Who Started the Welfare Program?

Regular visitors to this page will know my identity as the eldest grandson of President Harold B. Lee. From time to time I am asked to contribute insight and commentary on his history, as I was last week in our ward gospel doctrine class.

The lesson was on the origins of the Church Welfare Program. Whenever these infrequent invitations pop up, I go back and take a fresh look at what I know about Harold B. Lee. Each time I do it I feel as though I have a personal "visit" with him. It all feels so familiar and comfortable. His spirit and his gentle reminders to me are omnipresent.

This time as I reviewed the origins of the Welfare Program through his writings I had a fresh perspective.

President Harold B. Lee, 1930

Harold B. Lee was thirty-one years old when he was called as the President of the Pioneer Stake. There were six stakes in Salt Lake City at the time. The year was 1930, and the full impact of the Great Depression was being felt by the members of his stake. It was eighty-three years ago today on October 26th, when the stake was reorganized. A few days before that, he was invited to come to the office of President Rudger Clawson. He describes it this way:

"On the Friday preceding the quarterly conference, I was called to the office of President Rudger Clawson, where I was told by President Clawson and Elder George Albert Smith that I had been chosen by the First Presidency and the Twelve as the new president of Pioneer Stake. I told them I would much prefer working as a counselor to Brother Hyde, and was bluntly told by George Albert Smith that I had been invited to meet with them, not to tell them what should be done, but to find out if I was willing to do what the Lord wanted me to do. There followed a discussion on the selection of my counselors. Again I was told when I asked if they had any suggestions on that, 'We have suggestions, but we are not going to tell you - that is your responsibility. If you are guided by the Spirit of the Lord, you will choose those whom we have in mind.'" (Harold B. Lee, Prophet & Seer, L. Brent Goates, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1985, 88).

He describes how difficult the decision was in choosing his counselors:

"I retired that night, or rather early morning, to a fitful sleep, about three o'clock in the morning, after earnest prayer for guidance. During the few hours I tried to sleep it would seem that I had chosen two counselors and was trying to hold council meetings with them. Disagreements, obstacles, and misunderstandings would arise, and I would awake with a start to realize that my first choices were wrong. This process was repeated with ten or twelve of my brethren until, when morning came, I was certain the Lord had guided me to choose Charles S. Hyde and Paul C. Child as my counselors. When I announced to the Brethren my decision the next morning, they smiled their approval. The men whom they had desired had been selected.

"On the Saturday night following our conference priesthood convention, I went for a long ride with Brother Hyde, who was many years my senior in age and experience, and informed him of the proposed change and of my desire for him to be my first counselor. It was like a thunderbolt to him, and he deferred his answer until he could think it over and talk with President Clawson the next day. Paul C. Child had been my bishop in the Poplar Grove Ward for seven years, and he was not aware of his selection until his name was placed before the conference." (ibid., 88-89).

Harold B. Lee recorded in his journal that by 1933, out of their stake population of 7,300, there were over 4,800 who were "wholly dependent upon outside agencies" for a livelihood. The national jobless rate became a shocking 24.9 percent. Out of a work force of 51,132,000, approximately 12,830,000 were unemployed. As a stake presidency much of their time was spent in prayerful supplication over what to do about their stressful conditions.

Almost immediately in the fall months of 1930, they had gone to work to do what they could to alleviate the problems of the unemployed.

"An employment committee in each ward, consisting of a member of the bishopric and the chairman of the welfare committees of the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums and the Relief Society welfare workers, kept in touch with the available male and female workers. Directed by Fred J. Heath of the stake central committee, workers from all wards were assigned to farm and industrial projects, which were organized from Provo on the south to Layton on the north.

"Workers were told that for their services the stake would undertake to see that food and fuel and shelter for themselves and their families would be provided fully. Hundreds of tons of produce soon began to roll in-peaches, tomatoes, fruits, vegetables, and meats. Relief Society women were organized and two canning machines were purchased for their own use. After exhausting all surplus bottles in the area through a 'drive,' we purchased ten to twenty thousand cans from the American Can Company at 1.5 cents each.

"After supplying our families and stocking our storehouse, we were able to sell considerable surplus to outside people.

"The storehouse was known as the Pioneer Stake bishop's storehouse and the bishops of our eleven wards were organized into an executive committee, with Bishop Joseph H. McPhie of the 25th Ward as chairman. They were instructed to meet regularly and to manage and initiate the policies of the storehouse. The First Presidency, after hearing our plan, agreed to permit withdrawals from the tithes to supplement the food received from our own efforts. With these funds we purchased at wholesale prices butter, eggs, flour, sugar, coal, etc., to provide a wide variety of foodstuffs for our people." (ibid., 94-96).

