“Helping, Giving, and Loving in the Lord’s Way,” Liahona, Dec. 2025.
Helping, Giving, and Loving in the Lord’s Way
Members worldwide give freely of their time and resources, spreading the gospel through service and charity.
Left: Missionaries in Switzerland assist with cleanup efforts after severe storms. Right: One Church aim is to improve the well-being of women and children.
In Jordan, a young girl was fitted for a pediatric wheelchair, one of more than 1,000 wheelchairs donated by the Church.
In Mexico, the Church collaborated with the Mexican Red Cross to update imaging equipment and supported a specialized diabetes telemedicine program to help people without access to medical services.
In Liberia, farmers learned to boost crop yields and increase their incomes with the help of a Church donation to the World Food Programme.
In Nevada, USA, youth in the Church assembled 91 new beds for the Las Vegas Rescue Mission.
Stories like these are numberless in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and exemplify the efforts that many members make to live their covenant commitment to care for those in need through service and donations.
These efforts may come in the form of emergency aid to displaced populations, offering mental and emotional support, or service in communities and homes. Such contributions from members around the world are highlighted in the Church’s Caring for Those in Need: 2024 Summary, published annually a few months after the end of the year.
“This summary shows how, together, we have cared for God’s children through initiatives such as responding to emergencies, feeding the hungry, and caring for the well-being of women and children,” states the First Presidency in an introduction to the report.
Worldwide Reach
“It is through the diligent efforts of members and collaborating organizations that we are able to meet local needs and create lasting impact,” said Blaine Maxfield, managing director of Welfare and Self-Reliance Services. “In all our efforts, we strive to follow the Savior’s example by building self-reliance as we meet temporal needs and serve as He would.”
All contributions and humanitarian efforts are too numerous to list, but below are a few of the good works of members, friends, and the Church’s worldwide outreach.
Caring for Women and Children
The Relief Society General Presidency in 2024 expanded the global initiative to improve the health and well-being of women and children by focusing on child nutrition, maternal and newborn care, immunizations, and literacy.
“Global progress starts with nourishing children and strengthening women,” said Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson. “When you bless a woman, you bless a family, a community, a nation. When you bless a child, you invest in the future.”
Working with eight global humanitarian organizations (CARE International, Catholic Relief Services, Helen Keller Intl, iDE, MAP International, Save the Children, The Hunger Project, and Vitamin Angels), the Church helped improve the well-being of more than 21 million women and children worldwide—double the original projections for the year. The Church has taken a leadership role in convening these organizations and bringing their expertise into four groups focused on benefiting women and children.
“Collaboration remains at the heart of this initiative; we create the greatest impact through our united efforts,” said President Johnson. “Together, we look forward to another year of creating healthier futures for women and children and strengthening communities.”
In other related efforts, the Church supported the group Caritas Manila in the Philippines by providing supplemental meals, vitamins, and hygiene items to detect and treat malnutrition.
Collaborating with Project HOPE, the Church helped fund neonatal and maternal training and equipment in Colombia and Venezuela. The Church also donated to construct a new maternity center and fully equipped neonatal ward for a hospital in Liberia after the previous building was destroyed in civil conflict. The doctors celebrated how many babies’ lives they would be able to save.
In Mali, UNICEF and the Church worked together to provide vaccines for women, eliminating life-threatening neonatal tetanus from the country. The Church also supported Learning for Life programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda, which offer education and services to an estimated 140,000 children.
In Slovakia, the Church assisted a local organization in teaching women to become employed caregivers, enabling them to provide for their families and build up their communities.
Working Together to Provide Relief
To have a greater impact on those in need, the Church collaborates with many organizations, including the World Food Programme, the Red Cross and Red Crescent agencies, Muslim Aid, Water for People, UNICEF, and Catholic Relief Services, to name a few.
“We share the common goal of relieving suffering among God’s children. All of this is part of God’s work for His children,” said President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency.
Members of the Church also band together in and with their communities to serve those in need. Whether it be an elders quorum gardening for an injured ward member, young single adults assembling meals for the hungry at a conference, or youth creating beds for a homeless shelter, unified efforts bring relief to many.
Feeding the Hungry
Julio was born prematurely in Guatemala. His mother took him to a nutrition screening event held by the Church, and he received nutrition supplements for his development. Julio, like many others blessed by member volunteers in the Church’s member-focused child nutrition effort, has since overcome acute malnourishment.
Housing Support
Kaltoumi and her young children fled their home for safety amidst civil unrest with just the clothes on their backs. After arriving at the Minawao Refugee Camp in Cameroon, Kaltoumi received a tent for her young family provided by ShelterBox and the Church.
Supporting Vulnerable Populations
A Syrian woman cooks a meal outside her temporary shelter. The Church supports relief programs to help empower displaced persons.
Photograph courtesy of ShelterBox
Women and children in Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon were forced to flee their homes in 2024. The Church supported various relief programs to help empower these individuals and local organizations.
For example, the Church donated 150 sheep to Al Jahuth to create a milk-sheep farm in Jordan. The organization teaches people in resettlement camps how to produce dairy products and generate income to care for themselves. The Church also collaborated with Rahma Worldwide in Lebanon, the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt, and other organizations to offer urgent food support to vulnerable communities.
Emergency Response
When several disasters hit the Philippines in 2024, including a super typhoon, a volcano eruption, fires, and drought, the Church and the country’s emergency response services provided relief. Local Church members dedicated time and effort to package, organize, and deliver goods.
Missionaries help unload emergency supplies from an airplane following severe flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Photograph courtesy of Divulgação Azul
The Church provided crucial aid to flood victims in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where severe flooding displaced 200,000 people and resulted in more than 90 deaths. The Church established 21 local shelters, distributed food packages, and delivered six tons of emergency supplies. Members and missionaries also participated in cleanup efforts.
After Hurricane Beryl devastated many areas in the Caribbean, members of the Church traveled to Union Island to deliver much-needed supplies, such as food and hygiene kits, and they helped clear roads of debris.
Food Security
In Nicaragua, the Church contributed to a World Food Programme effort that provided children with school meals. The project also included infrastructure and kitchen upgrades in schools across the country.
Education Support
In Argentina, the Church supported Caritas’s Plan Emaús to provide scholarships for students. These scholarships will assist many students in need across the country, increasing their future job opportunities and helping them become self-reliant.
The Church helped deliver 1,000 computers to students in Mongolia.
In Mongolia, the Church worked with the Ministry of Education to deliver 1,000 computers to secondary schools. They will bless approximately 43,000 students with improved educational opportunities.
Many members use self-reliance courses facilitated by volunteers in their wards and areas to improve their lives. Many also receive loans and scholarships to help pay for schooling through the Church’s Perpetual Education Fund.
Loving Our Neighbor
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, taught us to follow the two great commandments: to love God and to love our neighbor (see Matthew 22:37–39). As President Russell M. Nelson said, “When we love God with all our hearts, He turns our hearts to the well-being of others in a beautiful, virtuous cycle.”
Today, the Church and its people seek to follow in the Lord’s footsteps by caring for people in need through welfare and self-reliance initiatives, global humanitarian efforts, and volunteer service. As President Oaks said, “The Church of Jesus Christ is committed to serving those in need, and it is also committed to cooperating with others in that effort.”