Hugo E Martinez | Teaching Self-Reliance to Children and Youth | April 2022 General Conference

Teaching Self-Reliance to Children and Youth
By Elder Hugo E. Martinez

Of the Seventy

Let us follow our Savior, Jesus Christ, and His gospel by becoming self-reliant throughout our lives and teaching this to our children and youth.

I will speak about self-reliance and how it can be taught to children and to youth. Self-reliance may be perceived as being subject matter for adults. I’ve come to know that adults can best be on the path toward self-reliance when they have been taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and have practiced its doctrine and principles since childhood and as youth in the home.

The best illustration is a great real-life example. Wilfried Vanie, his seven siblings, and his mother joined the Church in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, when he was six years old. He was baptized at eight. His father, the main provider in the family, died when Wilfried was eleven.

Though saddened by the family situation, Wilfried decided to continue in school, with his mother’s encouragement and with Church support. He graduated from secondary school and served a full-time mission in the Ghana Cape Coast Mission, where he learned English. After his mission, he went on to the university and obtained a diploma in accounting and finance. Though it was hard to obtain employment in this field, he found work in the tourism and hospitality industry.

He started as a waiter in a five-star hotel, but his passion to improve pushed him to learn more until he became a bilingual receptionist there. When a new hotel opened, he was hired as the night auditor. Later, he enrolled in BYU–Pathway Worldwide and is currently studying a course to obtain a certificate in hospitality and tourism management. His desire is to one day become the manager of a high-end hotel. Wilfried can provide for his eternal companion and two children, as well as help his mother and his siblings. He currently serves in the Church as a member of the stake high council.

Self-reliance is defined as “the ability, commitment, and effort to provide the spiritual and temporal necessities of life for self and family.”1 Striving to be self-reliant is part of our work along the covenant path that leads us back to Heavenly Father and to His Son, Jesus Christ. It will strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ and joyfully bind us to Him through the covenants and ordinances of salvation and exaltation. Self-reliance is a doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ, not a program. It is a process that lasts a lifetime, not an event.

We become self-reliant throughout our lives by growing in spiritual strength, improving our physical and emotional health, pursuing our education and employment, and being temporally prepared.2 Is this task ever finished during our lives? No, it is a lifelong process of learning, growth, and work. It never ends; it is a continuous, daily process.

How can we teach the doctrine and principles of self-reliance to our children and youth? One important way is to regularly apply the principles of the Children and Youth program. Parents and children learn the gospel of Jesus Christ, participate in service and activities, and work together in four areas of personal development that are unique for each child. It is no longer the same prescribed program for all.

The Children’s Guidebook says: “When Jesus was your age, He learned and grew. You are learning and growing too. The scriptures say: ‘Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man’ (Luke 2:52).”3 This scripture refers to growth and learning in the spiritual aspect, favor with God; the social aspect, favor with man; the physical aspect, stature; and the intellectual aspect, wisdom. These developmental areas apply to all of us, no matter our age. When do we teach them? In Deuteronomy 6:6–7 we read:

General Conference Sunday Morning Session April 2022

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