Self-Reliance

Self‑reliance is more than meeting physical needs or managing life on your own; it is the lifelong process of developing the spiritual strength, practical skills, and personal confidence needed to care for yourself and support others—with the Savior’s help.

Self‑reliance grows as you combine your effort with God’s guidance. Heavenly Father wants more for you than survival; He desires your progress, resilience, and joy. As you turn to Him, He helps you build the capacity to make wise choices, overcome challenges, and move forward one step at a time.

Self‑reliance is connected to many aspects of life and includes:

• Strengthening your ability to provide for your own emotional, mental, and spiritual well‑being.
• Developing practical skills and confidence.
• Building healthy, supportive relationships.
• Increasing your ability to serve others and meet your own needs.

With the Savior’s enabling power, your efforts—no matter how small—lead to growth. Over time, you become better prepared to adapt, recover from setbacks, and experience the peace and purpose God intends for you.

To learn how you can increase your self-reliance, see “How to Build My Self-Reliance.”

The Church has several groups that are designed to help members build self-reliance:

• Finding Strength in the Lord: Emotional Resilience
• Personal Finances
• Find a Better Job
• Education for Better Work
• EnglishConnect
• Starting and Growing My Business
• Life Skills

See more about the self-reliance courses.

The Church’s self-reliance courses help individuals develop key life skills, including communicating effectively, building healthy relationships, solving problems, making decisions, managing time, and understanding financial literacy.

Self-reliance is a journey of faith. By combining God’s power with our efforts, we meet life’s practical and spiritual needs. Partnering with God builds our self-reliance and deepens our ability to access His strength.

Explore more on this question in “Topics and Questions: Self-Reliance.”