Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

So this was a story that was related to me first hand. Some friends of mine that are Pentecostal, UPC, etc. were in need of financial assistance. They were talking to a friend of theirs that is LDS about the financial situation. The LDS person asked my friend if their church has any way of helping them. Mt friend said that the only help that was offered was to set down and create a budget, but the needed to provide all their debts and check book to the pastor and he would help them out.

From talking to my friend that was not the help they were looking for. They weren't looking for a million bucks, but maybe some gas money or groceries for a week, etc. Anyway, my friend told the LDS friend this and the LDS friend was sad. My friend also had asked their family for help, but there was not much their family could do as they are not that well off themselves. So the LDS friend asked her Bishop if they could help because the LDS church has a place called the Bishops Storehouse. The Bishop agreed they would help.

My friends met yesterday with the Bishop that is from the closest Ward to them and he went through a good discussion so it seems with them and promised to help. The Bishop never said anything about them coming to the LDS church other than the offer is open if the couple wanted to attend, but there was no pressure and the on-going help would not be predicated upon them attending any service. My friend told me that they offered to help clean the LDS Chapel occasionally as a way to "pay it back" the Bishop said that would be nice and so it seems they made an agreement. The Bishop also said that they could help out with bills as needed too. My friend was excited as am I. I am not able to help them at this time, but thank God for the LDS that is willing to help.

I wanted to let everyone know about this and gather opinions about this. I have seen TONS of bad things on here about the LDS church. I wouldn't join, but there are too many bad things said that I thought it would be interesting to see what people say about this. Should the Pentecostal church that the people attend be helping them? The church they attend is a pretty decent size church too. So what do you all think?

Sorry so long!

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I always thought the people are nice and moral people. But, I'm sure they are under a spiritually abusive system.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

Aren't we all.....










I mean nice and moral, aren't we all!

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

Nope! We're not!

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I know.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I think it is awesome that the LDS are helping - :thumbsup

however, having had some minor contact with former LDS people - please don't think for one minute that they won't try to proselyte them into the LDS ! Believe you me!

Just as a matter of curiosity, does this family needing help attend your church? Not that it matters, I was just curious. I think I have read somewhere in the past that you attend a UPC church.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

Nice. The LDS is family oriented and stressses the importance of higher education. So they must collect alot of tithes. Lol. They are nice folks, but they love to make converts. They are just not as pushy about it like pentecost. So, maybe the offer has no strings attatched. It is a shame that your friends' church can't help, or choose not to. I have a friend who could not drive because he had some vision problems. He would catch the train to the next town over for work. He would walk to and from the train station. Church folk would be driving through town and when they'd see him they waved and sounded the horn. Not once did anyone offer him a ride. lol

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I do go to a UPC church.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I know what you mean. I have many friends that have been friends for years and never once asked me to visit their church or come to any of their events. I am very confident that there are great christian type people that go to the LDS church. Those are the ones that go there for spiritual fullfilment. Just like there are some good christian type people in the oneness church too and there are some that aren't very chrisitan.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

So, you didn't answer the question: does this family attend YOUR church?:razz

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I remember years ago when my father-in-law drove a Sunday School bus for a UPC Church. One woman he picked up was wearing a man's shirt and her children all needed clothes also. He asked some of the men in the men's Sunday School Class (men 35 and up) if they could take up some money to help the family. He was told, "We're not the Salvation Army" and no no help with finances or clothing or food was given.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

Yo no hablo ingles.

Perdone!

Lo siento eso no importa. Por que?

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

Are you sure this didn't just happen the other day? LOL

Unfortunately, it seems that our, the oneness church, focus is so much centered on those outside the doors that the ones inside are rotting away. I am not saying this about my church inparticular just in general.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

:razz me no speak espanol. (is that what it is?) :toofunny

I guess my only point would be: What did YOU do to help ? Does your church have a food pantry available? A lot of churches do now. Maybe whoever offered to sit down and work out a budget knows more about the "real" situation than your friend is relaying. ???

Been involved in church ministry like this for many years and when the pastor over the finances is told of a situation, financial counseling is always required for help. (Unless, of course, it is a real emergency such as a death or unexpected serious illness.)

It is the responsibility of the church to help, but at some point we must help people learn good stewardship and not just look for help every time they get in a financial bind. Maybe you haven't been given the full story ??

Nevertheless, I do applaud the LDS for helping this family, but make no mistake, at some point there will probably be some pressure put on your friend.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

This happened about 40 years ago.
Some time later my father-in-law was laid off from his truck driving job with the Teamsters Union. He felt like one of the things he had to cut back was on gas to drive to church. A couple of the men from the church visited him to see why he hadn't been to church and one of them offered to loan him his gas credit card.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

Pea, he already said that he couldn't help.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

There are lots of ways to "help" without giving money.

I'm not bashing JT, please don't misunderstand me.

I just feel it a shame that something couldn't be done for this family without them getting help from another organization. And, I'm wondering, if the pastor wanted to help them with budget, I'm willing to bet that there is more to the story than JT got.

