We were assigned by the bishop to help a sister in the Ward with her finances. We talked about ins and outs, saving receipts, and listing debts. During one of our visits just before Christmas, several hundred dollars went missing: “loan shark came knocking: now he’s paid off”. Close to the same time, we noticed that her Christmas tree went up, cheerily surrounded with presents wrapped and awaiting Christmas morning. Our hearts were broken: what if she was lying to us? Her home teacher asked her about them: “They’re for my family; they don’t understand that I don’t have money for them.”
Concerned that she had lied to us about the missing money, we went by one evening, hoping confront her gently and lecture her on the primacy of honesty. It was easy to bring up the topic in that present-laden living room. The reality broke our hearts. Instead of purchased presents, last year’s wrapping enclosed stacks of old mail.
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