Self-reliance

1.         “The Lord does help when we go to Him in times of need, especially when we are committed to His work and respond to His will.  But the Lord only helps  those who are willing to help themselves.  He expects His children to be self-reliant to the degree they can be.”   (L. Tom Perry “Becoming Self-Reliant” Ensign,  October 1991)

2.        “Independence and self-reliance are critical to our spiritual and temporal growth.  Whenever we get into situations such threaten our self-reliance, we  will find our freedoms threatened as well.”   (L Tom Perry “Becoming Self-Reliant” Ensign, October 1991  )

3.       “I have learned that the way to have a surplus is to spend less than I earn.  With that surplus I have been able to learn that it is really is better to give than to receive.  That is partly because when we give help in the Lord’s way, He blesses us.” (President Henry B. Eyring “Opportunities to Do Good” Ensign, May 2011)

4.       “Some people who lived through the Great Depression and the period following, when the government best owed gratuities upon the people, developed a feeling that the world owed them a living. In that climate, the First Presidency said in 1936: “The aim ofthe Church is to help the people to help themselves.

Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership.” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1936, p. 3.)” (Elder M. Russell Ballard “Providing For Our Needs” lds.org conference April 1981)

5.       “The love for work needs to be re-enthroned in our lives. Every family should have a plan for work that touches the lives of each family member so that this eternal principle will be ingrained in their lives.” (Elder M. Russell Ballard “Providing For Our Needs” lds.org conference April 1981)

6.       “Be prudent, wise, and conservative in your investment programs. It is by consistently and regularly adding to your investments that you will build your emergency and retirement savings.  This will add to your progress in becoming self-reliant.” (L. Tom Perry  “Becoming Self-Reliant” lds.org conference October 1991)

7.       “The principle of self- reliance is spiritual as well as temporal.  It is not a doomsday program; it is something to be practiced each day of our lives.”  (L. Tom Perry  “Becoming Self-Reliant” lds.org conference October 1991)

8.       “Some debt—such as for a modest home, expenses for education, perhaps for a needed first car—may be necessary. But never should we enter into financial bondage through consumer debt without carefully weighing the costs.”  (Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin “Earthly Debts, Heavenly Debts” lds.org conference April 2004)

9.       “We fear many parents in the Church are making “gullible gulls” out of their children with their permissiveness and their doling out of family resources. Parents who place their children on the dole are just as guilty as a government which places its citizens on the dole. In fact, the actions of parents in this area can be more devastating than any government program.”  (Marion G. Romney “The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance” lds.org conference October 1982)

10.   “Self-reliance is not the end, but a means to an end. It is very possible for a person to be completely independent and lack every other desirable attribute. One may become wealthy and never have to ask anyone for anything, but unless there is some spiritual goal attached to this independence, it can canker his soul.” (Marion G. Romney “The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance” lds.org conference October 1982)