The Week in Mormonism, 4/3/16: General Conference Calls for helping Refugees

President Linda K. Burton kicked off what would become a major theme of April General Conference last week when she invited LDS women to “serve the refugees living in your neighborhoods and communities.”

This was followed by the launch of a new site on Monday, iwasastranger.lds.org, which offers encouragement and resources to get involved.

And in the Sunday afternoon session of Conference, Elder Patrick Kearon gave a plea for members to help the estimated 60 million refugees in the world today. “As members of the Church, as a people, we don’t have to look back far in our history to reflect on times when we were refugees, violently driven from homes and farms over and over again… Their story is our story, not that many years ago.”

Kearon mixed James 1 with D&C 38: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to look to the poor and the needy and administer to their relief, that they shall not suffer.”

Kearon continued: “As refugees begin the resettlement process, local members are helping them learn the language, while others are lifting the spirits of both children and parents by providing toys, art supplies, music, and play.”

“The reality of these situations must be seen to be believed. In winter, I met a pregnant young woman from Syria in a refugee transit camp, desperately seeking assurance that she would not need to deliver her baby on the cold floor of the vast hall where she was housed. Back in Syria, she had been a university professor.”

“In Greece, I spoke with a family, still wet, shivering and frightened from their crossing in a small rubber boat from Turkey. After looking into their eyes and hearing their stories — both of the terror they had fled, and of their perilous journey to find refuge — I will never be the same.”

“If you are asking, What can I do? … There are multiple helpful ideas on iwasastranger.lds.org. Think in terms of doing something close to home, in your own community, where you will find people who need help in adapting to their new circumstances. The ultimate aim is their rehabilitation to an industrious and self sufficient life. You might help refugees learn their host country language, update their work skills, or practice interviewing. You could offer to mentor a family or a single mother as they transition to an unfamiliar culture.”

“Meeting refugee families and hearing their stories with your own ears and not from a screen or newspaper will change you… Let us come out from our safe places and share with them from our abundance hope for a brighter future. ‘For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love.’”

Kearon’s may be the most powerful talk from General Conference in years. President Uchtdorf was still visibly struggling to get his emotions under control when he took the stand afterwards. If you only watch one talk, it should be this one.

Another Conference theme was temple work, which was the primary subject of Elders Cook and Richards’ remarks. Temples also featured prominently in the talks from Elders Nelson, Eyring, and Wadell.

(Elder Richards noted that the church has over 120,000 temple workers. Juxtaposed as this was against the call to aid refugees and those in need, I wonder again if our priorities are confused. Mobilizing a fraction of those hours in support of those in need would make us one of the most important humanitarian organizations in the world.)

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a moving talk on rebuilding our lives after setbacks, offering as an example the Frauenkirche in Dresden, destroyed by Allied firebombing in World War 2. “You may feel that your life is in ruins. You may have sinned. You may be afraid, angry, grieving, or tortured by doubt. But just as the Good Shepherd finds His lost sheep, if you will only lift up your heart to the Savior of the world, He will find you.”

Conference Commentary

1. Meet the new primary presidency.
2. Dissenting Votes at Conference.
3. President Uchtdorf and Why I Stay. And Uchtdorf’s Theology of Grace.
4. President Uchtdorf: Charity and Pride–Love Across Boundaries. (Uchtdorf spoke twice; this refers to his talk in Saturday’s priesthood session.)
5. Crunching the membership statistics: raw growth of 1.7% year-over-year. 1.3% unit growth. 58,000 resignations. See also LDS Church Growth’s comments: “[these results suggest] that the Church has achieved good improvements in convert retention and local leadership development at the expense of fewer converts baptized.”
6. Elder Holland: We Get Credit For Trying.
7. Elder Duncan’s Empathy Ointment.
8. Elder Andersen: When Life Doesn’t Look Like the Pictures.
9. Catholic Charities, which administers the Federal Refugee Resettlement Program, posted Elder Kearon’s talk to Facebook. Don’t read the comments unless you want to ruin your faith in humanity.
10. Mormon feminist rejoices at call for LDS women to lead refugee effort.

Other Links

1. Saturday’s Warrior movie review roundup.
2. FLDS predicts earthquakes to free leaders Warren and Lyle Jeffs from prison.
3. A review of Mormon Feminism: Essential Writings.
4. On Unnecessary Transitions for single members in the Church.
5. Church as a gated community.
6. Elder Ballard on Building a Better Boat.
7. Taylor Petrey is Tenured: What does This Mean for LDS Scholars of Religion?
8. Why Utah’s large Mormon community is particularly vulnerable to financial fraud.
9. Just for fun: Mormon baby names in 2015.