffra. Team two opens to Malachi 3:8, 10, which Elder Giuffra quoted.
- Give each team three minutes to prepare a headline of eight words or fewer that captures what their passage teaches, plus one detail that surprised them.
- Each team shares its headline and detail. The other team may ask one question.
- Point out the words prove me in Malachi 3:10 and ask the question below.
- The Lord actually invites us to test Him on this. Why do you think He does that with tithing?
Honest questions
- Hand out the three slips to pairs or small groups: (1) If I pay tithing, will my problems go away? (2) Is tithing a deal I make with God to get things? (3) Does the Lord make exceptions when it is really hard?
- Each group finds an answer in Elder Giuffra's own words: question 1 in paragraph 13, question 2 in paragraph 12, question 3 in paragraphs 5–8.
- Groups report in under a minute each. For question 1, add Elder Hathaway's sentence from this conference (see aligned quotes).
- Be honest that the speaker promises the Lord's help, not an easy life.
- Which of these three questions is closest to one you have had? What in the talk helps?
What the Lord does
- Read paragraph 16 aloud, or ask a strong reader to. Ask youth to listen for every kind of blessing Elder Giuffra says he has witnessed.
- List them on the board as youth call them out. Circle the ones that are not about money.
- Read Elder Bednar's sentence, which Elder Villanueva quoted at this conference (see aligned quotes). Check for understanding: ask each person to write a six-word sentence that says what tithing really is. Invite a few to read theirs and let the class pick a favorite.
- Why might a blessing from tithing be easy to overlook?
Act: My own tithing plan
- Remind them that Elder Giuffra first paid tithing from summer jobs after his baptism, before he fully understood the promises. Understanding came as he lived and taught it.
- Explain that he did not give a specific assignment in this talk, so each person chooses. Show the ideas in the act list and give one minute to write a goal privately.
- Read the third key quote as his promise and testimony, and share your own witness that the Savior lives and keeps His word.
- Tell them you will start next week by asking who looked for a blessing and what they saw.
Key passages from the talk
“Elder Giuffra, you are no one to deny this sister the blessings of the law of tithing. There are no exceptions to this commandment.”
“Last night I knelt in prayer and told Heavenly Father that I truly wanted to become a member of His Church and that He would need to help me live this law.”
“I testify that the law of tithing is a law of faith. As we obey it, we demonstrate our trust in the Lord and allow Him to work miracles in our lives, often in ways we do not expect.”
“We keep the commandments because we love God, not merely because we hope to receive the blessings that come from obedience.”
Scriptures
- Mark 12:41–44 Team one reads it on phones or in scriptures and writes a headline of eight words or fewer about what the Savior saw in the widow's gift.
- Malachi 3:8, 10 Team two reads it and writes a headline; then the whole class talks about the Lord's invitation to prove Him.
Other voices that agree
“As we live the law of tithing, we often receive significant but subtle blessings that are not always what we expect and easily can be overlooked”
“Some miracles are immediate, some come after long waiting, and some await the Resurrection.”
Three things to remember
- Tithing is a law of faith, and paying it shows the Lord I trust Him.
- I keep commandments because I love God, not to strike a bargain.
- The Lord keeps His promises in His own time and way, often in ways I do not expect.
Ways to act this week
- Decide now that tithing comes first out of any money you earn or are given, and set up a simple way to do it (an envelope, a jar, or a note in your phone).
- The next time you pay tithing, pray first and tell Heavenly Father why you are paying it.
- Keep a list in your phone this week titled Blessings I almost missed and add one line a day.
- Ask a parent, leader or returned missionary how they gained their own testimony of tithing.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- Count Your Blessings
Adapting the lesson
- At home: do the budget question at the table, tell the story, read Malachi 3:8, 10 together, and let each person set a private goal.
- Small class of two or three: skip teams; read both passages together and answer the three honest questions as one group.
- Short on time: keep the fast start, the story with both quotes, and the act segment.
This lesson is an independent study aid written for this site. It is not an official lesson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Quotations are word for word from the official talk; paragraph numbers count the paragraphs of the talk as published at churchofjesuschrist.org, not counting headings or picture captions. The activities, questions and ideas for acting are suggestions; follow the Spirit and adapt them to those you teach.