Remember in All Things the Poor

One of the most memorable talks in general conference for me was this weekend that of Ian S. Ardern who spoke about a recent humanitarian trip to Uganda that he took with other leaders of the church. He told of the “poverty, hunger, lack of running water and other prevalent needs” that they observed there. They worked directly with UNICEF to help in particular the children there, and he said, “there came to each of us an increase of hope for a better tomorrow for those we met. That hope came, in part, through the kindness of Church members from around the world who donate time and money to the Church humanitarian effort.” He encouraged us in these words, “Despite our every effort, you and I won’t heal everyone, but each of us can be the one who can make a difference for good in the life of someone. ... It is unlikely you will know the recipients of your time, dollars and dimes, but compassion does not require us to know them, it only requires us to love them.” His words were a reminder to us of the duty we have to share our means to bless those in need. The Lord made it very clear that this is required of us if we are to follow Him: “And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple” (Doctrine and Covenants 52:40). It can be easy to think that paying a full tithe and a bit of fast offerings is all that we need to do to help others in need, but for those of us who have means I am convinced that the Lord expects much more from us. Another more poignant verse should be carefully considered by those of us who have plenty: “Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation: The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!” Our very salvation depends upon our willingness to give up our substance to the poor.

                The prophet Isaiah warned the Lord’s people that “the spoil of the poor is in your houses” (Isaiah 3:14). That could mean, of course, that they had actually stolen from the poor, but more likely I think what he was saying is that the rich were not imparting of their substance from the poor. We might ask ourselves as we look around our own homes, “What is in my house that really should have been given to the poor instead?” All our possessions that we cling to are really God’s anyway, and so what is it in our homes that he would expect us to share and give away? Moroni put it this way to us, “For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted…. Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?” (Mormon 8:37, 39) We would surely each do well to ask ourselves if we are more concerned with adorning our lives with things that have no worth than helping those in need around us. Amos described the rich of his day in Israel that might apply well to many of us today: “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion… that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph” (Amos 6:1, 4-6). Do we grieve for the affliction of those who suffer, or are we simply at ease with the comforts of life that we enjoy? Elder Ardern’s message was that we can make a difference in the lives of those in need, and the scriptures from the Bible to the Book of Mormon to the Doctrine and Covenants all confirm that it is indeed our duty to do all we can to help them.