International Migrants Day
December 18

Read:
Deuteronomy 10:19

Explain:
Over and over in the scriptures, we read about migrants: Abraham, the Israelites, the Nephites, the Jaredites. Early Latter-day Saints made great sacrifices to migrate to Zion. Today, millions of people have left their home countries in hopes of a better life somewhere else. It is estimated that migrant workers and their families number 130 million worldwide. Migrant workers provide valuable services--often menial--yet they also are frequent targets of discrimination and resentment. On December 18, 1990, an international convention was adopted to protect the rights of migrant workers and their families. International Migrants Day commemorates that convention.

Pray:

• As applicable, give thanks that your ancestors were brought safely to this country and were able to establish themselves here.
• Give thanks for the ways immigrants have enriched this country.
• Pray for migrant workers and their families as they face the challenges of building new lives in a strange place.
• Pray that economic conditions all around the world will improve.