New welfare center dedicated to sharing
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HARRISVILLE, UTAH
Before offering the dedicatory prayer for the Church's Harrisville Welfare Center here, Bishop Richard C. Edgley, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, spoke of the Christian propensity for caring for the needy.
"If anyone wants to know what a Christian looks like, they just need to look at what Christ taught us to do, and that was to take care of the poor and the sick and the afflicted," Bishop Edgley said during his remarks Wednesday evening, Sept. 23.
That Christian ideal, he said, is a reason the Church builds welfare centers such as the one he dedicated in rural Harrisville, adjacent to Ogden and 40 miles north of Salt Lake City. The building includes a Deseret Industries store, a Church distribution center and an LDS Family Services facility. The center is replacing the downtown Ogden Deseret Industries.
Bishop Edgley presided over the dedicatory service attended by about 700 people on the main shopping floor of the store. Clothing display racks were removed to back rooms, making space for the audience in the otherwise ready-to-open store, which had its grand opening the following morning. Near the Weber County Fairgrounds, the center is on North Wall Avenue, beyond the more dense business areas to the south.
Bishop Edgley's remarks and dedicatory prayer followed testimonies from several people involved in the development of the project, including Syracuse Utah Stake President Paul E. Spackman, the agent stake president for the Harrisville Deseret Industries, who also conducted the service.
In speaking of the charge to care for others less fortunate, Bishop Edgley referred to King Benjamin's counsel in Mosiah 4 to care for others in need, "For behold, are we not all beggars?" (See Mosiah 4:16-19.)
He recalled a time, when he was a Church employee, that he and a companion were working in Latin America. While they were dining at a nice restaurant, a little boy entered begging, going from table to table with his hand out. No one responded until he approached Bishop Edgley's companion, who reached into his pocket. He pulled out all the change he had and gave it to the boy. He then asked the youngster about himself and his family.
"Then I thought about that scripture — you don't turn away the beggar," Bishop Edgley said, noting that as the boy continued to other tables, people seemed to have a change of heart and gave to him.
"So, we not only practice, but I suppose by our example, we teach," Bishop Edgley said.
He added that as he travels around the world, he is often asked to thank the Church for its humanitarian help. But, he continued, "It is not the Church. It is 13 million members whose hearts are throbbing with a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and who are trying to follow the principles and the teachings of the Savior. That's why we do what we do."
Each part of the new center will fulfill an important role, he said. The LDS Family Services facility will provide counseling to help members with emotional, addiction and other problems and challenges.
The distribution center, scheduled to open later in October, will sell scriptures, videos, lesson manuals and other materials to help members develop their own faith and the faith of others.
The Deseret Industries store will give members a place to donate goods for the blessing of others, will be a place for the needy to get the essential items they are lacking and for people to buy items at a good price. It will also provide job training, as well as training in other parts of life.
Bishop Edgley talked about a man he called Brian who, though possessing a degree in engineering, couldn't keep a job because of anxiety and panic attacks. After years out of work, he was persuaded to take employment at Deseret Industries. With the help of a mentor who helped and encouraged him when anxiety came, he became more confident and an active member of the Church. "His abilities and his friendly attitude began to show as he came out and began to work," Bishop Edgley said.
Finally, Brian accepted an outside job as a computer specialist and within months was given added responsibilities and a salary increase.
Then Bishop Edgley told of two women he called Diane and Shirley. One day, Shirley knocked on Diane's door and asked to use the phone. Diane was reluctant to comply. Though they were neighbors, Diane didn't know Shirley well, and Shirley had obviously been drinking.
Then Diane thought, "How does the Savior see her, and what would the Savior do?"
Diane let her in to use the phone, and as they visited after the call, Shirley looked at a photo of Diane's family and said, according to Bishop Edgley, "That was my picture once. I was baptized in the Church. I had it all. I was very happy. Now look where I am."
Diane befriended Shirley and eventually talked her into getting training and counseling through Deseret Industries. With Diane as her mentor, she enjoyed success in vocational and educational training. Bishop Edgley said she is succeeding as she continues to work at Deseret Industries, is alcohol-free and is active in the Church.
Before offering the dedicatory prayer, he concluded, "We thank members of the Church who so graciously follow the Christian principles that the Savior taught to take care of the poor and needy."
Others who bore their testimonies shared similar feelings, including Blanche Sessions of the Heber (Utah) 5th Ward. She grabbed the audience's attention when she stepped to the podium holding a doll. In brief remarks, she talked about how she takes used dolls, cleans and dresses them, turning them into precious gifts to be given to needy children through the homecraft department of Deseret Industries. She said her entire family, including grandchildren, have been blessed by learning how to share.
Following the dedication, those attending toured the sparkling clean and neatly organized Deseret Industries store and distribution center.
