BYU Conference on Family Life Strengthening Families in a Troubled World

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BYU Conference on Family LifeStrengthening
Families in a Troubled World

• Family Finance
• An Important Responsibility
• Myths of Family Finance
• Bryan Sudweeks, Ph.D., CFA.
• March 28, 2008
• From the BYU MSM web site
• Personal Finance Another Perspective
• at http//personalfinance.byu.net

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Abstract

• Often we think that family finance has nothing to
  do with our responsibilities as parents, or if it
  is important, it only has a minor importance.
  These are myths. I suggest money matters and
  money matters are spiritual matters. We must
  get away from the myths of family finance and
  learn the importance and doctrine surrounding
  these important principles. We must then apply
  them and teach them to our children. I give
  suggestions and resources to help parents in this
  important responsibility.

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Objectives

• Myth 1 Everything I Have is Mine
• Principles of Family Finance
• Myth 2 Money Matters are Temporal Matters
• Money Matters are Spiritual Matters
• Myth 3 Credit Card and Consumer Debt is OK
• Debt is Dumb
• Myth 4 I Pay my Tithing, I Have Nothing to
  Worry About Financially
• Dangers of not Being Financially Wise
• Myth 5 There are no Good Sources of Information
• Introduction to the BYU MSM Website

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Myth 1 Everything I have is Mine

• C.S. Lewis, in his Screwtape Letters, had the
  devil Screwtape say
• The sense of ownership in general is always to be
  encouraged. The humans are always putting up
  claims to ownership which sound equally funny in
  Heaven and in Hell and we must keep them doing
  so. . . We teach this sense of ownership not only
  by pride but by confusion. We teach them not to
  notice the differences. . .that run from my
  boot through my dog,. . .to my God.
  (Screwtape Letters, HarperCollins, San Francisco,
  2000, pp. 113-114)
• But the reality is different!

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Reality Principles of Family Finance

• Principle 1 Ownership
• 1. Ownership Everything we have is the Lords
• The Psalmist wrote
• The earth is the Lords, and the fullness
  thereof the world, and they that dwell therein.
  (Psalms 241)
• The Lord is the creator of the earth (Mosiah
  221), the supplier of our breath (2 Nephi 926),
  the giver of our knowledge (Moses 732) and our
  life (Mosiah 222), and all we have and are
  (Mosiah 221).
• Nothing we have is our ownits all Gods

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Ownership (continued)

• As such, there should be no feeling of pride for
  the things we have, are, or will become
• These things do not belong to us, but are on loan
• Our blessings should encourage greater obedience
  to Gods commandments as we realize they are
  gifts from a loving Father in Heaven
  (Ecclesiastes 519) and as we try to thank Him
  for the things He has blessed us with

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Principle 2 Stewardship

• 2. Stewardship We are stewards over all that the
  Lord has, is, or will share with us
• The Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith stated
  
• It is expedient that I, the Lord, should make
  every man accountable, as a steward over earthly
  blessings, which I have made and prepared for my
  creatures. (DC 10413)
• The Lord through the Brigham Young said
• Thou shalt be diligent in preserving what thou
  hast, that thou mayest be a wise steward for it
  is the free gift of the Lord thy God, and thou
  art his steward. (DC 13627)

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Stewardship (continued)

• We are stewards, not owners, over the things we
  possess
• As wise stewards, it is our responsibility to
  learn everything we can about our stewardship
• The purpose of this presentation is to help you
  understand and teach others to manage that
  stewardship better, that we all might be
  approved in all things, and be accounted as wise
  stewards. (DC 7222)

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Principle 3 Agency

• 3. Agency The gift of choice is mans most
  precious inheritance
• President Marion G. Romney said
• Agency means the freedom and power to choose and
  act. Next to life itself, it is mans most
  precious inheritance. (Ensign, May 1976, p. 120.)
  
• President David O. McKay
• Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right
  to direct that life is Gods greatest gift to
  man. Freedom of choice is more to be treasured
  than any possession earth can give (italics
  added, in Conference Report, Apr. 1950, p. 32
  italics added).

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Agency (continued)

• Agency is one of the greatest gifts of God.
• Instead of using this gift wrongly, we should do
  all in our power to make wise choices
• And then we should thank a loving Father and Son
  for this wonderful right to chooseand then use
  that agency wisely!

