Working to be Self-Reliant
I have been asked to speak about work and self-reliance. To start off what is work? The prophet Alma put it as having labored exceedingly. Hard work is a blessing from God. Elder F. David Stanley of the seventy says, “work was instituted from the beginning as the means by which the children of God were to fulfill their earthly stewardship. Work is our divine heritage. In a broader sense, work is the means to achieve happiness, prosperity, and salvation. When work and duty and joy are commingled, then man is at his best.
It involves going after it with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. That alone is the difference between the average and the excellence.
Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires. I really like what President David O. McKay said about this subject. He said “Let us realize that the privilege to work is a gift, that the power to work is a blessing, that the love of work is success.”
Elder Stanley goes on to say in his talk that, “the frightening disappearance of work as a part of our basic ethic is alarming. We constantly hear the statements, “It’s too hard,” “Give me something easier,” “I want it now,” “I can’t wait that long” coming from our young people. The ugly disease of “nothing to do” is growing in epidemic proportions among us. It undermines the basic fabric of our nations. The prophet Ezekiel clearly defined iniquity as an “abundance of idleness.”
Elder Stanley shared a story about people helping hurricane victims. He said,"Just over eight months ago, a monstrous hurricane swept into Florida. Jack Demaree of the Montgomery Alabama Stake and many like him drove over two thousand miles round trip, using their vacation time to assist the hurricane victims. He brought back an article from a Florida newspaper: "In hot, humid conditions Saturday, about 12,000 volunteers- including 9,000 Mormon church members from six states who brought chain saws, plywood and tar paper- swarmed into South Florida... So many people [were] at work that only two hundred showed up Saturday morning for an outdoor prayer service... despite the... prediction that more than 5,000 would attend." (Ocala, Florida, Sunday newspaper, 6 Sept. 1992.) In my conversation with Brother Demaree about his experience, he said, "All I did was cut up trees that were blown down by the hurricane." Brethren, using that as an analogy, cutting trees is more important thank thinking about cutting trees or planning to cut trees. We are becoming the world experts in meeting, thinking, planning, and organizing about working the work, but we need to do it. We need to work."
Bishop J. Richard Clarke said, “Work is a blessing from God. It is a fundamental principle of salvation, both spiritual and temporal.” He went on to say, “We are co-creators with God. He gave us the capacity to do the work he left undone, to harness the energy, mine the ore, transform the treasures of the earth for our good. But most important, the Lord knew that from the crucible of work emerges the hard core of character. One example of obedience to hard work is President Kimball. He had a “Do it!” philosophy and committed himself not only to the pursuit of happiness, but the happiness of pursuit. One time when Dr. Wilkinson showed concern for his health and the increasing demands he was making on his body, Pres. Kimball responded in a kindly way saying, “Your job, Bro Wilkinson, is to keep me going at the pace I am going to go."
Bishop Clarke said, "President Kimball's complete dedication to his work sets a high standard for all of us. We have a moral obligation to exercise our personal capabilities of mind, muscle, and spirit in a way that will return to the Lord, our families, and our society the fruits of our best efforts. To do less is to live our lives unfulfilled. It is to deny ourselves and those dependent upon us opportunity and advantage. We work to earn a living, it is true; but as we toil, let us also remember that we are building a life. Our work determines what that life will be. Work is honorable. It is good therapy for most problems. It is the antidote for worry. It is the equalizer for deficiency of native endowment. Work makes it possible for the average to approach genius. What we may lack in aptitude, we can make up for in performance."
Bishop Clarke suggests a few important elements of work ethic.
"1. We must be motivated by a higher ideal than simply meeting the artificial standard of a society which has allowed inferior performance to be acceptable. That is not the Mormon ethic. In times of unemployment, Latter-day Saints who practice the work principles of our religion should be in great demand.
2. Be honest with your employer. Make sure that "the laborer is worthy of his hire." (D&C 84:79) Our employers should get the best we have in us, not just enough to get by or to meet common standards. Let us exemplify the old pioneer motto: A Full Day's Work for a Full Day's Pay.
3. Continue to invest in your personal development. Expand your occupational horizons by constant study. Use your spare time wisely. If we waste thirteen minutes each day, it is the equivalent of two weeks a year without pay. Look to your present job as a stepping-stone along your career path. Take time to think. The dimensions of most jobs are constrained only by the mind of the uncreative worker. I like what one businessman counseled: "If at first you do succeed, try something harder!"
In D&C 75:3 and 5 it reads, “Behold I say unto you that it is my will that you should go forth and not tarry, neither be idle but labor with your might. And thus, if ye are faithful ye shall be laden with many sheaves, and crowned with honor, and glory, and immortality, and eternal life.
