Self-Reliance

Quick Resource List for Leaders
Vision: Help members build the skill-set, mindset and tool-set necessary for Self-Reliance.
Organization: Lehi Stake Welfare and Self-Reliance Organization Structure (Doctrine & Covenants 88:119)
Welfare & Self-Reliance Resource Toolkit
Stake Welfare & Self-Reliance Website: lehi.bitrix24.site (Currently Not Working)
Area Welfare & Self Reliance Website: Welfare Self-Reliance Resources
Church Resources
Saratoga Springs Welfare & Self-Reliance Facility
- Saratoga Springs Deseret Industries - (801)-528-4221
3. Certification programs available for welding, CDL, etc. Can assist in identifying financial resources available.
4. Partnerships with employers
5. Furniture and clothing orders that don’t come out of ward funds - Development & Counseling Services - (801)-528–4221 (Life Coaching Essentially - NEED BISHOP REFERRAL)
7. Not just for members
8. On-the-job training at Deseret Industries
9. Career planning, skill development, internship training - Employment Center - (801)-528-1383
11. Don’t have to be a member to use
12. Networking zoom meetings available nationwide
13. Resume and job interview prep - Family Services - (801)-955-3600
15. Crisis Reponse - i.e. suicide in ward. They can come out and speak to youth of ward
16. Single & pregnant counseling
17. In field and early returned missionary group counseling
18. Pornography treatment groups (youth group coming soon)
19. Addiction recovery groups and resources - Bishop’s Storehouse - (801)-436-8205
21. RS Presidencies can tour the storehouse
22. Training on filling out Bishop’s orders/Food Orders
23. Training on filling out Self-Reliance Plan form - Home Storage Center (Formerly called the Cannery)- (801) - 436-8205
25. Can assist people to get food storage
104 West Medical Drive
Saratoga Springs, UT 84045
Life Help more info
- found on the Church’s website (https://churchofjesuschrist.org)
- click on the Living Life menu, then click on Life Help.
Welfare & Self-Reliance Leader Resources more info
- This site also contains the Self-Reliance Plan Form and Welfare and Self-Reliance Products and Services One-Page Overviews.
Utah Education Initiative (more info)
- Focused on four Groups
2. Latino or other immigrant populations
3. High school seniors & Young Single Adults (YSA)
4. Adults who previously dropped out of higher education (e.g. single mother)
5. Those needing job skills largely acquired through education - Stake Education Specialists - Spencer Lowe (509) 435-6112 & Amanda Lowe (509) 701-6800
7. Stake Education Mentors (for wards in Parker building) - Steve & Lonnie Riggs -(801) 400-2682
8. Stake Education Mentors (for wards in Pioneer building) - Robert & Katie Beecher - (385) 335-1094
9. Stake Education Mentors (for wards in Stake Center) - Mark & Pamela Thompson - (801) 372-7302
Community Resources:
- United Way’s website (https://211utah.org/), or call 211 on a phone for live consultation.
- Utah Valley Interfaith Association’s Resource Directory for a listing of community and government resources (https://uvinterfaith.org/resources-UTCounty/). This site will be almost identical to your stake self-reliance website’s resource directory page.
Government Resources:
- Utah Health & Social Services
- Department of Workforce Services - those in need can apply for assistance with food, finances, utilities, employment, Medicaid/Medicare, unemployment insurance, childcare, disability services, etc.
Fast Offering Use For Medical Expenses
Instructions For Use of Fast Offerings - Medical Expenses (General Handbook: 22.5.1)
Approval Limits
Each Church area has established approval limits for using fast offerings to pay medical expenses. These limits define the maximum amount which a local leader is authorized to expend in cumulative payments for a specific medical condition of an individual. The limits apply to payments for medical expenses, dental expenses, mental health expenses, and insurance premiums.
Approval limits are recommended by the Area Presidency and approved by the Church Welfare and Self-Reliance Executive Committee.
Bishops, stake presidents, and clerks may use Leader and Clerk Resources to review medical fast-offering assistance that has been provided to a member for the prior three years.
If total fast-offering payments for a member’s medical expenses are expected to exceed the amount that a bishop is authorized to approve, the stake president’s approval is required before the bishop may commit to pay health care providers. If total payments are expected to exceed the amount that a stake president is authorized to approve, the stake president must receive approval from the Area Presidency before the bishop may commit to pay health care providers.
North America (all areas) and Utah Limits
Bermuda, Canada, and United States
In your country, the bishop is authorized to spend up to $5,000 in total cumulative payments for a specific medical condition of an individual without additional approval. The stake president can authorize up to an additional $5,000 (for a total amount of $10,000 when including the amount already approved by the bishop).
Policies Regarding Payments
The following policies should also be observed:
- Before providing fast-offering assistance for medical expenses, the bishop encourages members to seek assistance from extended family, insurance providers, government resources, and other available sources.
- The bishop should pay only for expenses that have been recommended by a licensed professional health care provider.
- When using fast offerings to pay a member’s medical expenses, the bishop ensures that the records of health care providers designate the member or family as the party responsible for payment, not the Church.
- Fast offerings should not be used to pay for a level of medical care that exceeds the standard level of care in the country where the member resides.
- In general, fast offerings are not used to pay for medical care outside the administrative area of the Church where the member resides (or, in the case of the United States or Canada, outside the country where the member resides). Exceptions to this policy should be rare and require authorization from the Presiding Bishopric.
- Fast offerings should not be used to pay for medical care that is morally, ethically, or legally questionable or contrary to Church teachings.
Additional Guidance
For questions regarding specific cases involving the use of fast offerings for medical purposes, bishops or stake presidents may consult with the welfare and self-reliance manager assigned to their region.