Address Given by President Marion G. Romney at Welfare Services Meeting Saturday, October 5, 1974
President Kimball and brothers and sisters: President Grant used to speak very frequently on the subject of tithing. Someone asked him when he would quit talking about tithing, and he said, “When all the people pay their tithing.” I suppose I will quit talking about the Welfare Program when everyone lives it.
Nearly everything I know about the Welfare Program has been talked about this morning. I will not tell you anything new. The thing that moves me to activity in the Church more than anything else is the constant review of what the Lord has said about it. The older I grow in the service, the more I turn to the scriptures, and try to understand the meaning of what the Lord has said.
I am going to give you some scriptures this morning. It is worth our time to study the scriptures and see the depth, as far as we can, of the Lord’s teachings.
I will restrict my remarks to two points. Both of them have been mentioned here this morning. The first one is work. The second is the law of giving. On these two principles the Welfare Program is founded.
It is the Lord’s purpose to take care of the poor not only, but of all His people. He said,
“… 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.” (D&C 104:16.)
In announcing the Welfare Program in 1936, the First Presidency said, as we have already heard this morning and which we should never forget:
“Our primary purpose was to set up, in so far as it might be possible, a system under which 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. … Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership.” (Conference Report, October 1936, p. 3.)
To care for people, the saints, on any other basis is to do them more harm than good.
The purpose of Church welfare is not to relieve one from taking care of himself nor to relieve a husband from taking care of his wife. It is not to relieve parents from taking care of their children nor children from taking care of their parents.
It is the obligation of everyone to work.
The obligation to sustain one’s self was divinely imposed upon the human race at the very beginning. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; …” (Gen. 3:19.) In these words the Lord Himself gave to Adam and Eve, as they left the garden of Eden, the economic law under which people are to live their lives upon the earth.
“Few evils has the Lord denounced with more vehemence than idleness. ‘Thou shalt not be idle,’ he said to the Church on February 9, 1831, ‘for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.’ (D&C 42:42.) In November of the same year, he said that the ‘idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord,’ … (D&C 68:30), and in January of 1832 he said, ‘And the idler shall not have place in the church, except he repent and mend his ways.’ (D&C 75:29.)
“Faithful to this principle, [we must] earnestly teach and urge Church members to be self-sustaining to the full extent of their powers. No true Latter-day Saint will … voluntarily shift from himself the burden of his own support. So long as he can, under the inspiration of the Almighty and with his own labors, he will supply himself with the necessities of life.” (Welfare Handbook 1952, page 2.)
We must see to it that every one who needs help has the opportunity to do and, to the extent of his powers, does do all he can to obtain for himself what he needs.
Second, husbands have a divinely imposed duty to support their wives.
“Women,” says the Lord, “have claim on their husbands for their maintenance, until their husbands are taken; …” (D&C 83:2.)
Third, parents have a like responsibility to care for their children.
Paul was specific and emphatic about this.
“… if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” This he wrote to Timothy. (1 Tim. 5:8.)
In this dispensation the Lord has said, “All children have claim upon their parents for their maintenance until they are of age.” (D&C 83:4.)
The next responsibility I wish to call to mind is the duty of children to care for their parents.
Since this obligation is often observed in the breach and since the rewards for observing it are so great and the penalty for disregarding it so severe, I shall explain it to you in the words of President Clark. I was greatly impressed by his teaching on this point years ago.
“This principle runs back to Mount Sinai.” It was there as you will remember that Moses received the “ten commandments, and one of them was ‘Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Ex. 20:12.) … I call your attention [first] to the command and then to the promise: ‘Honor thy father and thy mother’—the command. The promise: ‘That thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ That command was given to Israel, as you know, in the very early days of Israelitish history. It was undoubtedly understood by them as applying to the land to which they were going, but it was given to all Israel, and in terms it was unrestricted. In my view,” said President Clark, “it was just as much applicable to Israel on this hemisphere—the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh—as it was to those tribes who immediately settled in Palestine.
