The Lord’s Disciples Remember and Help Care for the Poor and the Needy, the Sick and the Afflicted
Doctrine and Covenants 52:40
40 And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple.
President Marion G. Romney wrote:
“The importance of caring for the poor and needy is dramatically emphasized in the revelation received by the Prophet in Kirtland [on] June 7, 1831, in which the Lord paired off the brethren He was sending to Missouri. These brethren, all but destitute, were to make their way as best they could across four states. The Prophet himself walked almost the whole distance from St. Louis to Independence, a distance of about 300 miles. Nevertheless, and notwithstanding the fact that they were facing these hardships, the Lord thus concluded His instructions to them: ‘And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple’ (D&C 52:40).
“Since these brethren in their extremity could not qualify as His disciples without remembering ‘the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted,’ what will be our plight if we fail to remember them?”
(Look to God and Live [1971], 184.)
