"We must take care of the poor. Said the Lord, 'The poor ye have with you always.' (See Mark 14:7; John 12:8.) There have always been poor and I guess there always will be poor until the Millennium. We must take care of them and we must have the facilities to do so. But we must be very careful not to overinstitutionalize that care. We must not shift the burden that we ought to carry in our own hearts of spreading kindness and love and help to others, to the institution, which at best, is impersonal.

"I do not want you to get any idea that I am saying we should not have the welfare program. We must have it. It is a part of the Lord's plan and the good it does is vast and incalculable. But I think there is a tendency among us to say, 'Oh, the Church will take care of that. I pay my fast offering. Let the Church take care of that.' We need as individuals, I think, to reach down and extend a helping hand without notice, without thanks, without expectation of anything in return, to give of that with which the Lord has so generously blessed us" (Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 459).

"As I read and ponder the scriptures, I see that developing faith, hope, and charity within ourselves is a step-by-step process. Faith begets hope, and together they foster charity. We read in Moroni, 'Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity' (Moroni 10:20). These three virtues may be sequential initially, but once obtained, they become interdependent. Each one is incomplete without the others. They support and reinforce each other. Moroni explained, 'And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope' (Moroni 10:21)" (Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Cultivating Divine Attributes," Ensign, Nov. 1998, 26).

"I do not worry about members of the Church being unresponsive when they learn of the needy as much as I worry about our being unaware of such needs" (Spencer W. Kimball, "The Uttermost Parts of the Earth," Ensign, July 1979, 2).

"Every person who is baptized and receives the gift of the Holy Ghost, which seals the ordinance, is under solemn covenant with the Lord to obey his commandments. With like certainty the scriptures make it clear that caring for the poor is one of those commandments. . . .

". . . Caring for the poor is a covenantal obligation" (Marion G. Romney, "Caring for the Poor—A Covenantal Obligation," Ensign, Nov. 1978, 88).

"It is a duty which every Saint ought to render to his brethren freely—to always love them, and ever succor them. To be justified before God we must love one another: we must overcome evil; we must visit the fatherless and the widow in their affliction, and we must keep ourselves unspotted from the world: for such virtues flow from the great fountain of pure religion. Strengthening our faith by adding every good quality that adorns the children of the blessed Jesus, we can pray in the season of prayer; we can love our neighbor as ourselves, and be faithful in tribulation" (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 2:229).

"It is a time-honored adage that love begets love. Let us pour forth love—show forth our kindness unto all mankind, and the Lord will reward us with everlasting increase; cast our bread upon the waters and we shall receive it after many days, increased to a hundredfold" (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 5:517).

"Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race" (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:227).

"We call upon all people everywhere to recommit themselves to the time-honored ideals of tolerance and mutual respect. We sincerely believe that as we acknowledge one another with consideration and compassion we will discover that we can all peacefully coexist despite our deepest differences" (Russell M. Nelson, "Teach Us Tolerance and Love," Ensign, May 1994, 71).

"We need to be kinder with one another, more gentle and forgiving. We need to be slower to anger and more prompt to help. We need to extend the hand of friendship and resist the hand of retribution. In short, we need to love one another with the pure love of Christ, with genuine charity and compassion and, if necessary, shared suffering, for that is the way God loves us" (Howard W. Hunter, "A More Excellent Way," Ensign, May 1992, 61).

"What power, what tenderness, what compassion did our Master and Exemplar thus demonstrate! We, too, can bless if we will but follow His noble example. Opportunities are everywhere. Needed are eyes to see the pitiable plight and ears to hear the silent pleadings of a broken heart. Yes, and a soul filled with compassion, that we might communicate not only eye to eye or voice to ear but, in the majestic style of the Savior, even heart to heart" (Thomas S. Monson, "Never Alone," Ensign, May 1991, 61).

"I plead for a stronger spirit of compassion in all of our relationships, a stronger element of mercy, for the promise is sure that if we are merciful we shall obtain mercy" (Gordon B. Hinckley, "Blessed Are the Merciful," Ensign, May 1990, 68).

"Too often rich and poor alike shut their hearts to the divine attributes of love and compassion. The rich languish in their abundance and justify turning the poor away as 'welfare cases.' The poor are likewise entrapped, becoming dependent on others in a system destined to trample initiative, undermine family responsibility, foster divisiveness, and erect barriers to equity, opportunity, and fellowship. . . .

"The welfare plan builds love and compassion for our fellowmen. As we live the principles of welfare, love and compassion will abound in our homes, in our worship, and in our service to others" (Robert D. Hales, "Welfare Principles to Guide Our Lives: An Eternal Plan for the Welfare of Men's Souls," Ensign, May 1986, 28–29).

"When compassionate service is clothed in the true spirit of charity—which the Book of Mormon defines as the pure love of Christ—it becomes an all-encompassing and rewarding experience for the giver as well as the receiver (1 Cor. 13:4–8; Moro. 7:6–8, 45–47)" ("Compassionate Service," in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. [1992], 1:303).

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