A bishop's storehouse in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) usually refers to a commodity resource center that is used by bishops (leaders of a local congregations analogous to pastor

Pastor

The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....

s or parish priests in other Christian denominations) of the church to provide goods to needy individuals. The storehouses stock basic foods and essential household items. The term can also be used figuratively to refer to all of the time, talents, skills, materials, compassion, and financial means of the members of the church that are available to be applied in the service of the needy.

Origin

The concept of the bishop's storehouse is based on a revelation received by church founder Joseph Smith, Jr. on February 9, 1831, whereby he was instructed to keep goods "in my [the Lord's] storehouse, to administer to the poor and the needy". The first bishop's storehouse was established in Bishop Newel K. Whitney

Newel K. Whitney

Newel Kimball Whitney was a prominent leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an American businessman. He served as Bishop of Kirtland, Ohio, Far West, Missouri, and Nauvoo, Illinois. He also served as the second Presiding Bishop of the Church from 1847 until his death...

's store in Kirtland, Ohio

Kirtland, Ohio

Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...

.

Operation

Most of the goods in the storehouse are purchased with fast offering

Fast offering

Fast offering is the term used in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to denote money or usable commodities donated to that church, which are then available to provide financial help to those in need...

 funds or produced on church-owned agricultural property. The storehouses are staffed by volunteers or church service missionaries

Missionary (LDS Church)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...

. Persons in need, whether members of the church or not, can access the storehouse by approaching a bishop or local Relief Society

Relief Society

The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization and an official auxiliary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, USA and has approximately 6 million members in over 170 countries and territories...

 president. The bishop decides whether or not the person will be given assistance and works with the Relief Society president in determining what the person will be given. The usual practice is to ask the recipient to work or render some form of service in exchange for the good given them.

Bishop's storehouses are not commercial entities and goods are generally not for sale to the public through them.

Building vs. available resources

There are buildings owned throughout the world that serve as bishop's storehouses. In areas of the world without a dedicated building, the bishop can render assistance by purchasing food and household necessities with church fast offering

Fast offering

Fast offering is the term used in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to denote money or usable commodities donated to that church, which are then available to provide financial help to those in need...

funds and delivering the goods to the recipient. This may also be done when the recipient has special dietary needs not catered to through the storehouse. The bishop can also draw on the "storehouse" of church members' available time, talents, and abilities to assist the needy.

External links

• Bishop's Storehouses : Mormon wiki