DiscussMormonism.com

When I was sitting through hours of boring trainging as a stake missionary years ago, I remember one lesson which was based on "looking for the right moment to introduce the gospel."

We were told to look for people who were going through tough moments in their lives. Divorces, job loss, illness, death, etc... as it is a time when they are looking for help and if we can help them it will only help soften them for us to present the "gospel" to them.

I was ready to puke when a ward mission leader chimed in with this gem:

"Just look at LDS Family Services, it is an extension of the mission program. We get many referrals from them!"

Any help from LDS Inc has a cost, which often can never be paid off, even over one's life.

This confuses me, since I thought that LDS Family Services was only available to believing Mormons.

We offer a cure and hope. It's not a coincidence that many who come to us come when they are down and out. Christ faced the same situation. In Alma's mission to the Zoramites his success was mostly limited to those who were at the bottom of the totem pole. This is normal.

Dr. Shades wrote:This confuses me, since I thought that LDS Family Services was only available to believing Mormons.

It is mostly utilized by members of the Church. I suppose a bishop could send a non member if he had reason too.

Dr. Shades wrote:This confuses me, since I thought that LDS Family Services was only available to believing Mormons.

I don't know about LDS Family Services, but bishops can use the Church's welfare funds to assist non-members, at their discretion. I knew one bishop who did it frequently. I sometimes had people walking off the street asking for assistance, as many associate churches with such things.

FYI, Here (pdf) is a list of donations by the Church in Australia to humanitarian causes. $4.3 million might not seem like a big chunk, but to the people affected by misfortune any amount was appreciated. When my city was devastated by floods in 1998, the Church donated $100,000 in relief funds, which was a sizeable portion compared to other donations made.