We live in an age of specialization. When I was a boy, many people had Model T Fords. Compared to modern cars, they were relatively simple mechanically. Many people were able to fix their own cars by grinding the valves, changing the rings on the pistons, putting in new brake bands, and using a generous supply of baling wire. Nowadays automobiles are so sophisticated that the average person knows very little about how to repair them. The mechanics of today use a computer to diagnose engine problems. I mention this example to encourage you young men to get training and education in order to keep up. Technical education is very important, and the same thing is true in fields of higher education. Any kind of skill requires specialized learning.
I do not care what vocation you choose to follow in life so long as it is honorable. How you provide for your family is your decision. Acquiring a skill is a good way to pay the bills, but there really ought to be something more in terms of personal involvement. Do not become so preoccupied with the material things of life that you lose the essence of your humanity. You may recall Dickens’s character Jacob Marley, who lamented his obsession with work when he exclaimed: “Business? … Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business.” Each of us ought to play some role in strengthening society, especially in doing the work of God.
I have learned that for those of us who hold the priesthood, the best formula for success is “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Success will not come immediately because it requires preparation and hard work. There really are no shortcuts to success.
James E. Faust, “Message to My Grandsons,” Ensign, May 2007, 54–56
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