Harold B. Lee was often asked, "Who started the Welfare Program?" In 1958, speaking at a regional welfare meeting, this is what he would say repeatedly in answer:

"Everywhere I went people were always asking questions. They asked, 'Who started the welfare program?' I have always answered, and do today, 'The Lord started it.' Many asked how the welfare program was getting along — and that got to be such a monotonous question that everywhere I was being asked how the welfare program was going — and I used to say, 'Just as fine as the bishops of this church make it go, and no better.'" (Teachings of Harold B Lee, Clyde J. Williams, editor, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1996, 304).

There are perhaps a thousand more details in the history that are all well-documented, but many years later looking back, Elder Lee offered this more valuable insight in a magazine article entitled, "Are You Ready for Christmas?" It was published in the Improvement Era in December, 1968.

"One Christmas (I believe it was the first one during my presidency), our small daughters quickly opened their Christmas morning gifts and soon dashed over to show their little friends the new dolls and other gifts. Shortly they returned home, both in tears.

"'What in the world is the matter?" we asked.

Sobbing, they said: 'Our friends did not have any Christmas. Santa Claus did not come to their home.'

"All too late we remembered that just across the street was a family whose father was not a member of the Church, although the children were, and the mother passively so; he had been out of work, and we had forgotten. Our Christmas was spoiled.

"We sent for those children and tried to divide what we had in an attempt to make up for our lack of thoughtfulness, but it was too late. Christmas dinner that day did not taste very good to me. I was unhappy. I realized that upon my shoulders rested the welfare of the people of the stake.

"We made a survey and were startled to discover that 4,800 of our membership were either wholly or partially dependent — the heads of families did not have steady employment.

"There were no government make-work projects in those days. We had only ourselves to look to. Church finances were declining. We were told that we couldn't expect much help from the general funds of the Church. Thus, it was in this same condition that we approached another Christmas season.

"We knew that we had about one thousand children under ten years of age for whom, without someone to help them, there would be no Christmas.

"We started to prepare. We found a second floor over an old store on Pierpont Street. We gathered toys, some of which were broken, and for a month or two before Christmas, fathers and mothers were there. Some arrived early or stayed late to make something special for their own little ones.

"That was the spirit of Christmas giving — one only had to step inside the door of that workshop to see and feel it. Our goal was to see that none of the children would be without a Christmas.

"There was to be Christmas dinner in all the homes of the 4,800 who, without help, wouldn't have Christmas dinner. Nuts, candy, oranges, a roast, and all that went with it would be their Christmas menu.

"It so happened that I was then one of the city commissioners. On the day before Christmas that year we had had a heavy snowstorm, and I had been out all night with the crews getting the streets cleared, knowing that I would be blamed if any of my men fell down on the job. I had then gone home to change my clothes to go to the office.

"As I started back to town, I saw a little boy on the roadside, hitchhiking. He stood in the biting cold, with no coat, no gloves, no overshoes. I stopped, and he climbed into the car beside me.

"'Son,' I asked, 'are you ready for Christmas?'

"'Oh, golly, mister, we aren't going to have any Christmas at our home. Daddy died three months ago and left Mamma and me and a little brother and sister.'

"Three children, each under ten!

"'Where are you going, son?'

"'I am going up to a free picture show.'

"'I turned up the heat in my car and said, 'Now, give me your name and address.'

"Further conversation revealed that they were not members of the Church.

"'Somebody will come to your home; you won't be forgotten. Now, you have a good time today — it's Christmas Eve.'

"That night I asked each bishop to go with his delivery men and see that each family was cared for, and to report back to me.

"While waiting for the last bishop to report, I painfully remembered something. In my haste to see that all my duties at work and my responsibilities in the Church were taken care of, I had forgotten the boy in my car and the promise that I had made.

"When the last bishop reported, I asked, 'Bishop, have you enough left to visit one more family?'

"'Yes, we have,' he replied.

"I told him the story and gave him the address.

"A little later he called to say that that family too had received some well-filled baskets. Christmas Eve was over at last, and I went to bed.

"As I awoke that Christmas morning, I said in my heart, 'God grant that I will never let another year pass, but that I, as a leader, will truly know my people. I will know their needs. I will be conscious of the ones who need my leadership most.

"My carelessness had meant suffering the first year because I did not know my people. But now I had resolved never again to overlook the needs of those around me." (ibid., 322-24, emphasis mine).

I heard Harold B. Lee give many sermons while I was a young man growing up. I was twenty-five years old and married with two children when he died, so I knew his heart, mind and soul as well as anyone could. Whenever he spoke about the Welfare Program, he invariably turned to these verses:

For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures.
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, 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, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.
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 104:13-18, emphasis mine).

In his own words as recently as last week, Harold B. Lee gave me valuable insights into how he believed the Welfare Program started. Boiled down to its essence, I concluded the Welfare Program started because of the need of some little girls who lived across the street who didn't have Christmas that year. It stemmed not from his organizational genius or his brilliant mind, but rather from his "carelessness," which then led to seeking inspiration with his valued counselors on how to address the overwhelming basic needs of his stake members.

Anthon H. Lund, Heber J. Grant, Charles W. Penrose
First Presidency, 1930

The answers then flowed in the form of revelation from God over a period of years. Those revelations translated into action in the Pioneer Stake, then his implementation church-wide in the years that followed under the direction of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles.