So now that we know what work means and how to apply it to our lives, the next thing I’ll speak about is being self-reliant. I’m basing this topic from talks given by Pres Marion G. Romney and Lauradene Lindsey. Ever since 1832 the Lord has commanded the Church and its members to become independent and self reliant. Brigham Young said, “We want you henceforth to be a self sustaining people… This is what the Lord requires of his people. It is our duty to be active and diligent in doing everything we can to sustain ourselves.”
President Romney said, “since the beginning of time man has been counseled to earn his own way, thereby becoming self-reliant.
Elder Albert E. Bowen said, " “The … Church is not satisfied with any system which leaves able people permanently dependent, and insists, on the contrary, that the true function and office of giving, is to help people [get] into a position where they can help themselves and thus be free.” Many programs have been set up by well-meaning individuals to aid those who are in need. However, many of these programs are designed with the shortsighted objective of “helping people,” as opposed to “helping people help themselves.” Our efforts must always be directed toward making able-bodied people self-reliant.
I clipped the following article from the Reader’s Digest some time ago. It reads:
“In our friendly neighbor city of St. Augustine great flocks of sea gulls are starving amid plenty. Fishing is still good, but the gulls don’t know how to fish. For generations they have depended on the shrimp fleet to toss them scraps from the nets. Now the fleet has moved. …
“The shrimpers had created a Welfare State for the … sea gulls. The big birds never bothered to learn how to fish for themselves and they never taught their children to fish. Instead they led their little ones to the shrimp nets.
“Now the sea gulls, the fine free birds that almost symbolize liberty itself, are starving to death because they gave in to the ‘something for nothing’ lure! They sacrificed their independence for a handout.
“A lot of people are like that, too. They see nothing wrong in picking delectable scraps from the tax nets of the U.S. Government’s ‘shrimp fleet.’ But what will happen when the Government runs out of goods? What about our children of generations to come?
We should strive to become self-reliant and not depend on others for our existence. But, at the same time there are people who for whatever reason cannot become self reliant on their own. To this President Henry D. Moyle said, “This great principle does not deny to the needy nor the poor the assistance they should have. The wholly incapacitated, the aged, the sickly are cared for with all tenderness, but every able-bodied person is enjoined to do his utmost for himself to avoid dependence, if his own efforts can make such a course possible; to look upon adversity as temporary; to combine his faith in his own ability with honest toil…”
President Romney said the more self-reliant a Latter-day saint is the more able to serve he becomes, and the more he serves the greater his sanctification. The gospel helps us to gain self reliance. Elder Marvin J. Ashton said, “The Lord cares enough about us to give us direction for serving and the opportunity for developing self reliance. As members of the church we should give our time, talents, and resources to care for those in need. This has been our responsibility from the beginning of time. We are better able to fulfill this responsibility if we are striving to become self reliant because we can’t give what we don’t have.
Becoming self reliant in the Lord’s way requires that we work physically, mentally, and spiritually in order to provide as best we can for ourselves and others. With work, we can become self reliant in the following areas: education, health, employment, home storage, resource management, and spiritual, emotional, and social strength.
First from Lauradene Lindsay is education. She says, “educational self-reliance requires the ability to effectively read, write, communicate, and do mathematics. We should also study the scriptures, seek wisdom out of the best books and take advantage of opportunities to increase our learning. In my life, this past year I went to school to be a medical transcriptionist. Sometimes when the reading got to be tedious I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, but once I graduated it was the best feeling of accomplishment knowing I had worked hard to receive my education. Now the next step is getting a job in this field so I can put to good use all that I learned.
Next on Lauradene’s list is health. Keeping our bodies and minds healthy increases our ability to care for ourselves and others. We should live the word of wisdom and avoid substances and lifestyles that would harm our bodies or minds.
Next is employment. In D&C 42:42 it reads, “Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer. Preparing ourselves for a suitable occupation requires education, training, experience, and diligence. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said that our Heavenly Father expects us to show our faith and appreciation by strenuous personal efforts to magnify the talents and opportunities he has given us. Since I don’t have a real job yet I volunteer at a few places. This gives me experience in other areas and also helps me to not just sit at home.
The next one is home storage. With us being single it’s hard to get on the bandwagon with this one. But self reliant people are better prepared to help themselves as well as others in the event of natural disasters, loss of employment, or other unexpected challenges. We are counseled to store, use, and know how to produce and prepare essential items. We are more secure if we are able to provide for ourselves in times of adversity.
Next is resource management. To manage our resources in a self reliant way, we need to pay tithes and offerings, avoid unnecessary debt, save money, meet our financial obligations, be frugal, use time wisely, and share our time, talents, and resources with the needy.
Last but not least is spiritual, emotional, and social strength. Becoming self reliant in these things can happen as we study the scriptures and words of the living prophets, shun evil and obey the commandments, exercise faith in Christ, pray frequently and fervently, adjust to change, recover from misfortune, and strengthen our relationships with family, friends, and neighbors.
Working and becoming self-reliant brings temporal rewards as well as the promise of heavenly blessings. In D&C 38:29-30 it reads, “Ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land. I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.
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