Zion has been defined as God’s people being of one heart and one mind, dwelling together in righteousness, and having no poor among them. Since Joseph Smith’s day, Latter-day Saints have made continuous efforts toward this Zion ideal, including not only assisting the poor and needy but going even further to help them eliminate poverty from their lives by becoming self-reliant. In this episode of Church History Matters, we want to trace the fascinating story of our current church system for helping the poor, beginning at its origins, where it was serendipitously born of necessity in the mind of a stake president amidst the Great Depression, to its current multi-pronged offerings, where, though most of it goes unseen, it quietly blesses countless lives. This is the fifth episode of our 8-part podcast series on Consecration and Church Finance. For a full transcript of this episode, as well as show notes and additional resources, visit our website at https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/podcast-episode/zion-building-through-poverty-elimination/ You can also subscribe to our podcast via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and other platforms, and follow us on popular social media platforms. Visit https://linktr.ee/churchhistorymatters to connect with us. Originally published February 13, 2024 DISCLAIMER: While we try very hard to be historically and doctrinally accurate in what we say on this podcast, please remember that all views expressed in this and every episode are our views alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Scripture Central or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.