Settled On Their Lees

In the dedicatory prayer for the Provo City Center Temple this last weekend, Elder Oaks mentioned the many refugees across the world who have been displaced from their homes because of war and conflicts.  The mention of this global problem during the dedicatory prayer of a temple thousands of miles away from most of those millions of refugees shows both the love of God for all of His children as well as the power of the temple to bless people all across the world.  It’s easy for us in our comfortable homes in the United States to be ignorant to the great suffering across the world of the children of our Heavenly Father, but He does not forget and invites us to help.  As He said to the Prophet Joseph Smith, “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). 

The mention of these refugees of course reminds us of the invitation from the First Presidency last fall to help financially with the crisis: “It is with great concern and compassion that we observe the plight of the millions of people around the world who have fled their homes seeking relief from civil conflict and other hardships….  Many Church members have inquired how they can provide additional assistance. Members may contribute to the Church Humanitarian Fund using the Tithing and Other Offerings donations slip. We also invite Church units, families, and individuals to participate in local refugee relief projects, where practical” (see here).  Several weeks ago I attended a fireside for French speakers with Bishop Causée as the main speaker.  He talked about how the First Presidency had discussed with the Presiding Bishopric about the refugee situation, and they had presented to the prophet and his counselors a plan to help them.  President Monson suggested that they needed to do more, and Bishop Caussé responded that they didn’t have the budget to do more than what they had proposed.  That’s apparently when President Monson determined that they would ask the members of the Church to contribute to the refugees, and letters were read in Sacrament Meetings across the Church.  Bishop Caussé related that they were then able to do much more in their efforts to help the refugees thanks to the generous donations of the members in response to the prophet’s invitation. 

                One of the scriptural injunctions inviting us to help even those who are strangers to us comes from the Law of Moses.  The Israelites were told, “And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself” (Leviticus 19:33-34).  This is the same chapter in which the Lord first commended, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (v18).  In our connected world, surely the “neighbor” and the “stranger” are those all across the globe, and we have a responsibility to help where we can.  The Lord will one day “punish the men that are settled on their lees,” a phrase which suggests being complacent in our protective shelters (Zephaniah 1:12).  I guess we have to decide for ourselves whether that description fits us, and if it does perhaps we have to figure out how to get “unsettled” and share what God has given us.