fast sunday

once upon a time my cousins, gino and della rose, came to live with my family in paradise, ca. they didn't last long living with us, and i don't remember why, but while they were living there we had fast Sunday. my cousin, gino, thought at the time that it meant that it is a speedy Sunday! (which i had never even considered what a person that isn't a member would think of it.)

but that is not what fast Sunday is about. fast Sunday takes place usually on the first Sunday of each  month (in April and October we have General Conference so it happens the following week). during which we go without two meals (as long as we have no medical reason not to) and donate the funds we would have used to assist others that have fallen on difficult times. these funds are sacred and the bishop treats them as such. the funds are then used to help people with real needs, not wants.

the wonderful thing about fast sunday is that the blessings that come to us as we fast for help with our lives, or the lives of others, or just in offering our thanks to our Father for all that He has done for us. the blessings also come as we share our 'wealth' with others (we are encouraged to give more than just the cost of two meals if we are able to). the beauty of it is that when we give of ourselves spiritually and temporally we receive so much more in return. those blessings can be of a temporal or spiritual nature as well. it is a win.

i am grateful for the opportunity to fast on behalf of helping others, or us, as the case may be. each month is different, what we fast for is our personal choice, which we aren't expected to share with anyone else.

i love this quote from President Marion G. Romney:

“I am in harmony… about our need to contribute liberally to the fast-offerings fund... I am a firm believer that you cannot give to the Church and to the building up of the kingdom of God and be any poorer financially. I remember a long time ago, when Brother [Melvin J.] Ballard laid his hands on my head and set me apart to go on a mission. He said in that prayer of blessing that a person could not give a crust to the Lord without receiving a loaf in return. That’s been my experience. If the members of the Church would double their fast-offering contributions, the spirituality in the Church would double. We need to keep that in mind and be liberal in our contributions.” 

i love that - give a crust to the Lord and receive a loaf in return. with that in mind, who wouldn't want to fast?