Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] My name's Bishop Hine. I've been bishop here for about four years. I have a lot of jobs, but one of the jobs is to oversee the needs of the members of the ward and to make sure that those that are in need of help are able to get that help. Years ago, I graduated with a master's degree and shortly got my first job, and then lost it after only three weeks-- and I had two small children, and I was very afraid. And I went to the bishop, not knowing anything else. He introduced me to the welfare program. The welfare program strengthens everyone that's involved-- those that are giving, those that are receiving. The volunteers that come here, well, they're the heart and soul of welfare. Recently in our family we have had some struggles financially. One of my responsibilities in the ward is to seek out the poor and needy. Every time we have gone to him for anything, he has-- he knows exactly the right thing to say. Even if it's not something we want to hear, it just makes sense. We would feel warmth and compassion and care that he gave to us when we didn't feel great about ourselves because of the situation that we were in. My bishop, he's not paid. He's been called to that position, but he volunteers freely to give of his time. That's humbling to me. One of the resources bishops have to help is the bishops' storehouse. And when a family has food needs, they come to me and we fill out a food order and this order goes to the bishops' storehouse. Someone there fills the order and then it's delivered here to the church. It takes a lot of people to get one order out to one family. I call it a miracle, every day and every week. The Church is very unique in that we produce a lot of our food. We have farms and ranches. Labor is provided by donations of members of the Church, and so it's a very low-cost, efficient way to help feed the people that are in need. The Church has its welfare system set up so that, with our volunteer labor force, we grow raisins here, somebody else grows apples, somebody else grows peaches, somebody else wheat, dairy, beef. I'm the only paid employee here. Everybody else that comes here is volunteers, and on any given day, we have had as many as 10,000 people coming to pick the grapes. It's a tremendous sacrifice to come here. People give of themselves to come and work in 105-degree temperatures or prune in sub-freezing weather. I was incredibly impressed my first time coming to the vineyard at how many people showed-- actually showed up for this. I love being able to come. It always is a great experience. [SPEAKING SPANISH] We make our own butter, cheese, chili, beef chunks, spaghetti sauce, all in canneries done by volunteers. To pull the orders, stock the shelves, it takes about 13,000 hours of labor per year. And there's only two paid guys, so if you do the math on that, volunteers make it run. They give of their time freely. No money's given. They're just here to help their brother and sister who is temporarily having some struggles. Because they're working for someone else, there's a spirit about it. It's the spirit of welfare. The spirit of love and concern for my brother and sister. Filling these orders gives you joy from the bottom up. I feel awesome. It's just wonderful knowing to serve others and that I'm helping others. It's so important to take care of those in need. The welfare program is not just for members of the Church. There are many people that are not members of the Church that love to contribute and to serve, and they're also those that need help and receive assistance. The lingering effect that's been with me, stayed with me all these years, is the miracle of it. We were able to carry on. It meant that we could survive. One of the things that happens when you serve people that are in need is you grow to love them and you grow to understand them and see the challenges that they're going through and you really want to help them. And I think you actually feel part of the Savior's love for them. It was over 30 years ago that I actually was a recipient of this program. My family needed help and I was a single mom and the Church just provided us with food for as long as we needed it. I'm sorry, but that's a very emotional thing. It's just a wonderful blessing for me to feel that I have just a small part in bringing that food. I feel like I'm a better servant of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus taught us to serve others, to love others, and that's what this is. Jesus taught love our neighbor. There's so much need in the world, but for those few individuals, I can make a difference.

Los Angeles Volunteers

Description
A bishop tells about his responsibility to oversee the needs of the ward, giving assistance to families in need. Those families in turn volunteer at welfare facilities, including the storehouse, vineyard, and cannery.
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