Mormons prepared for hard times

[Amelia]

Mormons prepared for hard times

Church's doctrine of self-reliance, service keeps storehouses stocked

The Associated Press

MSNBC.com

Dec. 26, 2008

SALT LAKE CITY - Bishop's Storehouse looks like any other grocery store at first glance: The shelves are neatly lined with canned goods and the smell of fresh bread wafts through the aisles.

But there are no cash registers. The fruits and vegetables, just-made cheeses and milk are free — a safety net for those in need provided by the 13 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"We like to call it the best food money can't buy," said Jim Goodrich, who oversees the storehouse and other facilities on the church's 13-plus-acre Welfare Square.

Mormons may be among the country's best prepared to weather the current economic hard times. Since the Great Depression, church leaders have preached a doctrine of self-reliance and selflessness, calling on members to plan for their own future while tending to the needs of others.

"It's a critical component of our theology," said Bishop David Burton, a senior church administrator who oversees the faith's worldwide welfare and humanitarian services programs.

Year's supply of emergency food

Members are encouraged to squirrel away a few months' worth of living expenses and stock a one-year supply of emergency food. Church handouts, classes and a Web site describe how to prepare, store and cook with emergency food supplies so nothing goes to waste.

Each month, members skip two meals and give the money they would have spent on food to church welfare programs, paying for the commodities, clothing, job training and other services made available to the needy.

The church also works in partnership with other faith traditions and local social service agencies to share surplus commodities and support services.

Goodrich's Welfare Square is the heart of the program. Founded in the 1930s, the square is home to a cannery and milk- and cheese-processing facility; a 16 million-pound grain elevator; and a bakery, storehouse, thrift store and employment center, all of which are run mostly by volunteers serving church missions.

Over the years, the safety net has extended worldwide to include farms, orchards, dairies and cattle ranches that provide the raw material for the commodities harvested, processed and packaged at church facilities.

Each product carries the "Deseret" label — a Book of Mormon word that is a synonym for honeybee and a metaphor for the industriousness of church members.

"What we see today is the product of 60 years of inspired leadership and a lot of hard work," Burton said. "I can't tell you the cumulative investment, but it's minor in terms of the cumulative effort on the part of thousands and thousands."

Commodities first

Church members seek out their local congregation leader, called a bishop, to access the system. Bishops — there are 27,000 worldwide — also have a pool of cash to pay for housing, medical needs or keep the utilities on, although the church prefers to provide commodities first, Burton said.

Assistance comes with the expectation of reciprocal service, whether it's a few hours of volunteer work on the square stocking shelves or some other form of service.

Jennifer Williams was hesitant to accept help. Fresh out of college and in the middle of a difficult divorce, she was struggling to find a career that matched her skills — fluency in Russian and a political science education.

"One of the things that makes it so hard is that you think it's just for people who don't have a job, not for someone like me, working, middle-class and educated," said Williams, 29, now of Washington, D.C. "But, you know, needing help is OK."

Without money to buy a gallon of milk, she temporarily stocked her pantry with church commodities and used the training she got in an executive job search program to land a job with a defense contractor.

It's unclear how many individuals and families need church assistance each year. Church statistics from 2007 show some 210,000 people used employment centers and training to find jobs. But church officials declined to provide a demographic snapshot of the average welfare recipient, the amount of time most recipients use the programs and an average value for the commodities provided.

Without that information, it's difficult to assess the effect the church programs have on the community, said Glenn Bailey, director of Crossroads Urban Center, an advocacy and direct services agency for the poor in Salt Lake City that annually gets a share of church commodities for its own emergency food bank.

"I think they play a critical role, it's just that there's no way to tell the size of the gap they fill," Bailey said. "Obviously they are doing a lot of work and helping a lot of people who would go without or seek assistance elsewhere."

[Gerr]

That is the one thing I admire about Mormons - they take care of their own.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

That is the one thing I admire about Mormons - they take care of their own.

which is something I don't see happening in the Adventist church.

