A Time to Build Up—A Time to Give with Confidence

Perhaps no passage from the legendary wisdom of Solomon, king of ancient Israel, is more often quoted than this, "to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Anyone who has lived more than a few years has witnessed seasons of war, seasons of peace, seasons of mourning, celebration, gathering, harvest, healing, and so forth. Among those mentioned by Solomon is the season for building up. From my vantage point in life, I can clearly see that this is an era of building for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its devoted members worldwide, and its many friends and partners from all walks of life.

Most of us have been freed from the limits of subsistence living that daunted earlier generations. In an era of boundless prosperity, we seek opportunities to remove traditional barriers to human fulfillment and to build enduring new structures that will benefit the individual, family, and the community.

Working under the attentive eye of Church leadership, the Church Welfare and Humanitarian program is responding to areas of human need more than ever before. Present priorities include care of the world's poor and a greatly expanded employment support to elevate men and women from circumstances of need to the blessings of self-reliance. Gifts, bequests, and endowments for these initiatives extend personal reach around the globe to help victims of disasters, homelessness, hunger, and disease. Teachers receive needed training, facilities, textbooks, and supplies, weapons in their war against ignorance, poverty, and hopelessness. Orphans and street children find relief from the daily struggle to survive. Job training opens doors of opportunity. Micro-enterprise turns ingenuity into prosperity. Jobs appear where there were no jobs before. The unemployed find stability; the underemployed begin to realize their greater potential and create the surpluses that transform them from receivers to givers. These are effective opportunities, those that build lives.

In caring for the world's poor and assisting with employment needs, we focus on actions that are both effective and cost effective. These two criteria ensure opportunities to give with confidence.

President Thomas S. Monson said, "We have a responsibility to extend help as well as hope to the hungry, to the homeless, and to the downtrodden both at home and abroad." Helping Latter-day Saints, their friends, and partners to fulfill that responsibility is key to the purpose of providing opportunities to those who wish to give with confidence.

We welcome you to browse this web site for opportunities to give with confidence. We are assured that those who help to build happier, better lives for the needy of the world will reap peace, prosperity, and happiness where they have sewn goodness.