Church Talks/Articles on Welfare/Self-Reliance

FAITH AND HOPE:

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

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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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