“Lesson 183—Self-Reliance Enables Us to Better Care for Others: Preparing to Serve like the Savior,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual (2025)
“Self-Reliance Enables Us to Better Care for Others,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual
Lesson 183: Building Self-Reliance
Self-Reliance Enables Us to Better Care for Others
Preparing to Serve like the Savior
The Savior taught His disciples to “succor the weak … and strengthen the feeble knees” (Doctrine and Covenants 81:5). We are better able to follow this instruction when we become more self-reliant ourselves. This lesson can help students understand how becoming self-reliant enables them to better follow the Savior’s example of helping others.
Possible Learning Activities
The ability to help others
To help students understand that gaining self-reliance affects our ability to help others, consider inviting three students to each read one of the following situations. Pause after each situation is read and ask the class to share different factors that could determine how much Mindy, Nathan, or Jayda are able to help. (If desired, you could create alternate scenarios that are more relevant to your students.)
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Mindy’s friend is struggling to understand her math assignment and asks Mindy for help.
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As a new missionary, Nathan meets someone who has a lot of questions about the Restoration of the Savior’s Church.
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Jayda learns that a family in her ward is not able to provide warm clothing for their children.
Consider displaying or providing students with a copy of the following statement from Elder Robert D. Hales (1932–2017) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Invite them to identify and discuss in small groups at least one phrase from each paragraph that could apply to the scenarios above. (If needed, help students understand that the word temporal as used in the statement could include many areas of welfare, such as financial, educational, emotional, and physical.)
Self-reliance is taking responsibility for our own spiritual and temporal welfare and for those whom Heavenly Father has entrusted to our care. Only when we are self-reliant can we truly emulate the Savior in serving and blessing others.
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.
As President Marion G. Romney once said: “Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot come from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come from the spiritually weak” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1982, 135; or Ensign, Nov. 1982, 93). (Robert D. Hales, “A Gospel Vision of Welfare: Faith in Action,” in Basic Principles of Welfare and Self-Reliance [worldwide leadership training meeting, 2009], 1–2; see also ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
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What truths did you learn from Elder Hales?
As students answer the previous question, be sure they understand that as we develop self-reliance, we become more like the Savior and can better help and serve others.
You might help students see personal relevance in the lesson by asking them to record their thoughts and answers to questions like the following:
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How have you been able to help others through abilities or means God has helped you develop?
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What areas of self-reliance might Heavenly Father have you work on now so you can better care for yourself and others in the future?
Becoming more like the Savior
Consider displaying the following instructions and question. Invite students to complete the activity and discuss the question with a partner.
Read Luke 2:40, 52 and mark different areas of progress that Jesus made in His youth.
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How might the Savior’s ability to serve others have been affected by His growth and development during His youth?
After partners are done sharing, invite the class to share ways a teenager today could build self-reliance in each area mentioned in Luke 2:40, 52.
Consider giving students time to silently ponder questions like the following:
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Who might you be able to help in the future if you become more self-reliant in one of these areas? How could you help?
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How does working toward self-reliance help us become more like the Savior?
Examples of Christlike service through self-reliance
Share examples of people in Church history who were able to serve God and others. You could do this by organizing the class into study groups and providing each group with one of the examples from the handout “Examples of Self-Reliance from Church History.” Invite groups to read the suggested verses and discuss the question at the end of their paragraph.
Examples of Self-Reliance from Church History
Martin Harris: In 1827, Joseph Smith was facing persecution and poverty as he tried to translate the Book of Mormon from the gold plates. Martin Harris, a successful farmer, learned of Joseph’s situation. Read Joseph Smith—History 1:61–62, looking for how Martin was able to help Joseph Smith. Read Doctrine and Covenants 19:26, 34–35; 104:26 to see other ways Martin Harris was able to serve the Lord and bless others. Martin had developed the financial self-reliance needed to serve the Lord and others in meaningful ways. What could teenagers do now to develop skills, education, and means to help them serve the Lord and others in the future?
Emma Hale Smith: When she met Joseph Smith, Emma Hale was an accomplished reader, writer, teacher, and musician. Read Doctrine and Covenants 25:5–7, 11, looking for responsibilities the Lord entrusted to Emma. Emma had developed the skills and education that helped her serve the Lord and others in meaningful ways. What could teenagers do now to develop skills, education, and means to help them serve the Lord and others in the future?
William W. Phelps: The Lord instructed William W. Phelps, a recent convert to the Church, to move to Missouri. Read Doctrine and Covenants 55:4 and 57:11–13, looking for the unique assignments the Lord gave William to serve in His Church. Use the “Authors and Composers” index in the hymnbook to search for hymns that were written by William W. Phelps that continue to bless the Church today. William had developed the skills and education that helped him serve the Lord and others in meaningful ways. What could teenagers do now to develop skills, education, and means to help them serve the Lord and others in the future?
Consider inviting each group to share with the class what they learned.
You might help students think of modern examples of people who developed self-reliance and then were able to serve others in a Christlike way. You could show the video “Strengthen Thy Brethren” (3:50) or “On the Lord’s Errand: The Life of Thomas S. Monson” from time code 19:54 to 24:18, both available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Consider sharing how you have served others or how others have served you through skills, means, and attributes that you or others developed throughout life.
To conclude the lesson, you may want to give students time to prayerfully ponder or write what they think Heavenly Father would have them do with what they learned and felt today. Volunteers could share some of their thoughts with the class.