About Melvin J. Ballard

In the wake of the Great Depression, the state of Utah had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.  People were starving, jobs were scarce and the entire nation was beginning to lose hope.  Something needed to be done to reverse the downward spiral that many families were experiencing.

In 1936, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the formation of the Church Security Plan, a dramatic answer to the dire situation of many of their church members.  Since a large portion of Utah’s population belonged to the church, such a system would improve the economic situation of the entire state.  Melvin J. Ballard, who was serving as an apostle in the church, was assigned to head the General Church Relief Committee and execute the Security Plan. Though the plan itself had already been created, the implementation of the plan was Ballard’s responsibility.

Ballard was an innovator. Educated in business practices, he understood how to implement programs and motivate people. Ballard knew that in order to be effective, the Church Security Plan would have to be sustainable. It would have to give people the skills that they needed to pull themselves out of poverty, and stay out. When the plan was initially announced, the First presidency of the Church was clear about their goals for the organization:

 “Our primary purpose was to set up… a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished and independence, industry, thrift, and self-respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to help the people to help themselves. Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership.”

Ballard had to find a way to get people out of the impoverished state in which they found themselves, and maintain their dignity in the process. That was a tall order in a period of time when many well-meaning government and civic programs were failing to make their mark.

Undeterred, Ballard and his team created a system whereby these lofty goals could be accomplished. They divided the church into 13 welfare regions. Each region was given a storehouse and the resources needed to produce food and other commodities. Church Bishops would work with members to determine their needs for food, clothing and household goods. The members were then given assignments to work at the storehouse in various capacities.  In exchange for their work, the members were given the resources that they needed. The program was intended to be temporary in the lives of the individuals it helped. The goal was to give people skills and support until they could get work on their own. Through this system, the people earned what they received, which allowed them to maintain their dignity and remain self-reliant.

The Church’s innovative Security System was incredibly successful. It did not stop in Utah, but grew to include members in Idaho, California and Arizona. As the Security Plan grew in size, it also grew in perspective. After a few years, it was renamed the Church Welfare System. Today, the system is still in place with a program that spans the continents of the globe, has grown to include humanitarian efforts, and benefits the lives of millions inside and outside of the Church.

Melvin J. Ballard was a social innovator. Whether or not he realized it at the time, he was improving a societal system that had proved to be insufficient for meeting widespread needs. His ideas created a way for people to learn to help themselves. It is in his honor that the Ballard Center is named; reminding each of us that anyone can improve society. Some innovators create entirely new systems; others revitalize and mend existing organizations, but no matter how the social innovation comes into being, the result is a better world for each of us. Join us as we carry on the legacy of innovators like Melvin J. Ballard.