The LDS Daily WOOL Home Page
(1/9/97)
More than 6,000 years ago, Father Adam received the commandment, "In
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." (Gen. 3:19.) Some 2,700
years ago, a Greek poet observed that "in front of excellence the
immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to it."
(Hesiod, Works and Days, 1. 287; as cited in John Bartlett, Familiar
Quotations, 14th ed., Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1968, p. 67.) My
young friends of the Aaronic Priesthood and you trainers of this great
army of Christ, the principle of work has been taught from the
foundation of the world. It is the bottom line of any forward motion
of success. The frightening disappearance of work as a part of our
basic ethic is alarming. We constantly hear the statements, "It's too
hard," "Give me something easier," "I want it now," "I can't wait that
long," coming from our young people. The ugly disease of "nothing to
do" is growing in epidemic proportions among us. It undermines the
basic fabric of our nations. The prophet Ezekiel clearly defined
iniquity as an "abundance of idleness." (Ezek. 16:49.)--Elder F. David
Stanley, General Conference, April 1993
(1/10/97)
There are several principles which undergird the significance of work
in the Lord's plan. First, as the covenant people we must be as
self-sufficient as possible. We are to be free from dependence upon a
dole or any program that might endanger our free agency. Second, we
must work to support the families with which the Lord has blessed us.
Every true son of God wants to care for his own, and many a noble
mother, from whom a husband has been taken, struggles to support her
children, both as a breadwinner and a single parent. Finally, we work
so that we may have the necessities of life, conserving time and
energy left over for service in the Lord's work. Sometimes it seems
that the men who work the hardest at their occupations are the men
most willing to devote time to church service.--Elder Howard W.
Hunter, General Conference Welfare Session, October 1975
(1/11/97)
An essential part of teaching children to be disciplined and
responsible is to have them learn to work. As we grow up, many of us
are like the man who said, "I like work; it fascinates me. I can sit
and look at it for hours" (Jerome Klapka Jerome, in The International
Dictionary of Thoughts, comp. John P. Bradley, Leo F. Daniels, and
Thomas C. Jones [Chicago: J. G. Ferguson Publishing Co., 1969], p.
782). Again, the best teachers of the principle of work are the
parents themselves. For me, work became a joy when I first worked
alongside my father, grandfather, uncles, and brothers. I am sure that
I was often more of an aggravation than a help, but the memories are
sweet and the lessons learned are valuable. Children need to learn
responsibility and independence. Are the parents personally taking the
time to show and demonstrate and explain so that children can, as Lehi
taught, "act for themselves and not ... be acted upon"? (2 Nephi
2:26).--Elder James E. Faust, General Conference, October 1990
(1/12/97)
The remarks of President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., given fifty-six years
ago, are instructive today. He said: "It is the eternal, inescapable
law that growth comes only from work and preparation, whether the
growth be material, mental, or spiritual. Work has no substitute" (in
Conference Report, Apr. 1933, p. 103). More recently, Elder Howard W.
Hunter counseled: "The first recorded instruction given to Adam after
the Fall dealt with the eternal principle of work. The Lord said: 'In
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.' (Gen. 3:19.) Our Heavenly
Father loves us so completely that he has given us a commandment to
work. This is one of the keys to eternal life. He knows that we will
learn more, grow more, achieve more, serve more, and benefit more from
a life of industry than from a life of ease" (Ensign, Nov. 1975, p.
