When Robert Rector and Kiki Bradley of The Heritage
Foundation "broke the story on July 12 [2012] that Obama's Health and
Human Services Department (HHS) had rewritten the Clinton-era reform to undo
the work requirements" of the successful 1996 Welfare Reform bill signed into law by President Bill Clinton, legal experts Todd Gaziano and Robert Alt determined the move to be
illegal. The re-writing of the reform
bill deleted the requirement for welfare recipients to work, seek work, or
train for another job. Apparently, the
Obama Administration is receiving a lot of flack for this action because Jay
Carney, the Press Secretary for the Administration, said that this is
"categorically false" and "blatantly dishonest." Bill Clinton was using the same talking
points and calling the charges "untrue." The Heritage Foundation has another essay on this subject here.
We do welfare recipients a great disservice by
giving them welfare checks without work requirements because work builds
character. It also makes our lives
richer and helps us to become self-reliant.
Even though many people do not understand this principle, work is
actually a blessing. Our modern world
emphasizes lives of ease and play, but there is great value in work. There are few experiences that compare to the
sense of accomplishment and well-being that comes when we work hard and do a
job well.
If we were to stop people on the street and ask
them if they like to work, many of them would tell us "no" while some
would tell us that they enjoy working.
Imagine a world where no one worked.
The thought of not working might be attractive at first, but we would
soon realize such a world would not be a pleasant place to live. If everyone stopped working, garbage would
pile up in our homes and on our streets; everyone would soon be wearing dirty
clothes and eventually no clothing at all; no one would have food to eat; we would all have to walk wherever we wanted
to go; there would be no place to go for entertainment, etc. When we understand this situation, we are
better able to understand that work brings blessings into our lives.
I learned a hymn entitled "Put Your Shoulder
to the Wheel" (Text and music by Will L. Thompson, 18476-1909; Hymns, no. 252) when I was a very young
girl and still enjoy singing it. This
hymn gives many reasons for the importance of work.
The world has need of willing
men
Who wear the worker's seal.
Come, help the good work move
along;
Put your shoulder to the
wheel.
Chorus: Put your shoulder to the wheel; push a long.
Do you duty with a heart full
of song.
We all have work; let no one
shirk.
Put your shoulder to the
wheel.
The Church has need of helping
hands,
And hearts that know and
feel.
The work to do is here for
you;
Put your shoulder to the
wheel.
Then don't stand idly looking
on;
The fight with sin is real.
It will be long but must go
on;
Put your shoulder to the
wheel.
Then work and watch and fight
and pray
With all your might and zeal.
Push ev'ry worthy work along;
Put your shoulder to the
wheel.
The scriptures teach us that God expects us to
work and support ourselves. In Proverbs
14:23, we read, "In all labour there
is profit." This statement
means that we can expect to benefit from working.
In Moses 4:25, we read, "By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
bread…" This verse contains
some of the Lord's words to Adam just before Adam and Eve were cast out of the
Garden of Eden. This statement means
that Adam would have to work to obtain food for himself and his family.
Just as working for their daily bread helped Adam
and Eve to learn new skills, gain knowledge and develop self-esteem, working
also helps us to gain those same characteristics.
President Marion G. Romney, who was a First
Counselor in the First President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, stated: "In Eden the Lord
said to Adam:
"`… Because thou hast … eaten of the fruit
of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying - Thou shalt not eat of it,
cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the
days of thy life.
"By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
bread, until thou shalt return unto the ground….' (Moses 4:23, 25.)
"Now this was not a vindictive decree. The Lord was not retaliating against
Adam. He was simply placing Adam in a
situation where he would have to work to live.
"The ground was cursed in the manner
prescribed for Adam's sake, not to his disadvantage. Had Adam and his posterity been able to live
without working, the human race would never have survived" (Ensign, Jan. 1974, 89).
God expects all His children to work. Even though many kings and other political
leaders throughout history lived off the taxes paid by their people, this did
not happen with all people. The righteous
political and religious leaders in the Book
of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ worked to support themselves.
In Mosiah 2:14, King Benjamin told his people,
"And even I, myself, have labored
with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden
with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to
be borne - and of all these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are
witnesses this."
In Mosiah 27:5, King Mosiah proclaimed that
everyone should work to support themselves.
"Yea, and all their priests
and teachers should labor with their own hands for their support, in all cases
save it were in sickness, or in much want; and doing these things, they did
abound in the grace of God."
The
people appreciated that their leaders worked to provide for their own
needs. The scriptures tell us that peace
was the result of everyone working for their own needs. Although there were many reasons for the
peace and the prosperity of the people, the willingness of their leaders to
work with the people added greatly to the success of the people.
