Chapter 30: Charity

What Is Charity?

Once again there are tremendous resources for this lesson found in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church:... (the old Priesthood/Relief Society manuals). This includes Joseph Smith, Chapter 37, and Joseph F. Smith, Chapter 22. There also some wonderful gems in Joseph Smith, Chapter 39 (founding of the Relief Society). These can all be found by going to the new “lds.org” then click on “Go to Classic LDS.org” (lower left corner), then click on “Gospel Library” then “Lessons” then “Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society.” The manuals are found at the bottom of this page.

In this section we find, “He has commanded us to love one another as He loves us” (p. 173). President Heber J. Grant taught that charity is crucial for true Lattter-day Saints:

What kind of men and women should we be, as Latter-day Saints, in view of this wonderful knowledge that we possess, that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God? We should be the most honest, the most virtuous, the most charitable-minded, the best people upon the face of the earth.

Let us not forget the obligation which rests upon us to render allegiance and service to the Lord, and that acceptable service to Him cannot be rendered without service to our fellow man.
We earnestly implore all members of the Church to love their brethren and sisters, and all peoples whoever and wherever they are; to banish hate from their lives, to fill their hearts with charity, patience, long-suffering, and forgiveness (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 141).

We are so fortunate to have as our current prophet one who exemplifies charity so powerfully. President Henry B. Eyring said of President Monson:

President Monson is an extraordinary example of a great shepherd. Everyone who has ever been associated with him seems to have become one of the sheep for whom he feels love and responsibility. Some people have a friend for a time; with President Monson, friends seem to be forever. He remembers people, their families and their lives with remarkable feelings of charity (Church News, Aug. 21, 2010

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf also added his testimony of President Monson’s charity and teaches us about our responsibilities as given by the Lord:

We all have heard stories of how President Monson visits and blesses the elderly and the sick, always attending to their needs and bringing them cheer, comfort, and love. President Monson has a natural way about him that makes people feel better about themselves. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if President Monson could visit and watch over every family in the Church?
It would. But, of course, he can’t—and he shouldn’t. The Lord has not asked him to do that. The Lord has asked us, as home teachers, to love and watch over our assigned families. The Lord has not asked President Monson to organize and conduct our family home evening. He wants us, as fathers, to do this (Ensign, Nov 2008, 53).

President Monson related the following act of charity by Joseph Smith:

One bright morning Joseph walked up to John E. Page and said, "Brother John, the Lord is calling you on a mission to Canada." John E. Page was rather astonished and said, "Why, Brother Joseph, I can't go on a mission to Canada. I don't even have a coat to wear." The Prophet Joseph took his own coat from his back, handed it to John Page, and said, "Here, John, wear this, and the Lord will bless you." Brother Page took the coat, went to Canada, and in two years walked five thousand miles and baptized six hundred souls, because he trusted in the words of a prophet of God (Ensign, June 1994, 5).

Here is another example in the history of Joseph Smith:

John L. Smith, the Prophet’s cousin, recalled the following incident that occurred in this same period of time: “The Prophet Joseph and cousin Hyrum, his brother, visited us. We were all sick but Mother with the fever and ague, and Father was out of his head the greatest part of the time. Joseph took the shoes from his feet when he saw our destitute condition and put them on Father’s feet, as he was barefoot, and rode home without any himself. He sent and took Father home to his house and saved his life and supplied us with many comforts so we recovered (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 430).

President Monson also shared the following about another prophet:

One who exemplified charity in his life was President George Albert Smith. Immediately following World War II, the Church had a drive to amass warm clothing to ship to suffering Saints in Europe. Elder Harold B. Lee and Elder Marion G. Romney took President George Albert Smith to Welfare Square in Salt Lake City to view the results. They were impressed by the generous response of the membership of the Church. They watched President Smith observing the workers as they packaged this great volume of donated clothing and shoes. They saw tears running down his face. After a few moments, President George Albert Smith removed his own new overcoat and said, “Please ship this also.”

The Brethren said to him, “No, President, no; don’t send that; it’s cold and you need your coat.”

But President Smith would not take it back; and so his coat, with all the others, was sent to Europe, where the nights were long and dark and food and clothing were scarce. Then the shipments arrived. Joy and thanksgiving were expressed aloud, as well as in secret prayer (Ensign, May 2000, 52).

In a talk at BYU President Monson also gave another illustration from this prophet:

A personal friend of mine told me of an example of such compassion. He said his uncle Junius Burt worked on the street department crew for Salt Lake City, and on a very cold day many years ago, he and others on the crew were chipping ice with shovels and hand implements from South Temple Street between State Street and Main Street. President George Albert Smith said to one of the workers who had no coat, “You should wear a coat today. It’s too cold to be out here in this very frigid weather working as you are working.”

The man, who did not know President Smith, replied, “I have no coat to wear.”

President Smith then removed his own coat, handed it to the man, and said, “Here, you take this coat and wear it. I work just across the street, and I can get there without a coat.”

Received by that worker that day was more than an overcoat. Received was a gesture of kindness which the recipient of the coat and his coworkers never forgot (BYU Speeches 15 September 2009).

If we are truly living the commandment to “love one another,” we would dread not responding to President Joseph F. Smith’s concerns when he said:

We fear that there are those who may suffer in silence for want of a helping hand. Your duty lies first to these in your locality (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 186).

Charity Is the Greatest of All Virtues

Here is a terrific quote to reinforce the title of this section:

Charity, or love, is the greatest principle in existence. If we can lend a helping hand to the oppressed, if we can aid those who are despondent and in sorrow, if we can uplift and ameliorate the condition of mankind, it is our mission to do it, it is an essential part of our religion to do it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 194).

In the section “Charity Comes from the Heart” is found, “The scriptures teach that “charity never faileth.” (See 1 Corinthians 13:4-8) (p. 176). The Book of Mormon offers more clarity on this idea:

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever (Moroni 7:46-47).

Add to this the following from this section:

The prophet Mormon tells us, “Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—but charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever” (Moroni 7:46-47).

President Howard W. Hunter expanded on this:

This love that we should have for our brothers and sisters in the human family, and that Christ has for every one of us, is called charity or “the pure love of Christ” (Moro. 7:47). It is the love that prompted the suffering and sacrifice of Christ’s atonement. It is the highest pinnacle the human soul can reach and the deepest expression (Ensign, May 1992, 61).

Similar to the above is the heading to Chapter 37 in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith:

Charity, the Pure Love of Christ
“Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity,
and ought to be manifested by those
who aspire to be the sons of God.”

The second half of the above quote is also worth discussion:

A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 426).

Joseph also added:

The nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more we are disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls; we feel that we want to take them upon our shoulders, and cast their sins behind our backs (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 428-9).

It is therefore important that we remember that it is the “love of Christ” not the “love for Christ” that “never faileth” - - in other words, man’s love often fails, but Christ’s love “never faileth.” Our goal should be, then, to emulate the Savior’s love or charity in our own lives.

D&C 8:2 reads:

Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

Note that the Holy Ghost dwells in our heart. Joseph Smith explained that charity is crucial to our having the Spirit, which as the title of this section teaches, “comes from the heart” (p. 176):

The Holy Spirit … shall be poured out at all times upon your heads, when you are exercised with those principles of righteousness that are agreeable to the mind of God, and are properly affected one toward another, and are careful by all means to remember those who are in bondage, and in heaviness, and in deep affliction for your sakes. And if there are any among you who aspire after their own aggrandizement, and seek their own opulence, while their brethren are groaning in poverty, and are under sore trials and temptations, they cannot be benefited by the intercession of the Holy Spirit, which maketh intercession for us day and night with groanings that cannot be uttered [see Romans 8:26] (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 427).

Charity Includes Giving to the Sick, Afflicted, and Poor

The heading of this section includes taking care of the “sick.” A great example from Church History is that of Emma Smith and her husband Joseph:

Joseph and Emma moved into an old homestead house in the new city of Nauvoo. Emma immediately began caring for the sick Saints desolated by fevers and illness. The two-story log structure housed many more persons than Joseph and Emma and their four children; the homeless had a way of finding the Smiths’ door. Emma’s welcome made no distinction among family, friends, or strangers (Ensign, Sep 1979, 65).

Additional insights to the above incident are given in the following:

Joseph and Emma had the sick brought to their house and took care of them there. And they continued to have them brought as fast as they were taken down until their house, which consisted of four rooms, was so crowded that they were under the necessity of spreading a tent in the yard for the reception of that part of the family who were still on their feet. Joseph and Emma devoted their whole time and attention to the care of the sick during this time of distress (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 430).

The next example is powerful because of the prelude to this story. When Joseph and Emma Smith first arrived in Kirtland, they were befriended by Newell K. and Elizabeth Ann Whitney, who had them live in the second floor of their store.