[Gerr]

But we don't take care of OUR needy the way the Mormons do.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I have yet to see, as a whole, the SDA church take care of its own. If someone loses a job, does the church come together to make sure that member is taken care of? NO

The best we do is get an, "I'll pray for you," which is fine and all, but it doesn't put gas in the car.

Whatever happened to the ideals of the 1st Century Christian Church in taking care of each other? The Mormon Church exhibits those characteristics far more than the Adventist church.

[Neil D]

Rudy-

You simply MUST understand, we adventists can NOT have this type of socialism associated among us. We are a republican organization, and any form that deviates from this type of organization leads directly to communism which, in human form, is simply unacceptable and a form of humanized evil, the worst of the degragation of humanity. We need to have the FREEDOM to choose and to voluntarily gather together to form our own sorts of social contracts and allow others to be helped from the goverment.

And Rudy, remember that last PM that I gave you...in case you don't totally understand this post, remember that this one is in the same tenor as that which I explained to you.

[bygjymbo]

Our church runs a food bank (for both church members and community members) and has a "deacons fund" that provides cash assistance for those who need it.

We also have a "homeless ministry" that provides food to those in the streets.

On top of that, we have individual members who pick up donations from grocery stores and deliver it to other charitable organizations, like the local rescue mission.

To say that the Adventist church doesn't take care of it's own is unfair, at least in my neighborhood.

The SDA church, as a whole, has missionaries in almost every country in the world. They drill wells, send doctors, build churches and so much more. What about ADRA?

The Mormans may take care of their own, but what about the rest of the world?? Their gifts come with a hook. They'll pester you until you join their church. I've talked to people who've accepted help and regretted it.

Utah has a bankruptcy ratio about double the national average.

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,595072079,00.html

Quote:

In Utah, the reasons extend to larger family size, higher charitable contributions and lower-than-average per-capita income levels, Matthews said.

Assistance comes with the expectation of reciprocal service, whether it's a few hours of volunteer work on the square stocking shelves or some other form of service.

The difference is that we don't advertise and we don't expect anything in return.

[bygjymbo]

What about YOU, what do YOU do for those in need??

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I wasn't talking about ADRA. Or missionaries across the seas. I'm talking about members of one's own church who need help, but don't get it from the church. I've seen it, moreover, experienced it.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

dgrimm60, I do see that there are some churches who do help some of its members...

[John317]

Check out Ellen White's personal example:

First Attention to Needy Church Members.--There are families who have lost their situations which they have held for twenty years. One man and his wife have a large family of children which we have been caring for. I am paying the

expenses of four children in school from this one family. We see many cases we must help. These are excellent men we have helped. They have large families, but they are the Lord's poor. One man was a coachbuilder, a cabinetmaker, and a wheelwright, and a gentleman of superior order in the sight of God, who reads the heart of all. This family we provided with clothing from our family for three years. We moved the family to Cooranbong. We hoped to help them get a home this winter. I let them live in my tent, and they put an iron roof on it and have lived in it a year. Everyone loves this man, his wife, and children. We must help them. They have a father and a mother they must support. Three families of this same order are on the school premises, and oh, if we only had money to help them build a cheap wooden home, how glad they would be! I use every penny I have in this helping work. But it makes a difference with me whom I help, whether it is God's suffering poor who are keeping His commandments and lose their situations in consequence or whether it is a blasphemer treading under foot the commandments of God. And God regards the difference. We should make these men and women all workers together with God.--Letter 45, 1900. Welfare Ministry (1952), page 336, paragraph 3

Assisting the Sick and Destitute.--The sick call upon us for help, and we go to their assistance. Sister McEnterfer, my helper and nurse, is called upon from miles around to prescribe for them and give them treatment [free of charge]. She has had wonderful success. There is no physician in Cooranbong, but we shall build a hospital or sanitarium soon, where the sick can be brought in and cared for. In the past we have brought them to our own home and cared for them, for we cannot let human beings suffer without doing something to relieve them.... Welfare Ministry (1952), page 334, paragraph 3

[Nan]

Interesting that both of the above paragraphs were written from Australia.

