Self-Reliance

"The core of the gospel- the doctrine and the principles- will never change.  Living according to the basic gospel principles will bring power, strength, and spiritual self-reliance into the lives of all Latter-day Saints."
(President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Christlike Attributes- the Wind beneath Our Wings, October 2005)
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/10/christlike-attributes-the-wind-beneath-our-wings?lang=eng

"It is important to understand that self-reliance is a means to an end.  Our ultimate goal is to become like the Savior, and that goal is enhanced by our unselfish service to others.  Our ability to serve is increased or diminished by the level of our self-reliance."
(Elder Robert D. Hales, A Gospel Vision of Welfare: Faith in Action, in Principles of Welfare and Self-Reliance p. 2)
http://www.lds.org/broadcast/archive/wwlt/WEL_2009_Welfare_Principles_Hales_08288_eng.pdf

"Many programs have been set up by well-meaning individuals to aid those who are in need. However, many of these programs are designed with the shortsighted objective of “helping people,” as opposed to “helping people help themselves.” Our efforts must always be directed toward making able-bodied people self-reliant."
(Elder Marion G. Romney, The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance, June 1984 Ensign)
http://www.lds.org/ensign/1984/06/the-celestial-nature-of-self-reliance?lang=eng

"Each family organization should include a family council comprised of all members of the family unit. Here the basic responsibilities of the family organization can be taught to the children. They can learn how to make decisions and act upon those decisions. Too many are growing to marriageable age unprepared for this responsibility. Work ethics and self-preparedness can be taught in a most effective way in a family council."
(Elder L. Tom Perry, The Need to Teach Personal and Family Preparedness, April 1981 General Conference)
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1981/04/the-need-to-teach-personal-and-family-preparedness?lang=eng

"It is our solemn obligation, it is our certain responsibility, my brethren, to 'succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees' (D&C 81:5). We must help them to become self-reliant and successful.

I believe the Lord does not wish to see His people condemned to live in poverty. I believe He would have the faithful enjoy the good things of the earth. He would have us do these things to help them. And He will bless us as we do so. For the success of this undertaking I humbly pray, while soliciting your interest, your faith, your prayers, your concerns in its behalf. I do so in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, amen."
(President Gordon B. Hickley, The Perpetual Education Fund, July 2001 Liahona)
http://www.lds.org/liahona/2001/07/the-perpetual-education-fund?lang=eng

"Most of us have thought about how to prepare for storms. We have seen and felt the suffering of women, men, and children, and of the aged and the weak, caught in hurricanes, tsunamis, wars, and droughts. One reaction is to ask, “How can I be prepared?” And there is a rush to buy and put away whatever people think they might need for the day they might face such calamities.

But there is another even more important preparation we must make for tests that are certain to come to each of us. That preparation must be started far in advance because it takes time. What we will need then can’t be bought. It can’t be borrowed. It doesn’t store well. And it has to have been used regularly and recently.

What we will need in our day of testing is a spiritual preparation. It is to have developed faith in Jesus Christ so powerful that we can pass the test of life upon which everything for us in eternity depends."
(President Henry B. Eyring, Spiritual Preparedness, October 2005 General Conference)
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/10/spiritual-preparedness-start-early-and-be-steady?lang=eng

"We become more self-reliant in some ways as we recognize our dependence on Him from whom all good things come. This is the spirit noted in Alma 34:27, in which we are counseled to cry unto the Lord over our homes, our families, and our work."
(Elder M. Russell Ballard, Becoming Self-Reliant, March 2009 Ensign)
http://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/03/becoming-self-reliant-spiritually-and-physically?lang=eng

"The holy scriptures declare eternal values; they are the firm foundation on which we can build a successful mortal experience. We become more self-reliant when we study the holy scriptures, which teach the principles that provide a divine center to our lives here in mortality."
(Elder L. Tom Perry, Becoming Self-Reliant, October 1991 General Conference)
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1991/10/becoming-self-reliant?lang=eng

"This very hour there are many members of the Church who are suffering. They are hungry, stretched financially, and struggling with all manner of physical, emotional, and spiritual distress. They pray with all the energy of their souls for succor, for relief.

Brethren, please do not think that this is someone else’s responsibility. It is mine, and it is yours. We are all enlisted. 'All' means all—every Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood holder, rich and poor, in every nation. In the Lord’s plan, there is something everyone can contribute.

The lesson we learn generation after generation is that rich and poor are all under the same sacred obligation to help their neighbor. It will take all of us working together to successfully apply the principles of welfare and self-reliance.
(President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Providing in the Lord's Way, November 2011 Liahona)
http://www.lds.org/liahona/2011/11/providing-in-the-lords-way?lang=eng

"WORK is basic to all we do. God’s first direction to Adam in the Garden of Eden recorded in scripture was to dress the garden and take care of it. After the fall of Adam, God cursed the earth for Adam’s sake saying, 'In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground.' (Gen. 3:19.) Today, many have forgotten the value of work. Some falsely believe that the highest goal in life is to achieve a condition in which one no longer needs to work."
(President Thomas S. Monson, Guiding Principles of Personal and Family Welfare, February 1987 Liahona)
http://www.lds.org/liahona/1987/02/guiding-principles-of-personal-and-family-welfare?lang=eng