Chapter 13: Peace and Contentment through Temporal Self-Reliance “We teach self-reliance as a principle of life, that we ought to provide for ourselves and take care of our own needs.”

From the Life of Gordon B. Hinckley We lived in what I thought was a large home. … There was a big lawn, with many trees that shed millions of leaves, and an immense amount of work to be done constantly. “… We had a stove in the kitchen and a stove in the dining room. A furnace was later installed, and what a wonderful thing that was. But it had a voracious appetite for coal, and there was no automatic stoker. The coal had to be shoveled into the furnace and carefully banked each night. “I learned a great lesson from that monster of a furnace: if you wanted to keep warm, you had to work the shovel.

“There is no substitute under the heavens for productive labor “There is no substitute under the heavens for productive labor. It is the process by which dreams become realities.”

As we work with integrity, our lives are blessed forever. I believe in the gospel of work. There is no substitute under the heavens for productive labor. It is the process by which dreams become realities. It is the process by which idle visions become dynamic achievements.4 A little play and a little loafing are good. But it is work that spells the difference in the life of a man or woman. It is work that provides the food we eat, the clothing we wear, the homes in which we live. We cannot deny the need for work with skilled hands and educated minds if we are to grow and prosper individually and collectively.5 “Children need to work with their parents. … They will learn that labor is the price of cleanliness and progress and prosperity.” How has work been a blessing in your life? How can parents help their children learn to work?

We have a responsibility to help others lift themselves and become self-reliant. There is an old saying that if you give a man a fish, he will have a meal for a day. But if you teach him how to fish, he will eat for the remainder of his life. May the Lord grant us vision and understanding to do those things which will help our members not only spiritually but also temporally. We have resting upon us a very serious obligation. President Joseph F. Smith said … that a religion which will not help a man in this life will not likely do much for him in the life to come (see “The Truth about Mormonism,” Out West magazine, Sept. 1905, 242). (D&C 81:5) (Acts 10:38) How can we help others become self-reliant? How has your life been influenced by service you have given and received?

Prophets have encouraged us to prepare ourselves spiritually and temporally for catastrophes to come. We teach self-reliance as a principle of life, that we ought to provide for ourselves and take care of our own needs. And so we encourage our people to have something, to plan ahead, keep … food on hand, to establish a savings account, if possible, against a rainy day. Catastrophes come to people sometimes when least expected—unemployment, sickness, things of that kind.14 (D&C 88:89–91) (D&C 38:30) When have you seen the importance of preparing for times of need? What are some small, gradual things we can do to prepare ourselves?

We enjoy independence and freedom as we avoid debt to the extent possible and set aside money for times of need. We have been counseled again and again concerning self-reliance, concerning debt, concerning thrift. So many of our people are heavily in debt for things that are not entirely necessary. … I urge you as members of this Church to get free of debt where possible and to have a little laid aside against a rainy day.17 President J. Reuben Clark Jr., in the priesthood meeting of the conference in 1938, [said]: “Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1938, 103). Why is it important to be disciplined in the way we spend money? How can debt affect us temporally and spiritually?