Four fold mission of Church

[Art Vandelay]

I recall a thread several months ago (I searched but couldn't find it) where President Monson talked about Helping the Poor and Needy becoming the official 4th mission of the church. Has anything more come of this?

[Fiyero]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705350795/LDS-to-emphasize-helping-needy.html

Blog postings reported that "to care for the poor and the needy" would receive increased emphasis in the next edition of the Church Handbook of Instructions, due to be released in 2010. The manual contains directives, responsibilities and information for local and general LDS Church leaders worldwide.

In the upcoming handbook, caring for the poor and the needy will be stated as one of the church's purposes, along with its well-recognized, three-fold mission statement.

[Solon]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...ing-needy.html

If you haven't heard, Mr. Vandelay, I doubt any of us have heard.

[wuapinmon]

As I sat in countless meetings in New Orleans, and looked around at the generations of kids born to children, I often thought "If the Church would actually open a soup kitchen, a youth center, and a homeless shelter, we could really do a lot of good in a place like this. Especially with our Church's focus on the youth, why we don't do more, with paid professionals, to save youth from the streets and from having children while they're children, I don't know.

So many other churches dedicated themselves to ministering to the poor. We've always taken a hardline approach to helping people, but we've only reached out to those who could still help themselves. How do you help the 13 year-old with an 18-month old (do the math, she got pregnant at 11!!!!!!!!!!) raise a child? A single-mom 13-year-old cannot raise a child by herself. It is impossible in our society and culture for it to happen. If she herself is the child of a single-mom who is in her late 20's, WTF. Can you imagine being a grandma at age 35? I've seen it with my own eyes. I guarantee you that there are grandmas in their 20's.

Yes, we can teach them the Gospel, and get them a food order, but sometimes we need professionals to help; you can't just rely on Brother or Sister Jensen to give all their free time to helping the one, especially when there are 20 ones.

[Indy Coug]

As I sat in countless meetings in New Orleans, and looked around at the generations of kids born to children, I often thought "If the Church would actually open a soup kitchen, a youth center, and a homeless shelter, we could really do a lot of good in a place like this. Especially with our Church's focus on the youth, why we don't do more, with paid professionals, to save youth from the streets and from having children while they're children, I don't know.

So many other churches dedicated themselves to ministering to the poor. We've always taken a hardline approach to helping people, but we've only reached out to those who could still help themselves. How do you help the 13 year-old with an 18-month old (do the math, she got pregnant at 11!!!!!!!!!!) raise a child? A single-mom 13-year-old cannot raise a child by herself. It is impossible in our society and culture for it to happen. If she herself is the child of a single-mom who is in her late 20's, WTF. Can you imagine being a grandma at age 35? I've seen it with my own eyes. I guarantee you that there are grandmas in their 20's.

Yes, we can teach them the Gospel, and get them a food order, but sometimes we need professionals to help; you can't just rely on Brother or Sister Jensen to give all their free time to helping the one, especially when there are 20 ones.

Does the church itself need to open up centers, or should it simply contribute money towards existing centers and encourage its membership to do likewise (of which they do both)? Would that allocation of funds be more efficient than absorbing the heavy start up costs to enter that "market"?

[scottie]

Will be interesting to see how moms and dads juggle their families and lives into all four missions of the church. Over the last 2 years the push in our stake has been temple attendance once per week because of how close we are to a temple, but how realistic is that, especially for a young family?

Honest question -- in a Christian church, should helping the poor and needy be a higher priority and emphasized more than work for the dead?

[Indy Coug]

Will be interesting to see how moms and dads juggle their families and lives into all four missions of the church. Over the last 2 years the push in our stake has been temple attendance once per week because of how close we are to a temple, but how realistic is that, especially for a young family?

Honest question -- in a Christian church, should helping the poor and needy be a higher priority and emphasized more than work for the dead?

I think the guiding principle has always been to do what you can, where you can, when you can.

[DU Ute]

Will be interesting to see how moms and dads juggle their families and lives into all four missions of the church. Over the last 2 years the push in our stake has been temple attendance once per week because of how close we are to a temple, but how realistic is that, especially for a young family?

Honest question -- in a Christian church, should helping the poor and needy be a higher priority and emphasized more than work for the dead?

The beauty of temple work is that it doesn't discriminate. Rich or poor, sooner or later everyone is going to end up dead.

[creekster]

Honest question -- in a Christian church, should helping the poor and needy be a higher priority and emphasized more than work for the dead?

from an eternal persecptive maybe there isnt that much difference.

[Fiyero]

Can you imagine being a grandma at age 35? I've seen it with my own eyes. I guarantee you that there are grandmas in their 20's.

Yes. In the ghetto in North Little Rock, I met a 24-year-old grandmother, whose live-in boyfriend impregnated her 12-year-old daughter.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Can you imagine being a grandma at age 35?

.

My grandma was 34 when I was born.