[CARepubGal]

Mirror much Bill? Please provide figures (monetary, labor hours) that the Mormons exceed even one ministry in charitable service? I suggest taking a look at Samaritan's Purse.

[Illbay]

I suggest if YOU looked at Samaritan's Purse, you'd find among the largest donors is the LDS Church.

[Utah Girl]

I have many examples of how the LDS church has helped with humanitarian efforts all over the world. One such example was when Hurricane Mitch struck in central America a few years ago. The hurricane struck, the leaders in the LDS church were notified. Early that morning, the leaders at the Humanitarian Center were notified of the disaster the people were facing in the Honduras. They put a plan together, and had the basic food packages, along with hygeine packages put together by volunteers that afternoon. That was on a Wednesday. On Thursday, the pallets were wrapped in plastic and sent to the airport, Friday, they were loaded on airplanes and shipped to the Honduras. By Monday, the supplies were in the area where they were needed (they had to be trucked in.) The convoy arrived in the middle of the night, a call went out to the local stake president and 400 volunteers showed up to unload the trucks and store the good at the local church house. Monday afternoon, the supplies were in the hands of those who were in need. Michael Rawson, a journalist, was doing a report for the BBC, and said it was amazing how quickly the Humanitarian Center jumped into action and got the supplies quickly to where they needed to be. He had followed many disasters, and was absolutely impressed by what happened.

Another such example is a woman in SLC heard about a hospital in Guatamala who were wrapping the babies in newspaper to send home with their mothers. This LDS woman sprang into action, and enlisted the women in her ward's Relief Society to make quilts for newborns for this orphanage. I know upwards of 800 quilts were sent down in a very short time. A woman in my home ward who is a quadriplegic (she has limited use of her hands and arms) has made over 400 dresses for little girls, the dresses are sent to Africa. In the ward I am visiting right now, at our RS Enrichment night, we put together 370 newborn kits (comprising a fleece blanket, a nightie, a pair of booties, a pkg of diaper pins, a bar of soap, and some white cloth for diapers.) The women in that ward had spent the previous six months sewing the blankets, booties, and nighties, and donated the money for the other items. I don't want to go on because I feel like I am boasting.

I think it is wonderful what Samaritan's Gift is doing. I went out to their website and looked around. Wow, it is very impressive. I think the point is to serve others who are less fortunate than we are, where ever they may be. The members of the LDS church have always been active in serving others and providing service to the communities that they live in. It has been very exciting to have the Humanitarian Center also, each ward has a couple of specialists that are assigned to organize activities that will bless the lives of others. I've made blankets that are donated to the police department to give to frightened children who are taken from their parents for whatever reason (abuse, etc). On an ongoing basis, I knit tropical sore bandages (for those who suffer from leprosy). They range from 4 feet to 7.5 feet long.

I guess I didn't realize it was a competition between churches to see how much we donate monetarily to others, or how much time. I think the point is that we serve others, as we have been admonished by Jesus Christ: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

If you want more information about the Humanitarian Center or other things that the LDS church does in service to other, here is the URL: Humanitarian Center. For me, it is exciting to have such resources available, I try my best to serve in the local community, but it is a good feeling also to be able to give to those in immediate need also overseas, etc.

And one more item I found (sorry, I didn't mean to go on so long). Humanitarian Services often partners with other humanitarian organizations to help provide relief to those in need. The impact is much greater than each organization could have made alone. Humanitarian Services partners with organizations that have a strong local presence and understand local needs.