Getting Started—Maximum Time: 15 Minutes

Have an opening prayer.

Introduce yourselves. Each of you take one minute to share your name and something about you.

Welcome to Our Self-Reliance Group!

Read:This group will help you follow the counsel the Lord’s servants have given about seeking more education or training to get work that will help you become self-reliant. Specifically, you will create a self-reliance goal, choose a job that provides the income you need to reach that goal, choose the education or training you need to get the job, choose how to pay for your education or training, and prepare to be successful in your education and career. Each group meeting lasts about two hours.

How Does This Work?

Read:Self-reliance groups function like a council. There is no teacher or expert. Instead, you follow the materials as they are written. With the guidance of the Spirit, you will help each other as follows:

Contribute equally to discussions and activities. No one, especially the facilitator, should dominate the conversation.
Love and support each other. Show interest, ask questions, and learn about each other.
Share positive and relevant comments.
Make and keep commitments.

Elder M. Russell Ballard taught, “There is no problem in the family, ward, or stake that cannot be solved if we look for solutions in the Lord’s way by counseling—really counseling—with one another” (Counseling with Our Councils, rev. ed. [2012], 4).

Watch:“My Self-Reliance Group,” available at srs.lds.org/videos. (No video? Skip to “Without a Teacher, How Will We Know What to Do?” on page 3.)

What made the group in the video so successful? What will you do as a group to have a life-changing experience?

Without a Teacher, How Will We Know What to Do?

Read:It’s easy. Simply follow the materials. Each chapter in the workbook has six parts:

Report: Discuss the progress you made during the week on your commitments.
Foundation: Review a gospel principle that will lead to greater spiritual self-reliance.
Learn: Learn practical skills that will lead to greater temporal self-reliance.
Ponder: Listen for the Holy Ghost to offer inspiration.
Commit: Promise to act on commitments during the week that will help you progress.
Act: During the week, practice what you learned.

How to Use This Workbook

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directions table

Certificate of Completion

Read:Group members who attend meetings and keep their commitments may receive a self-reliance certificate from LDS Business College. See page 209.