Elizabeth Ann Whitney recalled: “Early in the Spring of 1840 we went up to Commerce, as the upper portion of the city of Nauvoo continued to be called. We rented a house belonging to Hiram Kimball. … Here we were all sick with ague, chills and fever, and were only just barely able to crawl around and wait upon each other. Under these trying circumstances my ninth child was born. Joseph, upon visiting us and seeing our change of circumstances, urged us at once to come and share his accommodations. We felt the climate, the water, and the privations we were enduring could not much longer be borne; therefore we availed ourselves of this proposal and went to live in the Prophet Joseph’s yard in a small cottage; we soon recruited in health, and the children became more like themselves. My husband was employed in a store Joseph had built and fitted up with such goods as the people were in actual need of.

“One day while coming out of the house into the yard the remembrance of a prophecy Joseph Smith had made to me, while living in our house in Kirtland, flashed through my mind like an electric shock; it was this: that even as we had done by him, in opening our doors to him and his family when he was without a home; even so should we in the future be received by him into his house” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 430).

Finally, from Joseph’s life comes the next story. Note that Joseph would probably not be considered an astute businessman, since it is implied that he was more charitable than financially accountable:

On January 5, 1842, the Prophet wrote the following in a letter to Edward Hunter, who later served as Presiding Bishop: “Our assortment [at the Red Brick Store] is tolerably good—very good, considering the different purchases made by different individuals at different times, and under circumstances which controlled their choice to some extent; but I rejoice that we have been enabled to do as well as we have, for the hearts of many of the poor brethren and sisters will be made glad with those comforts which are now within their reach.

“The store has been filled to overflowing, and I have stood behind the counter all day, dealing out goods as steady as any clerk you ever saw, to oblige those who were compelled to go without their usual Christmas and New Year’s dinners, for the want of a little sugar, molasses, raisins, etc., etc.; and to please myself also, for I love to wait upon the Saints, and be a servant to all, hoping that I may be exalted in the due time of the Lord” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 432).

In Chapter 28 of this blog, was a quote from President Kimball which is a great supplement to the parable of the good Samaritan, as taught in this section. Even if it was quoted in the lesson on Service, it is still worth repeating:

None of us should become so busy in our formal Church assignments that there is no room left for quiet Christian service to our neighbors (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 82).

President Joseph F. Smith taught that charity is the path to greater blessings:

…there is perhaps no more potent or far reaching influence than well-directed charity, to win the confidence and love of our fellow creatures. And having won their confidence through simple deeds of mercy the door is opened to win and lead their souls to higher planes of faith and spiritual excellence; and, after all, the spiritual part is of greater worth than the mere temporal.
In the long run it is better to starve or even to perish for the want of temporal food than to be impoverished and perish for the lack of intellectual and spiritual knowledge which are essential to secure the gift of eternal life which is the greatest gift of God. To possess a knowledge of the principles of eternal truth is more to me than food or raiment. Yet we want both the temporal and the spiritual food and God has so ordained that both of these are within easy reach of all mankind, provided they will observe His laws and live consistent therewith (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 187).

President John Taylor also had some great insights on charity:

If good people are suffering for the common necessaries of life, the scriptures say, “If a man having this world’s goods see his brother in need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” [See 1 John 3:17]. And in regard to those matters, we ought to look to the wants of everybody. … Do not let us make paupers of them; but let us treat them as brethren and sisters, as good, honorable men and women; let us see that they are provided for.
I have seen some people who would get down upon their knees and pray most heartily for God to feed the poor and clothe the naked. Now, I would never ask the Lord to do a thing that I would not do. If we have them among us, suppose we go at it and relieve them. … And if people sustain misfortune of any kind, look after them and bestow upon them those things necessary for their welfare and happiness. And God will bless us in so doing.

I would a great deal rather that you would take, say a sack of flour, some beef, … sugar, some butter and cheese, and clothing, and fuel, and such comforts and conveniences of life, and thus try to make people feel happy, than all the prayers you could offer up to the Lord about it; and he would rather see it too. That is the proper way to do things. In receiving blessings ourselves, try to distribute them, and God will bless and guide us in the ways of peace.

A man came to Jesus on one occasion and asked him, which was the greatest commandment. The Savior answered him: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” [Matthew 22:37-39]. Can we do that? It is sometimes hard work, is it not? We too frequently feel we would rather put two dollars in our own pocket than one in our neighbor’s do we not? We would rather have two or three cows than that our neighbor should have one? (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 24-25).

Some wonderful principles and laws governing true charity are outlined in a terrific way by President Harold B. Lee in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, Chapter 28, where he discusses the welfare program of the Church. Here is some of what he taught:

In the 104th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants … we have as clearly defined in a few words the Welfare Program as anything I know. Now listen to what the Lord says:

“I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine. And it is my purpose to provide for my saints.”

… Did you hear what the Lord said?

“It is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine. But it must needs be done in mine own way.” …

“And behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints.”
Now, get the significance of this one statement:

“That the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.”

Now, that is the plan. … The Lord goes on to say:

“For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves. Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment” [D&C 104:14-18].

.… Now, what does he mean by this phrase? His way is, “that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.” …

“Exalt,” in the language of the dictionary, and the definition that I am sure the Lord is trying to convey means: “To lift up with pride and joy to success.” That is how we should lift the poor up, “with pride and joy to success,” and how are we to do it? By the rich being made low.
Now, do not mistake that word “rich.” That does not always mean a man who has a lot of money. That man may be poor in money, but he may be rich in skill. He may be rich in judgement. He may be rich in good example. He may be rich in splendid optimism, and in a lot of other qualities that are necessary. And when individual Priesthood quorum members unite themselves together, we usually find all those rare qualities necessary to lift up the needy and distressed with pride and joy to success in the accomplishment. There could not be a more perfect working of the Lord’s plan than that (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 166-7).

So, the Lord has made an effort to teach us charity by sharing what He has with us. He than asks that we then share what we have with others that we may become like Him.

President Brigham Young made a powerful promise to members of the Church:

I will here say to the Latter-day Saints, if you will feed the poor with a willing heart and ready hand neither you nor your children will ever be found begging bread (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 132).

There may be concern about giving to beggars. Brigham Young had this council:

If the poor had all the surplus property of the rich many of them would waste it on the lusts of the flesh, and destroy themselves in using it. For this reason the Lord does not require the rich to give all their substance to the poor. It is true that when the young man came to Jesus to know what he must do to be saved, he told him, finally, “sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me;” and a great many think that he told the young man to give away all that he had, but Jesus did not require any such thing, neither did he say so, but simply, “distribute to the poor” [see Luke 18:18-23] (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 239).

Similarly, President Joseph F. Smith had this to say:

have seen men go away from my door with good bread and butter in their hands (good enough for any king to eat, for my folks make good bread and good butter, as good as I ever ate on earth) and when out of the gate they have thrown it into the street. It was not food they wanted. They wanted money. For what? That they might go to some gambling [hall] or to some drinking saloon. Of course they are responsible for that. We can only judge by appearances and by the promptings of the good spirit within us; and it is better to give to a dozen that are unworthy than to turn away empty one worthy person (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 194).

A wonderful example of “charity” for those in need, which also follows the guidelines for the Church’s welfare program (for details, see Chapter 27 of this blog), comes from the life of Joseph Smith:

James Leach was an Englishman who had come to Nauvoo with his convert sister and her husband, Agnes and Henry Nightingale. After looking for work without success, James and Henry determined to ask the Prophet for help. James recalled:

“We … found [the Prophet] in a little store selling a lady some goods. This was the first time I had had an opportunity to be near him and get a good look at him. I felt there was a superior spirit in him. He was different to anyone I had ever met before; and I said in my heart, he is truly a Prophet of the most high God.

“As I was not a member of the Church I wanted Henry to ask him for work, but he did not do so, so I had to. I said, ‘Mr. Smith, if you please, have you any employment you could give us both, so we can get some provisions?’ He viewed us with a cheerful countenance, and with such a feeling of kindness, said, ‘Well, boys, what can you do?’ We told him what our employment was before we left our native land.

“Said he, ‘Can you make a ditch?’ I replied we would do the best we could at it. ‘That’s right, boys,’ and picking up a tape line, he said, ‘Come along with me.’

“He took us a few rods from the store, gave me the ring to hold, and stretched all the tape from the reel and marked a line for us to work by. ‘Now, boys,’ said he, ‘can you make a ditch three feet wide and two and a half feet deep along this line?’

“We said we would do our best, and he left us. We went to work, and when it was finished I went and told him it was done. He came and looked at it and said, ‘Boys, if I had done it myself it could not have been done better. Now come with me.’

“He led the way back to his store, and told us to pick the best ham or piece of pork for ourselves. Being rather bashful, I said we would rather he would give us some. So he picked two of the largest and best pieces of meat and a sack of flour for each of us, and asked us if that would do. We told him we would be willing to do more work for it, but he said, ‘If you are satisfied, boys, I am.’

“We thanked him kindly, and went on our way home rejoicing in the kindheartedness of the Prophet of our God.”

James Leach was baptized that same year and recorded that he “often had the privilege of seeing [the Prophet’s] noble face lit up by the Spirit and power of God” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 425).

