Building Self-Reliance: Lesson 177

Building Self-Reliance in the Lord’s Way

“The Lord Loves Effort”

Building self-reliance helps us follow the teachings of Jesus Christ in providing for ourselves and blessing others. Learning to build self-reliance as a youth leads to greater capacity as an adult. This lesson can help students understand why building self-reliance is important in Heavenly Father’s plan for us.

Student preparation: Consider asking students to do something on their own that others have done for them in the past. For example, they might prepare a meal, do the laundry, pay for something their parents usually pay for, or fix something in their house.

Possible Learning Activities

We progress by acting

Before class begins, consider giving one student a copy of the statement from Bishop Waddell and a different student a copy of the statement from Topics and Questions. Invite them to read the statements and prepare to share what they learn about the Savior and how they would explain self-reliance in their own words.

Consider beginning this lesson by showing the following picture of a baby bird and displaying the following questions. You could organize students into small groups to discuss the questions by displaying them one at a time and giving students time to discuss each question.

• What might happen to this bird if its parents allowed it to stay in the nest forever, always providing its food?

• In what ways could this be compared to our progress and development in Heavenly Father’s plan for us?

Help students understand that much of our growth depends on our willingness to learn and take responsibility for our own progress. You may want to testify about the Savior’s ability to help us in our efforts to progress.

Self-reliance

Consider writing self-reliance on the board and displaying the following two statements. Invite students to read the statements and prepare to explain what they learn about the Savior and what self-reliance means. If you gave these statements to students before class, invite them to share their insights before opening up the discussion to the rest of the class.

Bishop W. Christopher Waddell of the Presiding Bishopric explained:

The Lord does not expect us to do more than we can do, but He does expect us to do what we can do, when we can do it. As President Nelson reminded us in our last general conference, “The Lord loves effort.”

…Being temporally prepared and self-reliant means “believing that through the grace, or enabling power, of Jesus Christ and our own effort, we are able to obtain all the spiritual and temporal necessities of life we require for ourselves and our families.” (“There Was Bread,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 43)

Topics and Questions in Gospel Library states:

The Savior invites us all to act, to stand independent, and to become as He is. He will help us. … His way includes learning and living the principles of self-reliance—“the ability, commitment, and effort to provide the necessities of life for self and family” (Providing in the Lord’s Way: Summary of a Leader’s Guide to Welfare [2009]). (Topic and Questions, “Self-reliance,” Gospel Library)

• What did you learn about the Savior from these statements?

• How would you describe self-reliance in your own words?

As students share their answers to the previous question, consider writing what they say on the board next to self-reliance. Help them understand that building self-reliance helps us become more like Jesus Christ.

Consider displaying the following instructions and questions and inviting students to ponder their own desires and efforts to become self-reliant.

Ponder the following questions:

• How would you describe what it means for a teenager to increase their capability in the following areas?

Gospel knowledge

Current and future financial needs

Education and employment

Physical needs

Emotional and social needs

• How will building your capability in any of these areas bless your life on earth and your eternal progress?

Examples of self-reliance

It may be helpful for students to see how individuals in the scriptures were blessed through their efforts to build self-reliance to meet their spiritual and temporal needs.

Consider displaying the following instructions, references, and questions. You could put students in groups of three and invite each student to read a different reference. Students could then summarize to their group what they read and share their insights from the accompanying questions.

Read one of the following scripture accounts and ponder the accompanying question.

Moses 4:23–25; 5:1 (Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden)

• How could God requiring Adam and Eve to work for their food have blessed them more than if God had caused the earth to spontaneously produce for them?

Genesis 6:14–16 (Noah needing protection for his family from the coming flood)

• How might expecting Noah to build the ark have blessed him more than if God had just miraculously provided it?

Exodus 19:19–20 (Moses seeking to receive instructions from the Lord in the wilderness)

• How might waiting for Moses to climb the mountain before God gave him further revelation have blessed Moses?

When groups are done sharing, you might show the video “All I Needed” (1:44) to help students see modern examples of individuals building self-reliance.

The example of Jesus Christ

It can be easy to forget that Jesus Christ was once a young man. The New Testament contains a few chapters about His miraculous birth and many chapters about His adult life. We can, however, learn a little about how He spent His youth.

