Why is work an important gospel principle?

Prepare Yourself Spiritually

The Lord has commanded us not to be idle. Developing the desire and capacity to work helps us contribute to the world in which we live. It brings an increased sense of self-worth. It blesses us and our families, both now and in the future.

Resources to Help You Prepare

These resources are to help you prepare for the “Learn together” section of the meeting.

Genesis 3:19; Galatians 6:3–5; 1 Thessalonians 4:11; Mosiah 10:4–5 (We are commanded to work)
Proverbs 31:27; Alma 38:12; Doctrine and Covenants 58:27; 60:13; 75:29; 107:99–100 (Do not be idle or slothful)
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Two Principles for Any Economy,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 55–58
H. David Burton, “The Blessing of Work,” Ensign or Liahona, Dec. 2009, 43–46
“Work and Self-Reliance,” For the Strength of Youth (2011), 40–41
“Happiness in Family Life: Work” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
“Easily Guided” (video)

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Questions to Ponder before You Teach

What role has work played in your life? How has it blessed you and your family, both temporally and spiritually?

Do the young women you teach think of work as an opportunity or as something they want to avoid? How can you help them recognize the many blessings of work and develop a desire to work?

What can the young women do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to this doctrine.

Meeting Outline

1. Counsel Together and Share Experiences

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

Lead a discussion about items such as the following:

Our class: Who is missing today? What visits do we need to make? Who should we invite to an upcoming activity? Who needs our help and prayers?
Our responsibilities: What assignments do we need to make? What assignments have we fulfilled? How have we invited others to come unto Christ, and how can we invite others now?
Our lives: Remind the class of the discussion from the last meeting. What experiences have we had with applying what we learned? What experiences have we had in the past few weeks that strengthened our testimonies of the gospel?

If possible, discuss these items beforehand in a class presidency meeting.

2. Learn Together

Led by a leader or teacher or a member of the class; approximately 25–35 minutes

After studying the above resources and following the inspiration of the Spirit, you may select one or more of the activities below to help class members understand the doctrine.

Give each young woman a scripture reference about work (such as those listed in this outline). Ask her to read the scripture and think of an example from her life or the life of someone else that demonstrates the principle taught in her scripture. Invite the young women to share their scriptures and the examples they thought of. How does work bless our lives?
Give each young woman one of the scriptures from this outline, and ask her to write a short summary of the scripture on a piece of paper. Ask the young women to post their summaries on the board. Assign each young woman a different scripture, and invite her to read it and find the summary on the board that matches the scripture. What do the young women learn from these scriptures about the importance of work? How have the young women been blessed because of their own hard work?
Using the “Work and Self-Reliance” section in For the Strength of Youth, the talks suggested in this outline, or the website “Happiness in Family Life: Work,” choose statements about work that you think will be meaningful to the young women. Give each young woman a copy of one of the statements. Invite her to read the statement silently and pass it to the person sitting next to her. Have the young women continue until everyone has read each of the statements. Place all of the statements on the board, and invite each young woman to select one that is especially meaningful to her and share why she finds it meaningful. What do they learn from these statements about the importance of work? How will learning how to work bless them and their families, now and in the future?
Give the young women copies of relevant sections from one of the talks suggested in this outline. Invite them to read the sections individually and underline words and phrases that describe the blessings that come from work. Ask them to share what they underlined with someone else in the class. What have the young women learned about work from their families? What work can they do now that will bless their own homes? How can learning how to work now help them as mothers?

3. Plan to Act

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

Ask the young women to discuss any feelings or impressions they had during the meeting. What was meaningful to them? Is there something they can do personally or as a class to apply what they have learned?
Give the young women a few minutes to record what they will do in the coming weeks to act on their impressions. Invite them to share their ideas.
Remind the young women that they will have the opportunity to share their experiences at the beginning of the next meeting.

Related Youth Activities

Plan a Mutual activity that will help the young women apply what they learned in this lesson.