--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Nibley, Charles W. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 25 number: 4 published: 1922-02 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Charles W. Nibley, "A Wonderful Element in Social Welfare Work," *Improvement Era* 25, no. 4 (February 1922): 292–294.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2504unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera2504unse start_page: 292 end_page: 294 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1922-02) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2504unse publication_year: 1922 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1922, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # A Wonderful Element in Social Welfare Work A Wonderful Element in Social Welfare Work By Presiding Bishop C. W. Nibley It is a matter of very great pride that the Latter-day Saints have in knowing that the poor among them are reasonably well cared for. Doubtless, it is true that a deserving case here and there may escape the notice of the Bishop or the Relief Society of the ward, but such instances are very rare indeed. The Church takes credit, and well it may, for having no beggars. This in a membership of about five hundred thousand in the United States is something remarkable. How is it all accomplished? Let us inquire a little into the matter. The Saints are instructed by the authority of the priest- hood, which directs their activities, to hold the first Sunday in every month as a fast day. Fast meetings are held on that day in every ward in the Church, to which the Saints gather, fasting and praying, and testifying before the Lord, of his good- ness to them. On that day, every member of the Church is requested to observe the fast. The Biblical fast was from sun- down to sundown. This fast of twenty-four hours is entirely satisfactory to the Lord, but the Presidency of his Church have instructed all members that if they do not fast for that full length of time, they should at least abstain from eating two meals on the first Sunday of each month. This requirement may be easily kept by the weakest of the Saints, or of those who can be called Saints. It must be conceded, however, that there are a considerable number who do not observe the fast at all. But this does not affect the principle, for there are always a considerable number of people who do not carefully observe the commandments of the Lord. The instruction from the Presidency of the Church to its membership is, that on each fast day they should abstain from eating at least two meals, and that the value of the food which would be consumed in these two meals, should be contributed as a fast day donation for the benefit of the poor. Now let us see what that would amount to. As stated, there are in the United States alone, upwards of five hundred thousand members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Assuming that each meal would not be more than the value of ten cents, two meals would be twenty cents for each WONDERFUL ELEMENT IN SOCIAL WELFARE WORK 293 member, and for five hundred thousand members it would amount to one hundred thousand dollars per month, or one million two hundred thousand dollars per year, which would be more than en'ough to care for all the poor in the Church. This commandment of the Lord seems so simple and so easy that it can be clearly comprehended by the wayfaring man and by every member alike. In this way, the contribution you have made of twenty cents each month has not cost you any- thing because you abstained from eating food to the value ot twenty cents. Your physical system is none the worse for it, but the better for it. Ask your doctor. Now there are some wards in the Church which have no poor, and some of these wards do not collect any fast offerings. This is entirely wrong. We are commanded to fast. We are commanded to pray. We are instructed to bring our fast offer- ings to the bishop as a contribution for the poor every month on fast day, whether there are any poor in our wards or not. If there are no poor in our ward, there are plenty of other wards in the Church that have a surplus of poor and that are com- pelled to call upon the Church to assist them. Of course, the Church does this willingly, as it is to our credit as a Church that the poor are not allowed to suffer. The problem of caring for the poor is one of the most perplexing that the philanthropic people of the world have to contend with. There are thousands of good people who take a lively interest and exhibit a righteous sympathy in trying to bless the poor and contribute of their means liberally for that purpose; but their machinery for conducting the charity or- ganizations is so expensive. Offices have to be rented; paid workers, clerks and others, and social and welfare workers all have to be paid, so that before the contributions reach the poor, about half of the money has been paid out for expenses. Not so with this wonderful system which the Lord has revealed. There are no paid workers; there is no expense for office rent; the bishopric and the Relief Society manage the whole affair without one dollar being taken out of the fund for expenses. Every cent that is contributed goes directly to the purpose for which it was contributed, namely, to the poor. And there goes with it more than the mere giving of charity. Our dear sisters of the Relief Society give their blessing, give of their very soul, to the poor whom they visit. In love and in prayer, often in tears, there is bestowed with their charity a blessing from the Lord which is not understood by those who are not members of our Church, but after all it is this which makes the gift most rare and precious indeed. Consider what a great blessing it would be to the people of 294 IMPROVEMENT ERA the United States if they would only adopt this simple rule of our Church. If the one hundred five million people in the United States would each contribute twenty cents per month (which perhaps would be not more than the value of one meal per month) as a fast offering, it would amount to twenty-one million dollars per month, or two hundred fifty-two million dollars per year. Who would feel the loss of this donation? Rather, would not each one be benefited if he only fasted as herein indicated? And this great amount of money coming in every month would be more than sufficient to care for all the poor in the United States, if only our Church system of collect- ing and distributing the fund without expense were adopted. How marvelous and wonderful are the ways of the Lord, compared to which the wisdom of the wordly wise seems to perish and the understanding of their prudent ones to be hid.