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Welfare Ministry
with us in our carriage. We did what we could to develop our land, and
encouraged our neighbors to cultivate the soil, that they too might have
fruit and vegetables of their own. We taught them how to prepare the
soil, what to plant, and how to take care of the growing produce. They
soon learned the advantages of providing for themselves in this way.
We realized that Christ took a personal interest in men and women
while He lived on this earth. He was a medical missionary everywhere
He went. We are to go about doing good, even as He did. We are
instructed to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, to heal the sick and
comfort those that mourn.—
Manuscript 126, 1902
.
Economizing to Help Others—We live economically in every
way and make a study of how every penny is to be laid out.... We make
over and over our clothing, patching and enlarging garments in order
to make them wear a little longer, so that we can supply with clothing
those who are more needy. One of our brethren in Ormondville, who
is an intelligent carpenter, could not go forward in baptism because
he had not a change of clothing. When he was able to get a cheap suit
he was the most grateful man I ever saw, because he could then go
forward in the ordinance of baptism.—
Letter 89a, 1894
.
New Durable Material Bought for Relief Work—Some of our
people say to me, “Give away your old clothes, and that will help the
poor.” Should I give away the garments that I patch and enlarge, the
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people would not be able to see anything of which they could make
use. I buy for them new, strong, durable material. I have visited the
factories where they make tweed cloth and have bought a number of
remnants that perhaps have a flaw but can be purchased cheap, and
will do some good to those to whom we give. I can afford to wear
the old garments until they are beyond repair. I have purchased your
uncle excellent cloth for pants and vest, and he is now supplied with
good respectable clothing. In this way I can supply large families of
children with durable garments, which the parents would not think of
getting for them.—;
Ibid
.
Purchasing Wood From Needy Farmers—Poverty is so
widespread in the colonies that starvation is staring many in the face,
and the strangest part of the matter is that the farmers seem so per-
fectly helpless to devise plans by which to turn their time and money
to account.... We purchase wood from our brethren who are farmers,
and we try to give their sons and daughters employment. But we need