Before coming to your training, please do the following:
This lesson will help you gain a deeper understanding of welfare and self-reliance and will equip you with the resources to help associates progress toward self-reliance. In this lesson you will (1) explain self-reliance; (2) explore welfare and self-reliance resources; and (3) acquire the tools to help associates set goals and develop self-reliance. The work you do in this lesson will prepare you to apply and teach correct principles, as well as help associates become self-reliant.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
Read the following definition of self-reliance:
“Self-reliance is the ability, commitment, and effort to provide the spiritual and temporal necessities of life for self and family. As members become self-reliant, they are also better able to serve and care for others.
“Church members are responsible for their own spiritual and temporal well-being. Blessed with the gift of agency, they have the privilege and duty to set their own course, solve their own problems, and strive to become self-reliant. Members do this under the inspiration of the Lord and with the labor of their own hands” (Handbook 2: Administering the Church [2010], 6.1.1).
As a group, discuss the following questions:
Divide into small groups and discuss the following:
Consider the following painting (Woman with Food Storage, by Judith A. Mehr) while you read this statement from Sister Julie B. Beck, former Relief Society general president:
“This painting, which hangs in my office, shows a woman in a storage room. What we learn from this painting is not so much a lesson about storage rooms and home canning. Look at the woman. She stands alone, and we do not know if she is married or single. She is wearing an apron, which implies that she has been working. Work is a foundational principle of self-reliance. We can assume that all the resources around her are the result of her own efforts. She has made some personal preparations. Look at her face. She seems a little weary but very peaceful. Her eyes show the contentment in her soul. She has the look of a self-reliant woman” (“The Welfare Responsibilities of the Relief Society President,” Basic Principles of Welfare and Self-Reliance [2009], 4–6).
In your group, discuss the following questions:
Individually, take a minute to ponder the following questions:
In less than a minute share what you pondered with your group members.
Divide into pairs and summarize President Uchtdorf’s talk. Consider the following questions:
Refer to the definition of self-reliance provided in Activity 1 under “Explaining Self-Reliance.”
Then read the following excerpt from the For the Strength of Youth booklet:
“Self-reliance does not mean that you must be able to do all things on your own. To be truly self-reliant, you must learn how to work with others and turn to the Lord for His help and strength” (For the Strength of Youth [booklet, 2011], 41).
Consider President Uchtdorf’s talk and these definitions of self-reliance as you discuss the following questions in pairs:
After each person has shared an example, discuss the following:
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
Note: You will need internet access and a projector for this activity.
Read the following statement:
“God has given us many tools to better understand His comprehensive instructions for our happiness in life. . . . He has given myriad tools of modern technology to help us in our walk of discipleship. Many of these marvelous instruments can be found at LDS.org.
“Why has our Heavenly Father given us so much help? Because He loves us. . . . In other words, Heavenly Father is our God, and God is a mentor to us” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Our Father, Our Mentor,” Ensign, June 2016, 4–5).
Go on a guided tour of LDS.org. As the facilitator displays different pages of LDS.org on the projector, imagine that you are taking a tour and that the facilitator is your tour guide who can answer any questions. Be as creative as possible on how you approach the guided tour and invite other learners to answer the questions that come up.
The facilitator should spend time at the following sites:
The Welfare Department provides great resources that can help you coach associates to become more self-reliant. Lee Hardy, the director of Deseret Employment, made the following call to action last year:
“Self-Reliance Services (SRS) has produced My Foundation: Principles, Skills, Habits as a tool to help individuals and families better understand how to become spiritually and temporally self-reliant. Found on Gospel Library under the Self-Reliance tab, this material can be easily accessed and studied.
“For the next several months, I am asking that each staff meeting and council meeting begin with a reference to this material. Take time to read and watch videos together that will enhance your understanding of the aspects of self-reliance we hope to reinforce with our associates and within our own families.
“Over the next few months, SRS will begin to roll out the self-reliance initiative to many more stakes in the U.S. and Canada. We need to be prepared to begin reinforcing this material with our associates, who will undoubtedly be participants in this initiative. As we do so, we will be offering a wonderful composite of the best Deseret Employment and Self-Reliance Services have to offer in helping individuals ‘foster greater hope and self-reliance’” (Deseret Employment Update [Aug. 2016]).
As a group, browse through the My Foundation booklet. Individually read through at least a page of one of the lessons and think about the principle explained. Then, as a group, discuss the following questions:
One job coach trainer planned to implement My Foundation teachings with his associates by focusing on three principles, skills, or habits during a three-week period. He used these materials in the weekly development plan discussions by showing related videos and then talking about them. These discussions were usually fewer than five minutes long. Here are some of the things he focused on:
As a group, discuss the following:
“Brethren, study the revealed principles and doctrines first. Read the handbooks regarding Church welfare; take advantage of the Internet website providentliving.org; reread the June 2011 Ensign article on the Church welfare plan. Find out about the Lord’s way of providing for His Saints. Learn how the principles of care for the needy, service to neighbor, and self-reliance complement each other. . . .
"Once you have studied the doctrines and principles of the Churchwide welfare plan, seek to apply what you have learned to the needs of those within your stewardship” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Providing in the Lord’s Way,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 55).
Individually, take four or five minutes to further your knowledge of what the Lord has already revealed about welfare and self-reliance. Choose to study one of the following resources. As you study these resources, consider associates who are struggling to become self-reliant. Then answer the following questions:
Resources:
Divide into small groups and discuss the following questions:
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
Complete the first page of the self-reliance exercise found in the “Lesson Resources” section, Resource 1. Write the answers in your learner's journal. Then fill out Part Two for one of the goals you have set.
After completing the exercise, divide into small groups. Discuss with your group members the following questions:
Individually complete the questionnaire found in the following article (“On the Path to Greater Self-Reliance,” Ensign, Aug. 2016, 79). Then answer the following questions in your learner's journal:
Seek to identify a personal or business gap or need.
Spend a few minutes silently pondering what you've discussed during this lesson. Listen as the Holy Ghost helps you identify areas where you can improve. Record your impressions in your learner's journal under the question “What Lack I Yet?”
Seek ways to close the gap or develop the required talent(s) to meet the need.
With the guidance of the Spirit, create your plan of how you will improve and close the gap(s) you have identified. You may use one or more of the exercises below, your own strategy, or a combination of both. Record this plan in your learner's journal under “What Must I Do?”
After a few minutes, those who are comfortable doing so can share their impressions with the group.
Seek understanding, and then share what you learned.
During the week, focus on implementing the plan you created. Record your impressions or lessons learned in your learner's journal under “Therefore, What?” You will be given time at the beginning of next week's lesson to share your experience with the group.
