Humanitarian Efforts

H. David Burton, the thirteenth Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1995 to 2012 taught, "Modern-day humanitarian effort is a wonderful manifestation of the charity that burns within the souls of those whose hearts are tender and whose hands are willing to help. This selfless service truly demonstrates the pure love of Christ."

Gordon B. Hinckley, the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 12 March 1995, until his death on 27 January 2008, taught, "Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others...By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides aid and assistance to those in need all around the world, no matter what their religion or beliefs. LDS Philanthropies is a department of the Office of the Presiding Bishopric and is responsible for coordinating the funds donated to the Church for humanitarian aid and other educational and charitable purposes.

Most of the funds donated through LDS Philanthropies are given by members of the Church. Members have been taught that Christ was the perfect example and that He provided service and help to those in need.

In the Book of Mormon in Moroni 7:47 we learn that charity is the pure love of Christ, and those who express charity in their daily lives can find peace and happiness. Joseph B. Wirthlin, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, taught, "Nothing you do makes much of a difference if you do not have charity. You can speak with tongues, have the gift of prophecy, understand all mysteries, and possess all knowledge; even if you have the faith to move mountains, without charity it won't profit you at all...Without charity—or the pure love of Christ—whatever else we accomplish matters little. With it, all else becomes vibrant and alive. When we inspire and teach others to fill their hearts with love, obedience flows from the inside out in [our] voluntary acts of self-sacrifice and service" (Ensign, November 2007, 28–31).

King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 2:17 in his powerful sermon taught the people, "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." Later in his treatise, he exhorts the people, "For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?.....And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another" Mosiah 4:19-21.

LDS Humanitarian Services

The Church's efforts through LDS Philanthropies include Humanitarian Services, as well as programs to help people around the world attain better education and find employment opportunities in their area. Humanitarian Services is just one department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints served by LDS Philanthropies. The Church throughout its history has always provided for those in need, but the first permanent humanitarian organization of the Church was created in 1955 at Brigham Young University.

In explaining where the money comes from to fund these programs, Gerald Caussé, the Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said:

By way of explanation, the humanitarian fund covers the Church’s response to disasters and its core humanitarian programs—such as wheelchairs, clean water, and vision care—throughout the world. Fast offerings, on the other hand, provide the funds which bishops use to take care of the individual needs of families in their congregations. These contributions derive their name from Church members' practice of fasting—or going without meals—for one day each month and then donating the money that they saved from those uneaten meals. Their donations come from their belief to put into action what Christ taught to "love thy neighbor as thyself."

Humanitarian service may include emergency response to natural or man-made disasters. It may also be part of a longer-term effort to meet serious and more entrenched human needs, such as alleviating disease. Humanitarian efforts are also supported through nine signature programs of LDS Charities:

Benson Food
Clean Water and Sanitation
Community Projects
Emergency Response
Immunization
Maternal and Newborn Care
Refugee Response
Vision Care
Wheelchairs

One hundred percent of donations are used for humanitarian efforts. The Church absorbs its own overhead costs and utilizes a global network of volunteers, who generously contribute their time and expertise. Volunteers often live in the communities in which they serve. Money and items can also be donated to the Humanitarian Aid Fund where the money or supplies are then given to an area that is in need.

Emergency Response is the part of the Church’s humanitarian efforts that most people are aware of. Funds and supplies in this area are used to help victims of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, tornados, and hurricanes, as well as other disasters due to wars or political unrest. Supplies in this area are gathered and stored before a crisis so that supplies can be sent within literally hours of an emergency. Volunteers are also on call so that if they are needed they can be reached and organized within a few hours.

Wheelchair Distribution is also crucial to helping those in need. Studies estimate that only one percent of people in the world who are physically disabled have a wheelchair. For the rest, being without a wheelchair means that adults cannot provide for themselves or their families, and children are often unable to attend school. By providing wheelchairs to those in need, the Church is able to give the lifelong gifts of self-reliance, education, and even self-respect.

The Clean Water service provides clean water and wells to people who otherwise would most likely contract deadly diseases because of polluted water. Studies estimate that nearly 3 million people, mostly children, die each year from diseases related to unsanitary water.

The Neonatal Resuscitation program sends doctors and volunteers to areas where infant mortality rates are high. They are able to teach people in the area how to resuscitate newborns as well as provide simple medical equipment. This service is greatly needed as it is estimated that 120 million newborns each year suffer from asphyxia during birth. Nearly 90,000 of these infants die because those who care for them have not been trained on how to resuscitate them.

The Vision Treatment Training program teaches facilities and medical personal in developing countries on how to treat preventable or reversible blindness. There are 45 million people in the world who are blind, and in developing countries being blind often means poverty. Saving a person's sight may very well save them and their families.

Facts regarding the LDS Humanitarian Program

Once a month, faithful members of the Church fast, typically skipping two meals. The cost of the meals (or more if the individual can afford it) is given to caring for the poor. Because of this practice, the Utah government welfare spending is very low. Members of other faiths also benefit through LDS charity work.

The Church owns 400 welfare farms and 220 canneries/welfare storehouses to care for the poor. Members volunteer their time to staff these facilities. In 2003, over half a million man-hours were donated. One Church farm in Florida, the world's largest beef ranch, is over 312,000 acres.

The Church also has an extensive program to help the unemployed. In 2003, Church employment centers helped 85,000 people in the United States and Canada find employment. About the same number of jobs were found for members of the Church in foreign countries.

LDS Family Services, a Church organization, has 64 offices to provide adoption, foster care, and counseling services.

