Principles and Programs

Bishop Glenn L. Pace

Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric

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Glenn L. Pace, “Principles and Programs,” Ensign, May 1986, 23

Five years ago I was asked to be the managing director of the Welfare Services
Department of the Church. Within a few days I received a phone call from President
Marion G. Romney. He said, “Brother Pace, do you know anything about welfare?”

Under the circumstances, this was a sobering question, and I responded, “President,
I’m sure I have much to learn.”

He asked me to set aside 3:00 p.m. each Friday for a meeting with him in which we
could discuss welfare principles.

When I arrived at his office on the first Friday, President Romney’s secretary went
into his office and announced, “Glenn Pace is here, President.”

He replied, “Oh yes, I’d like to see him, if he doesn’t stay too long.”

On my second visit, with “if he doesn’t stay too long” still ringing in my ears, I
covered two items and then started shuffling my feet and papers, subtly signaling I
was ready to leave. President Romney leaned across his desk with that twinkle in his
eye and with a chuckle in his voice said, “Brother Pace, am I getting the impression
you think you have something better to do?”
How I cherish those precious sessions spent with a man who has dedicated fifty years
of service to the kingdom, especially in the area of welfare. He helped me to know
President Harold B. Lee, President J. Reuben Clark, and other great leaders who
emphasized the principles of welfare. I was counseled to measure all
recommendations by the stated purpose of the welfare program as given by President
Heber J. Grant in 1936.

President Romney would quote it from memory: “Our primary purpose was to set up,
in so far as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be
done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and
self respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to
help the people to help themselves.” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1936, p. 3.)

Many times President Romney emphasized that the notion of the welfare program
beginning in 1936 was a myth. He quoted President Lee, who said: “There wasn’t any
beginning to the welfare program. There isn’t any ending of the welfare program, we
are always in the middle of it. No endings, no beginnings, only middles.” (Harold B.
Lee, “Listen and Obey,” Welfare Agricultural Meeting, 3 Apr. 1971.)

He quoted scriptures relating to the commandment to seek after the poor—scriptures

given to the Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, and Jackson County, Missouri, at a time when
almost all members were poor. He pointed out what was done relative to keeping
these commands in Nauvoo in the 1840s and in the West in the late 1800s and in the
early 1900s. He quoted Book of Mormon passages and used the New Testament to
emphasize how much of the Savior’s time was spent helping the poor and needy.

He made the process sound so simple. “Brother Pace, don’t make things so
complicated! All we have been trying to do is make our people self-reliant, because
the more self-reliant one is the more able to serve he becomes, and the more he
serves, the greater his sanctification.”

Over the years, there have been numerous approaches taken with the common goal of
helping people become self-reliant. The welfare plan unveiled to inspired leaders in
1936 has become famous and is held up as an enviable example by leaders of other
religions as well as government officials in high places.

As great as the various programs of the Church are, they carry with them a potential
danger. If we are not careful, it is possible to get so wrapped up in the plan that we
forget the principles. We can fall into the trap of mistaking traditions for principles
and confusing programs with their objectives.

One Saturday morning I was on my way to fulfill an assignment on a welfare farm.

We were to clean the weeds out of an irrigation ditch. My route took me past the
home of an elderly widow in my ward, who was weeding her front yard. The
temperature was already in the mid-eighties and she looked like she was near to
having sunstroke. For a fleeting moment I thought I should stop and lend a helping
hand, but my conscience allowed me to drive on by because, after all, I had an
assignment on the welfare farm. I wonder what would have happened if I had
followed the spontaneous prompting of the Spirit and unleashed the genuine
compassion I was feeling. I wonder what would have happened to her; I wonder what
would have happened to me. But I couldn’t do that because I hadn’t been assigned.
We need more spontaneous acts of compassionate service.

In 1983 some major modifications were made to the welfare program being followed
in the United States and Canada. In making the announcement, President [Gordon B.]
Hinckley said, “Permit me to say at the outset that that which you will hear has been
considered in depth in all of its implications by the First Presidency and the Council
of the Twelve. …

“We reaffirm the basic principles of the welfare program. There will be no departure
from those foundation principles. We feel the need to emphasize with greater clarity
the obligation for members of the Church to become more independent and self-
reliant, to increase personal and family responsibility, to cultivate spiritual growth and
to be more fully involved in Christian service.” (Regional Representatives’ Seminar, 1
Apr. 1983.)

Since these changes have been announced, some have asked if the Church is
abandoning or deemphasizing welfare. This question is common only to those who
are having trouble distinguishing the difference between a principle and a program.

At the conclusion of a General Welfare Services Executive Committee meeting,

where I felt I had waxed eloquent in discussing farms, trucks, silos, and canneries,
President Romney invited me into his office for an unscheduled meeting. He asked
one question, “Brother Pace, why is it we never discuss principles and doctrine
anymore?”

I have not been the same since I heard that penetrating inquiry. From that time until
my release as the managing director of Welfare Services three years later, I vowed to
be more diligent in evaluating programs to see if they were still accomplishing their
objective relative to principles.

Still true is President Lee’s statement: “Nobody changes the principles and doctrines
of the Church except the Lord by revelation. But methods change as the inspired
direction comes to those who preside at a given time. … You may be sure that your
brethren who preside are praying most earnestly, and we do not move until we have
the assurance, so far as lies within our power, that what we do has the seal of divine
approval.” (Ensign, Jan. 1971, p. 10.)

As I travel into various countries, I am often asked, “When are we going to get the
welfare program in this country?” I respond by asking if they have a Bible, Book of
Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. I also ask if they have
bishops or branch presidents, and if there are people with needs and people who can
help. When they answer yes, I explain they already have all the ingredients necessary
to activate a welfare program in their country.

During a trip to South America a few years ago, I spoke with a stake president whose
stake had experienced over 50 percent unemployment during the previous three years.
I knew the stake had received less than $200 from the Area office during that period. I
asked him how the members had been able to survive without a large infusion of
outside help. His answer was the families had helped each other—not just father,
mother, sons, and daughters, but uncles, aunts, and cousins. When a cousin got a job,
the money earned went to benefit everyone. In addition, ward members looked after
each other and shared what they had, however so meager. With tears in his eyes he
explained how close his stake members were to each other and to the Lord. Their
spirituality had increased manyfold. Did they have the welfare program? Yes—and in
its purest form.

I fear we have learned too much over the years about programs at the expense of
insufficient understanding of principles. If we had learned more principles, priesthood
leaders all over the world would be solving local problems with local resources
without waiting for something to come from Church headquarters. Members would be
helping each other without waiting for an assignment.

Programs blindly followed bring us to a discipline of doing good, but principles

properly understood and practiced bring us to a disposition to do good.

I visited Ethiopia last year with Elder Ballard. We came home with vivid pictures of
degradation and poverty etched indelibly in our minds. However, I am haunted more
often with memories of the conditions under which some of our own members are
living in other areas of the world. If every member could travel and observe these
conditions, our fast-offering donations would increase substantially.

Moroni was prophesying of our day when he said: “Behold, I speak unto you as if ye
were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me,
and I know your doing. …

“For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the
adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the
afflicted.” (Morm. 8:35, 37.)

I have great faith in the generosity and compassion of the membership of this church.
Never has it been demonstrated more clearly than during the special fasts held in
January and November of last year. Over ten million dollars were raised for people we
don’t even know. Our members respond when they are aware of a need. Brothers and
sisters, that need has not passed. There is much to be done among our own members.

Poverty is a relative term. It means something much different in one country than in
another. There is no common solution or program for every situation. However,
principles are universal. We cannot bring everyone to the same economic level. To do
so would violate principles and foster dependence rather than independence. People
living in each country have the primary responsibility for solving their own problems.
They must sacrifice for each other because, as the Prophet Joseph Smith said, “A
religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to
produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” (Lectures on Faith 6:7.)

Members of the Church everywhere should ask themselves not “What can the Church
do for me?” but “What can I do for myself, for the Church, and for my neighbors?”
The solutions to poverty are extremely complex, and the balance between too much
aid and not enough is very elusive. Our compassion can lead to failure if we give aid
without creating independence and self-reliance in the recipient.

However, there is a state of human misery below which no Latter-day Saint should
descend as long as others are living in abundance. Can some of us be content living
affluent life-styles while others cannot afford the chlorine to purify their water? Can
we ignore the most basic temporal needs of our brothers and sisters and profess belief
in President Joseph F. Smith’s statement that “a religion that has not the power to save
people temporally … cannot be depended upon to save them spiritually”? (quoted in
Albert E. Bowen, The Church Welfare Plan, Sunday School Gospel Doctrine course,
1946, p. 36.)

In 1936 we had a depression in the United States. Based on principles, a program was
designed to fit the circumstances. Today we are an international church, and in many
countries, the Saints face problems far more serious than those. Using welfare
principles, solutions can be found to the challenges of today and tomorrow. May the
Lord bless President Marion G. Romney and those with whom he labored for bringing
to us an understanding of welfare principles. May we be as successful in meeting the
challenges of our generation as our predecessors were in meeting theirs, is my prayer,
in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

A Provident Plan—
A Precious Promise
President Thomas S. Monson
Second Counselor in the First Presidency

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Thomas S. Monson, “A Provident Plan—A Precious Promise,” Ensign, May 1986, 62

Today, April 6, 1986, is a day of history. One hundred fifty-six years ago The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized. Numbers were few. Circumstances
were modest. But the future beckoned. In Solemn Assembly this afternoon, President
Ezra Taft Benson will be sustained by our hearts and souls, as well as by our uplifted
hands, as the thirteenth President of the Church. Prayers of thanksgiving will be
offered, words of wisdom provided, and songs of praise sung. Strains of “We Thank
Thee, O God, for a Prophet” and “How Firm a Foundation” will emanate from this
Tabernacle and reverberate throughout the lands of the earth.

It was fifty years ago this very day that the prophets of God outlined the general
principles which became the “firm foundation” of the Church welfare plan. In a
specially called and momentous meeting presided over by President Heber J. Grant
and his counselors—J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and David O. McKay—watershed
statements were presented and heaven-inspired counsel provided which have endured
the passage of time, which have been rendered valid by the verdict of history, and
which bear the seal of God’s approval.

On that occasion, President David O. McKay declared, “This organization is

established by divine revelation, and there is nothing else in all the world that can so
effectively take care of its members.” (In Henry D. Taylor, “The Church Welfare
Plan,” 1984, p. 26.)