“I repeat, it is universal in its application, and its promise runs to all, as does likewise the commandment: ‘Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’
“Israel departed from this command, and in the time of the Savior the Jews had gotten so far away from it that the Lord took occasion to explain it to them, and told them what it meant. You remember that on one occasion the Jews—[that is,] the Scribes and Pharisees—came up from Jerusalem, trying to trick the Savior as usual, so they asked him why his disciples ate with unwashen hands, contrary to the teachings of the traditions of the fathers. The Savior did with them what he so frequently did with [others], he answered their question by asking another, and the question which he asked of them was,—
“‘Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
“‘For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
“‘But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
“‘And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.’ (Matt. 15:3–6. Italics added.)
“That is the account in Matthew. The account is virtually the same in Mark:
“‘For Moses said, [to quote Mark] Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
“‘But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
“‘And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother.’ (Mark 7:10–12. Italics added.)”
Now, “This means [explains President Clark] that in place of observing the responsibility imposed by the Lord upon children to care for their parents, Israel had gone so astray that whenever a son or a daughter wanted to rid himself or herself of the obligation of caring for father and mother, ‘From this time on,’—this was the effect of it—‘I repudiate my obligation, and whatever I give to you is a gift, [Corban] and not given under the commandment of the Lord.’”
Today the temptation, and all too often the practice, is to turn Father and Mother over to the public welfare and let the state take care of them.
“… After calling their attention to this, the Savior said unto them, as recorded in Matthew:
“‘ Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
“‘This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
“‘But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Matt. 15:7–9. Italics added.)
“Now I repeat to you, brethren, that command is without restriction. It runs to Israel, in my view, wherever Israel may be, and its promise as well as its command follows Israel in whatever land they may reside.
“‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ [Ex. 20:12. Italics added.]
“This land of [America] is a chosen land to Joseph. I believe the promise applies here. In the Book of Mormon we are told what will happen to those who dwell on this land if they do not keep the commandments of God, if they do not worship Jesus the Christ who is the God of this land. He tells what will come to us when we are full of iniquity, and if we disobey that commandment of the Lord we are thus far under the condemnation which the Lord decreed, and we are thus far forward on the road to being full of iniquity.
“I have given you what the Lord has said,” concludes President Clark. “We may use our agency as to whether we shall obey or disobey; and if we disobey we must abide the penalty.” (Fundamentals of Welfare Program, President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., October 6, 1944 [Bishops Meeting] page 3.)
In addition to what the Lord has said concerning one’s responsibility to care for himself, the husband’s duty to care for his wife, parents’ responsibility for their children, and children for their parents, He has in this last dispensation
“… laid upon his Church the obligation to provide the necessities of life for such of its members as are unable to provide for themselves and who do not have relatives who can and will provide for them. This responsibility is based upon the great law … ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35; Welfare Plan Handbook, 1952, p. 3.)
Before proceeding to a consideration of this obligation of the Church, I wish to emphasize—particularly to you bishops upon whom the Lord has placed the responsibility to administer the Church Welfare Program—that in doing so you must be sure that the persons and families involved are acquainted with, fully understand and comply with their obligations to each other. When and only when these resources are insufficient, the responsibility falls upon the Church. It is then the duty of the Church to provide the receiver with the opportunity to work for what he receives. I repeat, to operate the program on any other basis will defeat the primary purpose of the Presidency:
“… to set up, in so far as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness [will] 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.” (Conference Report, October 1936, p. 3, and 1952 Welfare Handbook, p. 1.)
Our obligation is not to administer temporal needs only: we are to build and save souls and we should keep in mind that “Man shall not live by bread alone …” (Luke 4:4.)
Remember, “We are all blind,” as Edwin Markham says,
… until we see
That in the human plan
Nothing is worth the making if
It does not make the man.
Why build these cities glorious
If man unbuilded goes?
In vain we build the work, unless
The builder also grows.
That he work out his own salvation is indispensable to one’s exaltation.
We come now to a consideration of the second fundamental upon which our Welfare Services are based: “The law of giving.”
Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, the Lord loves the worthy poor. From the beginning He has required that His saints care for them.
To the rich young man who affirmed that all his life he had kept the great commandments, the Master said: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: …” (Matt. 19:21.)
Jacob, speaking to the people of Nephi, said:
“Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you.
“But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.
“And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.” (Jacob 2:17–19.)
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this,” said James, “To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27.)
“The scriptures voice but one sentiment and one doctrine,—first, that it is the duty of those who have to give to those who are in want, and next, that great blessings shall come to those who obey this law.” (Welfare Handbook, 1952 ed., p. 4.)
