Bishop L. Todd Budge or the Presiding Bishopric said in October 2021 general conference:
As a Presiding Bishopric, we are assisted by wonderful Church employees and others, including the Relief Society General Presidency, who serve with us on the Church’s Welfare and Self-Reliance Executive Committee. In our capacity as members of that committee, the First Presidency asked me—as well as Sister Sharon Eubank, who spoke to us last evening—to share with you an update on the Church’s recent humanitarian efforts. They also particularly requested that we express their profound gratitude—because, brothers and sisters, it is you who have made those humanitarian efforts possible.
As we observed with concern the early economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis across the world, we could have easily expected a decline in the monetary contributions which the Saints were able to give. After all, our own members were not immune to the setbacks from the pandemic. Imagine our feelings when we observed just the opposite! Humanitarian donations in 2020 turned out to be the highest ever—and are trending even higher this year. As a result of your generosity, the Church has been able to realize its most extensive response since the inception of the Humanitarian Fund, with over 1,500 COVID relief projects in more than 150 countries. These donations, which you have given so selflessly to the Lord, have been converted to life-sustaining food, oxygen, medical supplies, and vaccinations for those who might otherwise have gone without.
Just as significant as the contribution of goods is the tremendous outpouring of time and energy which Church members donate to humanitarian causes. Even as the pandemic has raged, natural disasters, civil conflict, and economic instability have been unrelenting and have continued to drive millions of people from their homes. The United Nations now reports that there are over 82 million forcibly displaced people in the world.1 Add to this the millions of others who elect to flee from poverty or oppression in search of a better life for themselves or their children, and you can begin to catch a glimpse of the magnitude of this global situation.
I am pleased to report that thanks to the volunteer time and talents of so many, the Church operates refugee and immigrant welcome centers in multiple locations in the United States and Europe. And thanks to your contributions, we provide goods, funding, and volunteers to help similar programs run by other organizations throughout the world.
May I extend my heartfelt gratitude to those Saints who have reached out to feed, clothe, and befriend these refugees and help them become established and self-sufficient.
In modern usage, the term sacrifice has come to connote the concept of “giving up” things for the Lord and His kingdom. However, in ancient days, the meaning of the word sacrifice was more closely tied to its two Latin roots: sacer, meaning “sacred” or “holy,” and facere, meaning “to make.”2 Thus, anciently sacrifice meant literally “to make something or someone holy.”3 Viewed as such, sacrifice is a process of becoming holy and coming to know God, not an event or ritualistic “giving up” of things for the Lord.
For Bishop Budge’s complete talk click . . . Giving Holiness to the Lord.
