Self Reliance
An article I read recently on Self-Reliance has touched my heart recently and made me realize how self reliance it has carried me through many trials and tests. Tom Perry, Quorum of the Twelve, said in General Conference in 1999
“Independence and self-reliance are critical to our spiritual and temporal growth. Whenever we get into situations, which threaten our self-reliance, we will find our freedoms threatened as well. If we increase our dependence on anything or anyone except the Lord, we will find an immediate decrease in our freedom to act.
As President Heber J. Grant declared, “Nothing destroys the individuality of a man, a woman, or a child as much as the failure to be self-reliant.” (Relief Society Magazine, Oct. 1937, p. 627.)
I would like to go in a different direction on this theme. LDS founder, Joseph Smith made many sacrifices, many of which paralleled with those of Jesus Christ. If Joseph Smith had not been self-reliant, who knows if he could have withstood all the trials he endured.
While thinking about self-reliance, it made me think back to those pioneer days and how self-reliance was vital to mere survival. If it were not for great skills of self-reliance, we might not be here today to pursue our paths to eternal life.
It is a challenge to comprehend all the sacrifices the pioneers had to make and the help they gave to another and self-reliance to get through very trying times.
I can not imagine the strength and faith it took for our pioneers to stay together after Joseph Smith died in such an unlawful and unjust manner - the way our Savior Jesus Christ did as well.
This required independence and self-reliance. They were placed in circumstances, which threatened their self-reliance as well as their freedoms. If Joseph Smith had not been self-reliant and had depended on anything other than the Lord, he would have lost his freedom to act. His individuality as man would have been destroyed.”
I shared my thoughts on this topic
“Independence and self-reliance are critical to our spiritual and temporal growth. Whenever we get into situations, which threaten our self-reliance, we will find our freedoms threatened as well. If we increase our dependence on anything or anyone except the Lord, we will find an immediate decrease in our freedom to act.
As President Heber J. Grant declared, “Nothing destroys the individuality of a man, a woman, or a child as much as the failure to be self-reliant.” (Relief Society Magazine, Oct. 1937, p. 627.)
I would like to go in a different direction on this theme. LDS founder, Joseph Smith made many sacrifices, many of which paralleled with those of Jesus Christ. If Joseph Smith had not been self-reliant, who knows if he could have withstood all the trials he endured.
While thinking about self-reliance, it made me think back to those pioneer days and how self-reliance was vital to mere survival. If it were not for great skills of self-reliance, we might not be here today to pursue our paths to eternal life.
It is a challenge to comprehend all the sacrifices the pioneers had to make and the help they gave to another and self-reliance to get through very trying times.
I can not imagine the strength and faith it took for our pioneers to stay together after Joseph Smith died in such an unlawful and unjust manner - the way our Savior Jesus Christ did as well.
This required independence and self-reliance. They were placed in circumstances, which threatened their self-reliance as well as their freedoms. If Joseph Smith had not been self-reliant and had depended on anything other than the Lord, he would have lost his freedom to act. His individuality as man would have been destroyed.”
I shared my thoughts on this topic