President J. Reuben Clark set the tone for the launching of this inspired effort by
counseling: “[The Lord] has given us the spirituality. He has given us the actual
command. … The eyes of the world are upon us. … May the Lord bless you, give us
courage, give us wisdom, give us vision to carry out this great work.” (Taylor, p. 27.)

Fifty years have come and gone. Economic cycles have run their course. Societal
changes have been numerous. The Church has expanded beyond the valleys of the
mountains to the uttermost reaches of the earth. Membership is measured in millions.
The word of God, provided on that historic day, is as an island of constancy in a sea
of change.

Let us, for a moment, review the moorings, the underpinnings, even the foundation of
the welfare program. Said the First Presidency in that year of announcement: “Our
primary purpose was to set up, insofar as it might be possible, a system under which
the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and
independence, industry, thrift and self respect be once more established amongst our
people. The aim of the Church is to help the people to help themselves.” (In
Conference Report, Oct. 1936, p. 3.)

The holy scriptures leave no doubt concerning the responsibility to care for the poor,
the needy, the downtrodden. The organization has been perfected, the duties defined,
and the guidelines given.

I am profoundly grateful to my Heavenly Father for the privilege which has been
mine to be tenderly taught and constantly counseled by the prophets of the program.

As a publisher and printer, I had the opportunity to assist President J. Reuben Clark in
the preparation of his manuscript which became the monumental book Our Lord of
the Gospels. What a blessing was mine to learn daily at the feet of such a master
teacher and principle architect of the welfare program. Knowing that I was a newly
appointed bishop presiding over a difficult ward, he emphasized the need for me to
know my people, to understand their circumstances, and to minister to their needs.
One day he recounted the example of the Savior as recorded in the Gospel of Luke:

“And it came to pass … that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples
went with him. …

“When he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. …

“And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

“And he came and touched the bier. … And he said, Young man, I say unto thee,
Arise.

“And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his
mother.” (Luke 7:11–15.)

When President Clark closed the Bible, I noticed that he was weeping. In a quiet
voice, he said, “Tom, be kind to the widow and look after the poor.”

On one occasion, President Harold B. Lee, who was a stake president in the area
where I was born and reared and later presided as a bishop, spoke movingly to the
Aaronic Priesthood concerning how the priesthood might prepare for its role in caring
for the poor. He stood at the pulpit, took the Book of Mormon in hand, and opened it
to the seventeenth chapter of Alma. He then read to us concerning the sons of Mosiah:

“Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto
him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more
to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in
the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had
searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.
“But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore
they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they
taught with power and authority of God.” (Alma 17:2–3.)

We had been given our pattern, provided by an inspired teacher. Reverently, he closed
the covers of this sacred scripture. Like President Clark, he too had tears in his eyes.

Just a few days ago I visited with President Marion G. Romney, known throughout
the Church for his ardent advocacy and knowledge of the welfare program. We spoke
of the beautiful passage from Isaiah concerning the true fast:

“Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out
to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not
thyself from thine own flesh?” (Isa. 58:7.)

As did President Clark, as did President Lee, President Romney wept as he spoke.

Appearing as a golden thread woven through the tapestry of the welfare program is
the truth taught by the Apostle Paul: “The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” (2
Cor. 3:6.)

President Ezra Taft Benson frequently counsels us: “Remember, Brethren, in this
work it is the Spirit that counts.”

What has the Lord said about the spirit of this work? In a revelation given to the
Prophet Joseph at Kirtland, Ohio, in June of 1831, He declared: “Remember in all
things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these
things, the same is not my disciple.” (D&C 52:40.)

In that marvelous message delivered by King Benjamin, as recorded in the Book of

Mormon, we read: “For the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day,
that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your
substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the
hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both
spiritually and temporally.” (Mosiah 4:26.)

When we depart from the Lord’s way in caring for the poor, chaos comes. Said John
Goodman, president of the National Center for Political Analysis, as reported this year
in a Dallas, Texas, newspaper:

“The USA’s welfare system is a disaster. It is creating poverty, not destroying it. It
subsidizes divorce, unwed teenage pregnancy, the abandonment of elderly parents by
their children, and the wholesale dissolution of the family. The reason? We pay
people to be poor. Private charities have always been better at providing relief where
it is truly needed.”

In 1982 it was my privilege to serve as a member of President Ronald Reagan’s Task

Force on Private Sector Initiatives. Meeting in the White House with prominent
leaders assembled from throughout the nation, President Reagan paid tribute to the
welfare program of the Church. He observed: “Elder Monson is here representing The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If, during the period of the Great
Depression, every church had come forth with a welfare program founded on correct
principles as his church did, we would not be in the difficulty in which we find
ourselves today.” President Reagan praised self-sufficiency; lauded our storehouse,
production, and distribution system; and emphasized family members assisting one
another. He urged that in our need we turn not to government but rather to ourselves.

On another occasion in the White House, I was asked to present to a gathering of

America’s religious leaders an example of our welfare program in action. I could have
chosen many illustrations, but selected as typical our response to the Teton Dam
disaster in Idaho. The result was dramatic. As the First Presidency stated fifty years
ago, “The eyes of the world are upon us.” While this is a most important
consideration, let us particularly remember that the eyes of God are similarly focused.
What might He observe?

Are we generous in the payment of our fast offerings? That we should be so was
taught by President Spencer W. Kimball, who urged that “instead of the amount saved
by our two or more meals of fasting, perhaps much, much more—ten times more [be
given] when we are in a position to do it.” (Ensign, Nov. 1977, p. 79.)

Are we prepared for the emergencies of our lives? Are our skills perfected? Do we
live providently? Do we have on hand our reserve supply? Are we obedient to the
commandments of God? Are we responsive to the teachings of prophets? Are we
prepared to give of our substance to the poor, the needy? Are we square with the
Lord?

As we look back through fifty years and reflect on the development of the welfare
program, as we look forward to the years ahead, let us remember the place of the
priesthood, the role of the Relief Society, and the involvement of the individual. Help
from heaven will be ours.

On a cold winter’s night in 1951, there was a knock at my door. A German brother
from Ogden, Utah, announced himself and said, “Are you Bishop Monson?” I
answered in the affirmative. He began to weep and said, “My brother, his wife, and
family are coming here from Germany. They are going to live in your ward. Will you
come with us to see the apartment we have rented for them?”

On the way to the apartment, he told me he had not seen his brother for many years.
Through the holocaust of World War II, his brother had been faithful to the Church,
once serving as a branch president before the war took him to the Russian front.

I observed the apartment. It was cold and dreary. The paint was peeling, the wallpaper
soiled, the cupboards empty. A forty-watt bulb, suspended from the living room
ceiling, revealed a linoleum floor covering with a large hole in the center. I was
heartsick. I thought, “What a dismal welcome for a family which has endured so
much.”
My thoughts were interrupted by the brother’s statement, “It isn’t much, but it’s better
than they have in Germany.” With that, the key to the apartment was left with me,
along with the information that the family would arrive in Salt Lake City in three
weeks—just two days before Christmas.

Sleep was slow in coming to me that night. The next morning was Sunday. In our
ward welfare committee meeting, one of my counselors said, “Bishop, you look
worried. Is something wrong?”

I recounted to those present my experience of the night before, revealing the details of
the uninviting apartment. There were a few moments of silence. Then Brother
Eardley, the group leader of the high priests, said, “Bishop, did you say that apartment
was inadequately lighted and that the kitchen appliances were in need of
replacement?” I answered in the affirmative. He continued, “I am an electrical
contractor. Would you permit the high priests of this ward to rewire that apartment? I
would also like to invite my suppliers to contribute a new stove and a new
refrigerator. Do I have your permission?”

I answered with a glad “Certainly.”

Then Brother Balmforth, the seventies president, responded, “Bishop, as you know,
I’m in the carpet business. I would like to invite my suppliers to contribute some
carpet, and the seventies can easily lay it and eliminate that worn linoleum.”

Then Brother Bowden, the president of the elders quorum, spoke up. He was a
painting contractor. He said, “I’ll furnish the paint. May the elders paint and
wallpaper that apartment?”

Sister Miller, the Relief Society president, was next to speak. “We in the Relief
Society cannot stand the thought of empty cupboards. May we fill them?”

The three weeks which followed are ever to be remembered. It seemed that the entire
ward joined in the project. The days passed, and at the appointed time, the family
arrived from Germany. Again at my door stood the brother from Ogden. With an
emotion-filled voice, he introduced to me his brother, his brother’s wife, and their
family. Then he asked, “Could we go visit the apartment?” As we walked up the
staircase leading to the apartment, he repeated, “It isn’t much, but it’s more than they
have had in Germany.” Little did he know what a transformation had taken place and
that many who had participated were inside waiting for our arrival.

The door opened to reveal a newness of life. We were greeted by the aroma of freshly
painted woodwork and newly papered walls. Gone was the forty-watt bulb, along with
the worn linoleum it had illuminated. We stepped on carpet deep and beautiful. A
walk to the kitchen presented to our view a new stove and new refrigerator. The
cupboard doors were still open; however, they now revealed every shelf filled with
food. As usual, the Relief Society had done its work.

In the living room, we began to sing Christmas hymns. We sang “Silent night! Holy
night! All is calm, all is bright.” (Hymns, 1985, no. 204.) We sang in English; they
sang in German. At the conclusion, the father, realizing that all of this was his, took
me by the hand to express his thanks. His emotion was too great. He buried his head
in my shoulder and repeated the words, “Mein Bruder, mein Bruder, mein Bruder.”

It was time to leave. As we walked down the stairs and out into the night air, snow
was falling. Not a word was spoken. Finally, a young girl asked, “Bishop, I feel better
than I have ever felt before. Can you tell me why?”

I responded with the words of the Master: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt. 25:40.) Suddenly
there came to mind the words from “O Little Town of Bethlehem”:

How silently, how silently,

The wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heav’n.

No ear may hear his coming;

But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
(Hymns, 1985, no. 208.)

Silently, wondrously, His gift had been given. Lives were blessed, needs were met,
hearts were touched, and souls were saved. A provident plan had been followed. A
precious promise had been fulfilled.

I testify that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that we are led by a prophet, that
sacrifice does indeed bring forth the blessings of heaven. In the name of Jesus Christ,
amen.