Similarly, President Kimball cautions us concerning many “causes” from which we may choose:

May I counsel you that when you select causes for which you give your time and talents and treasure in service to others, be careful to select good causes. There are so many of these causes to which you can give yourself fully and freely and which will produce much joy and happiness for you and for those you serve. There are other causes, from time to time, which may seem more fashionable and which may produce the applause of the world, but these are usually more selfish in nature. These latter causes tend to arise out of what the scriptures call “the commandments of men” [Matthew 15:9] rather than the commandments of God. Such causes have some virtues and some usefulness, but they are not as important as those causes which grow out of keeping the commandments of God (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 82\3-4).

In the wonderful quote from President Monson in this section, he states that if we have charity we can inspire, “gratitude in another human being” (p. 176). Here is a great example of this idea:

Joseph Smith was as tenderhearted as he was sociable, as one young man remembered: “I was at Joseph’s house; he was there, and several men were sitting on the fence. Joseph came out and spoke to us all. Pretty soon a man came up and said that a poor brother who lived out some distance from town had had his house burned down the night before. Nearly all of the men said they felt sorry for the man. Joseph put his hand in his pocket, took out five dollars and said, ‘I feel sorry for this brother to the amount of five dollars; how much do you all feel sorry?’” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 458).

Fasting and payment of fast offerings should be stressed in this lesson as an important way to give charity to the “Sick, Afflicted, and Poor” as the title of this section indicates. Here is what President Joseph F. Smith taught:

It is evident that the acceptable fast is that which carries with it the true spirit of love for God and man; and that the aim in fasting is to secure perfect purity of heart and simplicity of intention—a fasting unto God in the fullest and deepest sense—for such a fast would be a cure for every practical and intellectual error; vanity would disappear, love for our fellows would take its place, and we would gladly assist the poor and the needy (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 198).

President Monson elaborated on the welfare program of the Church:

The Church’s humanitarian efforts are reaching the hungry and homeless of many American cities. Throughout the state of Utah, among the border towns of Texas, Arizona, and California, and into the communities of Appalachia, food and clothing are donated through private voluntary organizations or directly to children’s homes, food banks, and soup kitchens. Much of this food starts its long journey on production projects managed by local agent stakes. Food is processed and packaged in Church canneries and distributed through storehouses, where Church welfare recipients and volunteers labor to assist their poor and needy neighbors within and outside the Church. Many could say with feeling, “I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat” (Matt. 25:35) (Ensign, May 1991, 47)

Charity Comes from the Heart

Elder Marvin J. Ashton gave a wonderful talk on charity where he taught about charity and the heart:

Charity is, perhaps, in many ways a misunderstood word. We often equate charity with visiting the sick, taking in casseroles to those in need, or sharing our excess with those who are less fortunate. But really, true charity is much, much more.

Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again. It makes the thought of being a basher repulsive.

Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other.

During an informal fireside address held with a group of adult Latter-day Saints, the leader directing the discussion invited participation by asking the question: “How can you tell if someone is converted to Jesus Christ?” For forty-five minutes those in attendance made numerous suggestions in response to this question, and the leader carefully wrote down each answer on a large blackboard. All of the comments were thoughtful and appropriate. But after a time, this great teacher erased everything he had written. Then, acknowledging that all of the comments had been worthwhile and appreciated, he taught a vital principle: “The best and most clear indicator that we are progressing spiritually and coming unto Christ is the way we treat other people” (Ensign, May 1992, 18).

Perhaps adding to the title for this section to read “Charity Comes from the Heart not from the Pocketbook” could be used to illustrate the following from President Joseph F. Smith:

God has commanded this people to remember the poor, and to give means for their support. … We do not believe in charity as a business; but rather we depend on mutual helpfulness.
The Church has always sought to place its members in a way to help themselves, rather than adopting the method of so many charitable institutions of providing for only present needs. When the help is withdrawn or used up, more must be provided from the same source, thus making paupers of the poor and teaching them the incorrect principle of relying upon others’ help, instead of depending upon their own exertions. … Our idea of charity, therefore, is to relieve present wants and then to put the poor in a way to help themselves so that in turn they may help others (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 197).

Developing the Virtue of Charity

The first question in this section is, “How can we become more charitable?” (p. 177). An answer implied several times but not spelled out explicitly in this chapter is “follow the spirit.” Here is a great example of this from Heber J. Grant:

I remember once while sitting in the State Bank I saw an aged brother passing, by the name of John Furster. He was one of the first men baptized in Scandinavia. As he passed the bank window, the Spirit whispered to me “Give that man twenty dollars.” I went up to the teller, handed him my I O U for $20, walked down the street and overtook Mr. Furster in front of the Z. C. M. I. store. I shook hands with him and left the twenty dollars in his hand. Some years later I learned that that morning Brother Furster had been praying for sufficient means to enable him to go to Logan and do a little work in the temple there. At the time, the Salt Lake Temple was not completed. The twenty dollars was just the amount he needed, and years later he thanked me with tears running down his cheeks, for having given him this money (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 142).

Concerning another answer to this question, President Joseph F. Smith, speaking of the Relief Society, responded:

Where on earth should we look for good, for the spirit of truth, for sincerity, for divine love, for patience and long-suffering and forgiveness and endurance and charity and every other blessed thing, if we do not look for it in the organizations that develop the mothers and the daughters of Zion (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 185).

From the prophet Joseph comes the following:

In July 1839, the Prophet spoke to a group of Church leaders: “I then addressed them and gave much instruction … touching upon many subjects of importance and value to all who wish to walk humbly before the Lord, and especially teaching them to observe charity, wisdom and fellow-feeling, with love one towards another in all things, and under all circumstances” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 426).

The prophet Joseph also gave a great discourse on the need to develop charity:

It is a duty which every Saint ought to render to his brethren freely—to always love them, and ever succor them. To be justified before God we must love one another: we must overcome evil; we must visit the fatherless and the widow in their affliction, and we must keep ourselves unspotted from the world; for such virtues flow from the great fountain of pure religion [see James 1:27].

[A member of the Church] is to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to provide for the widow, to dry up the tear of the orphan, to comfort the afflicted, whether in this church, or in any other, or in no church at all, wherever he finds them.

The rich cannot be saved without charity, giving to feed the poor when and how God requires.
Consider the state of the afflicted and try to alleviate their sufferings; let your bread feed the hungry, and your clothing cover the naked; let your liberality dry up the tear of the orphan, and cheer the disconsolate widow; let your prayers, and presence, and kindness, alleviate the pains of the distressed, and your liberality contribute to their necessities; do good unto all men, especially unto the household of faith, that you may be harmless and blameless, the sons of God without rebuke. Keep the commandments of God—all that he has given, does give, or will give, and an halo of glory will shine around your path; the poor will rise up and call you blessed; you will be honored and respected by all good men; and your path will be that of the just, which shineth brighter and brighter until the perfect day [see Proverbs 4:18] (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 426-7).

That charity is in general a disposition of Latter-day Saints was spoken of by President Joseph F. Smith:

We have always managed to give something to the poor, and refuse no one who asks for food. I believe this is the general sentiment and character of the Latter-day Saints. I think all the Mormon people are kindly disposed, and are generous toward the poor and unfortunate, and that there is not a Latter-day Saint under the sound of my voice or anywhere that would not divide his portion with his fellow creature in case of need (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 194).

That the development of charity is crucial to our religion was also emphasized by President Joseph F. Smith:

…let us exercise charity and forgiveness, love and mercy, one towards another; and go out of your way to help those that are in distress, so that the widow’s voice shall not ascend to God in complaint against the people for the lack of food, or raiment, or shelter. See to it that the orphan is not without a home in the midst of this people, nor without food or raiment, or chance to improve his mind. See to it that charity pervades all your actions and dwells in your hearts, inspiring you to look after the poor and afflicted, comforting those that are in prison, if they need comforting, and ministering unto those that are sick; for he that giveth a cup of cold water to a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 193).

The second suggestion in this section about “Developing the Virtue of Charity” is what to do when we feel uncharitable. President Grant shared a great example of this idea:

I heard a story of a brother (I have forgotten his name now) who attended a meeting in the early days. President Brigham Young made an appeal for donations to send to the Missouri River to help the Saints gather to Zion. He wanted everybody who could afford it, to give an ox or a cow or any other donation. One good brother jumped up and said, “I will give a cow.” Another brother got up and said, “I will give a cow.” The first brother had two cows and a large family; the other brother had a half-dozen cows and a small family. And, so the spirit [of the devil] came over the first man, [saying,] “Now, look here, you cannot get along with your large family; you cannot possibly get along with one cow. Now, that other man has got a small family and six cows; he could just as well give two or three and still get along all right.” As he started home, he walked four or five blocks, all the time getting weaker and weaker. Finally he thought, “I guess I won’t,” and then he realized the difference in the spirit that was tempting him and the one that had prompted his promise to the President of the Church that he would give a cow. Here was a spirit telling him to fail to fulfill his obligation, to fail to be honest, to fail to live up to his promise. He stopped short and turned around and said, “Mr. Devil, shut up or just as sure as I live, I will walk up to Brother Brigham’s office and give him the other cow.” He was not tempted any more (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 141-2).

