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Question:
I was curious as to how other wards handle welfare assistance.  Are food orders only to be a temporary form of assistance or do you have members who receive help from the storehouse indefinitely? We had a ward  policy which required members to attend church while receiving assistance but that isn't the case with some.  I'd be interested to hear back on this topic. I'm concerned that some of our members use assistance as a crutch rather than temporarily helping them back on their feet. Thanks for any input.                    Sheree

Answer:
(Contributer: Ann Amadori)

Dear Sheree,

Have you talked to your Bishop about the questions you raise here?  He is the authority on the matter of who gets what assistance and for how long.  It is easy to see how different Bishops might handle the same family differently, however.

I am sure you have read your Welfare Handbook, "Providing in the Lord's Way".  Page 5 relates to the individual's responsibility to become self-reliant.  On page 7 we start reading about caring for the poor and needy.  Page 11 is the beginning of the chapter on providing church welfare assistance, including duties of the bishop.  On page 15 we find the duties of the Priesthood quorums and Relief Society and on page 16 the duties of the ward welfare committee.

The Bishop's first responsibility is to the youth of the ward.  "While the bishop is responsible to help ward members meet immediate needs, the priesthood quorums and the Relief Society have the responsibility to help members resolve long term needs."   "Providing in the Lord's Way", p 15

I recently heard a busy bishop describe how he administers the church welfare program in his ward.  After the immediate needs of the family are taken care of (i.e. food order, rent, medical bill, electric bill, or whatever) he asks the members of the ward welfare committee (with the permission of the family) to come up with a plan to help the family help themselves.  Perhaps there is a need for help managing the budget.  The bishop may assign the priesthood quorum leader, the husband & wife, and someone else from the ward with budgeting "know-how" to meet together to develop a plan.  The plan is submitted to the bishop.  When he approves the plan, the person with budgeting "know-how",  and the family work together to improve the situation, supervised by the quorum leader.

Perhaps there is a need to upgrade employment.  Again, the quorum leader, the family, and the ward and stake employment specialists work together to see what can be done to improve or upgrade employment.

Many women today don't cook from scratch and that can be a problem for someone receiving food orders from the Bishops' Storehouse.  A member of the Relief Society presidency,  a visiting teacher, or another sister should be able to teach how to use the commodities available from the storehouse.  There is a cookbook available there that is quite good.

There are a couple of other resources that can be used in studying how the church welfare system is supposed to work.  One is a very good video used for training Bishops, called "Caring For the Poor and Needy".  There is a workbook that goes with it.  Viewing the video helped me understand my responsibilities in a new way.

Another is a book available at the Distribution Center.  It is called  Pure Religion by Glen L. Rudd.  I am including some quotes from that book below as well as a few others.

Administering the church welfare system the way it is intended is a real challenge.  I wish you well!!!

Basic guidelines for providing welfare assistance:

a. "First, bishops are to seek out the poor as the Lord has commanded and administer to their needs.....

b. ‘Second, bishops should thoroughly analyze the circumstances surrounding each need for welfare assistance.  He wisely calls on his Relief Society president to assist in the evaluation.  He exercises discernment, sound judgment, balance, and compassion....

c. "Third, those receiving welfare assistance should work to the extent of their abilities for that which is received.....

d. "Fourth, the assistance given by the bishop is temporary and partial....Church assistance is designed to help people help themselves.  The rehabilitation of members is the responsibility of the individual and the family, aided by the priesthood quorum and Relief Society....

e. "Fifth, we assist with basic life sustaining goods and services, not the maintenance of current living standards....("Guiding Principles of Personal and Family Welfare" by Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, Sept. 1986, pp. 3, 5)   quoted from Pure Religion by Glen L. Rudd, p 312-313

Supplying the needs of the people is important, but implanting in them a sense of independence and raising their spiritual moral is even more important.  However Bishops should be lenient in judging people.  In the cases where men have given freely of their labor-have given all they have-the Bishops should ‘loosen up’....The Bishop is the ‘common judge in Israel’ and with the wisdom he possesses and the inspiration which God gives him, he should decide the matter by giving careful consideration to each case that presents itself.  Peoples’ needs are not alike....They cannot be judged by the same standard.  Leave it to the Bishop." (Address to a regional welfare committee, 3 January 1940, by Harold B. Lee)  quoted from Pure Religion by Glen L. Rudd, p 292-293

"The poor of the Church need leaders who are understanding and patient.  Charity, the pure love of Christ, must be in the heart of every bishop and Relief Society President."
 quoted from Pure Religion by Glen L. Rudd, p 313-314

"The long-run objective of welfare work is the exaltation of individuals and families.  In addition to temporal resources, this may require thoughtful, prayerful coordinated action.  When a person achieves self-reliance, he or she can begin to receive the blessings of helping others."  (Minutes of the Regional Welfare Committee meeting of 20 May 1996 by Larry Whiting, Area Welfare Director)

President Romney said something many years ago in a welfare meeting that has never left me: ""Service is not something we endure on earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom.  "Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made." October 1982 Welfare Session of General Conference

He also said "Our efforts must always be directed toward making able-bodied people self-reliant...   Can we see how critical self-reliance becomes when looked upon as the prerequisite to service, when we also know service is what Godhood is all about? Without self-reliance one cannot exercise these innate desires to serve. How can we give if there is nothing there?"   October 1982 Welfare Session of General Conference

This is the essence of the welfare program of the church; helping others to become self reliant so they will have something to give to someone else and learn the value of service, themselves.(Elder L. Tom Perry has also said,) "Service is the very fiber of life in the celestial kingdom. Service is what Godhood is all about."  The Church News, Conference Issues 1970-1987, p.7

Ann Amadori