Our generous welfare system allows women, in effect, to marry the government. And this makes it all to easy for men to abandon their traditional moral and financial responsibilities.
Alfred Doolittle: Well. Look at it my way. What am I? I ask you what am I? I’m one of the undeservin’ poor, that’s what I am. Now think what that means to a man. It means he’s up against middle class morality for all of time. If there’s anything going and I puts in fer a bit of it, it’s always the same story. Your undeservin' so you can’t have it. But my needs is as great as the most deservin' widows that ever got money out of six different charities in one week for the death of the same husband. Heh. I don’t need less than a deservin’ man. I need more. I don’t eat less hardy than he does. And I drink…oh a lot more. I’m playin’ strait with you. I aint pretending to be deserving. No. I’m undeserving. And I mean to go on being undeserving. I like it and that’s the truth.
“Well. Look at it my way. What am I? I ask you what am I? I’m one of the undeservin’ poor, that’s what I am. Now think what that means to a man. It means he’s up against middle class morality for all of time. If there’s anything going and I puts in fer a bit of it, it’s always the same story. Your undeservin' so you can’t have it. But my needs is as great as the most deservin' widows that ever got money out of six different charities in one week for the death of the same husband. Heh. I don’t need less than a deservin’ man. I need more. I don’t eat less hardy than he does. And I drink…oh a lot more. I’m playin’ strait with you. I aint pretending to be deserving. No. I’m undeserving. And I mean to go on being undeserving. I like it and that’s the truth.”
President Romney has emphasized, “To care for people on any other basis is to do them more harm than good. The purpose of Church welfare is not to relieve [a Church member] from taking care of himself." The principle of self-reliance or personal independence is fundamental to the happy life. In too many places, in too many ways, we are getting away from it.
“When people are able but unwilling to take care of themselves, we are responsible to employ the dictum of the Lord that the idler shall not eat the bread of the laborer.”
Currently we offer financial or material benefits based on poverty status. In other words, our present approach makes people’s ability to improve their quality of life through government programs – including feeding their families, accessing health care, and gaining an education – dependent upon remaining in poverty! This “prosperity cliff” penalizes those who are truly striving to become self reliant – often putting those in poverty into inhumane situations where the most reasonable, and even responsible, option for them and their family is to remain in poverty. Many are trapped in poverty by the very government agencies that are supposed to be elevating their condition.
The skill of building up and establishing the Zion of our God on the earth is to take the people and teach them how to take care of themselves.
It is true I gather a great deal of substance around me; I am obliged to do it. I cannot shun it. I must feed the poor, I must clothe them and take care of them.
I collect means around me, the poor must have it, and I make them work and pay for it; that makes me wealthy, and I cannot help it.
“Before we arrived in Winter Quarters we held obligations and accounts, against the poor Saints we had emigrated to America, to the amount of about thirty-five thousand dollars, and that too out of our own individual pockets — it was not Church money. But while we were in Winter Quarters, I do not think there could have been ten persons counted, old and young, who were brought from England by our liberality. Is this fact encouraging or discouraging? The honest poor are still suffering, I mean the Lord's poor. But you may take the devil's poor and the poor devils, and they will plead a thousand times harder to be brought out of England, to have their feet placed upon American soil, than the Lord's poor, or the honest poor. The devil's poor and the poor devils will manage to get here, while very many of the Lord's poor stay there and suffer, and continue to suffer until they lay down their bodies and sleep in the tomb. Thousands and thousands of them will do this, while that portion who call so loudly for help are those who will come here and then go to the devil.”
“My policy is to keep every man, woman, and child busily employed, that they may have no idle time for hatching mischief in the night, and for making plans to accomplish their own ruin.”
“I collect means around me, the poor must have it, and I make them work and pay for it; that makes me wealthy, and I cannot help it.”
The Lord's poor do not forget their covenants, while the devil's poor pay no regard to their promises.
“And If you see any young, middle-aged or old ladies in need find them something to do that will enable them to sustain themselves; but don’t relieve the idle, for relieving those who are able but unwilling to work is ruinous to any community.”
“But it seems that there are many drones in the hive, who are determined to tie up the hands of those who rule the affairs of this kingdom, and the quicker they are thrown out the better.”
