vain, frail, and foolish

Our Father’s commitment to us, His children, is unwavering. Indeed He softens the winters of our lives, but He also brightens our summers. Whether it is the best of times or the worst, He is with us. He has promised us that this will never change. 

But we are less faithful than He is. By nature we are vain, frail, and foolish. We sometimes neglect God. Sometimes we fail to keep the commandments that He gives us to make us happy. Sometimes we fail to commune with Him in prayer. Sometimes we forget to succor the poor and the downtrodden who are also His children. And our forgetfulness is very much to our detriment.

Thomas S. Monson, "9/11 destruction allowed us to spiritually rebuild." On Faith: The Washington Post. Posted at 11:38 AM ET, 09/08/2011

to pray for others

One of the most powerful experiences in a life of compassion is the expansion of our hearts into a world-embracing space of healing from which no one is excluded. When, through discipline, we have overcome the power of our impatient impulses to flee or to fight, to become fearful or angry, we discover a limitless space into which we can welcome all the people of the world. Prayer for others, therefore, cannot be seen as an extraordinary exercise that must be practiced from time to time. Rather, it is the very beat of a compassionate heart. To pray for a friend who is ill, for a student who is depressed, for a teacher who is in conflict; for people in prisons, in hospitals, on battlefields; for those who are victims of injustice, who are hungry, poor, and without shelter; for those who risk their career, their health, and even their life in the struggle for social justice for leaders of church and state – to pray for all these people is not a futile effort to influence God’s will, but a hospitable gesture by which we invite our neighbors into the center of our hearts.

To pray for others means to make them part of ourselves. To pray for others means to allow their pains and sufferings, their anxieties and loneliness, their confusion and fears to resound in our innermost selves. To pray, therefore, is to become those for whom we pray, to become the sick child, the fearful mother, the distressed father, the nervous teenager, the angry student, and the frustrated striker. To pray is to enter into a deep inner solidarity with our fellow human beings so that in and through us they can be touched by the healing power of God’s Spirit. When, as disciples of Christ, we are able to bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters, to be marked with their wounds, and even be broken by their sins, our prayer becomes their prayer, our cry for mercy becomes their cry. In compassionate prayer, we bring before God those who suffer not merely “over there,” not simply “long ago,” but here and now in our innermost selves. And so it is in and through us that others are restored; it is in and through us that they receive new light, new hope, and new courage; it is in and through us that the Spirit touches them with God’s healing presence.



Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Only Necessary Thing: Living A Prayerful Life, Compiled & Edited by Wendy Wilson Greer. 1999. p. 144, 145. Originally quoted in Compassion. 1982.

the poor of this world rich in faith

Like so many young people do, when I was young I occasionally dreamed of being rich and famous. I am now grateful that that dream was not realized. My understanding of what success really is has changed over the years of my life. It began to change on my first mission to Brazil over 45 years ago.

One day, my companion and I went out to visit a poor sister who was widowed. In those days there were no stakes or wards in Brazil, only mission districts and branches. Sometimes missionaries looked after the members.

Finally, we arrived at a humble home in a very isolated area. This home had a dirt floor and open windows without any glass. The wind and the flies could come right through. Never before in my life had I been in a home where people live with open windows and a dirt floor. Despite this, the house was clean and neat, curtains were hung, and the boards on the inside of the house were whitewashed. Despite being primitive, the home had a cozy feeling about it. We asked after this poor widow's health and well-being. She seemed quite happy and contented. We then began to have something of a gospel lesson. She participated freely. We thought that we were the teachers, but it soon became apparent that she knew more than we did. Her faith was deep, and her knowledge of the great eternal truths of where we came from, who we are, and where we are going was very profound.

I had my eyes opened. It was astonishing to hear this sister in these humble circumstances explain the great purposes of God in the grand scheme of the earth and its creation. I was reminded about what James said in his great epistle: 'Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?' (James 2:5). . . .

This poor widow on the outskirts of São Paulo made the most of her straitened circumstances—circumstances that could not easily be changed. She realized that she should not make her life miserable by wishing it were otherwise. We ought always to try to improve on the things that can be improved, but there are some circumstances that cannot be changed. This impoverished woman enjoyed her independence, and she owed no one any money. She was industrious and thrifty. She crocheted beautiful cloths which were sold in the city to satisfy her simple wants, but she was not poor in spirit. She was rich in the things that really matter.

From that experience many years ago, I learned much. I am persuaded that this humble widow who lived in a house with a dirt floor and no panes in the window is an heir to the exaltation of God.



James E. Faust, "Simply Happy," New Era, July 1985, 4

poverty is relative

How does a bishop decide who to help when it appears all are poor? Poverty is relative. The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, calls bishops from the people he will serve. The bishop knows the people of his ward and understands local culture and conditions. When the bishop is ordained, he receives a mantle which enables him to discern the difference between wants and needs.


Robert D. Hales, Pure Religion: The Story of Church Welfare Since 1930 by Glen L. Rudd. 1995. P.286. Remarks originally given in Regional Representatives' seminar, 5 Apr. 1991.

administer to their wants

The best measure or principle to bring the poor to repentance is to administer to their wants. The Ladies' Relief Society is not only to relieve the poor, but to save souls.


Joseph Smith, Jr., Pure Religion: The Story of Church Welfare Since 1930 by Glen L. Rudd. 1995. P.245. Originally found in History of the Church, 5:24-25.

the Lord claims the earth

I understand from them that the Lord claims the earth as His; that it is not yours and mine to own and manage independently of Him. No matter how many stocks and bonds or how much land and other properties we possess, they are not wholly ours. They are His. He further says that He owns and gives to us all the blessings we have and that He makes us stewards over them. He makes it clear that it is His purpose to provide for His saints, but He requires that it be done in His way. His way, which way He explains, is for those who have to contribute to those who have not. Having made us stewards, He gives us our agency however, and then lays down the condition that if we accept these blessings and refuse to contribute our share for the care of the poor, we shall go to - well, He tells us where we shall go. . . .

The revelation from which this is taken was given to us in this dispensation for our guidance. In light of it, do you think that this matter of taking care of the poor is one that we can disregard and still obtain the blessings of the Lord? Not at all. We do it, or we pay the penalty.

Marion G. Romney, Pure Religion: The Story of Church Welfare Since 1930 by Glen L. Rudd. 1995. p.291 Remarks originally given in Regional Representatives' seminar, 29 Sept. 1978.