As we approach the last month of the year, Latter-day Saints will soon be meeting with their bishops or branch presidents for tithing settlement.

For most of us, this will be a brief formality, although an important one, wherein we declare our status as full tithe payers, that we are right with the Lord in the fulfillment of this vital commandment.

In some cases, particularly where children are present, a conscientious bishop might take the opportunity to do a bit of teaching. If so, more than likely, he will turn to the oft-quoted passage in Malachi that begins with this verse:

"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings" (Malachi 3:8).

Speaking for the Lord in the first person, Malachi arranges his discourse as a hypothetical dialogue between the Lord and errant Israel. The passage is beautiful in its construction and ripe for timeless application.

"Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation" (verse 9).

Could such a curse be the hindrance of blessings that are not forthcoming because of failure to live the law of tithing? The motion picture "Windows of Heaven" produced many years ago by the Church depicts the oppressive debt that afflicted the Church and the drought that beset southern Utah in the days of President Lorenzo Snow. As recounted in the film, the Church members heeded the prophet's admonition to pay their tithes in full; as a result, those afflictions were lifted.

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehoue, that there may be meat in mine house, 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" (verse 10).

"Meat," in a broader sense, could be regarded as the wherewithal for the Lord's servants to carry on the purposes of His kingdom. In accordance with the decisions made by Church leaders counseling together, tithing proceeds are used for such purposes as the building of temples and meetinghouses and the administrative work of the Church.

"And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts" (verse 11).

The foregoing verse is agrarian imagery that could have symbolic application in any age and setting: A financial loss, a catastrophic medical expense, a car repair bill, a theft or other loss of personal property all could be considered "the devourer." The Lord may be blessing us in ways we don't even realize by something as simple as keeping home appliances functioning.

"And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts" (verse 12).

As a result of obedience to President Snow's counsel, mentioned above, the burden of debt was removed from the Church. Today, the Church is indeed delightsome and blessed, a result of the collective obedience to the law of tithing by generations of Church members over the years. There is an ongoing fulfillment of the prophecy that the Church will emerge "clear as the moon, and fair as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners" (Doctrine and Covenants 5:14).

It is good and proper to emphasize the blessings that stem from obeying the law of tithing. But we should take care, lest we convey unintended messages or let troubling questions go unanswered. Blessings from God don't always come immediately or necessarily in the form we expect; indeed it would be an ineffective test of faith if they did. Sometimes, adversity enters our lives despite our best efforts to be obedient. This, of course, is in accordance with the plan of happiness and the need for opposition in all things (see 2 Nephi 2:11).

We may at times be tempted to compare ourselves to others and murmur against God because we see the relative prosperity of those who have not obeyed the law of tithing.

At such times, we would do well to read on to the end of the chapter in Malachi, considering verses that for some reason are seldom quoted when we cite it:

"Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?

"And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

"Then they that feared the Lord spake often to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

"And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

"Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not" (verses 14-18).

These verses promote a more nuanced understanding of the blessings that flow from the payment of tithes; they teach us that much blessing that comes therefrom is spiritual in nature and may not have its perfect fulfillment until the hereafter, when the Lord makes up His "jewels."