122).--Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, General Conference, April 1989
(1/13/97)Among the saddest of events to all mission presidents is to observe elders and sisters coming into the mission field not having learned how to work. President Ezra Taft Benson gave us a powerful key in one of his addresses on missionary work: "One of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work! If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy. There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for [he will have] all [his] time and talents and interest ... centered on the work of the ministry. Work, work, work--there is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work." (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988, p. 200.) There you have it, fathers and trainers of future missionaries. There you have it, my young friends who are now preparing for your missions and you who are currently serving. If you want to be successful, start with the bottom line of work. Recently, we noticed a surge in baptisms in one of our missions. The mission president was asked the reason for the surge. He said, "Baptisms come from hard work. We must work smarter and much harder."--Elder F. David Stanley, General Conference, April 1993
(1/14/97)
One of the eternal gospel principles and one that is basic in the
development of men and women is the law of work, because it is only
through work that human beings grow mentally and spiritually. God's
commandment to the father of the human family—which commandment
applied to all of Adam's descendants—was that all of them who were
mentally and physically able were to work all the days of their lives,
except on the Sabbath, until they should "return unto the ground." It
is the law of God that each person work sufficiently to support
himself or herself. The Pearl of Great Price declares that Adam and
Eve were obedient to the commandment to work. In fact, the foregoing
scripture states: "Adam began to till the earth … and to eat his bread
by the sweat of his brow … and Eve, also, his wife, did labor with
him."--Milton R. Hunter, Pearl of Great Price Commentary, p.153
(11/8/05)
"We live
in a world of entertainment in full color with a lot of fast action,
a world in which many children grow up thinking that if it isn't
fun, it is boring and not worthwhile. Even in family activities, we
need to strike a balance between play and work. Some of my most
memorable experiences while growing up centered around family
activities: learning how to shingle a roof, build a fence, or
working in the garden. Rather than being all work and no play, for
many of our children it is almost all play and very little work." -
Joe J. Christensen, "Greed,
Selfishness, and Overindulgence," Ensign (CR), May 1999, p.9
9/3/06
"Work brings happiness, self-esteem, and prosperity. It is the means
of all accomplishment; it is the opposite of idleness. We are
commanded to work. (See Gen.
3:19.) Attempts to obtain our temporal, social, emotional, or
spiritual well-being by means of a dole violate the divine mandate
that we should work for what we receive. Work should be the ruling
principle in the lives of our Church membership. (See D&C
42:42; D&C
75:29; D&C
68:30-32; D&C
56:17.)" - Spencer W. Kimball, "Welfare
Services: The Gospel in Action," Ensign (CR), November 1977,
p.76
9/3/07
"Ralph Waldo Emerson pointed out one of our biggest problems when he
said that primarily we are parlor soldiers. We like to dine nicely and
sleep warm, but we shun the vigorous battle of life where strength is
born. The divine law that the Lord always fits the back to the burden
embodies one of the greatest benefits that ever uplifts our lives. If
we want to get a strong back, the best way is to get a big load to
carry. The way to get more is to give more. If you want to see your
own problem solved, learn how to solve the problems of other people.
If you will effectively do the Lord's work, he will help you to do
your own much better." - Sterling W. Sill, "That Ye Might Have Life,"
p.152
5/20/08
"Your Heavenly Father will help you
find the right path as you seek His guidance. Remember though, after
you pray you must get off your knees and start doing something
positive; head in the right direction! He will send people along the
way who will assist you, but you must be doing your part as well. By
the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, you can be guided in your trip
through life."
- Margaret D. Nadauld, "A
Comforter, a Guide, a Testifier," Ensign (CR), May 2001, p.90
11/30/08
"Great
athletes are hard workers. Points, rebounds, assists, tackles, goals,
and home runs are all the result of long hours of painstaking practice
and hard work. The bulk of that practice will always be on your own,
away from the coach. Victory is brought to pass by one’s personal
diligence and commitment to hard work. The view of a champion, and the
glory that surrounds him, must never be overshadowed by the long process
of becoming one. There is a time of preparation and a time of victory.
The second mile of hard work is what makes the difference between the
exhilaration of achievement and the acceptance of mediocrity." - F.
David Stanley, "The Principle of Work," Ensign (CR), May 1993, p.44
11/28/09
“Every
child, of course, is different, and what works for one may not elicit
the correct response from another. However, I believe that second only
to ensuring that every child receives an understanding of the gospel
of our Lord and Savior is teaching them the joy of honest labor.” - L.
Tom Perry, “The Joy of Honest Labor,” Ensign (CR), November 1986, p.