Included in the third suggestion in this section is the statement, “The Savior taught that we must love others as we love ourselves” (see Matthew 22:39) (p. 177). Several important points may be important to understanding this. First, if we don’t love ourselves, how can we then have love for our neighbor? Secondly, take note that in this commandment we are not to love our neighbors “more than” or “less than” ourselves, but plainly “as” ourselves.

President Joseph F. Smith gave a terrific discourse on this commandment to love our neighbor as our self. It is a little long, but filled with wisdom:

It is a comparatively easy thing for a man to say he believes in God and in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, that he believes in repentance of sin, in baptism for the remission of sin, and in the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is apparently easy for a man to progress thus far. But when it comes to loving one’s neighbor as oneself, it is not so easy. Here we come to the difficult hill to climb, where we find all our powers taxed to the utmost to get to the top of it; and climbing as we may have been for many years of our lives, I will venture the assertion that we woke up this morning and found ourselves climbing still at the foot of the hill, we have not even approached the summit. For few men indeed, or women, even in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, can say truthfully, “I love my neighbor as I love myself.”

We do not as a rule love our neighbor as we love ourselves. [Someone] once said, “Of all my mother’s sons I love myself the best.” So it is with God’s children upon this earth. Though our Father has many of them, and we are all of one blood, and we are members perhaps of one community, of one faith believing in one God and in one Lord Jesus Christ, yet each of us loves himself or herself the best. This feeling crops out in our daily life, in our hourly association with each other. It too often crops out even between husband and wife; often between father and children, and it is very prevalent among children. Is this Christianity? Is this the doctrine of Jesus Christ? Not according to the way I read the books and understand the principles of life and salvation. The scriptures tell us that we should prefer one another in love; that we should yield our own comfort, our own convenience, our own desires, or own happiness to the desires, the comfort and happiness of our neighbors;—to say nothing of our kindred and loved ones.

How are we to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. It is the simplest thing in the world; but too many people are selfish and narrow and not given to that breadth of feeling which reaches out and considers the benefit and welfare of their neighbors; and they narrow themselves down to their own peculiar and particular benefit and blessing and well being, and feel it to say: “O, let my neighbor take care of himself.” That is not the spirit that should characterize a Latter-day Saint (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 195).

Then President Smith added the following powerful concept:

I would advise that we learn to love each other, and then friendship will be true and sweet. It has been said by one, that “we may give without loving, but we cannot love without giving” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 196).

Chapter 28: Service

How We Can Serve

Once again there are tremendous resources for this lesson found in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church:... (the old Priesthood/Relief Society manuals). This includes Joseph F. Smith, Chapter 38, Heber J. Grant, Chapter 15, David O. McKay, Chapter 19, Spencer W. Kimball, Chapter 8, and Harold B. Lee, Chapter 3. These can all be found by going to the new “lds.org” then click on “Go to Classic LDS.org” (lower left corner), then click on “Gospel Library” then “Lessons” then “Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society.” The manuals are found at the bottom of this page.

In the second paragraph of this section we read, “Service is helping others who need assistance” (p. 161). Concerning this idea, President Hinckley stated the following:

It is a responsibility divinely laid upon each of us to bear one another’s burdens, to strengthen one another, to encourage one another, to lift one another, to look for the good in one another, and to emphasize that good (CES Fireside, Mar. 6, 1994, 7).

President James E. Faust quoted a scripture found in Chapter 30 (p. 173) and taught the following concerning service:

As the Savior Himself said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (Matthew 10:39).”

Most of us don’t demonstrate our unselfishness in such a dramatic way, but for each of us unselfishness can mean being the right person at the right time in the right place to render service. Almost every day brings opportunities to perform unselfish acts for others. Such acts are unlimited and can be as simple as a kind word, a helping hand, or a gracious smile (Ensign, Nov. 2002, 19).

President Faust also added the importance of service in church callings:

I wish to testify that the greatest fulfilling service to be rendered by any of us is in the service of the Master. In the various pursuits of my life, none has been as rewarding or beneficial as responding to the calls for service in this Church. Each has been different. Each one has brought a separate blessing” (Ensign, Nov. 2002, 19).

In this section we read, “All of us must be willing to serve, no matter what our income, age, or social position” *p. 161). President McKay taught:

The will of God is [that you] serve your fellowmen, benefiting them, making this world better for your having lived in it. Christ gave his all to teach us that principle. And he made the statement: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40). This is the message God has given to us. This Church is God’s Church, which is so perfectly organized that every man and every woman, every child, may have an opportunity to do something good for somebody else. It is the obligation of our priesthood members, it is the responsibility of the auxiliary organizations and of every member to serve and do God’s will. If we do, and the more we do it, the more we shall become convinced that it is the work of God, because we are testing it. Then, by doing the will of God, we get to know God and get close to him and to feel that life eternal is ours. We shall feel to love humanity everywhere, and we can cry out with the apostles of old, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14) (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 180-1).

This section teaches the following important idea:

We can do small and large acts of service. We should never fail to help someone because we are unable to do great things (p. 161).

Concerning this idea, President Kimball declared:

In the Doctrine and Covenants we read about how important it is to “… succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5). So often, our acts of service consist of simple encouragement or of giving mundane help with mundane tasks, but what glorious consequences can flow from mundane acts and from small but deliberate deeds! (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 82).

Why the Savior Want Us to Serve Others

The first question asked in this section is, “Why does the Lord want us to serve others?” (p. 163). President Kimball had a wonderful idea about this:

The abundant life noted in the scriptures [see :John 10:10] is the spiritual sum that is arrived at by the multiplying of our service to others and by investing our talents in service to God and to man. Jesus said, you will recall, that on the first two commandments hang all the law and the prophets, and those two commandments involve developing our love of God, of self, of our neighbors, and of all men [see Matthew 22:36-40]. There can be no real abundance in life that is not connected with the keeping and the carrying out of those two great commandments (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 86).

In the first paragraph of this section is one of my favorite quotes, a wonderful one from President Kimball (p. 163). It may be helpful to have in context the rest of the quote:

We need to help those we seek to serve to know for themselves that God not only loves them, but he is ever mindful of them and of their needs. …
God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom. The people of the Church need each other’s strength, support, and leadership in a community of believers as an enclave of disciples (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 81-2).

The manual states, “Throughout our lives all of us depend on others for help” (p. 163). Concerning this, President McKay stressed:

It has been said that “the race of mankind would perish if they ceased to aid one another.” One man, from whom I quote, says that “from the time that the mother binds the child’s head until the moment that some kind assistant wipes the death-damp from the brow of the dying, we cannot exist without mutual help.” … The Church, with all its quorums and organizations, is God’s plan for rendering mutual aid (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 181).

President Harold B. Lee taught some of why the “Savior Wants Us to Serve Others”:

Now, keep in mind this further thought, that the Lord has told us time and again that the objective of all his work is spiritual. Do you remember what he said in the 29th section of the Doctrine and Covenants?

“Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created” (D&C 29:34).

… Do you let everything you do be with an eye single to the glory of that individual, the ultimate triumph of his spiritual over his physical? The whole purpose of the Lord in life is to so help us and direct us that at the end of our lives we are prepared for a celestial inheritance. Is not that it? Can you give every basket of food you give, can you give every service that you render with that great objective in mind? Is this the way to do it in order to help my brother or my sister to better attain and lay hold upon his celestial inheritance? That is the objective that the Lord sets.
The welfare program has a great significance in the Lord’s work. We must take care of [people’s] material needs and give them a taste of the kind of salvation they do not have to die to get before we can lift their thinking to a higher plane. Therein is the purpose of the Lord’s welfare program that He has had in His Church in every dispensation from the very beginning. It did not have its inception in 1936. It began when the Lord commenced to take care of His people on this earth.

When a home is shattered because of the needs of food and shelter and clothing and fuel, … the first thing we have to do is to build a sense of security, a sense of material well-being, before we can begin to lift the family to the plane where we can instill in them faith. That is the beginning, but unless we have the objective of what we do as to the building of faith, the mere giving of material aid fails. Now, we must understand that, if we just try to build faith without first filling their stomachs and seeing that they are properly clothed and properly housed and properly warmed, perhaps we will fail in the building of faith (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 167-8).

In this section, King Benjamin is quoted. President McKay elaborated on this:

Are you willing to serve? Do you have the vision King Benjamin had when he said, “… when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God”? (Mosiah 2:17) True Christianity is love in action. There is no better way to manifest love for God than to show an unselfish love for one’s fellowmen.

With faith, with kindness, let your heart be filled with the desire to serve all mankind. The spirit of the gospel comes from service in the good of others (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 181-2).

We Receive Blessings through Service

The question asked at the beginning of this section is, “What blessings do we receive through service to others? (p. 164). Apparently happiness is one of them.

President Lorenzo Snow proclaimed:

When you find yourselves a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than your self; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with the wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; and the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel light, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you and everything seems illuminated (Conference Report, 6 April 1899, pp. 2-3).

Concerning happiness through service, President McKay added:

Happiness is the end, really, of our existence. That happiness comes most effectively through service to our fellow men.