Read Luke 2:52, looking for the areas where the Savior grew and progressed as a young man.

Consider assigning small groups of students one of the areas (intellectual, physical, spiritual, social) from verse 52 to focus on for the following discussion.

Brainstorm with your group the ways some teenagers:

• Might rely on others more than they need to in that area.

• Could increase their own capacity in that area.

Some examples students think of may include relying on someone else to do all the work in a group school assignment (intellectual), relying on parents to do household chores (physical), expecting a youth leader to teach all Sunday lessons (spiritual), or expecting others to plan activities to get together (social).

Share what you learned

Give students an opportunity to think through and share what they have learned or felt about self-reliance. One way to do this is through the following activity. Students could complete it individually or with others.

Imagine that a leader asked you to share what you learned in seminary this week with the youth in your ward. Write what you learned about self-reliance using the following:

1. A description of what self-reliance is

2. Why building self-reliance is important to Heavenly Father in His plan for us

3. A personal or scriptural example of someone demonstrating self-reliance

4. One way that teenagers could become more self-reliant in any aspect of their lives

Invite a few students to volunteer to share what they wrote. You might encourage class members to record insights in their study journals as they hear from their classmates.

Additional Resources

What is self-reliance?

Being self-reliant … is believing that through the grace, or enabling power, of Jesus Christ and our own effort, we are able to obtain all the spiritual and temporal necessities of life we require for ourselves and our families. Self-reliance is evidence of our trust or faith in God’s power to move mountains in our lives and to give us strength to triumph over trials and afflictions. (Personal Finances for Self-Reliance [2017], 4)

Elder Hugo E. Martinez of the Seventy explained:

Self-reliance is a doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ, not a program. It is a process that lasts a lifetime, not an event.

We become self-reliant throughout our lives by growing in spiritual strength, improving our physical and emotional health, pursuing our education and employment, and being temporally prepared [see General Handbook, 22.1]. Is this task ever finished during our lives? No, it is a lifelong process of learning, growth, and work. It never ends; it is a continuous, daily process. (“Teaching Self-Reliance to Children and Youth,” Liahona, May 2022, 95)

Why is becoming self-reliant important in God’s plan?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:

Whatever causes us to be dependent on someone else for decisions or resources we could provide for ourselves weakens us spiritually and [slows] our growth toward what the gospel plan intends us to be. (“Repentance and Change,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2003, 40)

Elder Paul B. Pieper of the Seventy said:

Learning to work—training and disciplining our minds, bodies, and spirits to exert, produce, achieve, and progress—is a foundation reality of every mortal life. It is the means by which we become like God and accomplish His purposes on the earth. Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost all work. Their work and their glory is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” The reality is there can be no glory without work. (“The Realities of Mortality,” [Brigham Young University–Idaho devotional, Feb. 19, 2013], 6, byui.edu)

Elder Joseph W. Sitati of the Seventy testified:

Self-reliance begins with a vision of what you can become, free from self-doubt, free from any feelings of inadequacy. When such thoughts come into your mind, you need to remember your divine potential, that Heavenly Father has put you here upon the earth and given you capacity to have dominion above all things upon the earth. Heavenly Father has made a promise to all those who live according to the pattern of His covenants that He will provide for them. The plan of the gospel is to help us so that we can be independent and become like our Father in Heaven. I testify that if you can develop a clear vision of what you can become, the Lord will open ways for you so that that vision can become a reality. (Transcribed from the video “Education for a Better Life” from time code 3:39 to 4:33)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Seeking help from God

After studying the scriptures in the “Self-reliance” section of the lesson, consider sharing the following statement from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency. Invite students to share how it applies to what they just learned from the scripture accounts. Then invite students to share situations in our lives where the statement could apply.

Often, the answer to our prayer does not come while we’re on our knees but while we’re on our feet. (“Waiting on the Road to Damascus,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 76)

Alternate beginning

Rather than using the example of a baby bird to create a discussion, consider displaying a picture of a children’s team and use the prompts below.

Imagine you are the coach of this team. As you introduce a new but important skill to them, one child says: “That looks too hard! I can’t do that!” What would be the results if you:

• Perform the skill in place of that child each time the team works on it during practices?

• Get angry at that child for not quickly understanding and mastering the skill?

• Keep showing that child how to do it and encouraging them to try until they learn it?