Doctrine & Covenants Lesson # 38
“In Mine
Own Way”
Having obligated everyone to at least
try web indexing, I hope some of you were able to and thereby found a new way
to serve in a missionary context, since whatever work we do for the dead is
surely a form of missionary work.
As a reminder, Kara is teaching the
lesson next week, so this is just by way of my thoughts on the upcoming lesson.
I was at a luncheon with some friends
a couple of weeks ago and, although from different wards, three of them had
experience with the Church’s relatively new self-reliance initiative. I say
relatively new because Harold B. Lee set up the Church’s welfare program in the
1930s. Having listened to my friends, serving as both facilitators for one of
the groups in their Stake, and as participants, I was firstly surprised I hadn’t
heard much about this particular aspect, and then grateful as they recounted
the wonderful and inspiring experiences they were all reporting.
When I got home, I was reading the
October 2017 Ensign, and there was a whole article on the subject. Here
is an excerpt:
Under the direction of local
priesthood leaders, more than 500,000 Latter-day Saints in more than 100
nations have participated in the self-reliance initiative since 2014. The
Church is now introducing the initiative throughout North America.The
initiative includes courses and resources “to help members of the Church learn
and put into practice principles of faith, education, hard work, and trust in
the Lord. Accepting and living these principles,” the First Presidency says,
“will better enable [us] to receive the temporal blessings promised by the Lord.”
“It has always been a cardinal teaching with the Latter-day Saints,” said
President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918), “that a religion which has not the
power to save people temporally and make them prosperous and happy here, cannot
be depended upon to save them spiritually, to exalt them in the life to come.”
We should not be surprised, then, that by strengthening the temporal, we
also strengthen the spiritual. [1]
There is also a website srs.lds.org. Apparently
participation is by invitation, and I am trying to find out if we are going to
have this program in our Stake (for all I know it might already be taking
place).
The remarkable thing, to me, is that
as we work together on physical self-reliance, spiritual self-reliance is also
increased. And that is the focus of the lesson.
Interestingly, I believe I mentioned
the lack of emphasis on physical self-reliance during recent General
Conferences. There was a time when this was an ongoing theme, but it is a main factor
of this initiative. So how do we develop spiritual self-reliance as result of physical self-reliance. Does the
one precede the other, or not? It’s a strange analogy, but even those who shut
themselves away in cloisters to spend their time in spiritual contemplation
have to develop physical means of support. One dubious example of this is the
Benedictine monks who gave the world a particularly strong liqueur!
Here is what President Packer said:
“We have been taught to store a year’s supply
of food, clothing, and, if possible, fuel—at home. … Can we not see that the
same principle applies to inspiration and revelation, the solving of problems,
to counsel, and to guidance? We need to have a source of it stored in every
home. … If we lose our emotional and spiritual independence, our
self-reliance, we can be weakened quite as much, perhaps even more, than when
we become dependent materially” (Ensign, May 1978, 91–92).
Perhaps being self-reliant spiritually,
then, gives us the tools to be able to cope with physical challenges. In that
lovely talk called “Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time,” Elder Cook said:
The scriptures and modern prophets
have made it clear that there will be lean years and plentiful years. The
Lord expects us to be prepared for many of the challenges that come. He
proclaims, “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” . . . One of the great
blessings of the scriptures is that they warn us of challenges that are
unexpected but often occur. We would do well to be prepared for them. One form
of preparation is to keep the commandments. In numerous places in the Book of
Mormon, the people were promised that they would prosper in the land if they
would keep the commandments. This promise is often accompanied by the warning
that if they do not keep the commandments of God, they shall be cut off from
His presence. Clearly, having the blessings of the Spirit—the ministration of
the Holy Ghost—is an essential element to truly prosper in the land and to be
prepared.[2]
Of course, it is always a matter of
learn then teach. Once we have it down, so to speak, we should be looking for
ways to help others, as we, no doubt, have been helped. The Ward Council
directs us in how we can help within the ward boundaries, but the Lord will
always give us to know what we can do on a day to day basis. We had some great
counsel today about thinking of ways our home and visiting teachers can help
us. Striving to see how we can serve other—and I think that might be an
embodiment of Sis. Black’s lesson on love casting out fear—we might fear to
reach out, but our love for our brothers and sisters should help us overcome that
fear.
Additional resources for this lesson
- “Ministry
of Harold B. Lee: Organizing the Church Welfare Program”: This
three-minute video highlights the role of Harold B. Lee as a young stake
president and then as an Apostle in the foundation of the Church’s welfare
plan.
- “Teachings
of George Albert Smith: A Personal Creed: Care for the Needy”: This
two-minute video discusses Church relief efforts after World War II.
- “Teachings
of Thomas S. Monson: Rescuing Those in Need”: This five-minute video
discusses Thomas S. Monson’s commitment to personal ministry to those in
need.
- “That We Might
Be One”: This 12-minute video describes how Dutch Saints overcame hard
feelings to serve German Saints after World War II.
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