All mankind desire happiness. Many also strive sincerely to make the most and best of themselves. Surprisingly few, however, realize that a sure guide to such achievement may be found in the following declaration by Jesus of Nazareth: “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: And whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” [Matthew 16:25]. This significant passage contains a secret more worthy of possession than fame or dominion, something more valuable than all the wealth of the world.

It is a principle the application of which promises to supplant discouragement and gloom with hope and gladness; to fill life with contentment and peace everlasting. This being true its acceptance would indeed be a boon today to this distracted, depression-ridden world. Why, then, do men and nations ignore a thing so precious?

Is the truth in the paradoxical statement, losing one’s life to find it, so elusive that mankind cannot grasp it? Or is it so in conflict with the struggle for existence that men consider it impractical?

Specifically stated, this law is, “We live our lives most completely when we strive to make the world better and happier.” The law of pure nature, survival of the fittest, is self-preservation at the sacrifice of all else; but in contrast to this the law of true spiritual life is, deny self for the good of others (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 182).

President McKay further emphasized happiness as well as spiritual growth through servece:

There is more spirituality expressed in giving than in receiving. The greatest spiritual blessing comes from helping another. If you want to be miserable, just harbor hate for a brother, and if you want to hate, just do your brother some injury. But if you would be happy, render a kind service, make somebody else happy.

Let sincere men and women the world over unite in earnest effort to supplant feelings of selfishness, hatred, animosity, greed, by the law of service to others, and thereby promote the peace and happiness of mankind (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 183).

Concerning service and happiness, President Heber J. Grant also added the following:

The real secret of happiness in life and the way in which to prepare ourselves for the hereafter is service (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 143).

This statement also indicates that service is going to be big in the “hereafter.”

President Grant then added:

I am converted to the thought that the way to peace and happiness in life is by giving service. Service is the true key, I believe, to happiness, because when we perform labors like missionary work, all the rest of our lives we can look back upon our accomplishments in the mission field. When we perform any acts of kindness, they bring a feeling of satisfaction and pleasure into our hearts, while ordinary amusements pass away (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 143).

President Kimball also added to the blessing of happiness through service:

If we seek true happiness, we must expend our energies for purposes larger than our own self-interests. Let us ponder prayerfully how we may effectively and lovingly give service to our families, neighbors, and fellow Saints (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 87).

President Kimball adds that personal growth comes through service:

Service to others deepens and sweetens this life while we are preparing to live in a better world. It is by serving that we learn how to serve. When we are engaged in the service of our fellowmen, not only do our deeds assist them, but we put our own problems in a fresher perspective. When we concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with ourselves! In the midst of the miracle of serving, there is the promise of Jesus that by losing ourselves, we find ourselves! [See Matthew 10:39.]

Not only do we “find” ourselves in terms of acknowledging divine guidance in our lives, but the more we serve our fellowmen in appropriate ways, the more substance there is to our souls. We become more significant individuals as we serve others. We become more substantive as we serve others—indeed, it is easier to “find” ourselves because there is so much more of us to find! (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 87).

Concerning this idea of personal growth, President Heber J. Grant also explained:

Every kind word spoken gives you greater ability to speak another. Every act of assistance rendered by you, through the knowledge that you possess, to aid one of your fellows, gives you greater ability to aid the next one. Good acts grow upon a person. I have sometimes thought that many men, judging from their utter lack of kindness and of a disposition to aid others, imagined that if they were to say or do a kind thing, it would destroy their capacity to perform a kind act or say a kind word in the future. If you have a granary full of grain, and you give away a sack or two, there remain that many less in your granary, but if you perform a kind act or add words of encouragement to one in distress, who is struggling along in the battle of life, the greater is your capacity to do this in the future. Don’t go through life with your lips sealed against words of kindness and encouragement, nor your hearts sealed against performing labors for another. Make a motto in life: always try and assist someone else to carry his burden (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 143).

President Grant also added:

It is a God-given law that in proportion to the service we give, in proportion to what we do in this Church and out of it—what we are willing to sacrifice for the Church and for those to whom we owe our loyalty outside of Church activity—we shall grow in the grace of God and in the love of God, and we shall grow in accomplishing the purposes of our being placed here on the earth (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 144).

Concerning spirituality and service, President Kimball also declared:

As the contrasts between the ways of the world and the ways of God become sharpened by circumstance, the faith of the members of the Church will be tried even more severely. One of the most vital things we can do is to express our testimonies through service, which will, in turn, produce spiritual growth, greater commitment, and a greater capacity to keep the commandments. …

There is great security in spirituality, and we cannot have spirituality without service! (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 87).

In this section, we are promised that through service, “We become less selfish” (p. 164). Concerning the powerful example the Savior gave us concerning this issue, President Kimball commented:

[The Savior] gave himself for his followers. … He was ever conscious of doing what was right and of meeting the real and true needs of those he served.

He put himself and his own needs second and ministered to others beyond the call of duty, tirelessly, lovingly, effectively. So many of the problems in the world today spring from selfishness and self-centeredness in which too many make harsh demands of life and others in order to meet their demands.

The more we understand what really happened in the life of Jesus of Nazareth in Gethsemane and on Calvary, the better able we will be to understand the importance of sacrifice and selflessness in our lives (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 81).

President Kimball then stressed how we can apply this example in our own lives:

None of us should become so busy in our formal Church assignments that there is no room left for quiet Christian service to our neighbors (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 82).

President Grant also added the following about happiness and selfishness:

The true key to happiness in life is to labor for the happiness of others. I pity the selfish man who has never experienced the joy which comes to those who receive the thanks and gratitude of the people whom they may have aided in the struggle of life (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 143).

President McKay discussed one of the blessings of service that came to the disciples by knowing and following the Savior:

Just think! The only reason the world knows anything about them [Jesus’ Apostles] is because having met the Savior, they made Him their guide in life. If they hadn’t, nobody now would know that such men had ever lived. They would have lived and died and been forgotten just as thousands of other men in their day lived and died and nobody knows or cares anything about them; just as thousands and thousands are living today, wasting their time and energy in useless living, choosing the wrong kind of men for their ideals, turning their footsteps into the road of Pleasure and Indulgence instead of the road of Service. Soon they will reach the end of their journey in life, and nobody can say that the world is any better for their having lived in it. At the close of each day such men leave their pathway as barren as they found it—they plant no trees to give shade to others, nor rose-bushes to make the world sweeter and brighter to those who follow—no kind deeds, no noble service—just a barren, unfruitful, desert-like pathway, strewn, perhaps, with thorns and thistles.

Not so with the disciples who chose Jesus for their Guide. Their lives are like gardens of roses from which the world may pluck beautiful flowers forever (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 184).

President Grant indicated that the blessings of service may be long term, but are definite:

One can never tell what will be the result of faithful service rendered, nor do we know when it will come back to us or to those with whom we are associated. The reward may not come at the time, but in dividends later. I believe we will never lose anything in life by giving service, by making sacrifices, and doing the right thing (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 143).

Opportunities to Serve

In this section is stated, “We have many opportunities to serve our neighbors, our friends, and even strangers” (p. 165). President David O. McKay outlined a broad mission of the Church concerning service the Church can provide to society. Fifty years later, his council is as fresh as if President Monson were speaking:

Many citizens are deeply troubled over the increase in crime, the high divorce and illegitimacy rates, the increasing incidents of venereal diseases, the scandals in high office, and other symptoms of private and public dishonesty.

Is there a moral breakdown? Is there cause for alarm? The world is all about us, and the statistics we read about are frightening indeed, and they are a necessary warning. …
The mission of the Church is to minimize and, if possible, eliminate these evils from the world. It is evident that we are in need of a unifying force to eliminate these evils. Such a uniting force, such an ideal is the gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. It explains man’s life and its purpose and has within it the vital saving elements, noble ideals, and spiritual uplift for which the heart of man is yearning.

Right-thinking, upright men and women everywhere are desirous of eliminating from our communities evil elements that are constantly disintegrating society—the liquor problem with its drunkenness, the narcotic habit with all its attendant evils, immorality, poverty, etc. The Church is seeking to make both home and community environment better and brighter.

Let us here and now express gratitude for the Church of Jesus Christ with quorums and auxiliaries specially organized to combat these evils. It was established by divine revelation of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. Its glorious mission is to proclaim the truth of the restored gospel; to uplift society that people may mingle more amicably one with another; to create in our communities a wholesome environment in which our children may find strength to resist temptation and encouragement to strive for cultural and spiritual attainment.

The Church, established by divine inspiration to an unlearned youth, offers to the world the solution of all its social problems. It has stood the test of the first century successfully. In the midst of brilliant concepts of men in this twentieth century, who seek conscientiously for social reforms and who peer blindly into the future to read the destiny of man, the Church shines forth as the sun in the heavens, around which other luminaries revolve as satellites of minor importance. Truly it is the creator and preserver of man’s highest values. Its real task, the redemption of our human world. “It is the light of truth radiating everywhere in the world, and this light cannot fail to reveal to man, sooner or later, the divine ideals by which man should live.”

