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In 1930, during the time of the Great Depression, as a young stake president, Harold B. Lee had been successful in implementing programs that blessed the needy Saints of his stake.

Five years later, he was called by the First Presidency to help establish a Church-wide welfare program to turn the membership of the Church away from government relief and put the Church in a place where it could care for its own needy. Shortly after this call, Brother Lee took a solitary walk in a secluded park. And there all by myself, I kneeled down in one of the most humble prayers. Here I was, just a young man in my early 30s. My experience had been limited. I was born in a little country town in Idaho. I had hardly been outside of the boundaries of the state of Utah and Idaho. And now to put me in a position where I was to reach out to the entire membership of the Church worldwide was one of the most staggering contemplations that I could imagine. As I kneeled down and my petition was what kind of an organization should be set up in order to accomplish what the presidency had assigned? And there came to me in that glorious morning one of the most heavenly realizations of the power of the priesthood of God. It was as though something were saying to me, there is no new organization necessary to take care of the needs of this people. All that's necessary is to put the priesthood of God to work. There is nothing else that you need as a substitute. Sensitive to the Lord's direction, Brother Lee put the priesthood to work in administering the Church welfare plan. Work programs, warehouses for food and clothing, and an organized distribution system reflected the guiding principle that every member of the Church gives what he is able to give and receives in return what he needs for the sustenance of himself and his family. This inspired system continues to bless the lives of members of the Church today. [MUSIC PLAYING]