I have heard that for years after EGW left Australia, the memory of a very generous woman remained in the community.

Back to topic.

[Amelia]

I want to comment here. The "bishops store" in the article was built up through the "mother church". It's not something funded by just one church solo. So for us, something like that would have to come from the GC.

There are many Adventist community services centers. Some with food, medical and thrift. Some just have a thrift. They are open to people who qualify. Having worked at the Portland ACSC, I know a little about the intake process. Not everyone gets to use the food bank. The medical is on a sliding scale and free clothing/house goods are given on an emergency basis. Constituent churches provide monies and volunteer help. Very little help comes from the GC. All other monies come from grants, donations and events. Even much of the food for the food bank comes from the Oregon Food Bank. So when the government cuts funding in the areas of food poverty, the state run food banks run short. That means alot of empty shelves at church run food banks and pantrys. The OFB sends out quaterly shopping lists of what is available through them from the government. Then the Portland ACSC places an order. They count on the OFB for proteins like peanut butter and dry beans. Canned fruit and juices. Oatmeal, rice and pasta. Other items will come from individual donations, church sponsored food drives and their own trucks making stops at local grocery stores for all the bread and and pastry and milk etc that can be loaded up. And if someone gets very generous they might even have turkeys to give out at the holidays.

[Morepork]

I have just been reading in the Adventist News Forum that our church in inter-America reached out to feed 1 million people per day.

I am proud to belong to a world-wide church that reaches out not only to their own members, but to all humanity.

This Christmas in my own church we supported the local City Mission with food, and also gave food parcels to our own needy members.

It's love in action, and I guess in most of our churches world-wide.

[carolaa]

I read this article and was really surprised that it didn't mention the 2-year stockpile that Mormons are supposed to keep in their homes. I mean, from the title of the article, that's what I was expecting to read about, but I didn't see it mentioned at all.

[John317]

As might be expected, many Mormons don't store as much as they're supposed to.

Mormon's don't really "store" it as in keeping the same food for very long periods-- they use it and often replace it with new items.

[Jeannieb43]

Mormons do actually care for "their own" when in need. But the treatment they give to members of the same family who no longer attend the Mormon church is much different. In my law practice I had the unpleasant experience of having to sue some Mormons on the occasion of their ill treatment of family members who no longer attended church [e.g., took away their furniture and home furnishings; wouldn't give them a place to live or food to eat, etc., when they took over the legal care of an incapacitated mother].

The young adult children were expressing their legal right to decide for themselves not to remain affiliated with the Mormon church. But while spending lavishly on the incapacitated mother [stroke victim] and the one child who still attended church, the Mormon conservator totally cut off the other children, left them to fend for themselves even while still in high school. I was able to get that situation reversed, but it cost the estate a lot of money to go into court and argue the case and have a public conservator appointed.

Just as with the Catholic Church's "purifying" the church by burning at the stake those they deemed heretics, so does the Mormon church feel they are doing God's will by shunning those who don't follow the church doctrines.

[carolaa]

As might be expected, many Mormons don't store as much as they're supposed to.

Mormon's don't really "store" it as in keeping the same food for very long periods-- they use it and often replace it with new items.

Yes, they rotate their stock like the stores do. So it's not like the survivalists who stockpile Spam and other foods that will last for 10 years or so.

I suppose the officials of each stake or area approach it differently. I knew a Mormon who said that their officials checked their stockpile as part of the regular home visitation program. That sounds pretty controlling to me, but I'm starting to think the stockpile idea isn't such a bad one.

[Amelia]

There are certain things that each mormon are required to do. In addition to the food stockpile they "have" to research their family tree. Also they have to pay dues or whatever it's called in order to gain entrance to a temple. All these things must be done in order to be a mormon in good standing. And you have to be in good standing if you expect to have a mormon wedding or other ceremony.

[Amelia]

I read this article and was really surprised that it didn't mention the 2-year stockpile that Mormons are supposed to keep in their homes. I mean, from the title of the article, that's what I was expecting to read about, but I didn't see it mentioned at all.