Pure Religion

I think it is brilliant that the LDS Church often puts out press releases on doctrinal issues, or on spiritual principles. Such a release was posted today, speaking of one of a great New Testament doctrine taught by James, Pure Religion:

Many Latter-day Saints feel this desire to reach out to the downtrodden — James’ widows and fatherless — and find that the two elements of his pure religion exist in a symbiotic relationship. Learning Christ’s teachings and reading about the way He conducted Himself motivates individuals to look for ways to engage with others the way He did. And serving those in need functions as a refining process — humbling the server, bringing her or him closer to Christ and His example....
... This relationship between personal discipleship and communal responsibility is not only brought to life in the experiences of those providing assistance to the poor and the needy. Within the Mormon paradigm, the recipients of charitable service require temporal assistance first and foremost. Once they receive that initial urgent support, they can then be encouraged and helped to acquire skills and confidence to become self-reliant. This then allows them, over time, to not only provide for their own needs and those of their family, but also to become providers of support and hope to yet others. Pure religion, then, is the marriage of inward-looking, soul-searching self-improvement to outward-looking, soul-lifting efforts to improve the situation of others.

In the wider picture, these releases are -- in truth -- newsworthy.