Welfare Square: 'Blessed resource,' a symbol of hope
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Welfare Square is a blessed resource — a center of hope "fulfilling the commandment of the Lord to provide for those who find themselves unable to care for their needs," said President Gordon B. Hinckley during the Sept. 5 dedication services of Welfare Square.
In his dedicatory prayer, the prophet asked the Lord that no one in the Church go hungry or without shelter. He also pleaded that the fruits of Welfare Square might bless the lives of those across the globe afflicted by "the vagaries of nature and man's inhumanity to man."
President Hinckley was joined by his fellow members of the First Presidency and other General Authorities and Church officers, civic leaders and leaders of other faiths, including The Most Reverend George H. Niederauer, Roman Catholic Bishop of the Salt Lake Diocese, to dedicate the historic Welfare Square located on Salt Lake City's west side. Several buildings on Welfare Square have been renovated or constructed in recent years and had not yet been dedicated or rededicated. The square has stood for decades as an uplifting beacon of self-reliance, blessing the lives of those in need and those wanting to help.
In his comments, President Hinckley said the welfare program that fuels Welfare Square "is as old as this Church." Joseph Smith was commanded to remember the poor and the Relief Society was charged with caring for the needy. Now Welfare Square helps teach the principles of self-reliance, while allowing others to serve their fellow men and women by volunteering in the square's cannery, bishop's storehouse or other on-site facilities.
"Here the recipients of help may come and work, and thus feel that they are earning that which they received," President Hinckley said.
President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, commented that his life had been enriched with memories of Welfare Square. He recalled being a bishop and taking a group of Aaronic Priesthood holders on a tour of Welfare Square. After witnessing humble individuals earning their sustenance by working inside the facility, the boys were blessed with a new appreciation of their fast offering duties and the mission of the Church's welfare program.
"No longer were they simply distributing or collecting envelopes, they were helping to provide food for the hungry and shelter for the homeless," President Monson said.
Caring for the poor and needy has always been fundamental to the gospel of Jesus Christ, said President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency. He, along with President Hinckley and President Monson, is a lifelong witness of the Church's welfare program. In fact, President Faust participated in the construction of Welfare Square in 1938, an experience he calls a "clear and happy memory."
"The Savior was always mindful of the less fortunate," he said, adding that the Church's welfare program has long served many and taught families to adopt a lifestyle of self-reliance.
Bishop H. David Burton, Presiding Bishop of the Church, said the Welfare Square dedication can prompt others to rededicate themselves to being more sensitive to those in need.
"We pray this facility will bless the lives of many thousands of our Heavenly Father's children who have unfilled needs," Bishop Burton said.
Mary Ellen W. Smoot, general president of the Relief Society, spoke of her travels to different parts of the world where she has seen the Church's humanitarian efforts in action. The welfare program, she said, embodies the mission of the Relief Society.
"The work that we do here on this square is one of the great highlights that I have had in this administration," Sister Smoot.
Bishop Niederauer praised the Church's welfare efforts, adding its generosity has benefited many.
"You are having a worldwide effect," he said.
Now Welfare Square has grown with the Church. The campus has undergone several changes over the past decades when demands rendered facilities outdated and undersized. Workers recently completed a major renovation of the on-site Deseret Industries and finished the landscaping in July. The parking area in the square's center was also enlarged earlier this year, allowing easier access to buildings. The old cannery and dairy were razed last year — replaced by a new 22,000-square-foot cannery. Workers also remodeled the Employment Services Center and completed a 50,000-square-foot milk processing plant in 1999. The bakery was finished in 1997.
