In President Nelson's address on Sunday October 6, he spoke of how the Latter-day Saint Charities began after a world-wide fast for Ethiopia in 1984:
"The Church’s humanitarian outreach was launched in 1984. Then a Churchwide fast was held to raise funds to assist those afflicted by a devastating drought in eastern Africa. Church members donated $6.4 million on that single fast day.
Then-Elder M. Russell Ballard and Brother Glenn L. Pace were dispatched to Ethiopia to assess how those consecrated funds could best be used. This effort proved to be the beginning of what would later be known as Latter-day Saint Charities.
Since that time, Latter-day Saint Charities has provided more than two billion dollars in aid to assist those in need throughout the world. This assistance is offered to recipients regardless of their church affiliation, nationality, race, sexual orientation, gender, or political persuasion."
Here are some more details about the miracle that Elder Ballard and Elder Pace witnessed in Ethiopia:
When I travel to Africa with Latter-day Saint Charities, it often takes us about 30 hours to get there. I’m sure it was a similarly long trip for Elder Ballard & Elder Pace. When they arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the first thing that they did was not to go to their hotel and rest (the way we did), but rather their first priority was to locate the one member of the Church who was living in Ethiopia at the time, who was a man named Brother Hadlock. This brother from Washington state had been working as a consultant for Ethiopian Airlines for several months without his family and was very lonely. They soon discovered that his office was there at the airport. They located him and invited him to join them for a sacrament meeting the following Sunday. Brother Hadlock began to sob with tears of gratitude as he had not been able to partake of the Sacrament in months. They met a few days later on Sunday and had a sacrament meeting in Brother Hadlock’s home. At the conclusion of the meeting, Elder Ballard offered a most sacred prayer and blessing on Ethiopia. In his prayer he noted that they were the only Melchizedek Priesthood holders then in the country and that they were there on assignment from the First Presidency. He expressed gratitude for the members of the Church who had contributed during the special fast and who had prayed for the people of Ethiopia. Then with power and boldness, he called upon the power and authority of the holy Melchizedek Priesthood and commanded the elements to gather together to bring rain upon the land, thus to begin to relieve those who had been suffering for so many years. It hadn’t rained in a year, and the prayer was offered on a clear and sunny Sunday morning.
Elder Ballard and Elder Pace left the sacrament meeting to attend meetings with 2 humanitarian organizations in order to structure a partnership for the relief efforts. They returned to their hotel to rest. Elder Pace wrote this about what happened next:
“I was sitting at a little desk writing in my journal when I heard a clap of thunder. I went to the patio just in time to see the beginning of a torrential downpour. People began to run out of their little huts and public buildings, looking up at the sky and reaching their arms toward the heavens. They were shouting and crying. The heavy downpour continued for some time. I was mesmerized as I watched the scene from the window. As the ground became saturated and began to puddle, children and adults alike began to frolic and splash on each other. They grabbed buckets and barrels to collect rain from the roofs. It was a celebration unlike any I’ve ever witnessed.
“As I stood at the window watching the scene unfold, my emotions turned from great joy to exquisite thanksgiving. I began to weep. I [knew that] there were only two other people in the entire country who understood what had happened. Once I had gained control of my emotions, I went down the hall and knocked on Elder Ballard’s door. When he came to the door, I could tell he had been overwhelmed in a like manner. We said a prayer of thanksgiving. From that day forward, wherever we traveled, it rained.”
(from the book Safe Journey by Elder Glen Pace)
