By the Numbers: How the Church Is Helping to Build Self-Reliance

This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.

By Mary Richards, Church News

Children of God have a divine origin, nature and potential. Becoming temporally and spiritually self-reliant allows each person to become more like Heavenly Father. Self-reliance allows people to better focus on the Savior’s two great commandments to love God and to love their neighbor.

The First Presidency has said: “Please be assured that you are a child of our Father in Heaven. He loves you and will never forsake you. He knows you and is ready to extend to you the spiritual and temporal blessings of self-reliance.”

Being self-reliant doesn’t mean there won’t be needs, but it does ensure preparation for challenges. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seeks to help individuals build self-reliance in several ways, such as through free courses, lifelong learning, and projects and volunteer work.

The Church offers free self-reliance courses in more than 100 countries to help people develop skills and build self-reliance through education, employment, finances and other topics. Courses are completed individually or in small groups and focus on combining spiritual principles with practical skills. Job seekers, displaced persons and prospective students can all be blessed through these courses.

Through lifelong learning, individuals can follow the Lord’s instruction to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118). Resources include BYU–Pathway Worldwide, scholarship programs and Deseret Industries’ job training program.

With humanitarian efforts and volunteer work throughout the world, the Church strives to help people meet their immediate needs and move toward self-reliance. Members of the Church also frequently volunteer with community projects that are designed to build self-reliance.