“The Lord's poor do not forget their covenants, while the devil's poor pay no regard to their promises.”
“Dare any of you come and buy property? I can furnish as much as you can buy…Walk up and buy my beautiful situation on the hill and I will put the proceeds into the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, if you will pay me the money, and gather the Saints, the Lord's poor, and the devil's poor, and the poor devils, and when we have got them here we will make Saints of them, if we can, and if we cannot, we will cast them out of the kingdom.”
“And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine. But it must needs be done in mine own way;…”
It is wisdom in me; therefore, a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall organize yourselves and appoint every man his stewardship; That every man may give an account unto me of the stewardship which is appointed unto him.
“Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.”
Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.
“To continue to hand out your food and your substance to the beggar who comes to your doors without putting him in a position to help himself and to supply his own wants is to encourage him in folly and wickedness, and is throwing away the blessings of heaven which God has placed in your hands.”
“They who are able to provide for themselves but would rather have others bear the burdens of life for them, are not the Lord’s poor, they are the devil’s poor.”
“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature … Yes, Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world.”
When we have healthy boundaries with others, it frees us up to truly experience compassion and love for them.
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
“I was reminded very much, in hearing the statement of the brethren, of what the Prophet Joseph said when alive about the indolence, carelessness and indifference to work manifested by some men. He said there were three kinds of poor—the Lord’s poor, the devil’s poor, and the poor devils.”
Here is one of the tragic reasons for mounting juvenile delinquency: literally millions of children who come from homes where there is no parental love and consequently very little child security. Here is a root cause of our soaring public welfare burden, which is devouring billions of our treasure. Here is a denial of the kind of family ordained of God from the beginning. Here is heartbreak and failure.
“May the Lord our God bless the bees in the hive of Deseret, and root out the drones; for they only eat out the honey, while the bees go out and gather it in.”
No great and prosperous nation can have both a generous welfare system and great prosperity, and open borders. Such a policy is radical, it's dangerous, it's never been adopted here, or any other major nation that I am aware of, so it must be rejected out of hand, and the American people have done so.
We all know that a lot of those crossing our borders are leaving a difficult life. Asylum was never meant to provide escape from all the problems people face every day around the world.
We will send a clear message to the world that the lawless practices are over. The world will know what our rules are, and great numbers will no longer undertake a dangerous journey.
“My principle for helping others is to always ask, ‘How will my potential help influence their future behavior?’ This question is crucial because if you really want to help, your goal should not just be to alleviate present suffering, but future suffering as well.”
By the word of the Lord the sole mandate to care for and the sole discretion in caring for, the poor of the Church is lodged [with] the bishops…It is his duty and his only to determine to whom, when, how, and how much shall be given to any member of his ward from Church funds...
“The leaders who read this guide should teach the principles and responsibilities…to the leaders and members under their jurisdiction. They should encourage the members to fulfill their welfare responsibilities and suggest ways in which they can do so. They should encourage parents to teach welfare principles to their families.”
Elder Robert D. Hales “Priesthood-based welfare principles are both temporal and spiritual. They are also Eternal and apply in every circumstance.”
“There will be times in our lives when we will not be able to meet our needs without the help of others.”
“The receiver accepts the offered help with gratitude. He uses it to release himself from the bondage and limitations of his need and become more able to rise to his full potential, both temporally and spiritually. He then reaches out to help others.
“We cannot be self-reliant without being willing to work. Work is physical, mental, or spiritual effort.” He never forsakes us, but he does not do for us what we can do for ourselves.”
“The bishop may assist members or others who are transients, but he should be discerning about the type and amount of assistance he gives.”
President Kimball: “So often, secular leaders rush in to solve problems by seeking to stop the present pain, and thereby create even greater difficulty and pain later on.”
"Teach members that transients, panhandlers and the poor are best served by following the principle of the Law of the Fast and by paying a generous Fast Offering.“
Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot come from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come from the spiritually weak."
“Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot come from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come from the spiritually weak.”
“The first building block may be described as provident living. This means joyfully living within our means and preparing for the ups and downs of life so that we can be ready for the rainy-day emergencies when they come into our lives.”