First Presidency Message

The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance
By President Marion G. Romney
First Counselor in the First Presidency

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Marion G. Romney, “The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance,” Tambuli, Oct 1984, 1

This edited version of a talk President Romney delivered at the October 1982 general
conference is reprinted by request.
I love the simple gospel truths as taught by the holy prophets, and I never tire of
speaking about them. Since the beginning of time man has been counseled to earn his
own way, thereby becoming self-reliant. It is easy to understand the reason why the
Lord places so much emphasis on this principle when we come to understand that it is
tied very closely to freedom itself.

On this subject, Elder Albert E. Bowen said, “The Lord must want and intend that His
people shall be free of constraint whether enforceable or only arising out of the
bindings of conscience. … That is why the Church is not satisfied with any system
which leaves able people permanently dependent, and insists, on the contrary, that the
true function and office of giving, is to help people [get] into a position where they
can help themselves and thus be free.” (The Church Welfare Plan, Gospel Doctrine
manual, 1946, p. 77.)

Many programs have been set up by well-meaning individuals to aid those who are in
need. However, many of these programs are designed with the shortsighted objective
of “helping people,” as opposed to “helping people help themselves.” Our efforts
must always be directed toward making able-bodied people self-reliant.

I clipped the following article from the Reader’s Digest some time ago. It reads:

“In our friendly neighbor city of St. Augustine [Florida] great flocks of sea gulls are
starving amid plenty. Fishing is still good, but the gulls don’t know how to fish. For
generations they have depended on the shrimp fleet to toss them scraps from the nets.
Now the fleet has moved. …

“The shrimpers had created a Welfare State for the … sea gulls. The big birds never
bothered to learn how to fish for themselves and they never taught their children to
fish. Instead they led their little ones to the shrimp nets.

“Now the sea gulls, the fine free birds that almost symbolize liberty itself, are starving
to death because they gave in to the ‘something for nothing’ lure! They sacrificed
their independence for a hand-out.

“A lot of people are like that, too. They see nothing wrong in picking delectable
scraps from the tax nets of the U.S. Government’s ‘shrimp fleet.’ But what will
happen when the Government runs out of goods? What about our children of
generations to come?

“Let’s not be gullible gulls. We … must preserve our talents of self-sufficiency, our
genius for creating things for ourselves, our sense of thrift and our true love of
independence.” (“Fable of the Gullible Gull,” Reader’s Digest, Oct. 1950, p. 32.)

The practice of coveting and receiving unearned benefits has now become so fixed in
our society that even men of wealth, possessing the means to produce more wealth,
are expecting the government to guarantee them a profit. Elections often turn on what
the candidates promise to do for voters from government funds. This practice, if
universally accepted and implemented in any society, will make slaves of its citizens.
We cannot afford to become wards of the government, even if we have a legal right to
do so. It requires too great a sacrifice of self-respect and in political, temporal, and
spiritual independence.

In some countries it is extremely difficult to separate earned from unearned benefits.

However, the principle is the same in all countries: We should strive to become self-
reliant and not depend on others for our existence.

Governments are not the only guilty parties. We fear many parents are making
“gullible gulls” out of their children with their permissiveness and their doling out of
family resources. In fact, the actions of parents in this area can be more devastating
than any government program.

Bishops and other priesthood leaders can be guilty of making “gullible gulls” out of
their ward members. Some members become financially or emotionally dependent on
their bishops. A dole is a dole whatever its source. All of our Church and family
actions should be directed toward making our children and members self-reliant. We
can’t always control government programs, but we can control our own homes and
congregations. If we will teach these principles and live them, we can do much to
counter the negative effects which may exist in government programs in any country.

We know there are some who for no reason of their own cannot become self-reliant.
President Henry D. Moyle had these people in mind when he said:

“This great principle does not deny to the needy nor to the poor the assistance they
should have. The wholly incapacitated, the aged, the sickly are cared for with all
tenderness, but every able-bodied person is enjoined to do his utmost for himself to
avoid dependence, if his own efforts can make such a course possible; to look upon
adversity as temporary; to combine his faith in his own ability with honest toil. …

“We believe [that] seldom [do circumstances arise in which] men of rigorous faith,
genuine courage, and unfaltering determination, with the love of independence
burning in their hearts, and pride in their own accomplishments, cannot surmount the
obstacles that lie in their paths.” (General Conference, April 1948.)

Now, I wish speak of a very important truth: self-reliance is not the end, but a means
to an end. It is very possible for a person to be completely independent and lack every
other desirable attribute. One may become wealthy and never have to ask anyone for
anything, but unless there is some spiritual goal attached to this independence, it can
canker his soul.

The Church’s welfare program is spiritual. In 1936, when the program was
introduced, President David O. McKay made this astute observation:

“The development of our spiritual nature should concern us most. Spirituality is the
highest acquisition of the soul, the divine in man; ‘the supreme, crowning gift that
makes him king of all created things.’ It is the consciousness of victory over self and
of communion with the infinite. It is spirituality alone which really gives one the best
in life.
“It is something to supply clothing to the [poorly] clad, to furnish ample food to those
whose table is thinly spread, to give activity to those who are fighting desperately the
despair that comes from enforced idleness, but after all is said and done, the greatest
blessings that will accrue from the Church [welfare program] are spiritual. Outwardly,
every act seems to be directed toward the physical: remaking of dresses and suits of
clothes, canning fruits and vegetables, storing foodstuffs, choosing fertile fields for
settlement—all seem strictly temporal, but permeating all these acts, inspiring and
sanctifying them, is the element of spirituality.” (General Conference, October 1936.)

Doctrine and Covenants 29:34–35 [D&C 29:34–35] tells us there is no such thing as a
temporal commandment, that all commandments are spiritual. It also tells us that man
is to be “an agent unto himself.” Man cannot be an agent unto himself if he is not self-
reliant. Herein we see that independence and self-reliance are critical keys to our
spiritual growth. Whenever we get into a situation which threatens our self-reliance,
we will find our freedom threatened as well. If we increase our dependence, we will
find an immediate decrease in our freedom to act.

Thus far, we should have learned that self-reliance is a prerequisite to the complete
freedom to act. We have also learned, however, that there is nothing spiritual in self-
reliance unless we make the right choices with that freedom. What, then, should we
do once we have become self-reliant in order to grow spiritually?

The key to making self-reliance spiritual is in using the freedom to comply with
God’s commandments. The scriptures are very clear in their command that it is the
duty of those who have, to give to those who are in need.

Jacob, speaking to the people of Nephi, said:

“Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with
your substance, that they may be rich like unto you.

“But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.

“And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them;
and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the
hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.”
(Jacob 2:17–19.)

In our own dispensation, when the Church was only ten months old, the Lord said:

“If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments.

“And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their
support.” (D&C 42:29–30.)

The same month, the Lord referred to this subject again. Evidently the members had
been a little remiss. They had not moved fast enough.
“Behold, I say unto you, that ye must visit the poor and the needy and administer to
their relief.” (D&C 44:6.)

It has always seemed somewhat puzzling to me that we must constantly have the Lord
command us to do those things which are for our own good. The Lord has said, “He
that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”
(Matt. 10:39.) We lose our life by serving and lifting others. By so doing we
experience the only true and lasting happiness. Service is not something we endure on
this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very
fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made.

Oh, for the glorious day when these things all come naturally because of the purity of
our hearts. In that day there will be no need for a commandment, because we will
have experienced for ourselves that we are truly happy only when we are engaged in
unselfish service.

Can we see how critical self-reliance becomes when looked upon as the prerequisite
to service, when we also know service is what godhood is all about? Without self-
reliance one cannot exercise these innate desires to serve. How can we give if there is
nothing there? Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist
the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot come
from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most
important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come from the spiritually weak.

There is an interdependence between those who have and those who have not. The
process of giving exalts the poor and humbles the rich. In the process, both are
sanctified. The poor, released from the bondage and limitations of poverty, are
enabled as free men to rise to their full potential, both temporally and spiritually. The
rich, by imparting of their surplus, participate in the eternal principle of giving. Once
a person has been made whole, or self-reliant, he reaches out to aid others, and the
cycle repeats itself.

We are all self-reliant in some areas and dependent in others. Therefore, each of us
should strive to help others in areas where we have strengths. At the same time, pride
should not prevent us from graciously accepting the helping hand of another when we
have a real need. To do so denies another person the opportunity to participate in a
sanctifying experience.

One of the three areas emphasized in the mission of the Church is to perfect the
Saints, and this is the purpose of the welfare program. This is not a doomsday
program, but a program for our lives here and now, because now is the time for us to
perfect our lives. May we continue to hold fast to these truths.

Let’s Talk about It

After reading President Romney’s article, families may wish to discuss the following
principles in an upcoming family council.
Principles for Perfecting our lives through Self-reliance and Service to Others

BARRIERS to Self-reliance Are— GATEWAYS to Self-reliance Are—

• Idleness • Industry and work

• Spending freely • Thrift, saving, budgeting

• Breaking the commandments • Obeying the Word of Wisdom,

keeping the commandments, paying
an honest tithe

• Indifference to home storage • One year’s supply of food, clothing,

and (where possible) fuel

• No home food production • Producing food at home

• Debt and interest payments • Avoiding debt (when possible) and

developing financial stability

• Apathy about job skills • Improving job skills

• Negative attitudes • Attaining physical, emotional, and

social health

BARRIERS to Service to Others GATEWAYS to Service to

Are— Others Are—

• Thinking only of self and your • Thinking of others

immediate family
• Being afraid to share • Sharing what you have as you
can

• Keeping possessions to • Giving a generous fast offering

yourself

• “Over-helping” people who • Helping people to help

could help themselves, causing themselves (building self-
an attitude of dependence reliance in others)

• Keeping to yourself and your • Giving of your time, talents,

own family and means to family, church,
community

• Feeling you have no time to • Participation in individual and

serve, no talents to share group service projects

“I Was an Hungred, and Ye Gave Me

Meat”
President Gordon B. Hinckley

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Gordon B. Hinckley, “‘I Was an Hungred, and Ye Gave Me Meat’,” Liahona, May
2004, 58–61

Wherever want has been created by whatever cause, representatives of the Church
have been there. … I have been a firsthand witness to the effectiveness of our
humanitarian efforts.
In 1936, 68 years ago, one of the secretaries to the Quorum of the Twelve told me
what a member of the Twelve had told her. She said that in the coming general
conference there would be announced a program which would come to be recognized
as even more noteworthy than the coming of our people to these valleys as pioneers.