The principles haven't changed much in the years since. The goal of Church Welfare is to eradicate the dole - getting something for nothing. When people who need help are willing to work as they are able, self-reliance and self-worth are re-enthroned until they are able to stand on their own once again without assistance. The assistance they receive is only designed to be temporary, and their needs are provided by the bishops in the wards in which they reside. Sometimes those needs become perpetual due to poor health and other extenuating circumstances, and the good bishops of this Church are taught to seek out the people within their ward boundaries who need assistance and then to give it freely as required.

The bishop has at his disposal funds donated by members of his ward in the form of "fast offerings." Once a month we fast for twenty-four hours and donate the equivalent cost of those meals or substantially more for those who are in a position to do it. It's all voluntary, it's the Lord's way of providing for His saints and all His children, and there is no government program involved. Today those funds are commoditized for distribution worldwide whenever and wherever disasters strike.

It's a timely lesson for the world in which we now live in America, overwhelmed, it seems, with government interventions as far as the eye can see. All of that giving is mandated in the form of tax collection, and the misuse of those tax revenues is plain for anyone with eyes to see. Seldom do those tax monies reach the intended recipients without the government extracting a sizable portion. The Lord's way is to render help voluntarily.

If Harold B. Lee could see little children in need in his day and with scarce resources inspire a whole generation to find a way to bless the lives of others around them without government intervention, surely we can do it today out of our abundance.

Shepherds in Israel at the Gates of Christmas

Christmas always reminds me of the years I served as a bishop. I was an eyewitness then to the lovingkindness of my ward members for one another. As a steward of the sacred fast offering funds donated to the Church, a bishop is often the one who stands in the breech when all other help flees from those most in need.

To announce His birth as the Shepherd of Israel, the angel appeared first to shepherds in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. Today's modern under-shepherds are the bishops of Israel who succor and nurture the sheep in the wide expanse of this world.

Fast offerings are donated monthly on the first Sunday of each month. We observe the fast for a twenty-four hour period beginning on Saturday. The cost of the two meals skipped is suggested as an offering to assist the poor and the needy who live among us. The bishops of the Church are encouraged to "seek out" the poor and needy, and not to wait until they land on his doorstep. It is a sobering and humbling assignment, as any bishop will attest.

It seems the Christmas season brings more stories as the years unfold. Of course, the best stories never are told. They remain the sacred and secret domain of bishops and their flocks. But this past week another story is added to my personal lexicon. I share it here, preserving the anonymity of those involved.

I had a phone call from a former co-worker with whom I hadn't spoken in months. He said, "I was speaking with someone the other day who suggested I call you. I need some of your wisdom. I've gotten myself into a situation, and I need your help. Could we meet for breakfast tomorrow?"

At breakfast my friend poured out a story I had not anticipated. He and his wife had encountered some health issues since we had last spoken. They had gotten behind on their bills, and he had taken out some payday loans to meet their obligations. He had not told his wife, not wanting to alarm her. The exorbitant interest payments were now consuming all their income, and the rent was due the following day. They had just moved from one distant city to another nearer his work, and had done some painting to enable themselves to get into a new rental home. Now the first month's rent was due and they had no way to pay it.

We discussed possible sources of help. He had consulted a bankruptcy attorney last year, but they hadn't taken any steps in that direction. His sister, a CPA, was the executor of his mother's estate, but he feared she would treat him harshly when she heard the predicament he was in. There seemed to be no options. He had requested a consolidation loan from his bank, but they had declined his request because his credit had been impaired.

I suggested three alternatives to explore. 1) Re-connect with the bankruptcy attorney to see if she could help stop the freight train of the escalating interest payments due to the payday lenders; 2) call his sister to see if there might be any way she could think of to help him, and 3) call your new bishop. I also recommended that he not hide their situation any longer from his wife.

My friend reminded me he was not a member of the Church, but my response was, "Everyone in this world has a bishop, most of them just haven't met each other yet. Your wife was a member of the Church at one time, wasn't she?" He confirmed she had been. But he hastened to add he had been a lay minister in another church before he had moved to Utah and met his wife. He had to give up his ministry to accept a job here, and he wouldn't even know how or who he should contact.

I took a moment to explain how to find his bishop through the Church's website. He wrote down my instructions carefully. I had a chance to explain that like him, bishops in the Church are lay ministers, called for a period of time by their leaders from among their congregations, then released to go back into the ranks from which they had been called. I explained a little about fast offerings, and the purposes for which bishops may use those member donations as they feel inspired to do so. I told him without even knowing who he was, I was certain his bishop would stand ready and able with resources to assist him.

As we parted, I was gripped with a moment of fear. What had I just done? I didn't even know who his bishop was! How could I make such an audacious promise and assume it would play out smoothly the way I hoped it would?

Then the Spirit whispered to me, chiding me a little and speaking peace to my heart, "You were a bishop once, David. You know how I work, don't you? Have a little faith."

