Community Support

The Church supports its community of believers, and the believers support the Church. Members are committed to their tithing 10 per cent of their income to the Church, a requirement for attending the Temple. For those in need, there are many forms of welfare programmes to help them. Church welfare programmes began during the Great Depression, and it now has a system of welfare farms, production facilities, distribution centres, and bishop’s storehouses that both produce and store resources for members. From the 1930s, the Church wanted to replace handouts and idleness with self-reliance and industry, and so they not only distributed aid to the needy but they also created the means to provide jobs for those who needed them. Welfare Square in Salt Lake City is the centre of the Church’s welfare operation. The LDS Church corporation owns approximately 172,000 acres of farmland, 199 agricultural production projects, 51 canneries, 63 grain storage facilities, and 113 central, regional, branch storehouses. Local bishops have funds for people in their ward to support life, e.g. basic needs, but not lifestyle. These are for immediate need only, and they teach budgeting at the same time. The aim is to develop long-term self-reliance and try to avoid future handouts.