“Whether out of the Church or in the Church”

Joseph F. McConkie, Robert L. Millet

We are human beings, Christians, as well as Latter-day Saints. Our Heavenly Father loves his sons and daughters throughout the earth, no matter what are their religious persuasions. And so must we. Truly there are limits to what we can do, and certainly all things must be done in wisdom and order (see Mosiah 4:27).

“And yet, given that there are millions of hungry and naked and destitute souls in the world, how are disciples [of Christ] to live with themselves? How are we to handle the fact that there is only so much we can do, only so many we can assist and still manage to care for our own? . . . If every family contributed regularly to every needy cause, there would be insufficient money for the family to live.

If every Christian man or woman gave themselves consistently to every project designed to alleviate suffering, there would be no time to earn a living or care for their own. True disciples pray for discernment and for discretion.

They seek to be as generous and giving as is appropriate and practical. . . . Even when we are not in a position to contribute dramatically to the alleviation of hunger in Africa or India, for example, there is still something we can do, something vital for those who aspire to discipleship. We can avoid as we would a plague the tendency to be indifferent, to ignore the problem because it is not in our own backyards.

Further, we can teach our families or friends by precept and by example to use wisely the food and other resources we have been blessed to have. Even if we just become aware of suffering and pain, our heightened sensitivity helps us deal more tenderly, more charitably, with sufferers within our own limited reach. At least those are starting points.”

(Robert L. Millet, An Eye Single to the Glory of God, pp. 64-65.)

Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 3

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