Later in the day, I finally had a chance to check my voicemail. There was a message from my friend. He said he had done as I had suggested, found his new ward and his bishop. He had called the bishop, who heard his story with an empathetic ear, and suggested that they meet that morning at his office at the ward building. In part, he said to me in the message, "I went over my scenario with him, and he's going to help me with the rent. I'm so glad I came to you. Thank you for listening to me and for your wisdom and your advice."

Honestly, the Lord makes us all smarter than we are if we listen to His spirit directing us and we act on those impressions. He said at the end of his message, "I should know God is in charge. He's proven it again to me this morning. Thank you." Our part is to humble ourselves. He manifests His love for each of His children without judgment or reservation.

I thought of pennies, nickels and dollars that comprise the monthly fast offerings of the faithful saints, and I felt to give thanks once again for those who give in the same spirit our Father in Heaven gives. It is all about His love for His children.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

I echo with heartfelt gratitude the words of President Gordon B. Hinckley, who offered these insights about bishops in a General Conference address:

"I stand in humble gratitude and respect and admiration for the bishops of this Church. In the most dire of circumstances, I watched them in La Lima, Honduras. I spoke with them, shook their hands, loved them. How thankful I am for these men who, without regard for their own comfort, give of their time, of their wisdom, of their inspiration in presiding over our wards throughout the world. They receive no compensation other than the love of their people. There is no rest for them on the Sabbath, nor very much at other times. They are the ones closest to the people, best acquainted with their needs and circumstances.

The requirements of their office are today as they were in the days of Paul, who wrote to Timothy:

"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
"Not given to wine, no striker [that is, not a bully or a violent person], … not a brawler, not covetous" (1 Timothy 3:2–3).

In his letter to Titus, Paul adds that "a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; … Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers" (Titus 1:7, 9).

I suspect there will be a "sequel" to this formative introduction. How marvelous that a bishop stands ready to help the constituency of his flock, even those who have not as yet been "branded" as one of his own. . .

For, in fact, we are all His.

Sometimes we are the recipients, other times we are the givers, but He always ministers to our needs through His under-shepherds, the bishops of Israel.

Today, somewhere in Sunnyvale, California, one of our sons-in-law was ordained as a new bishop, the first to serve in our family's next generation. I know he will be blessed as the mantle rests upon his shoulders and he takes up his new role as a shepherd in Israel to the flock where he is assigned.

The gates of Christmas are flung open wide for all who will come to enter therein. . .

What I Got for Christmas 2010

This morning I was on an early morning Christmas errand.  As I traveled along the I-15 corridor, I was listening to FM100.3, the continuous Christmas music channel.  Only once a year at this time do you get to hear Burl Ives, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Johnny Mathis, Gene Autry, Mannheim Steamroller and Karen Carpenter in such concentrated doses.  It's great, isn't it?  Who doesn't love Christmas music?

This is the season of the year when we focus on Christ, His birth, ministry among men on earth and the atonement.  The inspired Handel oratorio, "The Messiah," gets lots of play time on the radio.  Handel borrowed freely from the pen of Isaiah.

Isaiah prophesies of the Savior's birth

It's also a time when I get a lot of suggestions from folks about what to write about.  I get forwards of e-mails like everybody else, most of which I pass along to the delete button.  But what follows came to me last week, and I was inspired and humbled by the content.  It filled me with gratitude for the Savior, His Church among men here on earth, the hope of what is to come, and the good bishops who fill the judgment seats throughout the Church worldwide.  I've changed it slightly to protect the anonymity of the contributor, but with permission I offer it here:

I feel impressed to record some of the past week's events, particularly today’s.  As many know, we have had quite the adventure over the past 18 months. The months of preparation and thousands of dollars in paperwork and supplies to get us moved to our pending foreign destination were taxing on all levels, emotionally, spiritually, mentally and financially. Those months and other events out of our control have eventually led to our current circumstances and financial woes.

I don’t know if it’s inherently built in as the oldest in my family, or if it’s a personality trait, though I have observed it with my father as well over the years.  It has always been tough to ask for help of any kind.  The thoughts resound:  "Plenty of others are in far worse circumstances than mine,” or “I should be able to handle it myself,” or "I am supposed to be self-reliant."

Sometimes one’s circumstances push you into a position that all but forces you turn somewhere for help. Such was our position. With reluctance, I forced myself to ask our bishop a few weeks ago for help with our rent. We have long since exhausted our remaining reserves and we had nowhere left to turn. I was filled with anxiety as the days approached that I knew I would have to sit down with the bishop and discuss our financial state. It’s always nerve-racking sitting down with a new bishop for the first time, but when the subject matter is asking for help with paying your bills, anxiety is the least of your emotional problems. The guilt, anger, shame, and heartache far outweigh the feelings of anxiety. It has been an emotional roller-coaster to say the least.

