While I am not a scriptorian, I have been reading my Doctrine and Covenants this year, roughly at the pace proscribed by the Sunday School lessons this year. I have been struck by the frequency with which the Doctrine and Covenants addresses our duty to the poor, which got me thinking about that duty.
A quick survey of the scriptures yields ample evidence that the duty to care for the poor is a central-if not the central-theme of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The admonition to care for the poor is evident in all four of the standard works, including both the New and Old Testaments of the Bible.
Punishments will befall those who persecute the poor
Among the earliest admonitions regarding the poor in the Old Testament is the prohibition on charging usury for loans to the poor recorded in Exodus 22:25.
This clear warning is offered in Proverbs 17:5: “Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.”
This parallel warning sounds like an echo in Proverbs 22:16: “He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want”
We find a similar warning in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 9:30: “But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world. For because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their treasure is their god. And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also.”
Our prayers will go unanswered if we ignore the poor
In Proverbs 21:13 we find, “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.”
The same sentiment is found in Alma 34:28, where we read:
And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need-I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.
The Doctrine and Covenants confirms this idea in section 56:16, where it says, “Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation: The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!”
It is crystal clear from reading these passages that the heavens are closed to those who harden their hearts toward the poor, both in that their prayers are not heard and they may not gain entrance to our Father’s eternal abode.
Love thy neighbor as thyself
It is central to Jesus’s teachings that we love one another. As James chapter 2, verse 8 reads, “If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well.” A careful reading of James chapter 2 makes clear that James believes that caring for the poor and loving thy neighbor is essentially synonymous.
In a similar vein, King Benjamin preached that we are all beggars and should therefore care for the beggars among us (Mosiah 4:16-19):
And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just-
But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
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 4:16-19
Peace, joy and happiness come from serving the poor
Proverbs provides the bumper sticker scripture for caring for the poor in chapter 14, verse 21: “…he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.”
Following the trial of Nehor, Alma records that the people returned to the practices of the church (Alma 1:27-28):
And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely.
And thus they did establish the affairs of the church; and thus they began to have continual peace again, notwithstanding all their persecutions.
This parallels the behavior of City of Enoch, described in Moses 7:18: “And 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.”
Perfection comes from giving all to the poor
Jesus taught the wealthy young man, as recorded in Mathew 19:21 how to “be perfect,” saying, “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
” (Italics are mine.)
Finally, who can forget the powerful allegory of the sheep and the goats from Matthew 25:31-46, where the Savior himself describes his triumphal return and the separation of the righteous on his right hand and the unrighteous on his left? Of all the measures he might have used to determine who goes on which side, he chose those who served the poor and the needy, saying, “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” He, of course, clarified that “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
As we contemplate the inspired words of our modern leaders who have encouraged us in so many ways to be frugal, to avoid debt and to become self-reliant, we recognize not only the liberating power of good financial management to allow us to optimize our free agency, but we also see how it empowers us to feed the hungry, house the homeless and care for the needy.
Devin Thorpe is the author of Building Wealth for Building the Kingdom, which addresses these and other financial topics; you can connect with Devin on his blog at BuildingWealthForBuildingTheKingdom.com, on Twitter or Facebook. Be sure to share your experiences in the comments below.
John B. WilsonApril 1, 2013
Does one out of context quote from Brigham Young undo pretty much all that the Savior taught in the Gospels? I often worry that my fellow LDS members are too worried about judging the poor and finding reasons not to be giving than they are about following the admonitions of Jesus Christ.
tskienApril 1, 2013
Great article and insight but I wonder where we draw the line. In the discourses of Brigham Young there is a quote where he said, "To give to the idler is as wicked as anything else. Never give anything to the idler." This link to a BYU-I site expounds it further https://emp.byui.edu/marrottr/ImpartingMosi4.htm