The Church, with its complete organization, offers service and inspiration to all. … Instead of taking men out of the world, it seeks to develop perfect, Godlike men in the midst of society, and through them to solve the problems of society (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 26-27).

Concerning service to “strangers” as mentioned above, here is a wonderful example from the life of President Kimball:

A young mother on an overnight flight with a two-year-old daughter was stranded by bad weather in Chicago airport without food or clean clothing for the child and without money. She was … pregnant and threatened with miscarriage, so she was under doctor’s instructions not to carry the child unless it was essential. Hour after hour she stood in one line after another, trying to get a flight to Michigan. The terminal was noisy, full of tired, frustrated, grumpy passengers, and she heard critical references to her crying child and to her sliding her child along the floor with her foot as the line moved forward. No one offered to help with the soaked, hungry, exhausted child.

Then, the woman later reported, “Someone came towards us and with a kindly smile said, ‘Is there something I could do to help you?’ With a grateful sigh I accepted his offer. He lifted my sobbing little daughter from the cold floor and lovingly held her to him while he patted her gently on the back. He asked if she could chew a piece of gum. When she was settled down, he carried her with him and said something kindly to the others in the line ahead of me, about how I needed their help. They seemed to agree and then he went up to the ticket counter [at the front of the line] and made arrangements with the clerk for me to be put on a flight leaving shortly. He walked with us to a bench, where we chatted a moment, until he was assured that I would be fine. He went on his way. About a week later I saw a picture of Apostle Spencer W. Kimball and recognized him as the stranger in the airport.”

Several years later, President Kimball received a letter that read, in part:

“Dear President Kimball:

“I am a student at Brigham Young University. I have just returned from my mission in Munich, West Germany. I had a lovely mission and learned much. …

“I was sitting in priesthood meeting last week, when a story was told of a loving service which you performed some twenty-one years ago in the Chicago airport. The story told of how you met a young pregnant mother with a … screaming child, in … distress, waiting in a long line for her tickets. She was threatening miscarriage and therefore couldn’t lift her child to comfort her. She had experienced four previous miscarriages, which gave added reason for the doctor’s orders not to bend or lift.

“You comforted the crying child and explained the dilemma to the other passengers in line. This act of love took the strain and tension off my mother. I was born a few months later in Flint, Michigan.

“I just want to thank you for your love. Thank you for your example!” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 79-80).

In the manual we read:

If we have special talents, we should use them to serve others. God blesses us with talents and abilities to help improve the lives of others (p. 165).

In conjunction with this idea, President Kimball taught:

All men have been given special powers and within certain limitations should develop those powers, give vent to their own imaginations, and not become rubber stamps. They should develop their own talents and abilities and capacities to their limit and use them to build up the kingdom.

The Church member who has the attitude of leaving it to others will have much to answer for. There are many who say: “My wife does the Church work!” Others say: “I’m just not the religious kind,” as though it does not take effort for most people to serve and do their duty. But God has endowed us with talents and time, with latent abilities and with opportunities to use and develop them in his service. He therefore expects much of us, his privileged children.

In the account of the barren fig tree (see Matt. 21:19) the unproductive tree was cursed for its barrenness. What a loss to the individual and to humanity if the vine does not grow, the tree does not bear fruit, the soul does not expand through service! One must live, not only exist; he must do, not merely be; he must grow, not just vegetate. We must use our talents in behalf of our fellowmen, rather than burying them in the tomb of a self-centered life (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 83).

President James E. Faust also added:

The Savior reminds us, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:39). One of life’s paradoxes is that a person who approaches everything with a what’s-in-it-for-me attitude may acquire money, property, and land, but in the end will lose the fulfillment and the happiness that a person enjoys who shares his talents and gifts generously with others (Ensign, Nov. 2002, 19).

In this section we read, “In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there is no professional clergy, so the lay members must carry on all of the activities of the Church” (p. 165). President McKay acknowledged this and thanked us and then stated a wonderful principle of service not mentioned in the lesson:

There come to mind some … to whom I wish to express gratitude. … They are the men and women throughout the entire Church who are contributing of their time and means to the advancement of the truth—not just in teaching, but in genuine service in many ways. Some of these are struggling to make their own living. Some of them are wealthy men and women who have retired and who count their wealth in millions. … God bless those who are rendering such service, and bless you all, for I think we can say for the Church, “We are striving to be one, Father, as thou and thy Son are one (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 181).

In conference, when he was a counselor in the First Presidency, President Monson quoted another counselor in a First Presidency in a wonderful talk on Priesthood and service:

President Stephen L Richards…declared, “I like to define the Priesthood in terms of service and I frequently call it ‘the perfect plan of service.’ I do so because it seems to me that it is only through the utilization of the divine power conferred on men that they may ever hope to realize the full import and vitality of this endowment. It is an instrument of service … and the man who fails to use it is apt to lose it, for we are plainly told by revelation that he who neglects it ‘shall not be counted worthy to stand (Ensign, May 2005, 54).

I also love the quote from Willard Richards concerning members of the first Relief Society:

…with the resources they will have at command, they will fly to the relief of the stranger; they will pour in oil and wine to the wounded heart of the distressed; they will dry up the tears of the orphan and make the widow’s heart to rejoice (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 452).

Jesus Christ Is the Perfect Example of Service

Speaking of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, as mentioned in this section, President McKay explained:

What an example of service to those great servants, followers of the Christ! He that is greatest among you, let him be least. So we sense the obligation to be of greater service to the membership of the Church, to devote our lives to the advancement of the kingdom of God on earth (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 184).

In conference, Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave a terrific talk entitled “Why Do We Serve?” In it he lists six reasons, from okay to the greatest. The first five are hope of earthly reward, to obtain good companionship, fear of punishment, sense of duty, and hope of eternal reward. Then the “greatest”:

The last motive I will discuss is, in my opinion, the highest reason of all. In its relationship to service, it is what the scriptures call “a more excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31).

“Charity is the pure love of Christ” (Moro. 7:47). The Book of Mormon teaches us that this virtue is “the greatest of all” (Moro. 7:46). The Apostle Paul affirmed and illustrated that truth in his great teaching about the reasons for service:

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. …

“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, … and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Cor. 13:1-3).

We know from these inspired words that even the most extreme acts of service—such as giving all of our goods to feed the poor—profit us nothing unless our service is motivated by the pure love of Christ.

If our service is to be most efficacious, it must be accomplished for the love of God and the love of his children. The Savior applied that principle in the Sermon on the Mount, in which he commanded us to love our enemies, bless them that curse us, do good to them that hate us, and pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us (See Matt. 5:44). He explained the purpose of that commandment as follows:

“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
“And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?” (Matt. 5:46-47).

This principle—that our service should be for the love of God and the love of fellowmen rather than for personal advantage or any other lesser motive—is admittedly a high standard. The Savior must have seen it so, since he joined his commandment for selfless and complete love directly with the ideal of perfection. The very next verse of the Sermon on the Mount contains this great commandment: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48).

This principle of service is reaffirmed in the fourth section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
“Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day” (D&C 4:2).
We learn from this command that it is not enough to serve God with all of our might and strength. He who looks into our hearts and knows our minds demands more than this. In order to stand blameless before God at the last day, we must also serve him with all our heart and mind.

Service with all of our heart and mind is a high challenge for all of us. Such service must be free of selfish ambition. It must be motivated only by the pure love of Christ (Ensign, Nov 1984, 12).

Chapter 27: Work and Personal Responsibilty

Work Is an Eternal Principal

Great material for this lesson is found in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, Chapter 12. These can all be found by going to the new “lds.org” then click on “Go to Classic LDS.org” (lower left corner), then click on “Gospel Library” then “Lessons” then “Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society.” The manuals are found at the bottom of this page.

The first sentence in this section reads, “Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have shown us by Their examples and teachings that work is important in heaven and on earth (p. 155). It is important that this idea be discussed with the two scriptures which end this section.

The manual states, “Then He [God] placed Adam and Eve on the earth to take care of it and to have dominion over all living things (See Genesis 1:1-28.) (p. 155). In this reference, God gave Adam and Eve, and man in general, dominion over the earth. Here is the scripture:

And God blessed them, and God said unto them…have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth (Genesis 1:28).

Elder Henry D. Taylor, Assistant to the Quorum of the twelve, had this to say in conference about the above reference:

These objectives could not be achieved without effort, and so the Father further admonished Adam: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." (Gen. 3:19) He was to labor and struggle for a living (Conference Report, April 1968, p. 30).

It is interesting that the above sentence from the lesson teaches that Adam was to have “dominion” over “every living thing “upon the earth. An interesting statement from Joseph Smith that may relate to this dominion:

The Priesthood was first given to Adam; he obtained the First Presidency, and held the keys of it from generation to generation. He obtained it in the Creation, before the world was formed, as in Gen. 1:26, 27, 28. He had dominion given him over every living creature. He is Michael the Archangel, spoken of in the Scriptures. Then to Noah, who is Gabriel; he stands next in authority to Adam in the Priesthood; he was called of God to this office, and was the father of all living in his day, and to him was given the dominion. These men held keys first on earth, and then in heaven (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 101).