The meeting a few weeks ago went great. You need to understand the nature of our new bishop. For the ward Halloween party, he was simply dressed in jeans and a white dress shirt with no tie. Pinned all over his jeans were packets of Smarties. Yeah, he was dressed as Mr. Smartie Pants. 

He told me as I sat in his office, that when the stake president offered the calling of bishop to him, he simply asked him if he had to change. He said, "President, I don’t joke about two things, the scriptures and the gospel, and that I can promise you. As for the rest of it, life is hard enough without more seriousness. So, everything else in life I joke about. If I have to change and can’t make jokes about the rest of it, you better find another man.  Otherwise, I accept."  

He seems very serious and unapproachable on the surface, but that melts by the time sentence number two is out of his mouth. At the end of our meeting he asked if we needed help with food or any other bills. I told him I thought we could manage. As I was leaving, he told me to keep him posted if we needed for or had other needs. I walked out relieved and very grateful.

Within a week of meeting with the bishop, I had wrecked my Audi to the tune of $7000 in the first snow storm and [his wife] Ashley’s car would not start.  We had gone up to the mountains for Thanksgiving, and I thought when Ashley’s car did not start at high altitude it was just the -20F weather we had experienced. Turns out a few days later it was the battery.  It was totally dead.  It wouldn't jump or charge. Who knew some of these new electronic charged batteries cost over $200? 

I am known in our family as the one who stresses about our finances, so when Ashley started stressing and mentioning we needed food, I knew we were in serious trouble. 

The anxiety was building again. This time it wasn't because I was worried about the bishop.  It was the emotion a man feels when he’s lost control of everything and can’t provide even the basic necessities for his family. A man’s main purpose in life is to protect and provide for his family. I was in a position I could no longer provide either, or at least from my perspective that’s how it looked. It’s an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and worthlessness.  I knew I had to face the bishop again and ask for food. 

I sent Bishop Jones a letter, explained briefly our past week’s trouble and the overall issues of work hours or lack thereof. Sunday night the bishop called me and Ashley into his office to chat.

He’s a good man. I’ve never had to ask for food. It’s a humbling moment. As part of filling out the paperwork, he asked me if I would be willing to go spend just an hour or two at the cannery near where we live. Without hesitation, I said, "Absolutely!" That's the one thing I’ve had plenty of lately -- time, time that I’d rather be working. 

In all my years I’ve never been to the cannery to offer service. It just always conflicted with the hours of my job. I was actually a bit excited to have something to do, but more importantly, to be able to give back in a small way. 

The Relief Society President came over the next day to fill out the food order with Ashley. (Ashley has already had some contact with her [the Relief Society President], and thinks she’s great.)  We woke up this morning and decided to pick up the food order, and then I would stay behind at the cannery and put in an hour or two worth of work to pay back what we were receiving. Little did I realize, those two hours of “giving back” would put me further in debt even more with the Savior.

I must admit, I felt guilty walking into the Bishop’s Storehouse.  Ashley in her Uggs and I was wearing a North Face polar fleece, with the four girls in tow and dressed in their nice clothes. Part of me felt we shouldn’t be there. The one thing that helped in softening those feelings was the bishop telling us not to be surprised if we saw an Escalade in the parking lot. He said no one is immune from needing help, and that’s what it’s for. 

Walking around filling our cart, you could tell which patrons inside truly needed the help, and which ones were using the system, and it had nothing to do with what they were wearing.  It was evident in their demeanor and spirit. It was an amazing experience.

As I walked across the parking lot after loading two shopping carts of food into the back of the Expedition, I couldn’t help but be full of gratitude. I walked inside and was directed where to sign in and where to go. After putting on my smock and hair net, I ended up in the back by the canning and boxing machine. Everything was just shutting down, and everyone was going on lunch break. 

Dale, one of the part-time paid employees of 22 years, told me to go to lunch and come back in 30 minutes. I asked him if I could stay and work somewhere else. He put me to work sweeping the warehouse. My mind drifted back to the first few weeks of my job at XYZ. I think I swept that warehouse every day for two or three weeks at $10/hr. We had the cleanest warehouse in West Valley. 

(l to r) Harold B. Lee, President Heber J. Grant, Marion G. Romney

Here I was almost twenty years later, sweeping a warehouse for free. (Truth be told, I think that warehouse was just as clean as XYZ’s after those first three weeks.)  My mind wandered from XYZ to Harold B. Lee, realizing he is given much credit for creating this whole welfare plan of the Church. I wondered if he ever could have dreamed how big his original idea had now become. I felt a sense of pride being a part of Harold B. Lee's vision about "putting the priesthood of God to work," and was proud to be sweeping the floors again, this time in a Bishop's Storehouse.

At 12:30 p.m., I started running the box machine. For the next hour and a half I made boxes for the cans of beef chunks. In that hour and a half, I was given more than a car load of food. During that time, the Spirit taught me a simple truth.  Here I had just been given hundreds of dollars in food for my little family, and all I had been asked to donate in return was an hour or two of my time to put boxes together?  I was sacrificing two hours as payment?  Talk about feeling guilty.  I made a couple hundred dollars an hour today, putting together boxes. Seems hardly like a sacrifice! 

