I
read an article titled "What is wrong with a free handout"
(you can read it here).
And felt compelled to respond.
To avoid straying from the doctrine of the Church, the bulk of my
response will be quotes from General Conference & Official Church
publications.
I
have two points in which I disagree with this post;
1.
The Church's welfare program (Fast Offerings) is not
set up as a free handout. It is set up to help members become
self-reliant.
In
speaking about the Church's relief effort after Tytphoon Haiyan,
Bishop Dean M. Davies said this;
"Modest
resources were provided to help Church members rebuild their
wood-frame shelters and homes. This
was not just a free handout.
Members received training and performed the needed labor for
themselves and then for others." (The
Law of the Fast: Oct
2014) (Italics added)
And
from the Church Handbook;
"Self-reliance
is the ability, commitment, and effort to provide the spiritual and
temporal necessities of life for self and family. As members become
self-reliant, they are also better able to serve and care for
others."
"Church
members are responsible for their own spiritual and temporal
well-being. Blessed with the gift of agency, they have the privilege
and duty to set their own course, solve their own problems, and
strive to become self-reliant. Members do this under the inspiration
of the Lord and with the labor of their own hands."
"When
Church members are doing all they can to provide for themselves but
cannot meet their basic needs, generally they should first turn to
their families for help. When this is not sufficient or feasible, the
Church stands ready to help."
Many
Church leaders have spoken about welfare in the Church, and in
Government. President Benson was one of the most outspoken on this
topic. However, as many people dismiss what he taught as "his
opinion" I will quote others.
(For more on this, I recomend
reading
here)
If
you search "evil
of dole" on LDS.org you will find dozens of references to
this quote;
"Our
primary purpose was to set up … 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” (Handbook
2: 6.1)
Free
handouts hurt individuals, families, and communities, not help.
"Even
with the universally accepted desire to help the poor and needy, the
Lord concurs in our goal but warns, 'But it must needs be done in
mine own way' (D&C 104:16). Otherwise, in our efforts to help, we
may actually hurt them. The Lord has taught us the need to promote
self-reliance. Even if we are able to help, we should not give or
provide what they can and should do for themselves. Everywhere it is
tried, the world learns the evils of the dole. Truly God knows best."
(The
Lord's Way Stanley G. Ellis. Apr 2013)
Elder
Marion G. Romney said this;
"A
few years ago I read a lengthy book dealing with the reasons for the
fall of the Roman Empire. That fall, in large measure, was due to the
purchasing of votes with unearned benefits, such as entertainment,
circuses, and food. The government’s actions built up in the people
an expectation and demand which eventually could be kept down only by
the establishment of a dictatorship. Many of our members live in
countries where this history has repeated itself. In the United
States, our treasured American work ethic is waning and the
purchasing of votes with unearned benefits is dangerously common."
"One
of the most demeaning things a government can do is to teach people
that the government owes them a living."
"By
contrast, ever since the Church was organized, it has encouraged its
members to maintain their own economic independence and to work for
what they get, to produce that which they consume..."
"Church
welfare principles have always been with us. Although President
Grant’s statement came in 1936, you will note he said that
'independence, industry, thrift, and self-respect [should] be once
more established.'
Also note that he said work should be re-enthroned,
not
enthroned.
If
time permitted, we could begin when Adam and Eve left the Garden of
Eden and found the earth cursed for
their sake. (See
Gen. 3:17.) We could trace these principles through biblical and Book
of Mormon times."
(Work
and Welfare:
A Historical Perspective. Apr 1982)
One
more by Harold B. Lee, who was quoting Brigham Young;
“My
experience has taught me, and it has become a principle with me, that
it is never any benefit to give, out and out, to man or woman, money,
food, clothing, or anything else, if they are able-bodied, and can
work and earn what they need, where there is anything on the earth,
for them to do. This is my principle, and I try to act upon it. To
pursue a contrary course would ruin any community in the world and
make them idlers.” (Discourses of Brigham Young [Deseret Book Co.,
1943], p. 274.)
(Teach
the Gospel of Salvation. Oct 1972)
2.
I feel that the argument of "earning" forgiveness, or
exaltation, is mis-leading. Again I will quote from General
Conference.
James
E. Faust gave a beautiful talk on The Atonement of the Savior;
"My
beloved brothers and sisters and friends, I come humbly to this
pulpit this morning because I wish to speak about the greatest event
in all history. That singular event was the incomparable Atonement of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. This was the most transcendent
act that has ever taken place, yet it is the most difficult to
understand. My reason for wanting to learn all I can about the
Atonement is partly selfish: Our salvation depends on believing in
and accepting the Atonement. Such acceptance requires a continual
effort to understand it more fully. The Atonement advances our mortal
course of learning by making it possible for our natures to become
perfect. All of us have sinned and need to repent to fully pay our
part of the debt. When we sincerely repent, the Savior’s
magnificent Atonement pays the rest of that debt." (The
Atonement: Our Greatest Hope. Oct 2001)
While
it is true that we can not "earn" our way into heaven,
please remember this;
"...I
am profoundly grateful for the principle of saving grace. Many people
think they need only confess that Jesus is the Christ and then they
are saved by grace alone. We cannot be saved by grace alone, 'for we
know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.'”
(The
Atonement: Our Greatest Hope. Oct 2001)
Comparing the Atonement to Welfare is appropriate when you consider that in both cases, it is given freely after all we can do. And even as President Uchtdorf taught, they are given after all we can do, and not because all we can do.
Comparing the Atonement to Welfare is appropriate when you consider that in both cases, it is given freely after all we can do. And even as President Uchtdorf taught, they are given after all we can do, and not because all we can do.
I like your article. And I like this statement by Marion G. Romney: "The truth is that we are saved by grace only after all we ourselves can do. (See 2 Ne. 25:23.) There will be no government dole which can get us through the pearly gates." (Ensign, Nov. 1976; emphasis added.)
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