Now, parenthetically, you should not tell your secretary what you should keep
confidential, and she should not tell anyone else when she is given confidential
information.

But that was what happened back then. It never happens today. Oh, no! I should add
that my able secretaries are never guilty of such a breach of confidentiality.

As you who are acquainted with the history know, there was announced at that time
the Church security plan, the name of which was subsequently changed to the Church
welfare program.

I wondered back in those days how anything the Church did could eclipse in anyone’s
judgment the historic gathering of our people to these western valleys of the United
States. That was a movement of such epic proportions that I felt nothing could ever be
so noteworthy. But I have discovered something of interest in the last short while.

We receive many prominent visitors in the office of the First Presidency. They
include heads of state and ambassadors of nations. A few weeks ago, we entertained
the mayor of one of the great cities of the world. We have, likewise, recently
entertained the vice president and the ambassador of Ecuador, the ambassador from
Lithuania, the ambassador from Belarus, and others. In our conversations not one of
these visitors mentioned the great pioneer journey of our forebears. But each of them,
independently, spoke in high praise of our welfare program and our humanitarian
efforts.

And so as I speak in this great priesthood meeting, I wish to say a few words
concerning our efforts in behalf of those in need, be they members of the Church or
otherwise, in various parts of the world.

When the modern welfare program was put in motion, it was designed to take care of
the needs of our own people. In the years that have followed, thousands upon
thousands have been served. Bishops and Relief Society presidents have had available
to them food and clothing and other supplies for those in need. Numberless members
of the Church have worked in volunteer capacities in producing that which was
required. We now operate 113 storehouses, 63 farms, 105 canneries and home storage
centers, 18 food processing and distribution plants, as well as many other facilities.

Not only have the needs of Church members been met, but aid has been extended to
countless others. Right here in this Salt Lake City community, many of the hungry are
fed daily by non-LDS agencies utilizing LDS welfare supplies.

Here, in this city, and in a number of other places, we operate beautiful stores where
there is no cash register, where no money changes hands, where food, clothing, and
other necessities are provided to those in distress. I believe that no better milk, no
better meat, and no better flour is found on any grocery shelf than that which is
distributed from the bishops’ storehouses.

The principles on which these establishments operate are essentially what they were at
the beginning.

Those in need are expected to do all they can to provide for themselves. Then families
are expected to assist in taking care of their less-fortunate members. And then the
resources of the Church are made available.

We believe in and take very seriously the words of our Lord:

“Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world:

“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I
was a stranger, and ye took me in:

“Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye
came unto me” (Matt. 25:34–36).

This is the Lord’s way of caring for those in need which, He declared, “ye have …
always with you” (see Matt. 26:11).

Those who are able voluntarily work to provide for those who are not able. Last year
there were 563,000 days of donated labor in welfare facilities. That is the equivalent
of a man working eight hours a day for 1,542 years.

A recent issue of the Church News carried the story of a group of farmers in a small
Idaho community. May I read briefly from that account?

“It is 6 a.m. in late October, and frost already hangs in the air over the sugar beet
fields of Rupert, Idaho.

“The long arms of the ‘beeters’ stretch out over twelve rows, slicing the tops off sugar
beets. Behind them, the harvesters thrust their steel fingers into the soil and scoop up
the beets, pulling them up toward a belt and into a waiting truck.
“… This is the Rupert Idaho Welfare Farm, and those who are working here today are
volunteers. … At times more than 60 machines [are] working in harmony together—
… all owned by local farmers.”

The work goes on throughout the day.

“[At] 7 p.m. … the sun has set, leaving the land dark and cold once again. The
farmers head home, exhausted and happy.

“They have finished well another day.

“They have harvested the Lord’s sugar beets” (Neil K. Newell, “A Harvest in Idaho,”
Church News, 20 Mar. 2004, 16).

Such remarkable volunteer service goes on constantly to assure supplies for the
storehouses of the Lord.

Since the early beginnings, the program has moved beyond caring for the needy to the
encouragement of preparedness on the part of families of the Church. No one knows
when catastrophe might strike—or sickness, or unemployment, or a disabling
accident.

Last year the program helped families store 18 million pounds of basic foods against a
possible time of need. Hopefully, that time will never come. But the good,
wholesome, basic food so stored brings peace of mind and also the satisfaction of
obedience to counsel.

Now there has been added another element. It began some years ago when drought in
Africa brought hunger and death to uncounted numbers. Members of the Church were
invited to contribute to a great humanitarian effort to meet the needs of those terribly
impoverished people. Your contributions were numerous and generous. The work has
continued because there are other serious needs in many places. The outreach of this
aid has become a miracle. Millions of pounds of food, medical supplies, blankets,
tents, clothing, and other materials have staved off famine and desolation in various
parts of the world. Wells have been dug, crops have been planted, lives have been
saved. Let me give you an example.

Neil Darlington is a chemical engineer who worked for a large industrial company in
Ghana. Eventually, he retired.

He and his wife were then called as a missionary couple. They were sent to Ghana.
Brother Darlington says, “In areas of famine, disease, and social unrest, we were there
as representatives of the Church, extending a helping hand to the destitute, the hungry,
the distressed.”

In small villages they drilled new wells and repaired old ones. Those of us who have
fresh, clean water in abundance can scarcely appreciate the circumstances of those
who are without.
Can you picture this couple, devoted Latter-day Saint missionaries? They drill into the
dry earth. Their drill reaches the water table below, and the miracle liquid comes to
the surface and spills over the dry and thirsty soil. There is rejoicing. There are tears.
There is now water to drink, water with which to wash, water to grow crops. There is
nothing more treasured in a dry land than water. How absolutely beautiful is water
pouring from a new well.

On one occasion, when the tribal chiefs and the elders of the village gathered to thank
them, Brother Darlington asked the chief if he and Sister Darlington could sing a song
for them. They looked into the eyes of the dark-skinned men and women before them
and sang “I Am a Child of God” as an expression of their common brotherhood.

This one couple, through their efforts, have provided water for an estimated 190,000
people in remote villages and refugee camps. Contemplate, if you will, the miracle of
this accomplishment.

And now, literally thousands of their kind, married couples, couples who otherwise
might simply have lived out their lives in largely idle pursuits, have served, and are
serving, in scores of ways and in scores of places. They have worked and continue to
work in the impoverished areas of America. They have worked, and still do so, in
India and Indonesia, in Thailand and Cambodia, in Russia and the Baltic nations. And
so the work expands.

Joining with others, the Church has recently provided wheelchairs for some 42,000
disabled persons. Think of what this means to people who literally have had to crawl
to get about. With the aid of selfless doctors and nurses, neonatal resuscitation
training was provided to nearly 19,000 professionals in the year 2003 alone. The lives
of thousands of babies will be spared as a consequence.

Last year some 2,700 individuals were treated for eye problems, and 300 local
practitioners were trained in sight-saving procedures. The blind have literally been
made to see.

Where devastating floods have come, where earthquakes have created disaster, where
hunger has stalked the land, wherever want has been created by whatever cause,
representatives of the Church have been there. Some 98 million dollars in cash and in-
kind assistance have been distributed in the past year, bringing such aid to a total of
643 million dollars in just 18 years.

I have been a firsthand witness to the effectiveness of our humanitarian efforts. In

traveling the world, I have seen the recipients of your generosity. In 1998 I visited the
areas of Central America, which had been ravaged by Hurricane Mitch. Here the
distribution of food and clothing was quickly organized, and the cleaning and
rebuilding of devastated homes and shattered lives was a miracle to behold.

There is not time to go on recounting the reach of these great and significant
programs. In extending help we have not asked whether those affected belong to the
Church. For we know that each of earth’s children is a child of God worthy of help in
time of need. We have done what we have done largely with the left hand not
knowing what the right hand is doing. We seek no commendation or thank-yous. It is
compensation enough that when we help one of the least of these our Father’s
children, we have done it unto Him and His Beloved Son (see Matt. 25:40).

We shall go on in this work. There will always be a need. Hunger and want and
catastrophes will ever be with us. And there will always be those whose hearts have
been touched by the light of the gospel who will be willing to serve and work and lift
the needy of the earth.

As a correlated effort we have established the Perpetual Education Fund. It has come
about through your generous contributions. It is now operating in 23 countries. Loans
are extended to worthy young men and women for education. Otherwise, they would
be trapped in the stagnated poverty their parents and forebears have known for
generations. Some 10,000 and more are now being assisted, and experience to this
date indicates that with such training they are now earning three to four times what
was previously possible.

The Spirit of the Lord guides this work. This welfare activity is secular activity,
expressing itself in terms of rice and beans, of blankets and tents, of clothing and
medicine, of employment and education for better employment. But this so-called
secular work is but an outward expression of an inward spirit—the Spirit of the Lord
of whom it was said, He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38).

May heaven prosper this great program, and may heaven’s blessing rest upon all who
serve therein, I humbly pray, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

God Loves and Helps All of His

Children
Bishop Keith B. McMullin Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric

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Keith B. McMullin, “God Loves and Helps All of His Children,” Liahona, Nov
2008, 75–78

We need Heavenly Father’s help. Important sources of this help come through
man’s service to his fellowman, through prayer, and through focus on Christ.
One of the overarching truths of the Restoration is that God lives and dwells in
His heavens, that He is an exalted man with “a body of flesh and bones,”1
and that He is yesterday, today, and forever the same unchangeable God,2
the fountain of all virtue and truth.

Adam and Eve were the first of His mortal children upon this earth. Of their
advent, He said: “And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of
mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.”3

This truth elevates the human family. Men and women are wondrous
creations endowed with divine attributes. At the time of Creation, God placed
in Adam and Eve the supernal capacity to bear children in their likeness. We
are all, therefore, in His image.

We do, however, contend with serious mortal frailties and hazards. Sickness,
aging, and death are inescapable. Hardships and heartaches are part of life’s
journey. Personal dispositions, appetites, and passions clamor for
gratification.