Random thoughts ran through my head, memories of signs we've all seen: “Will work for food.” It made me wonder if people really are willing to put in a day's honest labor just to put food on the table.  It made it all real. It takes on a new meaning when you know someone else stood here putting cans into boxes, and those same cans are now in my car and will feed my family. 

I gained a real sense of the law of consecration.  How often do we sign up for service because that’s what we’re supposed to do, but never think through to the other side of what we are really doing?  I have now seen all the way through to the other side. 

At one point, I was overcome with pure gratitude for the sacrifice of good saints and the atoning sacrifice of my Savior. I tried to fight back tears as it sunk into my heart that all that I have and am is truly all from Him.  As I stood at that machine, I was filled with such humility, and could see clearly a better sense of the Atonement that I had never before known.

And so it is with the Atonement. We come unto Christ, sometimes a bit hesitant, or in circumstances that have forced us to ask for His help. The Savior in His infinite mercy and generosity gives us all we need and more, more than we can possibly fit into our cars.  He asks us through His inspired servants on our way out if we can possibly spare just a moment of our busy insignificant lives to repay a fraction of what we’ve just received.  Then we realize our insignificant fraction of that payback only blesses us more and in other ways, further adding to our debt of gratitude for Him. 

But here's the miracle:  As we leave, our bill has been paid in full. We are square, even. Christ has made up the difference no matter what those individual differences may look like. 

First, may we all remember not to judge our fellow men. What is under the surface we can see, only God knows in full.  We are required to reach out and to love them no matter what.  

Second, God is good and loves us.

And third, may we all remember the true meaning of CHRISTmas.

Four Simple Ideas for the Unemployed

It seems a worthy topic for a Labor Day weekend, when the national unemployment numbers took another upward tick last week. 

In our voluntary assignment at the Employment Resource Center, we see again and again the principles of pure religion playing out in welfare service in 2010. 

The earliest foundations of the Welfare Plan of the Church were laid in 1935 in the midst of the Great Depression.  Harold B. Lee, a young stake president (age 32 when he was called) in the Pioneer Stake, is often credited with the earliest experiments to help his unemployed adult male population.  But there was never any doubt in his mind where the inspiration came from to create the Welfare Plan.

In his journal, under date of April 20, 1935, Harold B. Lee records: 

"I was called into the office of the First Presidency, where with President Heber J. Grant and President David O. McKay (President Clark then being in the East, but they had had some communications with him so that all members of the Presidency were in agreement) I discussed the relief situation in the Church and various methods of handling the same. President Grant said he wanted to take a 'leaf out of Pioneer Stake's book' in caring for the people of the Church. He expressed dissatisfaction with the then existent program of social service investigations. He said that there was nothing more important for the Church to do than to take care of its needy people and that so far as he was concerned, every thing else must be sacrificed [so that] proper relief [could be] extended to our people. I was astounded to learn that for years there had been before them, as a result of their thinking and planning and as a result of the inspiration of Almighty God, the genius of the very plan that was waiting and in preparation for a time when, in their judgment, the faith of the Latter-day Saints was such that they were willing to follow the counsel of the men who lead and preside in this Church. My humble place in this program at that time was described."

Many years later, when he himself was President of the Church in 1972, Harold B. Lee described what happened to him after that meeting by quoting further from his journal to the assembled General Priesthood meeting:

"I left the First Presidency's Office about noontime with an assignment to work out a program of relief for the entire Church based upon my experience with the relief problem in the Pioneer Stake, where perhaps the greatest problem of unemployment in the entire Church was to be found.
"Almost in a daze with the magnitude of this assignment over powering me, I drove my car up to the head of City Creek Canyon into what was then called Rotary Park, where I could meditate and determine upon a course that would realize the objective that had been set for me by the Presidency. After I had driven my car as far as I could, I got out and walked up through the trees. seeking a secluded spot, where I knelt in prayer and sought the guidance of an all-wise God in this mighty undertaking. I told the Lord to guide me to conclusions dictated by his will, and that, for the safety and blessing of his people, I must have his direction. "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?'
"Having sought my Heavenly Father, I sat down to pore over this matter, wondering about an organization to be perfected to carry on this work. There came to me on that glorious spring afternoon one of the most heavenly realizations of the power of the priesthood of God, that God had already revealed the greatest organization that could ever be given to mankind and that all that was needed now was that that organization be set to work. It was as though some thing 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, and if you use it the temporal welfare of the Latter-day Saints will be safeguarded.'"

 If you are not reminded of those simple beginnings, you may be oblivious to the fulfillment going on around you today.  The priesthood of God is fully engaged.  The leadership of the Church has given the direction in our day about what we should be doing.  As never before, we are living in a volunteer Church.  We are serving one another, loving one another as we never have to answer the extremities in which we find ourselves financially and economically.  There are no government programs needed today, just as there were none needed in the 1930s when the Welfare Plan was launched.

