independence means self-reliance

Independence means self-reliance. Independence cannot be real if a nation depends upon gifts and loans from another for its development. How can we depend upon foreign governments and companies for the major part of our development without giving to those governments and countries a great part of our freedom to act as we please? The truth is we cannot.


Julius Kambarage Nyerere (13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian politician who served as the first President of Tanzania. The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair by Martin Meredith. PublicAffairs. 2005.

a good man made better

…Zeitoun felt the presence of some divine hand. The Williamses needed help immediately, help he had not been able to provide, and here was Todd, with precisely the vehicle they needed, at precisely the right moment.


Todd did not hesitate. Zeitoun agreed to care for the dog while he was gone, and Todd was off. He picked up Alvin and Beulah, cradling them one by one into the motorboat. Then he sped off toward the staging ground at Napoleon and St. Charles.

The mission took all of twenty minutes. Soon Todd was back, drinking a beer and relaxing again on the porch, his hand stroking the rescued dog’s matted fur.

“Some things you just have to do yourself,” he said with a smile.

Zeitoun had known Todd to be a good tenant, but he didn’t know this side of him. They talked for a time on the porch, and Todd told him stories of his own rescues – how he’d picked up dozens of people already, how he’d been shuttling them to hospitals and staging grounds, how easy it was with a motorboat. Todd had always been, to Zeitoun’s mind, a bit of a wanderer, something of a playboy. He liked to have a good time, didn’t want to be too tied down with rules and responsibilities. He smoked, he drank, he kept irregular hours. But here he was, his eyes alight, talking about carrying people to safety, how his arrival at any given house or overpass was met with cheers and thanks. A time like this could change a man, Zeitoun knew, and he was happy to see it happening here and now to Todd: a good man made better.



Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. Random House. 2010.

the best storehouse system

We should remember that the best storehouse system would be for every family to have a year’s supply of needed food, clothing, and, where possible, the other necessities of life.


Thomas S. Monson, Pure Religion: The Story of Church Welfare Since 1930 by Glen L. Rudd. 1995. P.208. Originally found in 'Goal beyond Victory,' Ensign, Nov. 1988, 47 1 Tim. 5:8

we could not afford to accept public relief

There are some things to which we have a legal right but which we cannot afford, and the acceptance of public relief is one of them. It requires too great a sacrifice in self-respect and in political, temporal and spiritual independence. It requires too great a sacrifice in industry and thrift, those sterling virtues possessed by the people who built our nation and established us in these mountain valleys. For these reasons we could not afford to accept public relief, even though we might be assured that it will always be available. We have, however, no such assurance. . . . The Lord has told us to take care of our own, and we do not propose to evade the commission.


Marion G. Romney, Marion G. Romney: His Life and Faith by F. Burton Howard. Bookcraft. Salt Lake City. 1988. P.120. Originally in the Improvement Era, March 1944, pp.141, 189.

Those in need are expected to do all they can to provide for themselves. Then families are expected to assist in taking care of their less-fortunate members. And then the resources of the Church are made available.


Gordon B. Hinckley, "I Was an Hungred, and Ye Gave Me Meat," Ensign, May 2004, 57

equally fundamental to self-reliance

In the Church, the concept of providing for one's family and of relying on one's family for growth, mutual care, and help--or family reliance--is equally fundamental to self-reliance. The family is the basic organizational unit of the Church. No agency or institution can or should replace the family. By sacred covenant and eternal priesthood government, the eternal family unit is established. By virtue of the commitment made as a part of that covenant, husbands are obligated to provide for their families. Thus, in the words of the Lord:

'Women have claim on their husbands for their maintenance, until their husbands are taken.'

'All children have claim upon their parents for their maintenance until they are
of age.' (D&C 85:2, 4)

And through Paul the Apostle we have the sentiment: 'But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.' (1 Tim. 5:8.)

Next to one's own self, the responsibility, the blessing, and great opportunity for lovingly sustaining an individual until he or she leaves mortality rests upon his or her family--parents for their children, children for their parents. The same covenant that obligates parents to care for their children also obligates children to care for their parents when they need it. The commandment to 'honor thy father and thy mother' extends to modern Israel and is required for all who are faithful members of the Church.

Marion G. Romney, "Principles of Temporal Salvation," Ensign, Apr. 1981, 4