‘…the Lord’s way of caring for the needy is different from the world’s way. The Lord has said, “It must needs be done in mine own way.” …As many prophets have instructed us over the years, the welfare principles of the Church are not simply good ideas; they are revealed truths from God—they are His way of helping the needy.’
“Do we really believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, and virtuous? On this test may hinge the survival of our society, our constitutional government, and our eternal salvation.”
“We have inspired leaders today who are reconfirming the fact that there is no ultimate safety in programmed security where others assume accountability for our direction and performance. Those who insist that a Church program exist for every contingency and need are as much in error as their counterparts who demand that government intervene in every aspect of our lives. In both instances the ideal balance is destroyed with a resultant detriment to human progress.”
“The practice of coveting and receiving unearned benefits has now become so fixed in our society that even men of wealth, possessing the means to produce more wealth, are expecting the government to guarantee them a profit. Elections often turn on what the candidates promise to do for voters from government funds. This practice, if universally accepted and implemented in any society, will make slaves of its citizens.”
Unfortunately, there has been fostered in the minds of some an expectation that …we should look to either the Church or government to bail us out. Forgotten by some of our members is an underlying principle of the Church welfare plan that “no true Latter-day Saint will, while physically able, voluntarily shift from himself the burden of his own support.”
“…what is the real cause of this trend toward the welfare state, toward more socialism? In the last analysis, in my judgment, it is personal unrighteousness. When people do not use their freedoms responsibly and righteously, they will gradually lose these freedoms.”
“…we should not…expect our leaders to organize projects for us. But as youth, men, women, and families, we can join in this great humanitarian endeavor.”
“Nothing happens in this world until there is work… What a dismal station we have reached in this nation where we have borrowed and spent and failed to repay. At the close of 1994, every man, woman, and child in the United States owed as his or her part of the national debt $17,805.64. Think of it. It is a disgrace. It affects all of our monetary policies and all of our commerce. It burdens us with taxes from which there is little or no relief.”
“Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls; …Wo unto you poor men…whose hands are not stayed from laying hold upon other men’s goods…who will not labor with your own hands!”
We need everyone to engage back when we’re nominating the candidates in the first place; that’s where we need more engagement. And how does this start? It really starts at home…