In Words of Mormon 1:18 an ancient American prophet and
historian explained: "Wherefore, with the help of these, king
Benjamin, by laboring with all the might of his body and the faculty of his
whole soul, and also the prophets, did once more establish peace in the
land."
In Mosiah 27:6-7 the historian wrote: "And
there began to be much peace again in the land; and the people began to be very
numerous, and began to scatter abroad upon the face of the earth, yea, on the
north and on the south, on the east and on the west, building large cities and
villages in all quarters of the land.
"And
the Lord did visit them and prosper them, and they became a large and wealthy
people."
From these historical records we learn that peace is a
byproduct of people working to provide for their needs. Good character is another byproduct of work. President Spencer W. Kimball, the twelfth
President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, explained:
"Few miracles in our [Church] history exceed that of establishing our
settlements in a desolate land no one else wanted and then making the desert
blossom as a rose. Our people not only
survived but flourished because of their faith and their family
solidarity. Our pioneer character was
molded [by] hard work, sacrifice, pulling together, and depending upon the
Lord.
"How well I remember my boyhood years in Arizona
Character is formed and "molded [by] hard
work" because hard work helps us learn to discipline ourselves, to finish
tasks, and to make wise decisions. The
following statements made by four brothers who often worked together with their
family were quoted by Dean Jarman (Ensign,
Nov. 1982, 87). The statements reveal that the young men
understood the importance of work in their lives.
"An
eighteen-year-old boy writes, `Since I can remember, I have been taught the
value of hard work and honoring all of your responsibilities and your family
name. As I look back to my experience in
family projects, I can see how they have shaped my character and personality by
letting me make many important decisions.
I have gained confidence by meeting new people and am better able to
express myself. But the most important
thing about family work projects is that your family comes closer together in
love and respect.'"
"A thirteen-year-old who has been mowing
lawns for four years writes, `Family projects have really helped me to
understand how to work. The harder you
work, the better you feel. I am grateful
for a closer relationship with my brothers and parents.'"
"A sixteen-year-old said, `Working on family
projects has taught us the importance of being honest and dependable. It has taught us to make a lot of sacrifices
in order to keep our name in good standing.'"
"A fifteen-year-old said, `The family work
projects have helped me manage my money.
When I buy my clothes and other things, I take care of them because I
know how much they cost and how much work it takes to buy them. When my parents bought my things, I honestly
thought there was an endless supply of money, so I wouldn't take care of
them. Also, work gives me a feeling of
satisfaction.'"
My siblings and I worked together with our
parents on our family farm; we planted and irrigated crops, milked cows, hauled
hay, herded cows and sheep, pulled weeds, and whatever else needed to be done
on the farm. By working together, we
became good friends and learned to respect and appreciate each other. We still enjoy being together whenever
possible; we serve as a working committee for our annual family reunions. Working toward a common goal makes us better
people and builds stronger relationships.
Elder Loren C. Dunn of the Quorum of Seventy
related the following story: "While
we were growing up in a small community, my father saw the need for my brother
and me to learn the principle of work.
As a result, he put us to work on a small farm on the edge of town where
he had been raised. He ran the local
newspaper, so he could not spend much time with us. … And sometimes we made mistakes.
"Our small farm was surrounded by other
farms, and one of the farmers went in to see my father one day to tell him the
things he thought we were doing wrong.
My father listened to him carefully and then said, `Jim, you don't
understand. You see, I'm raising boys
and not cows'" (in Ensign, Nov.
1974, 11).
When Elder Dunn's father said, "I'm raising
boys and not cows," he meant that his primary purpose for having a farm
was to give his sons the opportunity to work.
From my experience of working on a farm, I know that his sons gained
much from their experiences.
Work gives us a sense of accomplishment. I enjoy looking back over a project - such as
a freshly weeded garden or a newly cleaned room - and feeling great
satisfaction at a job completed well. I
truly enjoy being able to go down my "to do" list and cross off
projects completed.
President Brigham Young stated, "I have
believed all my life that, that which was worth doing was worth doing well, and
have considered it as much a part of my religion to do honest, reliable work,
such as would endure, for those who employed me, as to attend to the services
of God's worship on the Sabbath" (quoted by Dean C. Jessee in "The
Prophet's Letters to His Sons," Ensign,
Mar. 1974, 68).
President Young taught us that the quality of our
work is as important as our attitudes in doing the work. With good attitudes, we can feel great
satisfaction in jobs well done.
I know the value of work and appreciate being
around people who know how to work hard without being prodded to do so. I particularly appreciate one of my
sons-in-law who works very hard at whatever he is doing. Work has brought feelings of great joy and
satisfaction into my life. I believe
that we weaken our nation if we give welfare without requiring the recipients
to work for what we receive. In fact, I
believe that doing so goes against the very laws of God. I believe that the ability to work is a blessing in our
lives.
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