Renovated and refurbished, the Church-owned cannery in Murray was rededicated Oct. 18 by President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency.

The cannery is one of 84 such facilities owned by the Church. Combined, the facilities process about 13 million cans of food a year, 75 percent of which go to bishops' storehouses. Most of the work at the canneries is done by volunteer labor.In 1994, more than 25,000 hours of volunteer work were logged at the Murray facility before it was closed in November for renovation. The cannery was reopened last July for the canning of peas and corn. With a new line to run cans, new continuous cookers and other newly installed equipment, the cannery is now outfitted to pack several wet and dry goods simultaneously.

Joining President Faust in addressing about 400 people who gathered inside the cannery for the rededication ceremony were Elder Alexander B. Morrison of the Seventy and president of the Utah North Area, Presiding Bishop Merrill J. Bateman, and Relief Society Gen. Pres. Elaine L. Jack. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve also attended the ceremony. Murray Utah North Stake Pres. Michael A. Neider, who is the agent stake president of the Murray cannery, conducted the program, which began with the audience singing "Because I Have Been Given Much."

In his opening remarks, President Faust said that being in the cannery was "like coming home." He spoke of his affiliation with the cannery, which goes back to when he was president of the Cottonwood Stake and was chairman of the Jordan Valley Regional Welfare Committee at the time the facility was built. Reminiscing about the day the cannery was dedicated, he remembered, "We rejoiced that this facility was here." (The cannery was built in 1965; an addition was made in 1972.)

"I came up through the Depression," President Faust said. "I'm grateful to have survived. That wasn't easy. Anybody who didn't go through that experience cannot possibly have a feeling or an understanding of the difficulty which this country, indeed the world, faced at that time. In our valley here, 30 percent of the people were unemployed. People lost their homes. Our neighbor moved into a chicken coop because the mortgage on their home was foreclosed.

"Then the Brethren in their great wisdom and in great inspiration began to have a vision called the Church Security Plan. We began to produce, to help, and to feed. Everybody was poor during the Depression. There were great blessings to be learned in that period of time, one of which is we need to be careful with debt."

He referred to President Harold B. Lee who, at age 31, was called as president of the Pioneer Stake in Salt Lake City. In 1932, President Lee and his counselors, Charles S. Hyde and Paul C. Child, organized a stake welfare committee, which developed what would become the core of Church welfare efforts throughout the Salt Lake Valley. Other stakes became involved in welfare work. In general conference in April 1936, President Heber J. Grant announced the establishment of the Church Security Plan, now Church Welfare Services.

President Faust spoke of the often-repeated counsel of Church leaders to members regarding the storage of food and other necessities to see them through emergencies. He quoted President Ezra Taft Benson who, in his general conference address in October 1987, said: `I ask you earnestly if you have provided for your family a year's supply of food, clothing and, where possible, fuel. The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to people in the days of Noah.' "

To emphasize that the canneries owned by the Church may be used by families to help them secure a year's supply of commodities, President Faust related how his family spent part of their vacation at the Church's cannery in Salt Lake City. "We canned the basic essentials: beans, wheat, rice, powdered milk," he said. "In that effort we got somewhere close to a year's supply of those essentials for our extended family. Our sons-in-law thanked us. It gave them some comfort. But our grandchildren had the time of their lives. . . . For our family that was as fine a family activity as we've ever had."

He spoke of the outreaching efforts of the Church to help not only Church members but also others who are in need. "You cannot imagine the good that is done by this Church worldwide," emphasized President Faust.

Elder Morrison said the rededication of the cannery represented another milestone in the continued development of an inspired program of love, work and service, aptly termed "Christianity in action."

"The food products canned here . . . will go, as in the past, by the hundreds of thousands of cans each year, into the welfare system of the Church, for distribution to poor and needy members throughout North America," he said. "Both dry-pack and conventional wet-pack canning facilities are available here for the use of members and non-members of the Church who wish to process food for their own home use. We encourage all to do so.

"In addition, food from this cannery plays a vital role in fulfilling the objective of the humanitarian service efforts of the Church worldwide. A large shipment of beef chunks (2,000 cases) was sent to Bosnia in 1994, for example. With the recently completed renovations the cannery, which now is truly a state-of-the-art facility, will be able to produce even more essential food, all to be used `in the Lord's way,' every can bearing the Deseret label - the only label in the food industry which money cannot buy."

Elder Morrison paid tribute to the volunteers from 56 stakes in the Salt Lake Valley who served at the cannery in 1994.

"That service to others, given freely and of love, is at the very root of welfare. It is service which drives out selfishness, the enemy of spirituality, and releases the miracle of the power of Christ's gospel in our lives.

"Love and service lie also at the root of the Deseret Industries component of this great Murray Welfare Center," Elder Morrison continued. "Many who work at Deseret Industries are disabled in one way or another. Others are immigrants. I note that over 57,000 people have donated goods to the Murray Deseret Industries this year alone.

"During 1995, 149 persons in training at this Deseret Industries have already been placed in gainful employment in private industry. Those concerned have had their self-respect, self-reliance and feelings of self-worth restored."

Bishop Bateman spoke of having testified on March 29 before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee regarding welfare reform. He said that as he prepared for that testimony he was impressed with "the vision and spiritual principles" in the Lord's plan with regard to welfare.

"One of the great privileges that I had was to testify before the U.S. Senate with regard to those principles and to say to them something I have come to believe very keenly. . . . Any society that is not based on the self-reliance of the individual, on the dignity of work, on the principles of provident living and wise management will not only be morally bankrupt, but financially they will not be able to afford the bill," Bishop Bateman declared.

He said he explained the way the Church's welfare plan works, with 90 to 95 percent of the financial decisions being made at the ward level by the bishop, often with the help of the Relief Society president. He said the bishops and Relief Society presidents work closely with families to determine their needs and help them on a short-term basis to get back on their feet.

"The system is based on volunteer service," Bishop Bateman went on. "This is what this facility is about. There must be millions of hours of contributed service in the Lord's production facilities. That's the way in which He has organized us to help. It is based on true principles."

Pres. Jack said she never thinks of welfare without thinking of the term "welfare of souls." She explained Jacob, Enos, Nephi and Moroni all used that term, and so do members of the Relief Society.

"When we say our motto is `Charity Never Faileth,' we mean that," she continued. "We don't say `Charity Almost Never Faileth,' or `Charity Usually Never Faileth.' `Charity Never Faileth.' We speak, when we say that, of our means and our method."

She spoke of how Relief Society presidents and their counselors seek out those who are needy, and visit the homes of those in distress to find out what their needs are. She said they analyze the circumstances, give training and help so those in need can become self-sufficient, and help prepare lists of commodities needed.

"You see that wonderful array of commodities, fine quality, good looking materials, and you feel that you can give help with pride because of the service that's given here," she said.

"As Relief Society sisters, we believe that the most important of all our acts is to minister charitably. We begin our charitable ministry by putting our hearts right so that our work can be right. And then we go ahead and

as the Prophet Joseph Smith counseledT `fly to the aid of those who are in distress.' "