Some years ago, for the purpose of learning what it says about caring for the poor, I reread the Old Testament. In doing so, I discovered that when the Lord sent prophets to call Israel back from apostasy, in almost every instance one of the first charges they made was that the people had neglected the poor.
In this last dispensation, before the Church was a year old, the Lord in a revelation said,
“… for your salvation [that is a good reason, isn’t it, for our salvation] I give unto you a commandment, for I have heard your prayers, and the poor have complained before me, and the rich have I made, and all flesh is mine, and I am no respecter of persons.
“And I have made the earth rich, and behold it is my footstool, wherefore, again I will stand upon it.
“And I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, upon which there shall be no curse when the Lord cometh;
“And I will give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if you seek it with all your hearts.
“And this shall be my covenant with you, ye shall have it for the land of your inheritance, and for the inheritance of your children forever, while the earth shall stand, and ye shall possess it again in eternity, no more to pass away.”
Now he gives the condition of the fulfillment of that promise:
“Wherefore, hear my voice and follow me, and you shall be a free people, …
“And let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practise virtue and holiness before me.
“And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself.
“For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one: Be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other: Be thou clothed in rags and sit thou there—and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just?
“Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.
“And now, I give unto the church … a commandment, that certain men among them shall be appointed, …
“And they shall look to the poor and the needy, and administer to their relief that they shall not suffer; …
“And if ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shalt have the riches of eternity; …” (D&C 38:16–20, 22, 24–27, 34–35, 39.)
It seems to me that in this revelation the Lord bases the great promise of eternal riches upon compliance with his command to “look to the poor and the needy, and administer to their relief that they shall not suffer,” even as He based the promise to Israel, “that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” upon compliance with the command “Honour thy father and thy mother.” In fact, I am quite sure of this because the Lord, in a revelation to Joseph Smith after the Saints had been driven by mobs from their homes in Missouri, and the brethren had gone over with Zion’s Camp to reinstate the Saints in their homes, failed to do it, and they sought the Lord for an answer—in that great revelation that He gave at Fishing River, He said:
“Verily I say unto you who have assembled yourselves together that you may learn my will concerning the redemption of mine afflicted people—
“Behold, I say unto you, were it not for the transgressions of my people, speaking concerning the church and not individuals, they might have been redeemed even now.
“But behold, they have not learned to be obedient to the things which I required at their hands, but are full of all manner of evil, and do not impart of their substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and afflicted among them;
“And are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom;
“And Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom; otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself.
“And my people must needs be chastened until they learn obedience, if it must needs be, by the things which they suffer.” (D&C 105:1–6.)
That ought to be a clear signal to us. If we study the scriptures and find what is in the mind of the Lord, behind the instructions that He has given us about caring for the poor, we will double our efforts.
These scriptures leave no doubt about the obligation the Lord has placed on the Church to care for the poor.
Concerning the way the Lord would have us obtain the means with which to care for the poor, He said:
“… 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.” (What we have of this world’s goods we hold as stewards under the Almighty. He is the overlord, and He fixes the terms.)
“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”—humble, and the poor self-sustaining, with self-respect and self-reliance.
“For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; [We don’t need to worry about starving to death if we live the Lord’s way.] yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves.”
Now how important is it that we understand these things and implement them in our living? I don’t know how the Lord could have made its importance more understandable than he does in this final paragraph that I shall quote from this great revelation in the 104th section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
“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.)
What is the portion of the abundance which the Lord has given us that we are required to give to the poor and the needy? Well, first it’s tithing, an honest tenth, and beyond that, it is liberal contributions in time and labor on welfare services projects and a liberal fast offering.
In “the law of the Church” as recorded in the forty-second section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord said,
“If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments.
“And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support …
“And inasmuch as ye impart of your substance unto the poor, ye will do it unto me; …” (D&C 42:29–31.)
If you want to give the Lord a good meal, you know how to do it.
I suppose I need not say more about the responsibility each of us has to give liberally for the care of the poor.
Let us not be guilty of the charge the Lord made against Israel in the days of Malachi, through whom He said:
“Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
“Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.”
Let us rather qualify for the promised blessings.
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.
“And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 3:7–12.)
If you here today would like to test this promise, double your fast offerings and pay more than a tithing this year. My own experience is that the Lord keeps His promises. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.