Becoming Self-Reliant

By Elder Frederick Kamya

Area Seventy, Africa Central Area

“In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground”¹. Thus the Lord said to Adam as He cast him and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. That marked the beginning of self-reliance, as we know it today. Self-reliance is “the ability, commitment, and effort to provide for the spiritual and temporal necessities of life for self and family. As members become more self-reliant, they are also better able to serve others”² and work is enthroned as a ruling principle in their lives.

As we work towards self-reliance, many times it will not be easy. There will be unforeseen obstacles and challenges that will set in to make it difficult to achieve success. We then need to remember that opposition is an important part of the plan of salvation. “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so . . . righteousness could not be brought to pass, . . . neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad.”³

When we remember that, we then understand that prayer to our Heavenly Father must be part of the equation. Prayer will bring about the enabling power of the Atonement of the Savior to be with us, to help us navigate and endure those trials or challenges that we cannot control. Many a time, they may be as a result of our own failings, personality, or character, or even lifestyle. When we seek guidance and assurance from Him, He will help us break the barriers to our achieving success that we yearn for in our endeavors.

We also need to remember that working hard, in the journey to self-reliance is not the only requirement. We will need to endure to the end. We will need, in the words of Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926-2004), “God’s patient long-suffering which provides us with chances to improve, affording us urgently needed developmental space or time”⁴ to act for ourselves and, not waiting to be acted upon,⁵ and magnifying what is allotted to us. We need not just sit and wait for things to be. We need not just sit by and lament about our bad or hard circumstances. Instead, we should prayerfully call on the Lord each day to show us where to put our next footstep and get up and go and do. It will not be easy, but by and by, with persistence, things will begin to work out. The Lord will open doors for us in amazing ways. That will happen when we don’t give up, but keep trying again and again.

When we make mistakes, along the way, like we will many times do, let us not let them break us. Let us not give in to our failures. Instead, let us learn from them. Let us learn from difficult times, and according to Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917–2008), “become stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.”⁶ He implies that adversity and sorrow tries, fortifies, and refines our character. It is not unique to an individual. It comes to all. But how we handle it matters what the outcome will be. The Lord brings such trials in our lives to make us learn lessons from them.⁷

President Russell M. Nelson, the prophet, has taught us that “the Lord loves effort.”⁸ Let us put effort, therefore, in everything that we do, if we are to become self-reliant. Let me suggest four ways we can do this:

Daily personal and family prayer: to put our effort in prayer, so the Lord will guide us on what direction to take and what to do, and which people to approach that can help us along the way.
BYU-Pathway Connect: enroll for the course now. Put in effort in finding out how, from your bishop or branch president and the requisite materials and then to study and learn. It’s not going to be very smooth but stick in there as you seek help from friends and other leaders.
Persist and endure to the end: things will work out step-by-step if you are focused on your future. You will never regret making the decision and effort to study or persist in hard work every day.
Don’t fear—have faith: President Nelson has taught that, “faith is the antidote for fear”⁹ continue with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Get fear out of your way, through prayer. Don’t fear to do hard things, so long as you have a passion for them. We need to remember that if we do the easy things today, we will have to do the difficult things in the future, but if we, on the contrary, determine to do the difficult things today, our future may most likely be brighter and easier.

Yes, we need to remember that we are sowing a seed today, and that will determine how much we reap or harvest, when the season comes. Therefore, let us thrust in the sickle with all our might, ¹⁰ that our harvest may be good, involving the Lord Jesus Christ in this process. Elder Clark G. Gilbert, past president of BYU-Pathway Worldwide, and past president of BYU-Idaho, in his devotional taught, “President Thomas S. Monson has taught: ‘There has always been a need for those persons who could be called finishers.’ What does it take to be a finisher, both academically and spiritually? Psychologist Angela Duckworth calls this characteristic ‘grit,’ which she describes as ‘perseverance and passion for long-term goals.’”¹¹

So go on with courage, knowing that He knows your every need, and will help you.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin reminded us that the Lord Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate in all this.¹² He wants us to be happy. He wants us to be successful. If we do our part, He will step in. He who descended below all things will come to our aid. He will comfort and uphold us. He will strengthen us in our weakness and fortify us in our distress. He will make weak things become strong. All we need to do is pray then do our best, our very best each day, and leave the rest in His own hands.