For all these reasons and more, we need Heavenly Father’s help. An
important source of this help comes through man’s service to his fellowman.4
The commandment is to “love thy neighbour as thyself.”5 Because we are all
brothers and sisters, we are all “neighbors,” though separated at times by
distance, culture, religion, or race. Said the Prophet Joseph, “A man filled with
the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges
through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.”6 The Lord
sets the example, “for he doeth that which is good among the children of men;
… and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free,
male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto
God.”7

To provide for others in the Lord’s way, we strive to care for ourselves and
sacrifice to help those in need. The poor labor for what they receive and seek
the betterment of others as well.8 This pattern has been with us from the
beginning.9
The Church welfare plan embodies this divine pattern, and faithful Church
members follow it. Their offerings provide succor to the widow, care to the
orphan, and refuge to the suffering.

A few years ago a high-ranking official from China visited Salt Lake City,
toured Church sites, and spoke at Brigham Young University. Learning about
the Church welfare program, he said, “If we all loved each other like this, the
world would be a more peaceful place.”

Fasting and giving the value of the meals not eaten to help the poor captured
his attention. At the conclusion of his visit to Welfare Square, he handed the
manager a small red envelope—a “red pocket.” In China a “red pocket” is
given as a gesture of love, blessing, and a wish for good fortune. “It does not
contain much,” the visitor said, “but it represents the money I have saved from
missing breakfast the last two mornings. I would like to give my fast offering to
the Welfare program of the Church.”10

The Church welfare plan is God-inspired. Its tenets are fundamental to the
salvation of man.11 It is an ensign for service, a witness to the world that the
Church of Jesus Christ has been restored. It is heaven’s help in practical
ways. President Thomas S. Monson has said: “Welfare principles … do not
change. They will not change. They are revealed truths.”12

Another essential way to receive God’s help is through prayer. We are

commanded to pray to God, our Father, in the name of Jesus Christ. The
admonition is, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock,
and it shall be opened.”13 Heavenly Father answers all sincere prayers.

As the Lord’s prophet, President Monson counsels: “At times there appears to
be no light at the tunnel’s end—no dawn to break the night’s darkness. … We
feel abandoned, heartbroken, alone. If you find yourself in such a situation, I
plead with you to turn to our Heavenly Father in faith. He will lift you and guide
you. He will not always take your afflictions from you, but He will comfort and
lead you with love through whatever storm you face.”14

In the face of some needs, we turn to a form of prayer available only under
the hands of those authorized to minister for God. Jesus Christ went forth
“healing the sick, raising the dead”15 and lifting up desperate souls. With the
Restoration of the gospel came priesthood power and authority to continue
this aspect of God’s work.16

When one is sick or deeply troubled, “call for the elders of the church; and let
them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.”17 Faithful
elders are commissioned to do what the Lord would do if He were present.18

If records had been kept of prayers answered, the world could not contain the
many volumes. From Elder Glen L. Rudd, an emeritus General Authority and
beloved associate, comes this treasured testimonial:
“I received a phone call informing me that a family member, a 12-year-old girl
named Janice, was in the hospital with critical injuries. Her mother wanted her
to receive a priesthood blessing.

“Elder Cowley and I went to the hospital. There we learned details of the
accident. Janice had been hit by a city bus. The double rear wheels had
passed over her head and body.

“Elder Cowley and I entered the room where Janice lay. She had a broken
pelvis, a badly injured shoulder, multiple broken bones, and severe head
injuries that were beyond repair. Nonetheless, it was our feeling that we
should administer to her and bless her. I anointed her with oil, and Elder
Cowley sealed the anointing. In a strong and resolute manner he blessed her
to become well and whole and to live a normal life. He blessed her that she
would recover with no lasting effects from her many injuries. It was a great
blessing and a truly magnificent moment.”

Elder Rudd goes on to say: “Janice didn’t move a muscle for more than a
month. We never lost faith. A blessing had been pronounced that she would
get well and have no lasting impairments.”

Elder Rudd concluded: “Many years have now passed since that hospital visit.
I spoke with Janice recently. She is now 70 years of age, the mother of 3
children, the grandmother of 11 grandchildren. To this day, she has not
suffered a single negative effect from her accident.”19

Hers is but one of many such healings. But none stands as a greater witness
of how Heavenly Father helps His children through prayer than the one that
took place in a hospital room, with 12-year-old Janice and two humble
servants of God, some 58 years ago.

The ultimate help from Heavenly Father comes to us through His Son, “for
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”20

It is with great reverence and awe that I bear witness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In doing so, I am reminded how careful we must be in the use of His name.
While His influence, teachings, and deliverance endear Him to us, we would
do well not to speak of Him as though He were the friend next door.

He is the Firstborn of our Father’s spirit children. He did all that was ordained
for Him to do—hence all things give Him reverence and bear witness of
Him.21 He told the ancient prophets what to write and reveals His will to His
prophets today—and He fulfills their every word.22

Begotten of God, He was born of the virgin Mary, conquered death, atoned for
the sins of the world, and brought salvation to both the living and dead. As our
resurrected Lord, He ate fish and honeycomb with the Apostles and invited
multitudes on both hemispheres to feel the wounds in His hands, feet, and
side that all might know He is the God of Israel—He is the living Christ.

To all He declares:

“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live:

“And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”23

He is our Lawgiver and Judge, the Redeemer of the world. At His Second
Coming, “the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be
called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace.”24 Of this I bear witness in the most sacred name of Jesus
Christ, amen.

The Law of the Fast

Elder L. Tom Perry
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

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L. Tom Perry, “The Law of the Fast,” Ensign, May 1986, 31

The great lessons of the scriptures teach us over and over again how foolish it is for
mankind to desert the ways of the Lord and rely on the arm of flesh. One of the
certainties of life is that mankind, individually and collectively, will cycle through
their mortal experience with periods of good and difficult times. How many of our
family histories contain paragraphs similar to this?
“Economically, our family had its ups and downs. Like many Americans, we did well
during the 1920s. My father started making lots of money in real estate, in addition to
his other businesses. For a few years we were actually wealthy. But then came the
Depression.

“No one who’s lived through it can ever forget. My father lost all his money, and we
almost lost our house. I remember asking my sister, who was a couple of years older,
whether we’d have to move out and how we’d find somewhere else to live. I was only
six or seven at the time, but the anxiety I felt about the future is still vivid in my mind.
Bad times are indelible—they stay with you forever.” (Lee Iacocca and William
Novak, Iacocca: An Autobiography, New York: Bantam Books, 1984, p. 7.)

But as surely as we can rely on change being a part of life, there is also the absolute
assurance that we are children of an eternal Father in Heaven. As the supreme
example of a kind and loving father, He has charted a well-defined course for His
children to follow, the destination of which is the blessing of returning to His
presence.

He has marked the path with true principles, which will stand the test of time. In this
session of general conference this afternoon, we have been reviewing welfare
principles as they have been revealed to us for our application over the last fifty years.

There is one additional principle basic to this whole welfare plan which I would like
to discuss with you this afternoon. It is the law of the fast. I always marvel as I study
the principles the Lord has designed for us to follow how simple they are in concept,
how easy they are to administer, and how compliance always brings forth additional
blessings.

The law of the fast is basic in the Church. Isaiah declared:

“Is not this the fast that I have chosen?

“… Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry?” (Isa. 58:6–7.)

Like many other biblical practices, it was restored by the Lord in our day through the
Prophet Joseph Smith.

The law of the fast has three great purposes. First, it provides assistance to the needy
through the contribution of fast offerings, consisting of the value of meals from which
we abstain. Second, a fast is beneficial to us physically. Third, it is to increase
humility and spirituality on the part of each individual.

An important reason for fasting is to contribute the amount saved from the meals not
eaten to care for the poor and the needy. One of the strongest admonitions the Lord
has given to His children on earth is that we have the responsibility and obligation of
caring for those in need. It was King Benjamin who said in his great address, “And
now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake
of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless
before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man
according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked,
visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally,
according to their wants.” (Mosiah 4:26.)

Do we need to be reminded that included in our baptismal covenant is our pledge to

bear one another’s burdens that they may be light, to mourn with those that mourn,
and to comfort those that stand in need of comfort? (See Mosiah 18:8–9.)

The longer I live, the more impressed I am with the Lord’s system of caring for the
poor and needy. Surely no man would think of such a simple yet profound way of
satisfying human needs—to grow spiritually and temporally through periodic fasting
and then donating the amount saved from refraining from partaking of those meals to
the bishop to be used to administer to the needs of the poor, the ill, the downtrodden,
who need help and support to make their way through life.

It was President [J. Reuben] Clark who said: “The fundamental principle of all
Church relief work is that it must be carried on by fast offerings and other voluntary
donations and contributions. This is the order established by the Lord. Tithing is not
primarily designed for that purpose and must not be used except in the last extremity.”
(J. Reuben Clark, Jr., quoted in Marion G. Romney, “Our Primary Purpose,” address
delivered in Welfare Agricultural Meeting, 3 Apr. 1971, p. 1.)

Through religious history we have found how the Lord blesses people when they
reach out and care for the poor and the needy. Of the days of Hezekiah we read this in
the scriptures:

“And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, … they also brought in the tithe of
oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the Lord
their God, and laid them by heaps.

“And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord,
and his people Israel.

“Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.” (2
Chr. 31:6, 8–9.)

The answer was, “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the
Lord, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the Lord hath blessed his
people; and that which is left is this great store.” (2 Chr. 31:10.)

We have said a lot today about President Romney and what he has declared about the
welfare program. Could I add another statement:

“I am thoroughly in harmony with what the Bishop said about our need to contribute
liberally to the fast-offerings fund and to every other fund that the Church officially
calls upon us to contribute to. 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, over 50 years, 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.” (Welfare Agricultural Meeting,
3 Apr. 1971, p. 1.)

With all these promises of the Lord over the expanse of man’s sojourn on earth, how
shocking it is to find that sometimes it is necessary to use tithing funds of the Church
to make up for deficits in our fast-offering contributions. Oh, where is our faith? Oh,
how we deprive ourselves of the blessings of the Lord by not being generous in our
fast-offering contributions.

Let us have the faith to bind the Lord to bless this people because we are following
His order to care for the poor and the needy among us by being generous in our fast-
offering contributions.

Fasting is also beneficial to us physically. Some time ago I read an article in Science
News written by Charles L. Goodrich, which stated that the advantages of modern
eating habits extend far beyond the cosmetic. Numerous animal studies have
demonstrated that caloric restriction early in life leads to an increased life span and
reduces the risk of certain diseases.

