Good morning my dear young friends, and Aloha.
It is a privilege to be with you today and thank you for the beautiful musical number, beautiful spirit here today.
In my childhood home, right next to the wall-mounted phone with its long, tangled 12-foot cord, a piece of paper was taped to the kitchen wall. On it was an African proverb that stuck with me through the years:
“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion, or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're the lion or a gazelle—when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.”
My parents were a great example of work. They taught us mostly by their example, but sometimes used words.
We had a garden and household chores. It wasn’t easy, but as I worked in the hot sun, I learned the satisfaction that comes in no other way than by working hard. I also earned money for things I wanted. We were taught that any job worth doing was worth doing well. My dad hated jobs that weren't done right.
Likewise, our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have shown us by Their examples and teachings that work is an important, even crucial, eternal principle.
With Adam and Eve, work was introduced as part of the eternal plan. In Genesis 3:17 we read, “cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.” [1]
President Marion G. Romney taught: “Note that the curse was not placed upon Adam, but upon the ground for Adam’s sake. Rather than a curse upon Adam, it was a blessing to him.” [2]
Work appears 1,100 times in the scriptures. Examples of work are everywhere in the Book of Mormon. Lehi taking his family into the wilderness and working to stay alive, Nephi working to build a ship, arriving in the promised land and working to build a city, and so it goes throughout the record. Anything worthwhile takes work, and the results of working to accomplish something good are always positive.
“Our role is to immerse ourselves in loving and serving those around us.” [3] Note how often we talk about work in the Church. The work of salvation, temple and family history work, missionary work.
Heavenly Father’s work and His glory is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” [4]
God has a work for us to do. He inspired Moses, and all of us, with the words, “I have a work for thee, Moses, my son.” [5] To be given work to do from God is a supernal privilege, and is one reason missionary work is so incredibly joyful. When we do the work God has asked us to do, it brings blessings and it brings joy.
President Thomas S. Monson said: “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work.” [6]
In Doctrine and Covenants 64:33 the Savior reminded the early Saints, “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.” [7]
I know that work is a blessing from God, and I am eternally grateful to have learned the joy of work. It is a fundamental principle of salvation, both spiritual and temporal.
Elder J. Richard Clarke said, “Work is honorable. It is good therapy for most problems. It is the antidote for worry... Work makes it possible for the average to approach genius. What we may lack in aptitude, we can make up for in performance.” [8]
I testify that because God desires to bless us, He lovingly invites us to work and to work hard. I invite you to resist the natural man’s desire for leisure and rather embrace the glorious blessing of work.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
NOTES:
[1] Genesis 3:17
[2] Marion G. Romney, “In Mine Own Way,” Ensign or Liahona, October 1976, 125
[3] “Hastening the Work of Salvation,” Ensign or Liahona, October 2013, 30
[4] Moses 1:39
[5] Moses 1:6
[6] Thomas S. Monson, “Welcome to Conference,” Ensign or Liahona, October 2013, 4
[7] Doctrine and Covenants 64:33
[8] J. Richard Clarke, “The Value of Work,” Ensign or Liahona, April 1982, 77-78