As members go forth to share the “Good News,” they find that a large part of having an effective ministry involves providing humanitarian assistance to those who live under less fortunate circumstances. It is for this reason that the “Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18). As members strive to emulate the life of the Savior, they begin to fully understand what it means to “lift up the hands which hang down, and [stable] the feeble knees” (Hebrews 12:12).

The Church of Jesus Christ and Humanitarian Aid

The Church of Jesus Christ is involved in many humanitarian efforts around the world to help those in need. The objective is to not only render assistance where needed, but to ultimately teach those who require the assistance how to become self-reliant. It is further hoped that once people learn how to help themselves, they will have a desire to pay it forward to help others in need, and teach them how to help themselves as well.

Such humanitarian organizations as LDS Charities, established by the Church in 1996, provide wheelchairs, clean water, emergency response, food production, vision care, neonatal resuscitation training, and immunizations to people in 179 countries of the world. Donations from Church members, as well as, others through partnerships with organizations around the world, provide the necessary funding for the projects. Largely run by volunteer labor, assistance is “rendered without regard to race, religious affiliation, or nationality and is based on the core principles of personal responsibility, community support, self-reliance, and sustainability.”

The Church of Jesus Christ also maintains the Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center which was established in 1991 in Salt Lake City, Utah to “prepare humanitarian supplies for use worldwide and train those desiring to develop employable skills to become self-reliant.”

The Liahona Children’s Foundation – Nurturing the Potential of the Children

King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon in his timely discourse asked the pointed question,

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? (Mosiah 4:19).

He continues in verse 21 by saying,

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.

King Benjamin also taught the people that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). And so Latter-day Saints throughout the world do so willingly, knowing that their labors are not in vain and that as they serve their fellowman, they are in the service of God. Individual Latter-day Saints are an active part of the Liahona Children’s Foundation whose mission is “to nurture the potential of children to lead healthy and productive lives by eliminating malnutrition and providing educational opportunities among LDS children and their friends.” The Foundation began its operation in eight stakes in Ecuador and Guatemala in 2008. This summer the Foundation will be screening children in new areas of the world to include the Philippines (multiple areas), Cali Colombia, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala.

One of the major problems that the Liahona Children Foundation faces as it renders humanitarian service around the world is the large number of cases of malnutrition among the children. According to UNICEF,

Over one quarter of the children in resource-poor countries are malnourished, over 100 million under the age of five are under weight, and 165 million are stunted in height. Many malnourished children suffer lifelong cognitive and physical defects that significantly reduce their earning potential as adults, invariably leaving them in poverty and reducing their capacity to fully contribute to society. These effects in turn contribute to a cycle in which their poverty leads to their own children and grandchildren being malnourished.

Largely due to the success of the Church’s missionary efforts to take the gospel to the remote parts of the earth, it is not surprising that a number of malnourished children are found among Latter-day Saint communities in many countries worldwide. This is an ongoing issue that the federally recognized 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization (which is independent from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) has striven to address for the past six years. Although the Foundation is not directly affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ, it is administered by faithful Latter-day Saints and funded by contributions from Latter-day Saints in the United States and other parts of the world. Based on their experience over the past six years, it is estimated that at present, there are at least 120,000 malnourished LDS children in the world. The Church of Jesus Christ has over 15 million members worldwide.

According to the article in the Wednesday, 9 July 2014 of the online edition of Meridian Magazine by Robert A. Rees, Ph.D.:

The inspiration for establishing the Liahona Children’s Foundation came when Dr. Bradley Walker, the Foundation’s co-founder and current president, saw the emaciated body of a young Latter-day Saint child in Ecuador. The child, who was under the care of an LDS physician (and former stake president) in the ICU unit of a pediatric hospital in Guayaquil, had been fed platano (banana) water because his parents were too poor to afford milk. Dr. Walker made a commitment to do whatever he could to end malnutrition among Latter-day Saint children.

Liahona volunteers include students from BYU and Utah Valley University. Since its inception in 2008, the Liahona Children’s Foundation has conducted scores of screenings of LDS, as well as non-LDS children, and provided nutrition supplements for the malnourished in the countries of Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, South Africa, Cambodia and the Philippines. It is projected that the program will expand into other areas of the world such as Asia, Africa, Central and South America, the South Pacific, and Haiti where the levels of malnutrition are significantly high.

According to a recent report by UNICEF,

There is better understanding of the crucial importance of nutrition during the critical 1,000-day period covering pregnancy and the first two years of a child’s life, and of the fact that stunting reflects deficiencies during this period. The damage that stunting causes to a child’s development is irreversible. Under nutrition early in life has major consequences for future educational, income and productivity outcomes.