Just as “work is an eternal principle” (section title), this dominion is apparently eternal.

We Are Commanded to Work

This wonderful title needs to be discussed and appreciated. Directly after partaking of the forbidden fruit, which would lead to the Fall of Man, Adam was told by God:

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread… (Genesis 3:17-19).

A portion of the above is quoted in this section of the lesson. Some have mistakenly thought that this statement by God was punishment for what Adam had done in partaking of the fruit. If there is question about this, see this blog, Chapter 6 (February).

For the principles taught in this lesson, it needs to be understood that the above was definitely not a punishment. A key is the phrase, “…for thy sake…” in the Lord’s statement. “Work and Personal Responsibility” (this lesson’s title) are eternal principles and important to the Plan of Salvation. In a conference address (the entire talk is well worth reading), Elder Neal A. Maxwell wonderfully expressed the doctrine of work:

Our Heavenly Father has described His vast plan for His children by saying, “Behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39; emphasis added). Consider the significance of the Lord’s use of the word work. What He is doing so lovingly and redemptively is, nevertheless, work—even for Him! We, likewise, speak of “working out our salvation,” of the “law of the harvest,” and of the “sweat of the brow” (see Moses 5:1; see also Inspired Version, Gen. 4:1). These are not idle phrases. Instead, they underscore the importance of work. In fact, brethren, work is always a spiritual necessity even if, for some, work is not an economic necessity (Ensign, May 1998, 37).

As we know, the Lord never gives commandments except that they are for our benefit:

…revelations and commandments…for the benefit of the children of men… (D&C 135:3).

The Lord wants us to succeed. President Heber J. Grant pled:

Let every man feel that he is the architect and builder of his own life, and that he proposes to make a success of it by working (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 109).

President Grant also added:

We should have an ambition, we should have a desire to work to the full extent of our ability. Work is pleasing to the Lord (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 113).

In this section it states, “Adam and Eve worked in the fields so they could provide for their own needs and the needs of their children (see Moses 5:1)” (p. 155).

Following is the reference from Moses 5:1:

AND it came to pass that after I, the Lord God, had driven them out, that Adam began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him.

It may be worth noting that “Eve…did labor with him” in the above does not mean Eve got a paycheck. The Lord has counseled:

By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).

It may be helpful to discuss the concept that fathers are held responsible by the Lord to “provide the necessities of life.” As important is and understanding that “fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.” Consideration also needs to be given for the listed exceptions.

President Grant discussed a powerful doctrine closely associated with the doctrine of work:

There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven, upon which all blessings are predicated, and no man will get the blessing without fulfilling the law [see D&C 130:20-21]. I wish to impress upon the Latter-day Saints that we get in this life what we work for, and I want to urge every Latter-day Saint to be a worker (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 115).

The above law is closely associated with the “Law of the Harvest,” as declared by the Lord:

Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap… (D&C 6:33).

President Gordon B. Hinckley discussed this law further:

…the law of the harvest—“Whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap” (D&C 6:33).
They know that you do not reap wheat after sowing oats. They know that you do not get a racehorse from a scrub mare. They know that if you are to build another great generation, you must work with vision and faith. You must dream and plan, serve and sacrifice, pray and labor (Ensign, Nov 1989, 94).

This section ends with a wonderful quote from President Grant, “Work is to be reenthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership” (p. 157). Following is the rest of the quote, which may be helpful. The historical context of this is the beginning of the establishment of the welfare program of the Church. The basic principles in the following quotes are still in place in today’s Church welfare program.

Our primary purpose [in establishing the Church’s welfare program] was to set up, in so far as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and self respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the 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.

Our great leader, Brigham Young, under similar conditions, said:

“Set the poor to work—setting out orchards, splitting rails, digging ditches, making fences, or anything useful, and so enable them to buy meal and flour and the necessities of life.”
This admonition is as timely today as when Brigham Young made it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 115).

Many ideas throughout this lesson deal are founded on the basic principles of the Church’s welfare program. It may be important to discuss this program to better understand this lesson. A terrific summary can be found on the Church’s website, “lds.org” then look at the top bar and click on “A-Z Index” then “W” and look for “Welfare.” The information found there is essentially the same as that also found in True to the Faith booklet, pp. 184-6.

Family Responsibility

The manual encourages, “Children should do their part in the work of the family” (p. 157).

President Grant had personal experience concerning this idea:

When President Grant spoke of the value of work, he spoke from lifelong experience. As the only child of his widowed mother, he learned early to sweep floors and to wash and wipe dishes. He also helped his mother in her work as a seamstress to support the two of them. “I sat on the floor at night until midnight,” he later remembered, “and pumped the sewing machine to relieve her tired limbs.” 2 Heber’s efforts to assist his mother continued past his childhood, as he entered the world of business in his youth to help support her (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 109).

As mentioned, the manual presents the idea that “Children should do their part in the work of the family” (p. 157). It may be helpful to discuss the question, “Should an allowance should be tied to chores (or grades, for that matter)? One of the problems with this is that the parent becomes the “boss” and the child the “employee.” This also places the parent as policeman, enforcer, etc. On the other hand, If allowances are kept separate from chores, this may further encourage “…Personal Responsibility” (second half of the lesson title).

We Can Enjoy Our Work

The question asked at the beginning of this section is, “How does our attitude affect our work?” (p. 157). President Grant counseled:

I have endeavored to impress upon the minds of the youth the necessity of their working to the extent of their ability; and also while so laboring never to become disheartened. …
“Arise, therefore, and be doing, and the Lord will be with you [See 1 Chronicles 22:16.]
I have found nothing in the battle of life that has been of more value to me than to perform the duty of today to the best of my ability; and I know that where young men do this, they will be better prepared for the labors of tomorrow (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 114).

President Grant also said:

Every young man who will endeavor to employ all his time, never stopping to count the amount of compensation he is to receive for his services, but rather be inspired with a desire to labor and learn, I promise, will achieve success in the battle of life (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 115).

A terrific example for this section comes from the life of Heber J. Grant:

When [I was] a youth, attending school, a man was pointed out to me who kept books in Wells, Fargo and Co’s. Bank, in Salt Lake City, and it was said that he received a salary of one hundred and fifty dollars a month. Well do I remember figuring that he was earning six dollars a day, Sundays omitted, which seemed to me an enormous amount. … I dreamed of being a book-keeper, and of working for Wells, Fargo & Co., and immediately joined the book-keeping class in the Deseret University [now the University of Utah], in the hope some day of earning what I thought at that time to be an immense salary.

I quote with pleasure … from Lord Bulwer Lytton: “What man wants is not talent, it is purpose; not power to achieve, but the will to labor.” Samuel Smiles has said: “Purposes, like eggs, unless they are hatched into action, will run into decay.”

Lord Lytton took it for granted undoubtedly that where a youth dreamed nobly and manfully, that it would inspire him to have a purpose in life, and to ‘hatch the same into action,’ and not allow it to ‘run into decay.’ Having purposed to become a book-keeper, I immediately set to work to attain this object. Well do I remember the amusement I furnished my fellow-students. One remarked when looking at my books, ‘What is it; hen tracks?’ Another said, ‘Has lightning struck an ink bottle?’ These remarks and others, while not made to hurt my feelings but in good-natured fun, nevertheless cut deep, and aroused within me a spirit of determination. I resolved to live to set copies for all who attended the university, and to be the teacher of penmanship and book-keeping in that institution. Having a purpose and also ‘the will to labor,’ and agreeing with Lord Lytton that, ‘In the bright lexicon of youth there’s no such word as fail,’ I commenced to employ my spare time in practicing penmanship, continuing year after year until I was referred to as ‘the greatest scribbler on earth.’

The result was that some years later, I secured a position as book-keeper and policy clerk in an insurance office. Although at fifteen, I wrote a very nice hand, and it was all that was needed to satisfactorily fill the position which I then held, yet I was not fully satisfied but continued to dream and ‘scribble,’ when not otherwise occupied. I worked in the front part of A. W. White & Co’s. bank, and, when not busy, volunteered to assist with the bank work, and to do anything and everything I could to employ my time, never thinking whether I was to be paid for it or not, but having only a desire to work and learn. Mr. Morf, the book-keeper in the bank, wrote well, and took pains to assist me in my efforts to become proficient as a penman. I learned to write so well that I often earned more before and after office hours by writing cards, invitations, etc., and making maps, than the amount of my regular salary. Some years later, a diploma at the Territorial Fair was awarded me for the finest penmanship in Utah. When I engaged in business for myself, there was a vacancy at the university in the position of teacher of penmanship and book-keeping, and to make good the promise to myself, made when a youth of twelve or thirteen, that I would some day teach these branches, I applied for the situation. My application was accepted, and my obligation to myself was thus discharged (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 109).