There is also evidence of health-promoting effects of periodic fasting. Some

experiments have shown that periodic fasting not only promotes a longer life, but
encourages a more vigorous activity later in life. (See Science News, 1 Dec. 1979, p.
375.)

Fasting is also one of the finest ways of developing our own discipline and self-
control. Plato said, “The first and the best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered
by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile.” (Laws, Book I, section 626E.)

Fasting helps to teach us self-mastery. It helps us to gain the discipline we need to

have control over ourselves.

Again we can conclude that if we are wise in following the Lord’s law of the fast, we
too will receive benefits, physically.

Finally, let us examine the humility and spiritual strength derived from fasting. The
Savior certainly recognized the need for this principle, for after His baptism we find
the scriptures recording:

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the
Spirit into the wilderness,

“Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and
when they were ended, he afterward hungered.” (Luke 4:1–2.)
And the devil used all his cunning ways to tempt the Savior to abandon His mission.
To this the Savior responded: “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

“And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

“And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame
of him through all the region round about.” (Luke 4:8, 13–14.)

Fasting had blessed Him with the power of the Spirit.

There is also the account in the Book of Mormon of Alma as he traveled southward
on his way to Manti. He was astonished to meet his friends, the sons of Mosiah,
journeying toward the land of Zarahemla. It was a joyous meeting as they exchanged
accounts of their missionary journeys. Alma was delighted to see how the sons of
Mosiah had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth. The scripture records:

“But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore
they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they
taught with power and authority of God.

“And they had been teaching the word of God for the space of fourteen years among
the Lamanites, having had much success in bringing many to the knowledge of the
truth; yea, by the power of their words many were brought before the altar of God, to
call on his name and confess their sins before him.” (Alma 17:3–4.)

These are only two examples of the many we can find in the scriptures where fasting
and prayer for a purpose bring forth a special spiritual power. This same blessing is
available to each of us if we will only take advantage of it.

I would like to add my testimony this afternoon to the others who have given witness
to the blessings of those who have given to and received from this great, inspired
welfare services program over the last fifty years. My father was the bishop of our
ward at the time of its announcement to the Church in April general conference of
1936. The world was struggling in the Great Depression. So many of the fathers of
our ward were unemployed. In those days a dime for admission to a school activity
would prevent many of my friends from attending because their parents could not
afford even that small amount for their children’s enjoyment.

Because of my father’s calling as a bishop, I was able to gain an appreciation of the

welfare program from its very beginning as I watched him administer to the needs of
the poor in his ward with great love and tenderness. How often I raced home from
school anticipating a planned activity. As I would round the corner of our home, there
I would see sacks of flour, sugar, and other commodities. My heart would fall, as I
knew it would be another evening out with Father as he delivered these commodities
to those in need. The planned activity would have to be cancelled for that evening.

When he arrived home, I was always enlisted to help him put the commodities in the
car and travel with him to make the deliveries. Sometimes I would grumble under my
breath for having been so put upon, but then I would have the remarkable experience
of watching the light come back into the eyes of a depressed family as food was
brought into their home. I always returned home from those experiences with an
exhilarated feeling of watching the Church in action as it was caring for its poor and
its needy through fast offerings and good, kind priesthood leaders.

May the Lord continue to bless us with the faith to follow the inspired leadership He
has provided for us here on earth that we may fulfill our obligations and
responsibilities and be blessed by His hand, both spiritually and temporally, as we
follow His plan, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Our Brothers’ Keepers

By President Thomas S. Monson
First Counselor in the First Presidency

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Thomas S. Monson, “Our Brothers’ Keepers,” Ensign, Jun 1998, 33

Adapted from an address given in Salt Lake City to Rotary International on 20

November 1997

From New York City to North Korea, the Church quietly reaches out in welfare
efforts that aid millions of the suffering and needy.

I am very honored to join with you on this occasion. You Rotarians have a
phenomenal dedication to your club and its altruistic bylaws, because you have
adesire to help those in need.

Harry Emerson Fosdick, a great Protestant minister, said, “Men will work hard for
money. They will work harder for other men. But men will work hardest of all when
they are dedicated to a cause. Until willingness overflows obligation, men fight as
conscripts rather than following the flag as patriots. Duty is never worthily performed
until it is performed by one who would gladly do more if only he could.” 1

One ever conscious of duty was my beloved associate—and a dedicated Rotarian—

Richard L. Evans. He traveled the world for Rotary when he was international
president of Rotary International. I was in Toronto, Canada, once and had to help him
rewrite a ticket. I had never seen such a long and complicated ticket. After I became a
member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he and I sat near each other in
meetings. I noticed often, after he came back from all-night flights, how tired he was.
He had the responsibility to write and deliver the Spoken Word messages during the
Tabernacle Choir broadcasts each Sunday; he was busy with ecclesiastical duties,
with Rotary, and with being a husband, a father, and a grandfather—and yet he was
ever found doing his duty.

Tonight Sterling Spafford, your district governor, has asked that I say a word or two
about humanitarian aid and about welfare in the LDS Church.

We take most seriously the admonition from the Lord found in the New Testament in
Matthew, chapter 25, and I know you do too:

“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I
was a stranger, and ye took me in:

“Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye
came unto me. …

“… Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” 2

Each time we watch the news on television or pick up a newspaper, we learn of

terrible human suffering as a result of tornadoes, floods, fires, drought, hurricanes,
earthquakes, conflicts of war. I ask the question: Do we have a responsibility to do
something about such suffering?

Long years ago a similar question was posed and preserved in holy writ, even the
Holy Bible, and I quote from the book of Genesis:

“And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the
field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

“And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not:
Am I my brother’s keeper?” 3 The answer to that vital question is: Yes, we are our
brothers’ keepers.

The funding of the operation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
worldwide is based on tithing, where members contribute 10 percent of their increase,
as set forth by the Old Testament prophet Malachi. In addition to tithing, we have in
the Church what we call fast offering. The members of the Church fast once a month
and contribute the equivalent of the meals not eaten—and anything in addition we
would like—as a fast offering to help the poor and the needy.

To provide an idea of the extent of the conventional welfare help given by the Church,
may I share with you a brief list of some of the Church-operated welfare enterprises:

• 100 storehouses.

• 80 canneries.

• 97 employment centers worldwide.

• 45 Deseret Industries stores.

• 63 LDS Social Services offices.

• 106 priesthood-managed production projects.

• 1,049 welfare missionaries in 33 countries.

It is a wonderful thing to see what is accomplished as a result of this investment and

effort.

In the 1950s, when I presided over the Sixth-Seventh Ward, which included this very
area where we meet tonight, we had 87 widows and 1,080 members. It was a transient
area, coupled with old-line families. I have seen hunger and want, and I have watched
wonderful people grow old and infirm. I developed very young in life a spirit of
compassion for others who might be in need, regardless of age or circumstance.

Many are the blessings which result when the law of the fast is observed. Let me
illustrate. Fifty-two years ago, when World War II came to a close and Europe lay
devastated, hunger stalked the streets, infectious diseases were everywhere to be
found, and the people had given up hope. A call came for aid, and President George
Albert Smith, then President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, went
to see President Harry S Truman to get permission to send aid to the starving people
throughout Europe. President Truman listened to President Smith and then said, “I
like what you plan to do. How long will it take you to assemble the goods you would
like to send and prepare them for shipment?”

President Smith responded, “President Truman, the goods are all assembled. One nod
from you and the trains will roll, and ships will sail, and those supplies will be on
their way.”

It happened exactly that way, with Ezra Taft Benson, then a member of the Quorum
of the Twelve, delivering the supplies in behalf of the Church.

I was in Zwickau, Germany, several years ago, and an elderly gentleman came up to
me and said, “President Monson, I want you to tell President Ezra Taft Benson that
the food he brought after the war—food sent by the Church—kept me from starving.
It gave me hope for the future.” I was deeply touched as I listened to his expressions
of gratitude.

May I say a word or two concerning humanitarian aid as compared to conventional

welfare aid. The term humanitarian aid is a relatively new designation for help
extended beyond the basic welfare program. An example of humanitarian aid can be
seen in the Church’s response in 1985 to the needs of famine-stricken Ethiopia. As the
suffering there became apparent, our members in the United States and Canada were
invited to participate in two special fast days. The contributions went to this cause.
The proceeds received from these two fast days exceeded $11 million dollars and
provided much-needed aid to the people in Ethiopia, Chad, and other sub-Saharan
nations. Not one cent was deducted for overhead, for that was also an offering. The
funds were not invested to obtain interest. Rather, they were given freely to meet the
need.

We have collaborated in these projects with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(American and International), Catholic Relief Services, CARE, and so on. Hunger
knows no ecclesiastical boundary. We can provide hope; we can preserve life. Rotary
is part of that great pledge.

Examples of the Church working in partnership with other community, state, and
private organizations to assist the needy include the following:

• Providing food from the Church welfare system and furnishings from the former
Hotel Utah to local agencies as diverse as the Salvation Army, Jewish Family
Services, Travelers Aid, and the Indian Alcoholism Recovery Center.

• Providing $75,000 and volunteers to help with Columbia University’s Family-to-

Family “home evening” program in Harlem, New York City. Although in its initial
stages, this program reportedly has already produced more positive results than many
of the social and economic programs Columbia University previously initiated.

• Providing the Cambodian Royal University of Agriculture with the equipment and
trained experts needed to establish a food canning and processing program.

• Helping the National Council of Negro Women in Zimbabwe support projects to

assist people in need of food, clothing, and medical supplies.

We are often asked about the extent and nature of Church humanitarian assistance.
While we feel that such work should not be trumpeted, the following provides a sense
of what is being done. From 1985 to the present, humanitarian efforts have resulted
in:

• Number of projects 2,340

• Countries served 137

• Total value of assistance $162.5 million

• Food distributed 9,800 tons

• Surplus clothing distributed 20,798 tons

• Medical equipment distributed 894 tons

• Educational material 794 tons

distributed

• Major disaster assistance 76

efforts

Examples

• Mexico fire 1990

• Bangladesh cyclone and 1991

flooding

• China earthquake 1991

• Philippines Mount Pinatubo 1991

volcano

• Bosnia civil conflict 1992

• Africa drought 1992

• Croatia civil conflict 1992

• Hurricane Andrew 1992

• Midwest U.S. flooding 1993

• Northridge, California, 1994
earthquake

• Rwanda relief 1994

• Bosnia-Croatia-Serbia relief 1994–96

• Japan earthquake 1995

• North Korea crop failure 1996–97

In 1996 alone, suffering populations in various nations around the world received
through Church humanitarian aid the following:

• Sufficient clothing to outfit an estimated 8.7 million people in 58 countries.