Some of the "founding fathers" who were on the scene attest to its divine origins through the First Presidency of the Church at the time, Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark and David O. McKay:

"With the inspiration of this movement attested to by such witnesses as coming from divine sources, any Latter-day Saint who believes in the principle of continuous revelation cannot fail to heed the call of the prophets 'to set up a system where the evils of the dole will be abolished and where independence, thrift, industry, and self-respect can again be established among our people.'" (Heber J. Grant, October, 1936; "Church Security" by Harold B. Lee, as quoted in The Church Welfare Plan, by Henry D. Taylor, 37).

"I never heard President Grant say that he had seen the Master, that he had seen the Father, or that he had heard a voice about the welfare plan. But that does not mean that he did not have a revelation. . .
"But there is still another way in which revelation comes, and that way is through the ministrations of the Holy Ghost. . . Now I say unto you, that that kind of revelation, revelation of the Holy Ghost, did come to President Grant. Not only in this case, but in others. And through that revelation, inspiration if you wish to call it, from the Holy Ghost, President Grant launched this great welfare plan."  (J. Reuben Clark, Jr., in an address to the Central Utah Welfare Regional Meeting at Brigham Young University, August 3, 1951).

"That Church Security Plan has not come up as a mushroom over night. It is the result of inspiration, and that inspiration has come from the Lord. . . Those who have selfishness in their hearts would like to see it fail, but it is not going to fail."  (David O. McKay at a meeting of the Salt Lake Region, February, 1937).

"I believe I have heard almost all the objections which have been raised against it, and also the labored arguments in justification for not living it. As I have listened to these objections and arguments, I have been painfully aware of the dull spirit in which they have been urged. . .  I believe I have made a rather complete study and I now testify to you that I do know beyond any doubt, by the same power that Peter knew that Jesus is the Christ, that the Church Welfare Plan in its inception was and now is inspired of the Lord; and that the great principles implemented by it are eternal truths, which the saints of God must abide if they are to purify and perfect themselves as the Lord has commanded." (Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1945, 156).

The Lord's will had been made known and he had raised up the man to help solve the oppressive problems of the Saints. That Harold B. Lee was a magnificent innovator and a spiritually directed master organizer is abundantly attested by Church history, and those gifts were especially well-illustrated by his part in the development of the Church Welfare Plan.  But it was the leadership of the First Presidency, and their unflagging support that was key to its ultimate launch and subsequent development. 

Today, we are eyewitnesses of the law of consecration in action, as originally envisioned.

In 2010, there are still some misguided ideas about how things work in the Church's Welfare Plan.  Whether you are unemployed yourself or you know someone who is, here are four simple ideas to assist you:

1.  The Employment Resource Center teaches self-reliance in the job search. 

I am still surprised when people call me or e-mail me because they've heard I'm the guy with jobs at the Church.  They want me to hook them up with a job, tell them where to go to find it, and introduce them to all the people I know who are hiring.  I wish it were that easy and sometimes I wish it were true that I know all those people, but it isn't quite that simple.  Instead, the Church has prepared a marvelous resource called the Profession Career Workshop, a two-day revelatory experience designed to reveal the job seeker's skills and strengths to themselves.  Introspection, self-examination, and personal revelation are the key elements of the workshop.  Remember, no law the Lord has given is temporal, not even the job search:  "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. Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal nor sensual."  (D&C 29:34-35).  For non-professionals without college degrees, the Career Workshop is likewise outlined in the same way with similar principles but different applications.  The job seeker is shown tools to develop power statements, resumes, and cutting-edge suggestions about how to find a job in today's unadvertised job market.  It is powerful and it works, but it is powerful because it reignites the job seeker in his own individual search, not because it hands them a job without effort on their part.

2.  Network or don't work. 

The Church provides the forum for a weekly association with other job seekers.  When I first attended, it resembled what seemed to me to be an AA meeting, everyone standing momentarily and giving something called "Me in 30 Seconds," and I was first amused, then engaged by it, then fully immersed in helping others around me connect with resources I knew with whom I was connecting them.  There is something very counter-intuitive about networking with people out of work to find work.  But a room full of out-of-work people who are seeking employment and having interviews on a regular basis is a very fertile field, it turns out, because they know people with whom they have networked and interviewed who know people who know others who know people who are hiring.  It may be counter-intuitive, but it works, and we provide that opportunity weekly on Monday morings at 8:00 a.m. at the LDS Business College for unemployed professionals who are serious about their job search.  Ours is only one of many networking meetings across the Wasatch Front from Logan to St. George on every day of the week in other centers.  There are 322 Employment Resource Centers worldwide doing the same things.  Find a meeting near you at the local Employment Resource Center, and learn for yourselves the power of networking into your next job.