46 Church-operated thrift stores function in part to provide employment for the disadvantaged/disabled.

The LDS Church has sponsored Boy Scout troops since 1913. However, on 8 May 2018, in a joint statement with the Boy Scouts, the Church announced that as of 31 December 2019, it will no longer be a chartered partner of the Boy Scouts. About 23% of all Scout troops in the U.S. were LDS-sponsored. The decision affects hundreds of thousands of Latter-day Saint boys in some 30,500 congregations worldwide.

The Church has sent relief to victims of over 150 disasters since 1986 alone. Aid is provided regardless of any consideration, including religion, ethnicity, and nationality, and is valued in the tens of millions of dollars annually. In the last 20 years, 200 million pounds of food, clothing, and medicine were donated in 147 countries, almost all to members of other faiths. Aid is often made to countries where Latter-day Saint missionaries are banned by law. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is able to send relief quickly because there is no need to wait for donations or purchase supplies. Church members donate regularly, and supplies are stored at Salt Lake and elsewhere, ready for distribution. The Church also works with and donates extensively to other, non-LDS charities. While the Church's specific humanitarian programs are too numerous to list here, here are a few highlights:

In 2001 the Church established what it calls the “Perpetual Education Fund.” Low-rate college loans are made to impoverished students in the developing world, students that could not otherwise obtain a good education. Over 10,000 loans have been made to date, and the project is expanding.

The Church played an important role in the 2004 Asian-tsunami relief efforts. After working to address the population's immediate needs, the Church began working towards long-term progress, including livelihood restoration, health-care improvement (including operating-room construction, medical-equipment supply, and trauma counseling), and the reconstruction of community buildings (including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques). In all, millions of dollars have been invested in this type of long-term aid.

The Church has an extensive vision program in the developing world, where local health-care professionals are provided with the necessary training and equipment to treat vision problems. Under this program, 20,000 individuals have received eye treatment at a cost of one million dollars.

Because world-wide only one percent of all who need wheelchairs have access to one, the Church has distributed over 100,000 chairs to the disabled in developing nations at a cost of $6.8 million.

The Church has helped 1.8 million people in over 1,000 communities gain access to clean water at an average cost of only $2.50 per person. This service has included digging wells, providing water storage and delivery systems, and installing water purification systems. Mostly local labor was used, and local community leaders were trained in how to maintain the new facilities.

At a cost of $3.5 million, the Church has sent doctors to developing nations to train local health-care professionals in neonatal resuscitation. Neonatal deaths due to breathing problems cost one million infant lives a year.

Working with international partners (the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United Nations Children’s Fund, World Health Organization, and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies), the Church donated $3 million to work towards providing measles vaccinations for 200 million children in 40 African countries.

Church members donated 10,000 days of labor to assist Hurricane Katrina victims.

The Church offers small-business loans to the impoverished in developing countries.

So what's a typical year like? Take 2004..."In 2004, the Church provided $31.1 million (USD) in cash and materials in response to the hurricanes in Florida and the Caribbean, tsunamis in South Asia, the war in Iraq, flooding in Colombia, and 110 other disasters."

The Church has over 5,000 service missionaries (another site said 3,000) who work without pay to aid the poor.

Aside from providing service missionaries, the Church also has 61,000 proselytizing missionaries in over 300 missions in 165 countries, distinct from those mentioned above, who also work without pay. Trained in 17 missionary training centers scattered across the globe, these proselytizing missionaries provide those who are seeking God with more information about our beliefs. Roughly 93% of LDS missionaries are college-age, and 22% are female. Proselytizing missionaries are instructed to donate half a day each week doing non-proselytizing community service.

Some are offended by this missionary program, likely because they confuse our religion with others that proselytize more aggressively.

Latter-day Saint missionaries are instructed not to aggressively force their beliefs on others but instead to find and teach those interested in our message. While an occasional missionary may erroneously not follow this instruction, most follow it closely.

Truth be told, this missionary activity is probably the most impressive of the Church's humanitarian programs. Many individuals who were seeking God have been forever enriched because a Latter-day Saint missionary left the comfort of his home to share a message that has brought him great joy.

LDS ecclesiastical leaders also work voluntarily and are not paid by the Church. Much of the janitorial staff is paid, as well as Church auditors and those in other non-ecclesiastical positions.

Latter-day Saint Charities’ Global Footprint in 2019

According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints humanitarian organization's 2019 Annual Report, Latter-day Saint Charities' global footprint expanded in 2019 to bless millions of lives in 142 countries and territories through 3,221 completed projects with 2,000 partners.

Latter-day Saint Charities carried out its vision to care for those in need, promote volunteerism and inspire self-reliance in a variety of ways:

Emergency response: 194 projects in 64 countries and territories
Vision care: 129,819 people helped in 32 countries and territories
Maternal and newborn care: 83,555 people assisted in 27 countries and territories
Food security: 181,398 people helped in 15 countries and territories
Clean water and sanitation: 316,790 people helped in 26 countries and territories
Immunizations: Six campaigns to eliminate diseases in developing countries
Wheelchairs: 52,381 people helped in 41 countries and territories
Refugee response: 387 projects in 48 countries and territories
International community projects: 994 projects in 107 countries and territories
U.S. and Canada community projects: Various projects in 42 states and provinces

In addition to being funded by Latter-day Saints who give to the Church’s Humanitarian Aid Fund, Latter-day Saint Charities is also supported by other generous donors. Since the organization’s inception in 1985, Latter-day Saint Charities has provided over $2.3 billion worth of assistance in 197 countries.

Among the major events to which Latter-day Saint Charities responded in 2019 were Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, which brought flooding that destroyed crops in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe last spring. Working alongside global and local partners, Latter-day Saint Charities provided shelter and food to those devastated by the storms’ rampage. Months after the cyclones, Latter-day Saint Charities and its partners continue to repair and refurnish schools ahead of the rainy season, to give students a dry place to study and learn.