• Over 1 million pounds of medical and educational equipment and supplies to 70

countries.

• English instruction to more than 3,000 people.

As famine has deepened in North Korea, where we have no members of our faith,
they have had a great need for help to eliminate starvation among children and others.
We have been able to provide:

• 2,150 tons of corn, powdered milk, flour, and medical supplies.

• 400 tons of fertilizer, pesticides, and seeds.

• Over 500 seedling apple trees.

• Total assistance to date amounting to $3.1 million dollars.

There are ships on the ocean waves right now taking more food to the starving in
North Korea. I am happy we could help.

In 1992 a devastating hurricane named Andrew struck the east coast of Florida,
leaving a path of ruin behind it, with homes battered, roofs gone, people hungry. Our
members were there to help. Home after home was cleaned and repaired without
charge. It mattered not the faith or color of the person who occupied the home. One
Saturday morning after the storm abated, we needed about 100 men to start putting
new sheeting on the roofs and to clean up and repair the damaged homes. We sent out
the word for 100 volunteers. More than 300 came, some from as far away as New
York and Connecticut. Others came from the Carolinas. They drove south and worked
in shifts until all the homes that they could possibly enter were repaired and the roofs
restored.

Far away in the foothills on the western slopes of Mount Kenya, along the fringe of
the colossal Rift Valley, pure water is now coming to the thirsty people. A potable
water project has changed the lives of more than 1,100 families. When we originally
became aware of the need for pure water, we were able to help fund a project in
cooperation with TechnoServe, a private voluntary organization. With villagers
providing the labor, drinkable water now flows through 25 miles of pipes to waiting
homes in a 15-village area. The simple blessing of safe drinking water recalls the
words of the Lord, “I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink.” 4

In the early part of this decade we collaborated with Rotary International in its
PolioPlus endeavor, the goal being to eliminate that dreaded disease. As a young man
in high school, I witnessed firsthand the start of the polio epidemic in Salt Lake City.
Every day it seemed that someone at school came down with polio. If you have ever
seen an iron lung or a child who has suffered from the devastating infirmities of polio,
you understand what blessings have come to countless individuals because your club
has had the vision and the faith to accomplish what you have to eliminate polio. A
bronze statue was given to the Church by Rotary officers expressing thanks for our
substantial contribution in this effort. The Church purchased sufficient polio serum to
immunize 300,000 children and also helped place gas and electric refrigerators in
rural health outposts to keep vaccines viable until they were administered to the
children. As a result of this joint endeavor, Rotary International has ensured that every
child in Kenya is protected from this crippling disease. One never goes wrong by
helping a child.

There are other problems that can be solved when people such as the Rotarians tackle
them. I understand that you plan, through your foundation and others who help, to
wipe out polio worldwide by the year 2000. I cannot think of a finer goal.

As a Church we try to help people to help themselves. We strive to promote

humanitarian initiatives that encourage self-reliance. Examples include:

• Village banking in Guatemala that significantly improves the nutrition levels and
financial stability of families.

• Micro-enterprise projects such as one in Armenia that combines knitting skills and
business management training initiatives.

• Surgical initiatives in the Philippines that correct physical defects such as cleft
palates, deformed limbs, and hearing and sight impairments, and not a cent goes to the
doctors. It all goes to the child.
• Vocational skills training in Guatemala and India, such as machine repair and
electrical or computer training, that leads to productive employment.

The Church cooperates with and assists those of other faiths. Such efforts include:

• Assistance for parishioners of burned Protestant churches.

• Food, clothing, furnishings, and capital contributions to Catholic Community

Services and Catholic Relief Services. I’d like to say that we have sent millions of
dollars of supplies through Catholic Charities. It has been a wonderful association,
and we keep that current as of today.

• Clothing to the Russian Orthodox Church.

• Clothing and food to the Adventist Development and Relief Agency of the Seventh-
day Adventist Church.

• Food processing facilities and volunteers to assist the Islamic Society of North
America.

Sixteen years ago I was called to be a member of President Ronald Reagan’s Task
Force on Private Sector Initiatives. He knew much concerning our welfare program.
On one occasion when we were meeting together, he said to others in the White
House, pointing to me, “In this man’s church, the members frequently donate their
time to can tomatoes and put up corn and other produce for the nee for the needy.
Wouldn’t it be great if all of us did that?”

When we can work together cooperatively to lift the level of life for so many people,
we can accomplish anything. When we do so, we eliminate the weakness of one
person standing alone and substitute the strength of many serving together. While we
may not be able to do everything, we can and must do something.

In doing some research for this message, I was happy to note that Rotary International
is a great moving force in eliminating illiteracy throughout the world. I thought it
might be interesting for you to know that the Relief Society organization of our
Church has as a primary goal and objective, among other goals, to eradicate illiteracy.

Some time ago I was on an assignment in Monroe, Louisiana. At the conclusion of

my meetings, I went to the airport to board the plane to Salt Lake City. While I was
waiting, an African-American lady came up to me and gave me a big hug. She said:
“President Monson, I want to tell you my story. My family and I were all poor
sharecroppers. We had nothing. But then the women of the Relief Society, white
women, taught me to read and taught me to write. Today I help teach white women
how to read and how to write.” She then expressed her gratitude and love for what the
women had done for her. I reflected on the supreme happiness she must have felt
when she was able to open her Bible and read for the first time those beautiful words
of the Lord:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls.

“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 5

A legendary figure of the past from government and politics nationally, in addition to
being a General Authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was
President J. Reuben Clark Jr. He had been undersecretary of state and ambassador to
Mexico and had written some of the treaties for the Allied powers. I had the privilege
of printing his books for him. For the period of a year I had the unique opportunity of
meeting with him every day for an hour or so. During these times I came to appreciate
his great wisdom. On one occasion President Clark made this statement: “The real
long term objective of the Welfare Plan is the building of character in the members of
the Church, givers and receivers, rescuing all that is finest down deep inside of them,
and bringing to flower and fruitage the latent richness of the spirit, which after all is
the mission and purpose and reason for being of this Church.” 6

God bless all who endeavor to be their brother’s keeper, who give to ameliorate
suffering, who strive with all that is good within them to make a better world. Have
you noticed that such individuals have a brighter smile? Their footsteps are more
certain. They have an aura about them of contentment and satisfaction—even
dedication—for one cannot participate in helping others without experiencing a rich
blessing himself.

Applicable to those who give as you in Rotary give is the adage, “When a bouquet of
flowers is given to another, the fragrance of the flowers lingers on the hands of the
giver.”

I pray we may have the spirit of giving, the spirit of serving, really the Rotary spirit
today and always.

[photos] Photography by Craig Dimond, except as noted

[photos] Some fruits of Church-donated funds, materials, and volunteer effort

(clockwise, from right): crutches help a one-legged Cambodian street sweeper hold a
job (right and below); welfare missionary teaches English at a Church employment
resource center in Ghana; children in a Moscow nursery benefit from educational
materials, toys, books; Church helps fund auto mechanics class at privately owned
Spencer W. Kimball Technological Institute, San Pedro, Guatemala; sanitation project
with donated materials, Ghana; home enterprise in Guatemala. Top left: Scene in
Ghana.

[photos] Top left: Church funds made possible this local initiative literacy project in
India. (Photo by Isaac Ferguson.) Above: Boxes of food containing a two-week
supply for a family of four were distributed in Vladivostok, Russia, after flooding.
(Photo by Gary Flake.) Left: Personal enterprise—selling snails, for example—aids
some families’ survival in Ghana.
[photos] Top: Young girl at literacy class in a Guatemala City chapel. Above:
Missionary teaches computer literacy class at YMCA, Madras, India. Right: LDS
experts helped set up a model feed mill for chicken farming at Cambodia’s Royal
University of Agriculture; Church funds helped establish a cannery for the meat.

[photo] Clean, safe water is a blessing for the Ghanaian community where Church
funds helped pay for installing a well and pump.

[photo] A young hearing-impaired girl is learning to speak at a national institute in

India that has been assisted by the Church.

[photos] Left: Donated clothing is sorted at a community center on the outskirts of

Moscow. Top: A blind student learns chair weaving at a YMCA in Madras, India. The
Church has provided support for the program. Above: Cambodians learn food
processing.

Providing in the Lord’s Way

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“Chapter 18: Providing in the Lord’s Way,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church:
Harold B. Lee, 165

How can we be guided and blessed by the principles revealed by the Lord for the
temporal welfare of His Saints?

Introduction

While serving as a stake president during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Harold
B. Lee organized efforts in his stake to relieve the destitute circumstances of many
members. He later recalled: “We had been wrestling with this question of welfare.
There were few government work programs; the finances of the Church were low. …
And here we were with 4,800 of our 7,300 people [in the stake] who were wholly or
partially dependent. We had only one place to go, and that was to apply the Lord’s
program as set forth in the revelations.”

In 1935, President Lee was called into the office of the First Presidency and asked to
lead an effort to help those in need throughout the Church, using the experience he
had gained in his stake. President Lee said of this experience:

“It was from our humble efforts that the First Presidency, knowing that we had had
some experience, called me one morning asking if I would come to their office. …
They wished me now to head up the welfare movement to turn the tide from
government relief, direct relief, and help to put the Church in a position where it could
take care of its own needy.
“After that morning I rode in my car (spring was just breaking) up to the head of City
Creek Canyon into what was then called Rotary Park; and there, all by myself, I
offered one of the most humble prayers of my life.

“There I was, just a young man in my thirties. My experience had been limited. I was
born in a little country town in Idaho. I had hardly been outside the boundaries of the
states of Utah and Idaho. And now to put me in a position where I was to reach out to
the entire membership of the Church, worldwide, was one of the most staggering
contemplations that I could imagine. How could I do it with my limited
understanding?

“As I kneeled down, my petition was, ‘What kind of an organization should be set up
in order to accomplish what the Presidency has assigned?’ And there came to me on
that glorious morning one of the most heavenly realizations of the power of the
priesthood of God. It was as though something were saying to me, ‘There is no new
organization necessary to take care of the needs of this people. All that is necessary is
to put the priesthood of God to work. There is nothing else that you need as a
substitute.’

