President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Two Principles for Any Economy

This was a very good talk to give us hope in these economically troubling times.

I have seen enough ups and downs throughout my life to know that winter will surely give way to the warmth and hope of a new spring. I am optimistic about the future.  This is why it is great that we have "seasoned" leaders at the head of the church.

He talked about a time when he was 11 years old and was a refugee (with his family) living in Frankfurt. He had an Eastern German accent and that led to ridicule from his peers. But even with that, he learned valuable lessons from how his parents handled adversity.

I admired their determination and optimism. from them I learned that adversity, when confronted with faith, courage, and tenacity, could be overcome.


Knowing that some of you are experiencing your own periods of anxiety and despair, I wanted to speak today about two important principles that sustained me through this formative period of my life.


The First Principle: Work
It wasn't easy, but the work kept us from dwelling too much on the difficulties of our circumstances. Although our situation didn't change overnight, it did change. That's the thing about work. If we simple keep at it - steady and constant - things certainly will improve.   How the Lord loves the laborer!


Those who are unafraid to roll up their sleeves and lose themselves in the pursuit of worthwhile goals are a blessing to their families, communities, nations, and to the Church.


The Lord doesn't expect us to work harder than we are able. He doesn't (nor should we) compare our efforts to those of others. Our Heavenly Father asks only that we do the best we can - that we work according to our full capacity, however great or small that my be.  Work is an antidote for anxiety, an ointment for sorrow and a doorway to possibility.


When our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist the man who gets out to push than the man who merely raises his voice in prayer - no matter how eloquent the oration.  President Thomas S. Monson put it this way: "It is not enough to want to make the effort and to say we'll make the effort. . . . It's in the doing, not just the thinking, that we accomplish our goals. If we constantly put our goals off, we will never see them fulfilled."


Remember, we are only temporary travelers in this world. Let us not devote our God-given talents and energies solely to setting earthly anchors, but rather let us spend our days growing spiritual wings.  This is a great quote, I really like the way we are told to look beyond what the world is enticing us to spend our time on and towards eternal pursuits.

Now a word to us seasoned brethren: retirement is not part of the Lord's plan of happiness. There may be those who, after many years of Church service, believe they are entitled to a period of rest while others pull the weight. To put it bluntly, brethren, this sort of thinking is unworthy of a disciple of Christ. A great part of our work on earth is to endure joyfully to the end - every day of our life.  Whether you are the youngest deacon or the oldest high priest, there is work to do!


The Second Principle: Learn
Education is not so much the filling of a bucket as the lighting of a fire.  For members of the Church, education is not merely a good idea - it's a commandment.


The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, "Knowledge does away with darkness, [anxiety], and doubt; for these cannot exist where knowledge is."


In our learning, let us not neglect the fountain of revelation.


I know this for a certainty: it is often in the trial of adversity that we learn those most critical lessons that form our character and shape our destiny. (Another great quote)

I pray that during the coming months and years we can fill our hours and days with righteous work. That sounds like a good challenge for the next six months!