"impart of your substance to the poor... such as feeding
the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and
administering to their relief, both spiritually and
temporally, according to their wants." (verse 26)
One way that we can accomplish these things is through paying fast offerings. Paying tithing is good -- essential, in fact -- but tithing funds do not go directly toward assisting the poor, especially in our own wards. This assistance comes from fast offerings. The good thing is that we ourselves do not have to discern who is worthy to receive assistance and who is not. We do not have to determine how much they should receive. Thankfully, the Lord has provided a common judge -- the bishop -- to make those decisions. Our only concern is providing, and being as generous as we can. The amount we give is between us and the Lord, and we never know who our donations go to. It is as the widow quietly giving her two mites, and Jesus, knowing that she had given everything that she had, explained that she in her want had given more than the rich had given in their abundance. The level of our generosity matters and nothing else.
We love the story of Ebenezer Scrooge because we see in him a bit of ourselves, and the hope of redemption. One of the best thoughts in the book is spoken by Jacob Marley. After Scrooge describes Marley as "a good man of business", poor Jacob wails,
"Business!... Mankind was my business. The common welfare
was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence,
were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a
drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!"
King Benjamin refers to the "wants" of the poor. We shouldn't think of this word the way we usually use it, as in referring to something we want because it would be enjoyable to have. We usually today talk about the difference between wants and needs. But Benjamin is referring to "wants" the same way the portly gentleman used it when asking Scrooge for donations to the poor:
"Many thousands are in want of common necessaries;
hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts...
We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others,
when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices."
And, of course, the two children who the Ghost of Christmas Present hid beneath his robes were Want and Ignorance; the two children who, he said, belong to Man.
May we be willing to give up our own covetous natures. May we not ignore the Want around us. May we, as Benjamin says, remember our own nothingness before God, and remember the beggar as we hope that God will always remember us.
"Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."
~ Matthew 19:21