“With that understanding, then, and with the simple application of the power of the
priesthood, the welfare program has gone forward now by leaps and bounds,
overcoming obstacles that seemed impossible, until now it stands as a monument to
the power of the priesthood, the like of which I could only glimpse in those days to
which I have made reference.” 1

Teachings of Harold B. Lee

What are the foundation principles for the welfare work of the
Church?

In the 104th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, … we have as clearly defined in a
few words the Welfare Program as anything I know. Now listen to what the Lord
says:

“I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all
things therein are mine. And it is my purpose to provide for my saints.”

… Did you hear what the Lord said?

“It is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine. But it must needs
be done in mine own way.” …

“And behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints.”

Now, get the significance of this one statement:

“That the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.”

Now, that is the plan. … The Lord goes on to say:

“For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and
have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves. Therefore, if any
man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion,
according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the
wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.” [D&C 104:14–18.]

… Now, what does he mean by this phrase? His way is, “that the poor shall be
exalted, in that the rich are made low.” …

“Exalt,” in the language of the dictionary, and the definition that I am sure the Lord is
trying to convey means: “To lift up with pride and joy to success.” That is how we
should lift the poor up, “with pride and joy to success,” and how are we to do it? By
the rich being made low.

Now, do not mistake that word “rich.” That does not always mean a man who has a
lot of money. That man may be poor in money, but he may be rich in skill. He may be
rich in judgement. He may be rich in good example. He may be rich in splendid
optimism, and in a lot of other qualities that are necessary. And when individual
Priesthood quorum members unite themselves together, we usually find all those rare
qualities necessary to lift up the needy and distressed with pride and joy to success in
the accomplishment. There could not be a more perfect working of the Lord’s plan
than that.

Now, keep in mind this further thought, that the Lord has told us time and again that
the objective of all his work is spiritual. Do you remember what he said in the 29th
section of the Doctrine and Covenants?

“Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any
time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the
children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created” (Doc. and Cov. D&C
29:34).

… Do you let everything you do be with an eye single to the glory of that individual,
the ultimate triumph of his spiritual over his physical? The whole purpose of the Lord
in life is to so help us and direct us that at the end of our lives we are prepared for a
celestial inheritance. Is not that it? Can you give every basket of food you give, can
you give every service that you render with that great objective in mind? Is this the
way to do it in order to help my brother or my sister to better attain and lay hold upon
his celestial inheritance? That is the objective that the Lord sets. 2

The welfare program has a great significance in the Lord’s work. We must take care
of [people’s] material needs and give them a taste of the kind of salvation they do not
have to die to get before we can lift their thinking to a higher plane. Therein is the
purpose of the Lord’s welfare program that He has had in His Church in every
dispensation from the very beginning. It did not have its inception in 1936. It began
when the Lord commenced to take care of His people on this earth. 3

When a home is shattered because of the needs of food and shelter and clothing and
fuel, … the first thing we have to do is to build a sense of security, a sense of material
well-being, before we can begin to lift the family to the plane where we can instill in
them faith. That is the beginning, but unless we have the objective of what we do as to
the building of faith, the mere giving of material aid fails. Now, we must understand
that, if we just try to build faith without first filling their stomachs and seeing that
they are properly clothed and properly housed and properly warmed, perhaps we will
fail in the building of faith. 4

We have repeated often the statement that was given to us by President [Heber J.]
Grant when this [welfare] program was launched. These were his words … :

“Our primary purpose was to set up, in so far as it might be possible, a system under
which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished,
and independence, industry, thrift and self respect be once more established amongst
our people. The aim of the Church is to help the people to help themselves. Work is to
be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership.” [In
Conference Report, Oct. 1936, 3.]

I traveled over the Church by request of the First Presidency with Elder Melvin J.
Ballard in the early days of the welfare program to discuss with local Church leaders
the details essential to its beginning. There were three favorite passages of scripture
that he frequently quoted to the people. One statement that he often repeated was this:
“We must take care of our own people, for the Lord has said that all this is to be done
that: ‘… the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the
celestial world.’ (D. & C. D&C 78:14.)”

… [He also quoted] from the one hundred fifteenth section of the Doctrine and
Covenants: “Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a
standard for the nations,” [and he taught that] this is the day of demonstration of the
power of the Lord in behalf of his people. [D&C 115:5.] And again quoting the one
hundred fourth section:

“Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not
his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall,
with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.” [D&C 104:18.]

I read these quotations to you today to remind you of the foundation stones on which
the welfare work of the Church has been laid. 5

What resources should be used to solve an individual welfare

problem?

What are the resources that the Church has, or you might call them assets, in order to
solve an individual welfare problem? How do you start to solve it? Suppose I should
ask you this question at this time. Suppose that tonight a telephone call comes to the
father of a family where he is at work, bringing him the distressing word that his little
son has been hit with an automobile and has been rushed to the hospital, critically
injured. This family is making only a very low income, just barely enough to keep the
family together with food and the essentials. Now there faces the family immediately,
a doctor bill, a hospital bill—how in the world are you going to handle it?
I fear if I should ask you that question and have you answer it here, most of you
would say: “Well, we will call on the fast offering funds.” And that is not the way the
Welfare Program begins, and that is where we make our error. In the first place, we
start out with the individual himself. We do not move from that point until we have
helped the individual to do all he can to help his own problem. Now, sentiment and
our emotional sympathy might push us to other conclusions, but that is the first, and
then we reach out to the immediate relatives of that family. We are losing the family
solidarity, we are losing the strength that comes from family unity, when we fail to
give opportunity and to help to direct a way by which immediate relatives of that
family, so distressed, can come to the aid of their own.

Then, the next point we move to is to call on the storehouse for the immediate
necessities. In a home like that I have just described, I want you to see the advantage
of giving to that family the clothing, the food, bedding, fuel that they need for a
couple of months in order to relieve the cash that they otherwise would spend to pay
for that emergency hospital bill, rather than merely taking fast offerings and passing it
out to them in money. …

Now, beyond what you can do from the storehouse, then the next thing, of course, is
to recommend to the bishop the use of the fast offering fund, which, he has been
schooled, is to be used first from that which he provides from his own efforts and the
efforts of his leaders. To that end, we must always put the gathering of fast offerings
and the increasing of the fast offerings, and teaching the law of fasting, as one of the
foremost parts of the Welfare Plan. …

Now then, following from that, we come to the rehabilitation aspects of our problems.
There the Relief Society, and there the Priesthood quorums play their major part. Now
what is the Relief Society’s part in a rehabilitation program? Well, the first thing you
do, as you visit the home of a distressed family, is to do as the bishop requires, make
an analysis of the conditions of the home. …

You go there to make the analysis, find out conditions, and to make an order on the
storehouse, if that be necessary, and report back to your bishop the needs of the family
for his approval and withdrawal from the storehouse, or from funds that he has in his
possession, if that be necessary. The second thing you do is to make certain that the
home management problems of that home are studied, and that there be set in motion
such direction that will help to cure the evils that are there. You must stand ready to
meet home emergencies, sickness, death, and other conditions of that kind, that call
upon a sisterly sympathy that ought to be expressed by the Relief Society. Then, too,
you must be always morale builders in this part of the program. Yours must be the
uplifting hand, yours the one to steady the family situation through the emergency. 6

Now is the time for priesthood members to know their quorum group. Each quorum
should know their members and their needs and seek out those heavily in debt and in
a kind way suggest how they can get out of debt. There never is a time when a man
needs a friend quite so much as when he is plowed under by some such
circumstances. Now is the time to give them strength of vision and power to go
forward. Not only should we teach men to get out of debt but we should teach them
likewise to stay out of debt. 7
We expect the individual to do all he can to help himself, whether it be an emergency
for a single family or for a whole community, that the relatives will do all they can to
help, then the Church steps in with commodities from the storehouse, with fast
offerings to meet their needs that commodities from the storehouse will not supply,
and finally, the Relief Society and the priesthood quorums will assist with
rehabilitation. 8

How can we make our households more self-reliant?

In order for an individual or a community to be self-sustaining, the following five

steps must be taken:

First: There must be no idleness in the Church.

Second: We must learn the lesson of self-sacrifice.

Third: We must master the art of living and working together.

Fourth: We must practice brotherhood in our priesthood quorums.

Fifth: We must acquire the courage to meet the challenge of each day’s problems
through our own initiative to the full limit of individual or local resources before
requesting others to come and aid us in that solution. 9

Keep in mind that the Church welfare program must begin with you personally and
individually. It must begin with every member of the Church. We must be thrifty and
provident. … You have to act for yourself and be a participant before the welfare
program is active in your own household. …

Pursue the course … to see that food is in your homes; and counsel your neighbors
and friends to do likewise, because someone had [the] vision to know that this was
going to be necessary, and it will be necessary in the future, and has been the savior of
our people in the past.

Now, let’s not be foolish and suppose that because the sun is shining today that there
won’t be clouds tomorrow. The Lord has told us by revelation some of the things that
are ahead of us, and we are living in the day when the fulfillment of those prophecies
is now at hand. We are startled, and yet there is nothing happening today that the
prophets didn’t foresee. …

God help us to keep our own houses in order and to keep our eyes fixed upon those
who preside in this Church and to follow their direction, and we won’t be led astray.
10

You show me a people who “have a mind to work,” to keep out of the bondage of
indebtedness, and to work unitedly together in an unselfish service to attain a great
objective, and I’ll show you a people who have achieved the greatest possible security
in the world of men and material things. 11
Disasters strike in every place. One of the worst of our disasters was [an earthquake]
down in the San Fernando [California] Valley. We were concerned when days went
by and we couldn’t get communication because the telephones were jammed, and
there was no way of getting word as to how our people were faring; so we got in
touch with our [priesthood leader] just outside of the earthquake area and asked if he
could get us word. And the word came back, “We are all right. We have drawn on the
storage of foodstuffs that we have put aside. We had water stored.” The regular water
was contaminated, and people were distressed and in danger because of the
contamination of the water; but the people who listened had stored water as well as
foodstuffs and the other things to tide them through; and even though they didn’t all
have foodstuffs and didn’t have water, those who listened and prepared didn’t fear,
and they set about together in a marvelous way to help each other. 12