I enjoyed Tim Townsend’s article, The Mormon Index, that appeared on the front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on January 22. Tim discussed how some economists look at the numbers of people using the Mormon welfare program to gauge the economy.

It’s an obscure index, one that was lost on me though I am a Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon). My view of the welfare system of the Church is as an insider who has been benefited by it. I don’t think too many LDS, with the exception of a few LDS economists, were aware of “The Mormon Index” until reading Tim’s article.

The Church’s welfare program is supported by a facility that typically includes a food storehouse, a cannery, an employment resource center, and a family counseling center. The Bridgeton facility in St. Louis Missouri is a central focus in Tim’s article.

My family has been benefited by the facility. In the past, when we’ve needed to stretch…