Welfare's purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence.
You yourself are the gift. It isn’t the clothing, the hygiene kits, the school desks, the wells. It’s you.
If we change our perspective so that caring for the poor and needy is less about giving away stuff and more about filling the hunger for human contact, and about hearing meaningful conversation, and creating rich and positive relationships, then the Lord can send us someplace.
We can send bushels of food, we can dig wells and build latrines and put up schools and health care centers and settle them into apartments, but if we don’t do something about them feeling like they are strangers instead of brothers and sisters then it is all in vain and will just feed the cycle of emotional and spiritual misery.
So often, secular leaders rush in to solve problems by seeking to stop the present pain, and thereby create even greater difficulty and pain later on.
“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 supply himself and his family with the spiritual and temporal necessities of life.”
The responsibility for each person's social, emotional, spiritual, physical, or economic well-being rests first upon himself, second upon his family, and third upon the Church if he is a faithful member thereof.
“This is demonstrated in the story of the lark. Sitting in the high branches of a tree safe from harm, he saw a traveler walking through the forest carrying a mysterious little black box. The lark flew down and perched on the traveler’s shoulder. ‘What do you have in the little black box?’ he asked. ‘Worms,’ the traveler replied. ‘Are they for sale?’ ‘Yes, and very cheaply, too. The price is only one feather for a worm.’ The lark thought for a moment. ‘I must have a million feathers. Surely, I’ll never miss one of them. Here is an opportunity to get a good dinner for no work at all.’ So he told the man he would buy one. He searched carefully under his wing for a tiny feather. He winced a bit as he pulled it out, but the size and quality of the worm made him quickly forget the pain. High up in the tree again he began to sing as beautifully as before. The next day he saw the same man and once again he exchanged a feather for a worm. What a wonderful, effortless way to get dinner! Each day thereafter the lark surrendered a feather, and each loss seemed to hurt less and less. In the beginning he had many feathers, but as the days passed he found it more difficult to fly. Finally, after the loss of one of his primary feathers, he could no longer reach the top of the tree, let alone fly up into the sky. In fact he could do no more than flutter a few feet in the air, and was forced to seek his food with the quarrelsome, bickering sparrows. The man with the worms came no more, for there were no feathers to pay for the meals. The lark no longer sang because he was so ashamed of his fallen state. This is how unworthy habits possess us—first painfully, then more easily, until at last we find ourselves stripped of all that lets us sing and soar. This is how freedom is lost. This is how we become enmeshed in sin.”
Notice The Lord explicitly states that all of this around us is his…We are just stewards. Q: Is the WAY we provide really that important? Q: Suppose I had great wealth and decided to just give it away? Isn't it good enough just to provide like that? Notice the language doesn't say "Selfless Giving", "Charitable Giving", "Donating to the Poor", etc. It emphasizes "Providing…In The Lord's Way"
So what is President Young saying? That there not all poor are the same. There are different classifications of poor. This is why the welfare state (socialism, communism, etc) is so destructive…It takes from the willing and able and gives to everyone else making no distinction between honest poor and dishonest poor.
Notice also the dependency. Without the self-reliant, everyone else is doomed. Self-Reliance Principles are how the Lord's Stewards maintain their independence.
Notice that all other quadrants are dependent on The Lord’s Stewards who are self-reliant. Without the “willing and able” self-reliant, all others perish.
All 3 of the “poor” quadrants are where principles of “Providing in the Lord’s Way” are applicable. Everything the Lord’s Stewards do should have the goal of turning the categories of poor into self-reliant “willing and able”.
Ronald Reagan…His views on welfare seem to align with LDS Principles…Notice that all welfare principles involved in helping these people are to move them up to willing and able if possible. In the political realm we should hold government official accountable for how they use our taxes in implementing welfare principles.
Notice the word Willing which separates the Lord's poor from the Devil's Poor. Notice the affirmation that although the Lord will keep seeking after us, he WILL NOT do things for us that we are ABLE to do for ourselves. This is the nature of Justice and Benevolence having their say.
Our generous welfare system allows women, in effect, to marry the government. And this makes it all to easy for men to abandon their traditional moral and financial responsibilities.
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