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Principle 4 Accountability

• 4. Accountability We are accountable for every
  choice we make
• The Lord through the prophet Joseph stated
• Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in
  a good cause, and do many things of their own
  free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.
  For the power is in them, wherein they are agents
  unto themselves. (DC 58 27-28)
• For it is required of the Lord, at the hand of
  every steward, to render an account of his
  stewardship, both in time and in eternity. (DC
  723)

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Accountability (continued)

• While the blessing of agency is an unconditional
  gift from God, how we use that gift shows how
  much we love Him and His Son
• We will all be held accountable for our use of
  our agency
• We should do all in our power to use our choices
  wisely

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What is Really Ours?

• Elder Neal A. Maxwell stated
• The submission of ones will is really the only
  uniquely personal thing we have to place on Gods
  altar. The many other things we give, brothers
  and sisters, are actually the things He has
  already given or loaned to us. However, when you
  and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our
  individual wills be swallowed up in Gods will,
  then we are really giving something to Him! It is
  the only possession which is truly ours to give!
  (italics added, Swallowed Up in the Will of the
  Father, Ensign, Nov. 1995, 22.)

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Myth 2 Money Matters are Temporal Matters

• Many think money matters are only temporal
  matters
• They feel that how they manage their money has
  nothing to do with their spirituality
• But the reality is different!

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Reality Money Matters are Spiritual Matters

• Money matters are spiritual matters because
• 1. All things are spiritual
• In DC 2934 the Lord says, All things unto me
  are spiritual, and not at any time have I given
  unto you a law which was temporal.
• The Apostle Paul taught that the love of money is
  evil, not money itself. (1 Timothy 610)
• The commandments to live within our means, get
  out of debt, build a reserve, are all not
  temporal but spiritual commandments

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Money Matters (continued)

• 2. Money is a medium of exchange
• Elder Sterling W. Sill said
• We can build temples with money, we can send out
  missionaries with money, we can erect educational
  institutions, operate hospitals, and pay our
  tithing with money. In many ways we can build
  up the kingdom of God with money. (A Fortune to
  Share, Ensign, Jan. 1974, 60.)
• The same currency that we go into debt with
  builds our temples

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Money Matters (continued)

• 3. Money is a tool to teach gospel principles
• Money is a tool to teach us many things,
  including sacrifice, discipline, and work.
• Money teaches and reinforces both the spiritual
  and physical creation, as we develop goals and
  budgets and work toward them
• Learning to manage money wisely can increase our
  freedom, teach us eternal gospel principles, and
  bring peace and happiness into our lives

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Money Matters (continued)

• 4. There is no true freedom without financial
  freedom
• President Ezra Taft Benson said
• The Lord desires his Saints to be free and
  independent in the critical days ahead. But no
  man is truly free who is in financial bondage.
  (Prepare Ye, Ensign, Jan. 1974, p. 69).
• We must work to be truly free

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Money Matters (continued)

• 5. The Lord wants and will help us to be wiser
  financial stewards
• The Lord said
• Behold it is my will that you shall pay all your
  debts. And it is my will that you shall humble
  yourselves before me, and obtain this blessing by
  your diligence and humility and the prayer of
  faith. And inasmuch as you are diligent and
  humble, and exercise the prayer of faith, behold,
  I will soften the hearts of those to whom you are
  in debt, until I shall send means unto you for
  your deliverance. (italics added, DC 104 78-79)
• But we must do it in His way

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Myth 3 Credit Card and Consumer Debt is OK

• It is OK for me to go into debt for things,
  especially things I really want
• It helps build my credit score (I think)
• I know and I am planning to pay them
  offeventually well, at least I hope to be able
  to pay them off eventually well, maybe someday I
  will pay them offI think?
• But the reality is different!

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Reality Debt is Dumb

• President James E. Faust stated
• Over the years the wise counsel of our leaders
  has been to avoid debt except for the purchase of
  a home or to pay for an education. I have not
  heard any of the prophets change this counsel.
  (Doing the Best Things in the Worst Times,
  Ensign, Aug. 1984, 41)
• Sadly, consumer and credit card debt are not
  included in that short list of acceptable debt
• Credit cards are fine if we pay them off each
  monthwe are not incurring debt charges
• But do we pay them off each month?

