Saving The Poor Through Fasting

In October 2014 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Holland said, "the Lord’s way of assisting our own is easier [than the world's way]: all who are physically able are to observe the law of the fast."

You will notice the distinct wording, he did not say 'all who are physically able are to fast.' To observe the law of the fast includes much more than just fasting. Some people are not physically able to fast but only a completely paralyzed or mentally ill person cannot observe the law of the fast.

The Lord said through Isaiah: "Is not this the fast that I have chosen?
to loose the bands of wickedness,
to undo the heavy burdens,...
to let the oppressed go free,...
[to] break every yoke?...
to deal thy bread to the hungry,...
[to] bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?
when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him;...
[to] hide not thyself from thine own flesh?...
[to] take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;... [to] draw out thy soul to the hungry,...
[to] satisfy the afflicted soul;...
[to] build the old waste places:...
[to] raise up the foundations of many generations;...
[to repair]... the breach,...
[and to restore the]... paths to dwell in.

If you cannot do any of these directly, perhaps you can do many of these indirectly. That is what fast offering donations are for. They are funds donated to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to accomplish any of the above goals. Some of the items listed by Isaiah cannot be resolved by money alone, or even with money at all, so it is best to work and do our part to save the poor in any way that we can.

This brings me back to the question posed by King Benjamin, "Are we not all beggars?" As we "compassionately responding to the poor who plead to us," the Lord will compassionately respond to us as we plead to Him for that which we need.

As a side note:
Fast offering donations given to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have 0% overhead. That means 100% of all fast offering donations go to individuals and families in need. That is better than all other non-profit organizations. All overhead is paid for by other donations, not fast offering donations.