There has been a lot of discussion in (the blogernacle of) our ward (congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) lately about self reliance.  It has all stemmed from participation in the USDA Summer Lunch Program, aka Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).  My wife and some other mothers have been going to the park and getting free lunch for the kids because it is a service available to us.  There are no income limits set by the government (during the summer) for participation in this program.  For us it is an inexpensive way for her to get out of the house with the kids in order to preserve her sanity and enjoy the great Albuquerque weather.

Katie, made an interesting comment about the Summer Lunch Program.  She didn’t intend on being judgmental or on offending anyone.  Thank you, Katie it got me thinking.  For her it was more of a political rant on how inadequate our government is at helping those who truly need help.  After much research I have decided to expand on her comment.

From the USDA’s web page:

The SFSP was created to ensure that children in lower-income areas could continue to receive nutritious meals during long school vacations, when they do not have access to school lunch or breakfast.

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) helps children get the nutrition they need to learn, play, and grow throughout the summer months when they are out of school.

SFSP draws children into supervised activities that are safe, fun, and filled with learning opportunities. Children benefit nutritionally by receiving complete, wholesome meals, and parents benefit from some help in stretching their food dollars. The program encourages communities to provide safe places for children to go to be with other children and supportive adults. Parents know their children are receiving healthy meals in a supportive environment. Organizations receive funds to provide meals to complement recreational and educational programs that they have already planned.

The program is clearly designed to be a welfare program.  I wasn’t sure until I confirmed it on their web page.  It claims other benefits but I’m not sure that Albuquerque’s implementation of the program (giving out meals in the park with no structured activity) delivers very many of those.  If it has any side effects I’m sure that many kids do get more exercise than they would other wise because they already out in the park getting the free food so they stay and play outdoors instead of spending their time in front of their Playstation and Satellite television which they can afford because they don’t have to pay for lunch.

Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have established an inspired welfare program to help those in need.  It is far better than the broken government system because it teaches those in need to help themselves rather than to accept a “handout.”

Here are some great articles on the subject:

• A Provident Plan, A Precious Promise by Thomas S. Monson

“The USA’s welfare system is a disaster. It is creating poverty, not destroying it. It subsidizes divorce, unwed teenage pregnancy, the abandonment of elderly parents by their children, and the wholesale dissolution of the family. The reason? We pay people to be poor. Private charities have always been better at providing relief where it is truly needed.”

• The Stake President’s role in Welfare Services by David B. Haight

The Lord’s way is different from government programs. The inspired Church welfare plan is administered on the principle that an individual is responsible to care for himself; where his resources are not adequate, family members are to assist. Where the family is unable to meet the needs of the individual, the Church stands ready to help. The Lord’s way emphasizes individual work and responsibility and encourages people to help themselves.

• The Celestial Nature of Self Reliance by Marion G. Romney

“Let’s not be gullible gulls. We … must preserve our talents of self-sufficiency, our genius for creating things for ourselves, our sense of thrift and our true love of independence.” (“Fable of the Gullible Gull,” Reader’s Digest, Oct. 1950, p. 32.)The practice of coveting and receiving unearned benefits has now become so fixed in our society that even men of wealth, possessing the means to produce more wealth, are expecting the government to guarantee them a profit. Elections often turn on what the candidates promise to do for voters from government funds. This practice, if universally accepted and implemented in any society, will make slaves of its citizens.

We cannot afford to become wards of the government, even if we have a legal right to do so. It requires too great a sacrifice of self-respect and in political, temporal, and spiritual independence.

In some countries it is extremely difficult to separate earned from unearned benefits. However, the principle is the same in all countries: We should strive to become self-reliant and not depend on others for our existence.

Governments are not the only guilty parties. We fear many parents are making “gullible gulls” out of their children with their permissiveness and their doling out of family resources. In fact, the actions of parents in this area can be more devastating than any government program.

• I Have a Question from Ensign 1978 Please read this one in its entirety. It is very interesting and it includes the Church’s official stance on receiving government welfare as of the date of the article:

Stated succinctly, the Church’s policy on accepting government assistance is as follows:“The responsibility for each member’s spiritual, social, emotional, physical, or economic well-being rests first, upon himself, second, upon his family, and third, upon the Church. Members of the Church are commanded by the Lord to be self-reliant and independent to the extent of their ability. (See D&C 78:13–14.)

“No true Latter-day Saint, while physically or emotionally able, will voluntarily shift the burden of his own or his family’s well-being to someone else. So long as he can, under the inspiration of the Lord and with his own labors, he will work to the extent of his ability to supply himself and his family with the spiritual and temporal necessities of life. (Gen. 3:19; 1 Tim. 5:8; and Philip. 2:12.)

“As guided by the Spirit of the Lord and through applying these principles, each member of the Church should make his own decision as to what assistance he accepts, be it from governmental or other source. In this way, independence, self-respect, dignity, and self-reliance will be fostered, and free agency maintained.” (The Presiding Bishopric, September 1977.)

 

So what will we do?  Will we continue to go to the program? We will certainly study the advise we have found from church leaders and, as they have counseled, make our own decision.

The ideas and views of this article are uniquely mine and do not necessarily represent official views of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or any of its members.