In these modern days we often associate the word welfare to mean a free handout, but that is far from what welfare truly means. In a more temporal way it means teaching those in need the skills that will help them become self-reliant and in turn help others to also become self-reliant. In a more spiritual way welfare means to come unto God and Christ and to help our brothers and sisters come unto them too. Christ said:
"Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect" (3 Ne. 12: 48).This requirement is only possible because of Jesus Christ and His atonement. Our need for the Savior is complete- we are completely dependent upon Him, but he doesn't just give us what we want or need, He gives us opportunities and experiences to build the traits and characteristics we need to become like Him.
None of us are perfect and all of us are at different stages of self-reliance (both physically and spiritually) which gives us opportunities to serve one another. When we serve others we are serving God, and when we allow others to serve us we are allowing God to serve us (through them).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an amazing welfare program that is more than just a hand out- it is an organized system to help those in need develop the skills, talents, and abilities to help them become self-reliant, both physically and spiritually. In turn they can then help others who are in need.
The Church Newsroom has a great article about the Church's welfare program, Welfare Square: Place of Hope for the Needy, which tells more about how we are able to help the needy become self-reliant.
True Welfare = Jesus Christ originally appeared on About.com Latter-day Saints on Saturday, January 9th, 2010 at 17:00:04.
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