Faith is Not by Chance, but by Choice - Elder Neil L Anderson November 2015 Ensign
Your Next Step - Elder Randall K Bennett November 2015 Ensign
Breaking Expectations - June 2015 New Era Magazine
Discovering the Divinity Within - Rosemary Wixom - November 2015 Ensign
MENTORING:
Spiritual Rehabilitation - Ron Simmons - March 2016
SERVICE:
Elder D. Todd Christofferson: Reflections on a Consecrated Life Ensign November 2010
President Thomas S. Monson: What Have I Done for Someone Today? Ensign November 2009
President Deiter F. Uchtdorf: "You Are My Hands" Ensign May 2010
If You Would Serve Them, Love Them by Susan Hainsworth October 1986 Ensign
Sister Silvia H. Allred: The Essence of Discipleship Ensign May 2011
President Henry B. Eyring: Opportunities to Do Good Ensign May 2011
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: Are We Not All Beggars? Ensign November 2014
President Deiter F. Uchtdorf: The Pattern, the Path and the Promise December 2015
WELFARE PRINCIPLES:
Bishop H. David Burton: The Sanctifying Work of Welfare Ensign May 2011
President Deiter F. Uchtdorf: Providing in the Lord's Way Ensign November 2011
Bishop Davies: The Law of the Fast - Ensign November 2014
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES RELEVANT TO SELF-RELIANCE AND POVERTY
Wednesday, April 9, 2014 "5 ways to end poverty: Why it's not a matter of money." Lane Anderson, The Deseret News
May 2, 2014 "Cocaine doesn't cause brain damage, studies find, poverty does." Lane Anderson, The Deseret News
May 11, 2014 "Global Poverty is Down, but Why does Nobody Believe It?" Lane Anderson, The Deseret News
July 6, 2014 "Testing Ground for a New Detroit: Mayor Mike Duggan's Pledges Echo in Northeast Detroit" John Eligon, The New York Times
January 28, 2015 "Life-changing' program for families battles poverty" by Marjoie Cortez, Deseret News
June 2015 New Era "Breaking Expectations" by Hillary Olsen.
June 7, 2015 "The scarcity mindset: What happens when you have too little" Lane Anderson, The Deseret News
February 24, 2015 by Detroit Interfaith Council "A Visit to the Bishop’s Storehouse"
July 18, 2016 "One economic fact is 'killing marriage' but the parents still want kids", Lois M. Collins, Deseret News
A Visit to the Bishop’s Storehouse Feb 24, 2015
The
great Jewish philosopher Maimonides said that if you give a man a fish,
you feed him for a day, but if you teach him to fish, you feed him for a
lifetime.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (CJC-LDS) knows that often, it takes both.
And
the structure of the Church’s internal welfare system reflects their
mission to both assist and empower. It is an incredible network of
worldwide resources and efforts, but at its essence, the system is
comprised of the Bishop’s Storehouse, which distributes food and
household commodities to those in need, and the Lord’s Storehouse, which
represents the collective time, talents, skills, compassion and
financial means of the Church members. These resources are largely
devoted to helping those who are experiencing difficulties and assisting
them to solve underlying problems in a way that leads to long-term
temporal self-sufficiency and spiritual growth.
At
the congregational level, each family has two home teachers and each
women has two visiting teachers. These individuals are organized by the
Priesthood leaders and the Relief Society Leaders the, respectively,
men’s and women’s outreach organizations. The home teachers and the
visiting teachers visit families, get to know them, help them and
identify any unresolved needs to the congregation’s Bishop. The Bishop
has the ability to marshal other resources, including an order for
assistance from the Bishop’s Storehouse, a modern grocery store, where
nothing is for sale.
Twice
a week, the Bishop’s Storehouse is a bustle of volunteers packing up
groceries and household supplies for those in need, which are picked up
by nearby members, or trucked to those further out. Volunteers of all
ages pack up fresh produce, dairy and meat, and draw from a substantial
number of other goods, such as strawberry jam, macaroni and cheese,
ketchup, raisins and dish soap, most of which bear the brand name
Deseret.
Deseret
is the CJC-LDS brand. The Bishop’s Storehouse is the tip of the
assistance iceberg, the penultimate destination for goods that are
grown, harvested, processed and delivered almost entirely by volunteers
working on LDS-owned farms, processing, and transportation facilities.
These
efforts are funded by individual fast offerings. LDS Church members
skip two meals each month and contribute the total cost of their
family’s meals, or more if they can afford it, to the Church to
subsidize assistance for members who need it. In the Church’s early days
in the 19th century, the fast offerings were more often contributed in
the form of actual food. Congregants also contribute tithes of 10% of
their income to support chapels, temples and universities.
As
wonderful as it is to receive assistance, needing it can be a hard
thing for an individual’s dignity and sense of self-respect. The goal of
the Church is to empower, so, most recipients are given the chance to
give back by providing services to the Church, such as helping with
building maintenance. Where necessary, support for long-term solutions,
such as education or vocational training, is also provided.
The
Church membership enjoys a tremendous sense of collective identity, and
members work together to help each other live happy and productive
lives. The Church’s Personal Storehouse project helps members inventory
the intangible assets that can lead to self-reliance and work to fill in
what might be missing from a list that includes health, education,
employment, resource management ability, faith and hope, social and
emotional strength, and resilience and initiative. Services provided by
volunteer Church Service Missionaries, and professionals from LDS Family
Services and LDS Employment Services help members fill in the shelves
of their personal storehouses as needed to become self-reliant.
These
efforts are reflective of a culture that supports the spiritual goals
of the faith, the essence of which is the ability to grow and learn and
develop, to include every member as both a giver and a receiver who is
spiritually strengthened in the process of creating and sharing a
community where all members are thriving and productive.
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