Family and Church

Immediately after King Benjamin’s people received a remission of their sins, he taught them how they could retain and build upon this conversion. He invited them to serve in expanding circles, beginning with themselves:

1. Personal religious observance – Believe, remember, pray daily, and live faithfully (Mosiah 4:9-11).
2. Caring for family – Feed and clothe your children, and teach them to love and serve one another (Mosiah 4:14-15).
3. Share with others in need, without judgment and with awareness of your limitations (Mosiah 4:16-27)

The Lord followed this same pattern as He explained how church members should support one another. First, we have a responsibility to provide for our families. Second, the church collectively provides help where needed:

All children have claim upon their parents for their maintenance until they are of age.

And after that, they have claim upon the church, or in other words upon the Lord’s storehouse, if their parents have not wherewith to give them inheritances.

Doctrine and Covenants 83:4-5

The General Handbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints explains that the Lord’s storehouse consists of “all the resources available to the Church to help those with temporal needs,” including “members’ offerings of time, talents, compassion, materials, and financial resources to help those in need” (section 22.2.1). (See also Doctrine and Covenants 82:18–19.)

The handbook outlines a pattern for addressing members’ temporal needs:

With the help of the Lord, members seek to provide for themselves and their families. Extended families are encouraged to help as needed. When members need additional assistance, they may turn to other sources. These may include:

• Government and community resources.
• Church assistance through fast offerings or bishops’ orders for food and other basic goods.

Church assistance is intended to help members develop independence, not dependence. Any assistance given should strengthen members in their efforts to become self-reliant.

General Handbook, section 22.4

This pattern has implications for us as we budget our time, money, and other resources:

1. It’s important for each of us to care for our own physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
2. Our children have “claim” on us for their maintenance, which includes more than just food, clothing, and shelter. We need to support their holistic well-being.
3. Other family members may need our support in varying degrees. We should be among the first to provide assistance where possible.
4. To the degree that we have additional resources, we have the privilege of contributing to “the Lord’s storehouse,” meeting needs that individuals and families cannot.

Today, I will follow the Lord’s pattern for meeting the needs of His children. I will balance my time wisely between self-care, family care, and community care.