62
2/16/10
“I
have learned that when people of goodwill labor cooperatively in an
honest and dedicated way, there is no end to what they can
accomplish.” - Gordon B. Hinckley, “Some
Lessons I Learned as a Boy,” Ensign (CR), May 1993, p. 52
9/9/10
"A consecrated life is a
life of labor. Beginning early in His life, Jesus was about His Father's
business (see Luke
2:48–49). God Himself is glorified by His work of bringing to pass
the immortality and eternal life of His children (see Moses
1:39). We naturally desire to participate with Him in His work,
and in so doing, we ought to recognize that all honest work is the work
of God. In the words of Thomas Carlyle: 'All true Work is sacred; in all
true Work, were it but true hand-labour, there is something of
divineness. Labour, wide as the Earth, has its summit in Heaven.'
"God has designed this mortal existence to require nearly constant
exertion." - D. Todd Christofferson,
'Reflections
on a Consecrated Life," Ensign
(CR) October 2010
9/10/10
"A consecrated life
respects the incomparable gift of one's physical body, a divine creation
in the very image of God. A central purpose of the mortal experience is
that each spirit should receive such a body and learn to exercise moral
agency in a tabernacle of flesh. A physical body is also essential for
exaltation, which comes only in the perfect combination of the physical
and the spiritual, as we see in our beloved, resurrected Lord. In this
fallen world, some lives will be painfully brief; some bodies will be
malformed, broken, or barely adequate to maintain life; yet life will be
long enough for each spirit, and each body will qualify for
resurrection." - D. Todd Christofferson, "Reflections
on a Consecrated Life," Ensign (CR) October 2010
8/21/12
Prominently displayed on
President Kimball’s desk is a slogan which reads simply, “DO IT.” With
this inspired leader, personal convenience comes second. Everything is
done to meet the Lord's convenience. His example for work has become
legend and establishes an example for us all to follow. - Robert
L. Simpson, "Do
It," Ensign (CR) November 1975
2/12/13
To get all there is out of living, we must employ our time wisely, never
being in too much of a hurry to stop and sip life, but never losing our
sense of the enormous value of a minute. - John Longden, February
17, 1960, "BYU Speeches of the Year," 1960, p.3
7/20/13
We are all church workers; those
with specific assignments and those with none are required by
revelation to go to the house of prayer weekly to offer up their
oblations. We then renew our pledges to remember him who is our
Savior and to keep his commandments, the second one of which is to
remember to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Having entered
into this covenant, it is our responsibility to seek diligently to
show this love through our deeds. - S.
Dilworth Young, "By
Love, Serve One Another," General Conference, October 1971
2/19/14
Some
of us are too content with what we may already be doing. We stand
back in the “eat, drink, and be merry” mode when opportunities for
growth and development abound. We miss opportunities to build up the
kingdom of God because we have the passive notion that someone else
will take care of it. The Lord tells us that He will give more to
those who are willing. They will be magnified in their efforts, like
the little blue engine as it pulled the train up the mountain. But
to those who say, “We have enough, from them shall be taken away
even that which they have.” - James
E. Faust, “I
Believe I Can, I Knew I Could,” Ensign (CR) November 2002
8/26/14
We
have a moral obligation to exercise our personal capabilities of
mind, muscle, and spirit in a way that will return to the Lord, our
families, and our society the fruits of our best efforts. To do less
is to live our lives unfulfilled. It is to deny ourselves and those
dependent upon us opportunity and advantage. We work to earn a
living, it is true; but as we toil, let us also remember that we are
building a life. Our work determines what that life will be. - J.
Richard Clarke, “The
Value of Work,” Ensign (CR) May 1982
9/17/15
My brethren and
sisters, the responsibility of doing this individual work is upon us
today, not at some far distant time, and I am wondering, and have
wondered, during the services of this conference, how many of us are
going home and reduce to practice the admonitions and instructions
that have been given us fro the servants of the Lord. After all we
have each and every one an individual work to perform. I think it
was Emerson who said: "No man is born into this world whose work is
not born with him." No one is born into the work of God whose work
is not born with him. - Harry L.
Payne, "Conference Report," April 1925, Closing Session, p. 147