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Reality Debt is Dumb (continued)

• President Ezra Taft Bensons said
• Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others
  but is rarely admitted in ourselves. . . It is
  manifest in so many ways, such as . . . living
  beyond our means. (italics added, Ezra Taft
  Benson, The Faces of Pride, New Era, Oct. 2003,
  p. 40)
• Perhaps the debt problem is more a problem of
  pride than it is of money?

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Myth 4 I Pay my Tithing, I Have Nothing to
Worry About Financially

• Didnt the prophet Malachi say
• Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, . .
  . and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of
  hosts, if I will not open you the windows of
  heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there
  shall not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi
  310, 3 Nephi 2410)
• Doesnt it say that if I pay my tithing, the
  windows of heaven will open and I will get all
  the financial blessings that I need (without any
  learning, thought, hard work or effort)?
• The reality is different

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Reality Dangers of not Being Financially Wise

• The prophet Malachi promised that God will open
  the windows of heaven
• However, there is no promise that the windows of
  heaven will be financial blessings or that paying
  tithing will eliminate all our financial problems
• We still are stewards over what we have and are
• We still must learn to live in this increasingly
  challenging and technical financial world
• There are more commandments which relate to
  finances than just paying your tithing, i.e.,
  live with your means, build a reserve, prepare
  for retirement, missions and education

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Dangers of not Being Financially Wise (continued)

• Interesting statistics
• Average per household debt in the U.S. is 14,500
  excluding mortgage debt
• Credit card users pay 112 more than cash users
• 40 of American families spend more than they
  earn
• The typical family pays 1,200 per year in
  interest
• About 60 of all active credit card accounts are
  not paid off monthly
• Source http//www.bankrate.com/brm/news/debt/debt
  guide2004/debt-trivia1.asp
• Home equity in the U.S. fell to below 50 for the
  first time since the 1930s
• Most couples indicate that finances are a major
  stress on their marriages

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E. Myth 5 There are No Good Sources of
Personal Finance Information

• There is a lack of good sources of information on
  personal finance
• This is especially true for information from a
  correct perspective
• The reality is different

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Reality Introduction to the MSM Website

• There are many sources of good information
• It just takes time to sort them out
• Let me add another source to your list
• The BYU Marriott School of Managements Personal
  Finance website at
• http//personalfinance.byu.net

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Home Page
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Individual Lessons
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Recommended Courses of Study
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8 Basic Lessons (with lessons, readings,
spreadsheets, handouts, FHE lessons, etc.)
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Personal Finance Manuals
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Tools and Resources
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Summary

• Myth 1 Everything I have is mine
• Reality Principles of Family Finance
• Ownership Everything is the Lords
• Stewardship We are stewards over everything
  that we have
• Agency This is one of Gods greatest gifts
• Accountability We will be held accountable for
  how we use the things we have been blessed with,
  including our financial resources

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Conclusions (continued)

• Myth 2 Money matters are temporal matters
• Reality Money matters are spiritual matters
• All things are spiritual
• Money is a medium of exchange
• Money is a tool to teach us gospel principles
• There is no freedom without financial freedom
• The Lord wants, and will help us, get out of debt
  and become wiser financial stewards

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Conclusions (continued)

• Myth 3 Credit card and consumer debt is OK
• Reality Debt is Dumb
• We have been counseled for many years to avoid
  debt except for a home and education
• That does not include credit card and consumer
  debt
• We should earn interestnot pay it

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Conclusions (continued)

• Myth 4 I pay my tithing, I have nothing to
  worry about financially
• Reality Dangers of not Being Financially Wise
• In addition to tithing, there are more
  commandments we must obey
• Live within your means
• Stay out of debt
• Build a reserve
• Save for missions, education and retirement

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Conclusions (continued)

• Myth 5 There are no good sources of information
• Reality There are many good sources available
• One new source is the BYU MSM Personal Finance
  website

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Thank You

• I leave you with my excitement, my testimony of
  the gospel, and one of my favorite scriptures,
  DC 4562
• For verily I say unto you, that great things
  await you.
• Reality They truly do!

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Thank You