Self-reliance
“It is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.”
(
D&C 58:26)
Scriptures
Matthew 25:1–13 (The parable of the ten virgins)
Matthew 25:14–29 (Parable of the talents)
2 Thessalonians 3:10–13; Galatians 6:3–5 (Importance of working and being self-reliant)
D&C 58:26–28 (We are agents unto ourselves)
D&C 88:118 (Seek learning by study and faith)
D&C 89:18–20 (Promises to those who obey the Word of Wisdom)
D&C 104:78 (Pay debts)
Q: What does it mean to be “agents unto [ourselves]”? How can we become more “anxiously engaged in a good cause”?
Dependent vs. Self-reliant
Write the word “Dependent” on the left side of the board and the word
“Self-reliant” on the right side.
Ask the young women to define both words (if they need help, refer them to pages 184–85 of True to the Faith).
Ask them to list ways they are dependent on others and ways they are self-reliant.
Why does the Lord want us to grow to be self-reliant?
Ask the young women to define both words (if they need help, refer them to pages 184–85 of True to the Faith).
Ask them to list ways they are dependent on others and ways they are self-reliant.
Why does the Lord want us to grow to be self-reliant?
Scriptures:
- Ask the youth to think of examples from the scriptures of someone who acted self-reliant
- Nephi's bow (1 Nep 16:18-23)
- Nephi's ship (1 Nep 18:1-4)
- King Mosiah toiling with the people (Mos 2:14)
- Nephites work the land (Enos 1:21)
The responsibility for your social, emotional, spiritual, physical, and economic well-being rests first on yourself, second on your family, and third on the Church. Under the inspiration of the Lord and through your own labors, you should supply yourself and your family with the spiritual and temporal necessities of life.
You are better able to take care of yourself and your family when you are self-reliant. You are prepared to endure times of adversity without becoming dependent on others.
In order to become self-reliant, you must be willing to work.
The Lord has commanded us to work (D&C 42:42). Honorable work is a basic source of happiness, self-worth, and prosperity.
If you are ever temporarily unable to meet your basic needs through your own efforts or the support of family members, the Church may be able to help you. In these situations, the Church often provides life-sustaining resources to help you and your family become self-reliant again.
Q: What are some important areas of self-reliance?
Self-Reliance
Self-reliance is the ability, commitment, and effort to provide the spiritual and temporal necessities of life for self and family. As members become self-reliant, they are also better able to serve and care for others.
Church members are responsible for their own spiritual and temporal well-being. Blessed with the gift of agency, they have the privilege and duty to set their own course, solve their own problems, and strive to become self-reliant. Members do this under the inspiration of the Lord and with the labor of their own hands.
When Church members are doing all they can to provide for themselves but cannot meet their basic needs, generally they should first turn to their families for help. When this is not sufficient or feasible, the Church stands ready to help.
Some of the areas in which members should become self-reliant are outlined in the following paragraphs:
health, education, employment,
home storage, finances, and spiritual strength
How can the young women’s efforts in their youth bless their own futures? How can these efforts bless their families when they become wives and mothers?
Disaster Preparedness
Temporal and Spiritual
Ask the young women what they and their families do to prepare for a
natural disaster (such as an earthquake or hurricane).
As a class, read
the first three paragraphs of President Henry B. Eyring’s talk “Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady.”
Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady
Most of us have thought about how to prepare for storms. We have seen and felt the suffering of women, men, and children, and of the aged and the weak, caught in hurricanes, tsunamis, wars, and droughts. One reaction is to ask, “How can I be prepared?” And there is a rush to buy and put away whatever people think they might need for the day they might face such calamities.
But there is another even more important preparation we must make for tests that are certain to come to each of us. That preparation must be started far in advance because it takes time. What we will need then can’t be bought. It can’t be borrowed. It doesn’t store well. And it has to have been used regularly and recently.
What we will need in our day of testing is a spiritual preparation. It is to have developed faith in Jesus Christ so powerful that we can pass the test of life upon which everything for us in eternity depends. That test is part of the purpose God had for us in the Creation.
Question:
What are some “spiritual disasters” or trials that we might face? What
can we do to prepare spiritually?
Give each young woman part of the remainder of President Eyring’s talk, and ask them to look for answers to these questions. Invite them to share what they find.
Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady
So, the great test of life is to see whether we will hearken to and obey God’s commands in the midst of the storms of life. It is not to endure storms, but to choose the right while they rage. And the tragedy of life is to fail in that test and so fail to qualify to return in glory to our heavenly home.
Decisions now to exercise faith and be steady in obedience will in time produce great faith and assurance. That is the spiritual preparedness we all will need. And it will qualify us in the moments of crisis to receive the Lord’s promise that “if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.”
"That will be true when we face the storms of life and the prospect of death. A loving Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son have given us all the help They can to pass the test of life set before us. But we must decide to obey and then do it. We build the faith to pass the tests of obedience over time and through our daily choices. We can decide now to do quickly whatever God asks of us. And we can decide to be steady in the small tests of obedience which build the faith to carry us through the great tests, which will surely come."
Self-reliance
By bootz15