The Meridian Magazine article further emphasized that without help “a malnourished child is less likely to succeed in school, graduate from high school or technical school, go on a mission, become employable, make a good marriage decision, and become a leader in the church or community.” And so, organizations like the Liahona Children’s Foundation are doing their part to combat the problem of malnourishment among LDS children throughout the world. All the while being reminded of the admonition of the Savior Himself when he taught, “Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me” (Matthew 25:45).

Some buildings are used for administrative needs, such as the Mormon Church offices built on every continent. Other buildings are used for the weekday education program of the Mormon Church, including Brigham Young University campuses at Provo, Utah; Rexburg, Idaho; and Laie, Hawaii and the seminary and institute programs that sometime are located near public schools, colleges and universities. Additionally, the Church’s welfare services department constructs a variety of buildings to store and distribute food and goods and to provide employment training as part of the Church’s worldwide humanitarian outreach. The Mormon Church also builds visitors’ centers and museums that preserve the history of the Church so members and nonmembers can learn about its history and beliefs. In seventeen countries, including the Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Dominican Republic, England, Ghana, Guatemala, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Philippians, South Africa, Spain, and United States the Mormon Church built Mission Training Centers (MTC) where Mormon missionaries begin their training, including language education, before dedicating themselves to preach the Gospel full time for eighteen, twenty-four, or thirty-six months.

However, the primary focus of the Mormon Church’s building program is to provide members a place to worship on Sunday. Worship services are generally held in a chapel, a special feature in local church building or meetinhouse. In a chapel, members and interested nonmembers of the Mormon Church gather to worship the Lord through prayer, scripture readings, preaching, singing, and partaking of the sacrament (Lord’s Supper). Additionally, chapels are also used for funeral services that are generally held on weekdays or on Saturday.

Often local Mormon Church buildings include more than a chapel. Such multi-use buildings include classrooms, administrative offices for local lay-leaders (bishop and clerk’s offices), a library, a kitchen, and a cultural hall. Mormons sometimes call these local buildings the “meetinghouse,” “church” or “chapel,” but they generally refer to the building itself instead of some specific section. Most LDS meetinghouses display the Church’s logo, meeting times and a “Visitors Welcome” sign somewhere on the building or on a small marquee in front. Additionally, there is the ubiquitous spire or steeple associated with such buildings that tend to reflect, despite architectural nuances, a sense of familiarity and connectedness no matter where they are found throughout the world.

The classroom part of the local building is used on Sundays for various gospel-centered classes for young people and adults. Additionally, these same classrooms are used during the week for early-morning seminary classes (a weekday religious education program held before the beginning of the local public school day) Boy Scout programs, other youth programs for young men and young women, and other organizations of the Mormon Church. A modest library in the building has material that teachers can use in their lessons, such as visual aids and scriptures.

The cultural hall is often used on Sundays as another teaching station, but its main purpose is for non-Sunday activities, including hosting sporting events sponsored by the Mormon Church; social gatherings such as special dinners for various church organizations; humanitarian service, such as Red Cross sponsored blood drives; cultural art activities, such as plays and talent shows; and wedding receptions. In emergency situations, the Mormon Church opens local buildings to shelter people and as meeting places when a community has special needs during a disaster or tragedy.

In one sense, the local Church meetinghouse is a religious building principally dedicated to Sabbath worship but is also used for social, educational, and community activities during the other days of the week. However, the building is not used for any political purposes such as voting or political party meetings.

Finally, the Mormon Church builds structures of a very special and dedicated nature called temples. The first Mormon temple was dedicated in 1836 in Kirtland, Ohio, USA. Like the biblical temples of Solomon and Herod, which were reserved only for Israelites who were ritually clean, modern temples are reserved for practicing members of the Mormon Church. In temples, Latter-day Saints participate in the most sacred ordinances of the Mormon Church, including temple marriages, which Latter-day Saints believe can survive death into eternity. More than 125 Mormon temples stand around the world so members of the Church can participate in temple worship as often as possible. Between eight and ten temples are in planning or under construction each year.

In areas where the gospel is just beginning to spread the Mormon Church usually leases a space for worship services and in time eventually builds a meetinghouse. Additionally, the Church has developed many multi-use buildings that incorporate various needs. For example, a temple, meetinghouse and seminary and institute space are shared in one building as in New York City or Hong Kong. All Mormon Church buildings are paid for before they are dedicated to the Lord, which usually happens shortly after they are finished, through a general Church building fund so that even in the most economically challenged areas of the world, Saints and their neighbors can enjoy the benefits of having such buildings within reach when they need them. This is one of the distinguishing features of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Additional Resources

MormonWiki Article on Church Wards & Meetinghouses