3.  Support each other in your ward. 

Find out what services or products are being sold by others in your own wards.  Buy from those people you know in your wards and stakes.  If you are remodeling your home or building out your basement, look for people you can employ in your own neighborhood, rather than getting bids from strangers.  If your car needs repairs, turn to a mechanic in the ward.  Support each other, and sustain those who are either underemployed or unemployed.  It's always astounding to me how we come together each week on Sunday in a three-hour block of religious meetings, but few of us know the occupations of our ward members.  We know them only on a superficial level of Brother or Sister so-and-so.  Do you know what everyone does for a living in your ward?  Have you asked them for their help?  Or are you still suffering under the worn-out stigma that unemployment is a condition akin to adultery and unemployed people must have some kind of sickness or illness that is taboo and should to be avoided like one who has leprosy?  It was King Benjamin who offered valuable insight:  Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just — But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind? (Mosiah 4:17-19).

4.  Bear one another's burdens. 

A week ago in our ward, Patsy and I presented a fifth-Sunday combined priesthood and Relief Society lesson about our mission and what we are doing to assist others find work.  I asked for a show of hands at the end in response to the question, "How many of you have family members who have lost their employment in the last two years?"  Nearly every hand in the audience went up.  This week several told me they have encouraged others in their family to contact me and learn more.  That's good.  It's exactly how it happened for me last year.  I told our ward members to go to http://www.ldsjobs.org/ and pass that website along to everyone they know who is looking for work, whether a member of the Church or not.  We are in an economic debacle right now that is NOT the fault of those who have been affected by its ravages.  Companies in survival mode have been laying off people routinely.  I have met many who are in their late 50s or early 60s who are out of work for the first time in their lives.  Company layoff decisions are not always fair.  In fact, they are rarely fair, since there is no such thing as "fair" in this life.  Several senior executives I have met have years of experience, but they represented high-priced salaries on the balance sheet that had to be jetisoned so their companies could survive.  Their jobs were eliminated to cut costs, in some cases only months within full vesting in their retirement pensions, and to say it was their "fault" for losing their jobs is grossly inaccurate.  As I have said before, sometimes there are no good answers to the "Why?" questions.  Some things just happen.  Instead of judging another's circumstances harshly in today's economy, we need to seek ways to bear one another's burdens.  Often all that is needed is a kind word, a friendly smile, and an accepting heart filled with encouragement and love unfeigned. 

President Thomas S. Monson suggested the antidote for our own suffering, when he said recently: 

The Apostle Paul admonished, “By love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13).  Recall with me the familiar words of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”  (Mosiah 2:17).
The Savior taught His disciples, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”  (Luke 9:24).
I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish — and in effect save their lives.  (President Thomas S. Monson, “What Have I Done for Someone Today?,” Ensign, November 2009, 84–87).

We are living in a day, perhaps as never before, when the law of consecration is very much in evidence, at least in the circles in which I travel.  I saw a young man the other day at our networking meeting who was engaging several of the participants with names and contact information of people he knew they should be talking to.  Two of our employers, recent graduates of the program, were there as recruiters for the companies they represent now. 

The ripples in the pond of helping and sustaining one another in consecrated service are widening. 

We are still seeing new people at our meetings who have never been there before.  Each week we greet about twenty-five or thirty new participants who have heard about what we do through word of mouth principally, sometimes from bishops, ward employment specialists, or friends who have come and then told them about it.  In each case, it takes extraordinary faith and courage to show up bright and early on Monday morning dressed in a shirt and tie or Sunday bandbox best for the women.  They are conducting their job search with faith and diligence, following the prescribed path the leaders of the Church have felt inspired to set forward for our day and time.  There is one pragmatic and proven reason:  It works!

We often see people who are not of our faith who come nevertheless because they have been assured they will find what they are looking for, and without cost to them.  About half the people who found employment through applying the program to their job search were not members of our Church last year.  While the unemployment numbers are still high nationwide, we are blessed here in Utah, as I have said before.  Our unemployment numbers are lower than the national average, and there are ample opportunities for those who are willing to put in the work to find the work they are seeking.

There are many in our program who voluntarily assist the job seeker, folks who themselves are looking for work.  The authenticity of the program is in clear evidence to those who come.  These are seasoned professionals who know whereof they speak because they are in the thick of it shoulder to shoulder with those they serve.

I've always loved what President Lorenzo Snow said:  “When you find yourselves a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with the wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; and the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel light, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and everything seems illuminated.” (Conference Report, Apr. 1899, 2–3).

Please take note:  These simple suggestions from prophets are in stark contrast to the TRILLIONS of dollars being squandered in Washington D.C. today.  The problem with having prophets among us is they are too simplistic, too humble, too true.

Only a conniving politician would attempt to give a convoluted and contorted explanation as the justification for the plethora of spending bills we are told are absolutely essential to our economic survival.  BIGGER AND BIGGER GOVERNMENT BORROWING TRILLIONS IS NOT THE ANSWER.

But a living prophet, like his predecessors, has the antidote.  He says, "Go find somebody to serve."

It's just way too simple.  I am a witness, however, that simple is good. . .  and it works.