Who administers Church welfare assistance?
While other Church officers and members assist in seeking out the needy to help care for them and in fostering self-reliance, only the bishop is charged with the sacred duty of administering the resources of the Church to lift the needy spiritually and temporally. “The office of bishop in the Aaronic Priesthood carries with it a special mandate to care for the poor and needy (see D&C 84:112; 107:68). The bishop is the Lord’s agent in distributing the resources of the Lord’s storehouse, and he is also a common judge in Israel (D&C 107:74). . . . Through his priesthood office and calling, the bishop determines to whom, when, how, and how much shall be given to any member of his ward as Church welfare” (Providing in the Lord’s Way, [32296], 12).
