Self Reliance

1.  "We should strive to become self-reliant and not depend on others for our existence."

Marion G. Romney, "The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance", General Conference, October 1982

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2.  "This Church and its people are commanded by the Lord to be prepared, self-reliant, and independent.  Times of plenty are times to live providently and lay up in store. Times of scarcity are times to live frugally and draw on those stores."   

Keith B. McMullin, "Come to Zion! Come to Zion!", General Conference, October 2002

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3.  "Our Welfare Services program has taught us by using the spokes of a wheel to define the essential elements of temporal self-reliance. The elements contained in the wheel are education; physical health; employment; home storage; resource management; and social, emotional, and spiritual strength."   

L. Tom Perry, "Becoming Self-Reliant", General Conference, October 1991

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4.  "The lesson we learn generation after generation is that rich and poor are all under the same sacred obligation to help their neighbor. It will take all of us working together to successfully apply the principles of welfare and self-reliance."   

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Providing in the Lord's Way", General Conference, October 2011

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5.  "The principle of self-reliance or personal independence is fundamental to the happy life."  

Boyd K. Packer, "Solving Emotional Problems in the Lord's Own Way", General Conference, April 1978

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6.  "The poor are exalted because they work for the temporary assistance they receive, they are taught correct principles, and they are able to lift themselves from poverty to self-reliance. The rich are made low because they humble themselves to give generously of their means to those in need."   

Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Inspired Church Welfare", General Conference, April 1999

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7.  "By avoiding debt and saving money now, we are prepared for full-time Church service in the years to come. The purpose of both temporal and spiritual self-reliance is to get ourselves on higher ground so that we can lift others in need."   

Robert D. Hales, "Coming to Ourselves: The Sacrament, The Temple and Sacrifice of Service", General Conference, April 2012

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8.  "Every human being in every walk of life needs help in building his self-respect and self-reliance. To be truly effective, welfare services must be concerned with the betterment of the total individual."   

Marvin J. Ashton, "Give With Wisdom That They May Receive With Dignity", General Conference, October 1981  

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9.  "Self-reliance is a product of provident living and exercising economic self-discipline. From the beginning the Church has taught that families—to the extent they can—need to assume responsibility for their own temporal welfare. Each generation is required to learn anew the foundational principles of self-reliance: avoid debt, implement principles of thrift, prepare for times of distress, listen to and follow the words of the living oracles, develop the discipline to distinguish between needs and wants and then live accordingly."   

H. David Burton, "The Sanctifying Work of Welfare", General Conference, April 2011

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10.  "More than ever before, we need to learn and apply the principles of economic self-reliance. We do not know when the crisis involving sickness or unemployment may affect our own circumstances. We do know that the Lord has decreed global calamities for the future and has warned and forewarned us to be prepared. For this reason the Brethren have repeatedly stressed a “back to basics” program for temporal and spiritual welfare."   

Ezra Taft Benson, "Prepare for the Days of Tribulation", General Conference, October 1980

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My Position Statement - Self Reliance

I have spent the last few years receiving a first-hand education in self reliance that I did not expect I would be receiving.  And it was not because I found myself in a position where I needed the aid and assistance of the Church's welfare program, but instead, I was called to give that assistance by helping others to learn how to be self-reliant.  Serving as a missionary alongside my husband, at the start of this mission, we were very much on the "mercy" side of the self reliance program.  But we quickly learned that although it was very new to us, it was not new to those who were receiving assistance, and many of them knew how to "work the missionaries".  It took us a few months, but then good old "justice" kicked into high gear and we began to tighten the belts of the church's funds.  However, another lesson was to be learned.  Justice and mercy are pretty tricky, and they actually go hand in hand.  You really can't have the one without the other.  Every situation we deal with is unique.  Every family's problems is unique to that family.  Every person who hits rock bottom has reached that point because of that person's own unique situation.  They may have some things in common, like drug use, loss of employment, abuse, etc., but they each have their own level of coping strategies.  The bottom line is, the temporal needs can be met - that is not a problem.  It's the spiritual needs that take a beating.  When these people are down and out, there is no spiritual side.  They can't see it; they can't feel it.  They only exist for their next meal.  And after that eat that meal, they only think about the next meal.  It is so important that when we are helping others to learn self reliance, that we do so while constantly stressing the importance of the spiritual side of self reliance.  Unfortunately, we have not seen much success in our mission (at least not on our time table), but we do have one.  And it is because he has grasped on to the spiritual side of self reliance and it shows in his eyes. And for him, that was worth 2 years of service.