Lesson
by Rebecca
“Temporal
Salvation for Ourselves and Others”
Teachings
of the Presidents of the Church
Rebecca opened by reading a quote
from George Albert Smith:
“If we follow the Lord’s counsel,
we are better able to meet our own temporal needs and help those in need around
us.”
Rebecca gave us some background
about when George Albert Smith became President of the Church: He became President of the Church as World
War II was ending. The war had left many
nations devastated, and thousands of people were without food and other
necessities. During a general conference
address, President Smith described the plight of many around the world and
urged the Saints to help relieve their suffering.
“Because the Church had been in
the practice of storing food for man years, it was prepared to help in these
circumstances. Efforts to provide such
help began near the end of 1945, when President Smith went to Washington, D.C.,
to make arrangements with the president of the United States, Harry S. Truman,
to send food and clothing to Europe.
During their meeting President Truman said, “We will be glad to help you
in any way we can…How long will it take you to get this ready?” President Smith surprised him by
replying: “It’s all ready…We (have been)
building elevators and filling them with grain, and increasing our flocks and
our herds, and now what we need is the cars and the ships in order to send
considerable food, clothing, and bedding to the people of Europe who are in
distress. We have an organizations in
the Church (the Relief Society) that has over two thousand homemade quilts
ready.”
Rebecca read from the transcript of a segment from Rock Center with Brian
Williams, a TV show on NBC.
This segment
highlighted the Welfare system of the Church:
“In a nondescript industrial park in Salt Lake City, The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains a vast 500,000 sq. ft. warehouse with
enough goods to rival your local Costco. From wheelchairs and toilet paper
to sugar and bread, The Utah Bishops’ Central Storehouse is stocked.
Despite the prevalence of Mormon business success stories in the
media -- most notably Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney --
one quarter of all U.S. Mormon households earn $30,000 a year or
less according to Pew Research Center.
The storehouse, along with 110 similar facilities spread across
the country, is part of the Mormon effort to help those in need,
Mormon and non-Mormon alike.
“We'll help anyone at any time as long as we're able to do so and
have those resources available to do so,” said Rick Foster,
director of the church’s welfare operations, adding that there is no
pressure to convert, but you do have to meet with your local congregation’s
bishop, who will allow access to the store provided there is a need for
assistance. The supplies are also available to help victims of natural
disasters anywhere in the world.
While other religious and secular charities provide similar
assistance to the world’s needy, the Mormon effort stands out in its
organized self-sufficiency.
The storehouse and other facets of the Mormon welfare system, such
as thrift stores, are primarily funded by Mormons who fast one
Sunday every month for two consecutive meals, and then donate the money
they would have spent on food to the church.
While medical supplies and other provisions are purchased by the church
for the warehouse, almost all the food is sourced and produced by the
Mormon community for charity. Fruit is harvested from Mormon orchards,
vegetables are brought in from local Mormon farms, and even turkey and
beef products found in the frozen section of the storehouse are brought in
from Mormon ranches.
Not far from the Bishops’ Central Storehouse, in a place called Welfare
Square, NBC’s Harry Smith watched Mormon volunteers bake bread, make
cheese and bottle honey. These products are then packaged and most of them
are donated to charity.
Thanks to these efforts, the storehouses hold enough supplies
to support the church’s welfare efforts for an entire year.
Food and other supplies are transferred from the 110
regional storehouses to 142 grocery store-like setups across the country
and around the world. No cash is accepted at these stores, but
volunteer work is expected in return when those who received help are able
to function independently again. The needy bring only
their bishop-approved list and start shopping. Each store is staffed
by volunteers.
“Some people come and it could be the worst day of their life.
They're really down. They've lost their job, their children
are hungry. If they come and don't say one word, that's OK. As long as
we didn't make them feel bad about coming for assistance,” said
Sue Moore, who volunteers at Bishop Storehouse in Welfare Square in
Salt Lake City.
Moore’s husband, Bob, reminisced about a homeless woman who came
in search of food to feed her young children. The 6-year-old
daughter looked at the food in disbelief and asked her mother: “Is this
food for us?” He said such heartbreaking memories reinforce his belief
in the cause.
“Life isn’t about getting something for nothing,” Bob Moore said.
Kirk Green, leader of a suburban Mormon congregation near Salt
Lake City, agrees: “It's a commitment and a belief to follow Christ in the way
that he lived his life. And one of the biggest ways he lived his life was
taking care of the poor, those who are less fortunate, those who didn't
have all the breaks in life.”
We, as Latter Day Saints, believe in being prepared educationally, financially,
and for many physical disasters.
Why does the Lord want us to be temporally prepared?
The Lord has said “If you are prepared ye need not fear.”
You need to take care of the basics, such as food, clothing, etc. before you
can take care of the higher needs, such as social and spiritual needs.
One sister suggested that we have been told to have a years supply so we
might help others in need.
Preparing for our temporal needs, we can develop qualities such as being
responsible, generous, maturity, and kindness.
If we are wise with our means, we will be prepared for hard times.
Will Rogers once said,” You see in the old days there was mighty few things
bought on credit.
Your taste had to be
in harmony with your income, for it had never been any other way.
I don’t reckon there has ever been a time in
American homes when there was so much junk in ’em as there is today…everybody
has got more than they used to have, but they haven’t got as much as they
thought they ought to have.
If we could
just go back the last two or three years and do our buying a little more
carefully, why…we would be OK.”
Thomas Jefferson said, “Never spend your money before you have it.”
George Albert Smith said, “…This people have been advised to conserve their
energies and their means.
We have been
taught by those whom the Lord has raised up to instruct us that we should live
within our income, that we should not follow the fashions of the world and
expend as rapidly and even more rapidly than we can earn the money that comes
into our hands, to take care of ourselves and our families.”
The Lord has directed us to work to earn our own livelihood.
Rebecca told us about her Grandmother LaRue
and read us from a letter she wrote when she was fourteen.
Her grandmother was left at home to take care
of her bothers and sisters while their mother needed to travel to another town
to take care of a family member in need.
She was able to bake bread, can tomatoes, churn butter, as well as most
other household chores.
“The very fact that so much money has been made available to many people
give the youth in some instances the feeling that because money comes
relatively easy, honest toil is not necessary or desirable.
And yet I am satisfied that no people have
ever lived upon the earth who, having failed to earn their livelihood by
integrity and industry, have not gone to decay.
If our children grow up in idleness, we know that this is displeasing to
the Lord.” –George Albert Smith
Neither the rich nor the poor should set their hearts upon riches.
How do we instill a good work ethic in our children and have them understand
the value of a dollar?
Some suggestions were:
Children shouldn’t feel entitled or privileged.
It should be a privilege to get an education and everyone needs to know how
to earn a living.
Children need to respect things and take care of their possessions.
Just because you are able to replace a toy
for them, doesn’t mean they should be able to break it.
Children should learn the difference between “wants” and “needs”.
Children should learn how to earn money…to be able to earn an allowance.
Rebecca showed us a book called “Material World” where several photographers
went to about 30 countries around the world to show visually how typical
families live.
It is eye-opening to see the
differences in the number of possessions and styles.
In closing Rebecca read a final quote from George Albert Smith:
“There never has been a time, in my judgment,
when kindness was needed more than now.
These are the days when people’s souls are being tried, and when their
hearts are being wrung.
These are the
days when many are facing hunger and distress even among the Latter-day
Saints…I believe our Heavenly Father is giving us our opportunity for
development…We will discover now whether the love the Savior said should be in
our hearts is among us.”