JMHO.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

Glad your friends found some help. However we should not confuse this kindness with spiritual truth. Just as I am sure there are many benevolent Muslims it does not make their religion truth and these kind Mormons are in the same boat.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

With the closing out of Ramadan, Muslims are supposed to do good deeds.
BHO joined some others on 9/11/10 by painting at a school.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I guarentee you are wrong here, but no biggie. My family is strapped enough. We are on one income, partially disabled wife, etc. But I think that it awesome how the LDS church is helping out when they really have nothing to gain.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

Agreeing to accept help with groceries, etc is not an equal to having spiritual truth. Please don't think that I am trying to merge the two.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

A UPC assembly I know of always made it clear........they were not a social agency.

I've been part of churches that did grocery showers for needy saints but that's all I've ever seen.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I pastor a church...and have so for almost 20 years....and for every genuinely needy person there are 100 leeches, bloodsuckers, and con men....and if you run the church like a social agency you will find that you will spend massive amounts of your members hard earned cash to support folks who are smoking, drinking, and druggin' thier money away and then coming to the church with their hand out and a sob story about their hardship.

Forgive me if I sound cynical and hard...but I just had a man rip off several of the saints in the church I pastor to the tune of thousands of dollars.....

After awhile I get sick of it.

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And by the way...I live in an area that is about 30% Mormon....and believe me...there is alway an ulterior motive to their charity....mind you i dont blame them...but mark my words...the folks that they are giving charity to will find themselves cut off in time if they do not join.

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And the LDS church will not suffer deadbeats for very long.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

Wow Deadeye way to show up and kill the mood. LOL

I live a place that has the highest population of LDS outside of Orem, UT. and they are not all bad for sure. Charity is a good thing. If there are leeches and stuff that will abuse the system as a pastor you could interview them and let them know what you can and cannot do to help. IF they are in a place of real need they mostlikely will accept groceries when offered and if they press for money then dig further.

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This is standard practice Ive heard. We had them come to my apartment when me and a brother rented a place. We had no furniture and they seemed to be making a note of that. Said we could get help at their church.

Ive heard from Mormons too that it's standard practice to have surplus food and stuff stocked up for LDS that need it. Great system

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There are UPCs that are experiencing great growth because they ARE taking the members hard earned money, from a willing heart, and helping the poor.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I did quite a bit of research on the LDS church at one point and their religious beliefs are really out there (IMO) but the actual members are some of the kindest, moral people I have ever met. It appeared that many of them don't actually believe some of the more outlandish aspects of their founding theology and choose to focus on their family oriented social structure instead.

There were Mormon missionary's coming to my house for awhile, they'd stay and talk thinking that they were making headway with converting me when actually I just found their theology interesting, like reading a science fiction novel. I told them up front that I wasn't interested in joining but wasn't opposed to discussion. Sometimes they'd stop by while I was working in the garden and they'd just immediately jump in and start pulling weeds and planting with me and offered to help paint my daughter's room. They're seriously nice people. They do have an agenda of recruitment, but if you politely say no they will not (in my experience) ever get nasty about it.

Its awesome that they're helping out your friend. :)

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I think what the LDS has done for people is wonderful. I think their teaching is a bit flaky, but that's my opinion.

I do think Pentecostal churches should help people more.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I once had a Mormon tell me that if I quit working for God, God would kill me.

Oh. Wait. That wasn't a Mormon. Never mind.

;)

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I have lots of experience with LDS and I can guarantee if they don't join in a few months they will be cut off.

I will also say the have several LDS friends and they are good people, but they are deceived.

As a pastor I have always helped when I can, but if someone always keep coming back I would want to sit down with them and work on a budget. I don't know the full story of these people, but I would not be surprised that they have asked for help before if the pastor wanted to work on a budget.

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Just because someone is LDS doesn't mean they believe in all the "religion" that the church teaches any more than someone that goes to a UPCI or similar Org church does. You are right. Some of the theology is way out there, but to someone that isn't an Apostolic tongue-talker the Apostolic doctrine is way out there too.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I know from a first hand account, some that works at the Bishop's store house, that people from the Federal Government has gone to the warehouses in Utah were most of the products in the store house comes from and began to learn from them on how to manufacture foods at such a low cost. Apparently the government is or was trying to put something together similar to what they have. Again this is what I was told, but it was pretty much first hand.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I was once in a church who had more concern on who could make a pledge for the building fund rather than help the brother who did not have a job to help make ends meet

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I have heard several pastors talk about setting a budget with their saints that are asking for assistance. It is not all purely a budget issue. These people that are getting help have literally 2 bills outside of their rent and bills tied to the home like utilities, water, trash, etc. They also have 1 vehicle and have insurance for that. Outside of those the 2 debts they obtained years ago and are nearly paid off.

So just trying to set a budget with someone doesn't always help. You nor anyone would expect someone to not pay utilities and be without in order to pay tithe or offering. If a person makes $2,500 net a month and with rent, utilities, insurance, water, gas, trash, and food come to almost a break even point there is not much else to do. I know all of this because my friends and us are so close that we know everything. They have showed us all of their stuff. Also their rent is the lowest for the size home they need to house their family.

Re: Thank God for the LDS Church....
 

I think most of us have been in a place like this. I onced lived in IL and the church I attended was almost the best Pentecostal Church I have seen with helping those in need with in their doors. We took up offerings for a family to keep them in their home when one of the adults lost their job. We raised enough to keep them in and give them almost 5 months surplus. The church helped me when my car broke down and I didn't have the money to fix it. I paid them back, but it was a fight for them to accept the money in return. These churches in our movement are far, few and inbetween it seems.