“[Your chosen field] should be one which will challenge your intellect and which will make maximum utilization of your talents and your capabilities. Finally, it should be a field that will supply sufficient remuneration to provide adequately for your companion and your children. Now that’s a big order. But I bear testimony that these criteria are very important in choosing your life’s work.”
“Work is always a spiritual necessity even if, for some, work is not an economic necessity.”
| “Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel”
“It is interesting that the first recorded instruction given to Adam after the Fall, dealt with the eternal principle of work. The Lord said: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” (Gen. 3:19.) Our Heavenly Father loves us so completely that he has given us a commandment to work. This is one of the keys to eternal life. He knows that we will learn more, grow more, achieve more, serve more, and benefit more from a life of industry than from a life of ease.”
| Prepare for Honorable Employment
It is so easy to allow consumer debt to get out of hand. If you do not have the discipline to control the use of credit cards, it is better not to have them. A well-managed family does not pay interest—it earns it.
| “If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear”
It is necessary to say a word about what is “enough income.” This is a materialistic world, and Latter-day Saints must be careful not to confuse luxuries with necessities. An adequate income allows us to provide for the basic requirements of life. There are some who unwisely aspire to self-indulgent luxuries that often lead them away from complete commitment to the gospel of our Savior.
| Prepare for Honorable Employment
Now, let me say a few words to those of you who are currently unemployed. The responsibility for finding employment or improving your employment rests with you. Continued guidance comes from the Lord through regular fasting and prayer. Your quorum leaders, bishops, specialists, and employment resource center staff will help in your efforts. We fear, however, that often priesthood leaders are unaware of your situation. Speak up! Let them know you are looking for work. And bishops and priesthood leaders, rise up and let the brotherhood of the priesthood engage themselves in the wonderful opportunity to truly be a quorum, a brotherhood, a brother’s keeper.
Whenever a person in the ward is unemployed, the individual has primary responsibility to locate another job. Where he is unable to find a job, his family should help. Quorum and ward assistance should be offered in the very beginning, when the individual is first out of work.
“Some of our most important choices concern family activities. May breadwinners worry that their occupations leave too little time for their families. Here is no easy formula for that contest of priorities. However, I have never known of a man who looked back on his working life and said, “I just didn’t spend enough time with my job.”
“When the time comes, young men, make your career choices. Know that whether one is a neurosurgeon, forest ranger, mechanic, farmer, or teacher is a matter of preference not of principle. While those career choices are clearly very important, these do not mark your real career path. Instead, brethren, you are sojourning sons of God who have been invited to take the path that leads home. There, morticians will find theirs is not the only occupation to become obsolete. But the capacity to work and work wisely will never become obsolete. And neither will the ability to learn. Meanwhile, my young brethren, I have not seen any perspiration-free shortcuts to the celestial kingdom; there is no easy escalator to take us there.”
| “Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel”
“What are the three most important decisions? First, what will be my faith? Second, whom shall I marry? Third, what will be my life’s work?”
| "Decisions Determine Destiny"
I know your lives are busy. I know that you have much to do. But I make you a promise that if you will go to the house of the Lord, you will be blessed; life will be better for you.
There is a recurring theme in the revelations having to do with learning. And, from the beginning, Church leaders have counseled us to get all of the education we can as a preparation for and as an improvement of our careers. For example:
“Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” (D&C 88:118)
| The Gospel—The Foundation for Our Career
Careers are ever changing. They tell me that young people entering the work force today will have major career changes maybe three or four times during their work life. Job changes will occur even more frequently, even ten to twelve times during a life’s work cycle. I know of no other way to prepare for these times of adjustment than to be certain that during times of employment, preparations are made for less prosperous times, should they occur. Start now to create a plan if you don’t already have one, or update your present plan. Watch for best buys that will fit into your year’s supply. We are not in a situation that requires panic buying, but we do need to be careful in purchasing and rotating the storage that we’re putting away. The instability in the world today makes it imperative that we take heed of the counsel and prepare for the future.
| “If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear”
Now, may we refer specifically to vocational work or employment. The employment we choose should be honorable and challenging. Ideally, we need to seek that work to which we are suited by interest, by aptitude, and by training. A man’s work should do more than provide adequate income; it should provide him with a sense of self-worth and be a pleasure—something he looks forward to each day.
| Prepare for Honorable Employment
President Monson tells the story of a retired executive named Ed who lived the example of a quorum member. On one occasion President Monson was speaking with Ed and asked him, “‘Ed, what are you doing in the Church?’ He replied, ‘I have the best assignment in the ward. My responsibility is to help men who are unemployed find permanent employment. This year I have helped 12 of my brethren who were out of work to obtain good jobs. I have never been happier in my entire life.’” President Monson continues, “Short in stature, ‘Little Ed,’ as we affectionately called him, stood tall that evening as his eyes glistened and his voice quavered. He showed his love by helping those in need. He restored human dignity. He opened doors for those who knew not how to do so themselves.”
“Accomplish personal goals in each of four categories . . . : spiritual development; physical development; educational, personal, and career development; and citizenship and social development.”
| "Fulfilling Our Duty to God," October 2001:
While we are taught to develop our talents and provide for our families, nevertheless we must be careful not to let the pursuit of our career path divert us from the gospel path.
“There is one thought that must come at the very beginning of a discussion on occupations and careers in order to establish it as preeminent, and it is this:
Do not ever belittle anyone, including yourself, nor count them, or you, a failure, if your livelihood has been modest. Do not ever look down on those who labor in occupations of lower income. There is great dignity and worth in any honest occupation. Do not use the word menial for any labor that improves the world or the people who live in it.”
| The Gospel—The Foundation for Our Career
While we cannot build schools for everyone, there is a most important contribution the Church can make to our careers, one that is central to the mission of the Church. And that is to teach moral and spiritual values.
There are ordinary virtues which influence our careers even more than technical training; among them are these:
Integrity. Dependability. Courtesy. Respect for others. Respect for property.
| The Gospel—The Foundation for Our Career