President Heber J. Grant was a terrific example of work. The following story from his life may be useful in this lesson:

Being an only child, my mother reared me very carefully. Indeed, I grew more or less on the principle of a hothouse plant, the growth of which is ‘long and lanky’ but not substantial. I learned to sweep, and to wash and wipe dishes, but did little stone throwing and little indulging in those sports which are interesting and attractive to boys, and which develop their physical frames. Therefore, when I joined a baseball club, the boys of my own age and a little older played in the first nine; those younger than I played in the second, and those still younger in the third, and I played with them.

One of the reasons for this was that I could not throw the ball from one base to the other. Another reason was that I lacked physical strength to run or bat well. When I picked up a ball, the boys would generally shout:

“Throw it here, sissy!"

So much fun was engendered on my account by my youthful companions that I solemnly vowed that I would play baseball in the nine that would win the championship of the Territory of Utah.
My mother was keeping boarders at the time for a living, and I shined their boots until I saved a dollar which I invested in a baseball. I spent hours and hours throwing the ball at Bishop Edwin D. Woolley’s barn, which caused him to refer to me as the laziest boy in the Thirteenth Ward. Often my arm would ache so that I could scarcely go to sleep at night. But I kept on practicing and finally succeeded in getting into the second nine of our club. Subsequently I joined a better club, and eventually played in the nine that won the championship of the territory and beat the nine that had won the championship for California, Colorado, and Wyoming. Having thus made good my promise to myself, I retired from the baseball arena (Presidents of the Church Institute Student Manual, Chapter 7).

The above manual can be found at “institute.lds.org” then click on “Institute Courses & Manuals.”

When the following:

“We can help one another in our work. The heaviest load becomes lighter when someone shares it” (p. 158)

is discussed, it may be good to point out that the next lesson in this manual is “Service” (Chapter 28).

God Condemns Idleness

In addition to the scriptural references in this section, President Grant, in a conference talk, added the following great references:

D&C 88:124; D&C 68:30-31; and D&C 60:13.

The question asked at the end of this section is, “How does idleness affect an individual? a family? a community?” (p. 159).

Again, reflecting upon the basic principles of the Church’s welfare program, President Grant declared:

Let all of us be industrious and useful to the full extent of our strength and ability. We are told to earn our bread by the sweat of the brow [see Genesis 3:19].

… It is an easy thing to throw a dollar to a man, but it requires sympathy and a heart to take an interest in him and try to plan for his welfare and benefit. And it is a principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ, now, as it always has been, to help every man to help himself—to help every child of our Father in heaven to work out his own salvation, both temporally and spiritually .
I desire to call attention to a statement by President Brigham Young:

“My experience has taught me, and it has become a principle with me, that it is never any benefit to give out and out, to man or woman, money, food, clothing, or anything else, if they are able-bodied and can work and earn what they need, when there is anything on earth for them to do. This is my principle and I try to act upon it. To pursue a contrary course would ruin any community in the world and make them idlers.”

And what would ruin a community would ruin a state, and I might incidentally remark, a nation also.

We are going to instill in the minds of the people as far as possible that statement by Brigham Young … to the effect that it was his policy not to give anybody anything unless he earned it; that people must do something to earn that which they receive. Nothing destroys the individuality of a man, a woman, or a child as much as the failure to be self-reliant (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 116).

Brigham Young also had wise counsel concerning this:

True wealth consists in the skill to produce conveniences and comforts from the elements. All the power and dignity that wealth can bestow is a mere shadow, the substance is found in the bone and sinew of the toiling millions. Well directed labor is the true power that supplies our wants. It gives regal grandeur to potentates, education and supplies to religious and political ministers, and supplies the wants of the thousands of millions of earth’s sons and daughters (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 237).

President Grant added:

The…spirit—to get all we can, and give as little as possible in return—is contrary to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 114).

President Grant also encouraged:

Let us hope that that spirit of independence that was with our pioneer fathers may be re-awakened in us, and that none who are Latter-day Saints holding the Priesthood of God will be guilty of being idle (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 113).

Work, Recreation, and Rest

The Lord in our day has stressed the importance of recreation:

Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of … and wholesome recreational activities (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).

President Thomas S. Monson stated:

Our house is to be a house of order. ‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven’ (Ecclesiastes 3:1), advised Ecclesiastes, the Preacher. Such is true in our lives. Let us provide time for family, time for work, time for study, time for service, time for recreation, time for self—but above all, time for Christ (Ensign, May 1984, 18).

Brigham Young also explained:

The Lord never commanded me to dance, yet I have danced: you all know it, for my life is before the world. Yet while the Lord has never commanded me to do it, he has permitted it. I do not know that he ever commanded the boys to go and play at ball, yet he permits it. I am not aware that he ever commanded us to build a theater, but he has permitted it, and I can give the reason why. Recreation and diversion are as necessary to our well-being as the more serious pursuits of life (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 189).

This quote is even more interesting when it is known that Brigham Young explained:

When I was young I was kept within very strict bounds… I had not a chance to dance when I was young, and never heard the enchanting tones of the violin, until I was eleven years of age; and then I thought I was on the highway to hell, if I suffered myself to linger and listen to it (Brigham Young: American Moses, by Leonard J. Arrington, 189).

It is also interesting that Brigham Young received the following from the Lord (as opposed to the above from man) concerning the pioneers going west:

If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving (D&C 136:28).

Brigham Young added:

There are many of our aged brethren and sisters, who, through the traditions of their fathers and the requirements of a false religion, were never inside a ball-room or a theater until they became Latter-day Saints, and now they seem more anxious for this kind of amusement than are our children. This arises from the fact they have been starved for many years for that amusement which is designed to buoy up their spirits and make their bodies vigorous and strong, and tens of thousands have sunk into untimely graves for want of such exercises to the body and the mind. They require mutual nourishment to make them sound and healthy. Every faculty and power of both body and mind is a gift from God. Never say that means used to create and continue healthy action of body and mind are from hell (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 189).

It is not surprising, then, that Brigham Young sponsored wholesome “recreation” early on in Utah:

Theater in Utah has its beginnings in the Mormon Church and its support of innocent amusement for its people… In 1852 the Musical and Dramatic Association reorganized as the Deseret Dramatic Association, with Brigham Young as an honorary member. The Social Hall was erected and served as a principal place of amusement from 1852 to 1857. Built of adobe with a shingle roof, the Social Hall has been called the first Little Theatre in America and Brigham Young has been considered by some to be the father of the Little Theatre movement (“Utah History to Go” website).

In Chapter 26 of Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, there are some great insights by Brigham Young that may be helpful for this section of the lesson. Here are some examples:

We are now enjoying our pastimes. We often meet together and worship the Lord by singing, praying, and preaching, fasting, and communing with each other in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Now we are met in the capacity of a social community—for what? That our minds may rest, and our bodies receive that recreation which is proper and necessary to keep up an equilibrium, to promote healthy action to the whole system (p. 186).

I built [the] theater to attract the young of our community and to provide amusement for the boys and girls, rather than have them running all over creation for recreation. Long before [it] was built I said to the Bishops, “Get up your parties and pleasure grounds to amuse the people (p. 188).

President Ezra Taft Benson, in a First Presidency Message requested:

Families must spend more time together in work and recreation. Family home evenings should be scheduled once a week as a time for discussions of gospel principles, recreation, work projects, skits, songs around the piano, games, special refreshments, and family prayers. Like iron links in a chain, this practice will bind a family together, in love, pride, tradition, strength, and loyalty (Ensign, Jul 1992, 2).

In another First Presidency Message, President Benson declared:

Successful families do things together: family projects, work, vacations, recreation, and reunions (Ensign, Aug 1993, 2).

The last question in this section is, “What can we do to keep a good balance between work, recreation, and rest? How can parents help their children maintain this balance?” One answer from the above quotes is “Plan on Playing as a family.” President Ezra Taft Benson explained how the resulting anticipation is healthy:

Wholesome recreation is part of our religion, and a change of pace is necessary, and even its anticipation can lift the spirit (Ensign, Nov. 1974, 66).

Concerning the statement in this section that, “There is an old saying: “Doing nothing is the hardest work of all, because one can never stop to rest” (p. 159). President Grant agreed:

I have never seen the day when I was not willing to do the meanest [or lowliest] work, (if there is such a thing as mean work, which I doubt) rather than be idle (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 113).

The Blessings of Work

To supplement the truly powerful statements in this section is the following sentiments from President Grant:

I do not ask any man or child in this Church, although I am more than eighty years of age, to work any more hours than I do. … I do not know of anything that destroys a person’s health more quickly than not working.

I believe there may be a disposition on the part of some Latter-day Saints to say, “Well, after we get to be sixty-five, we will not have to work any more.” … I have done just as much work for the past sixteen years, since I passed sixty-five, as I ever did before. And with the blessings of the Lord, if He will let me stay here another fifteen or sixteen years—which I doubt—I want to do just as much if not a little more than I have done in the last sixteen years. I am a firm believer that work does not kill anyone, but that laziness does kill a man at an early age.

There should be in the heart of every man and woman, the cry, “I am going to live. There is nothing given to me but time in which to live, and I am going to endeavor each day of my life to do some labor which will be acceptable in the sight of my Heavenly Father, and if it is possible, do a little better today than I did yesterday” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 117).