LDS Place

Brethren, during my Aaronic Priesthood years I was a swineherd! Way back then, by means of a 4-H Club project involving purebred Duroc pigs, I became familiar with work! As proof that what follows is not merely swollen memory, may I, with Elder Nelson’s help, display very briefly this blanket of nearly 100 ribbons won by my prize pigs at various fairs over several years.

Up near Elder Nelson’s hand is a pink ribbon, won 60 years ago. It was the very first ribbon I ever won. I think the judge had a tender eye, and the pig wasn’t really so choice, but he knew I needed encouragement and hence the fourth prize. The purple ribbons were for champions that were exhibited later on!

Thank you, Elder Nelson.

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Work leaves its mark. In the poem “After Apple-Picking,” Robert Frost observes: “My instep arch not only keeps the ache/It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.”

I’ve felt the aches and pressures which come from physical and mental labors. Earning bread by the sweat of the brow (whether in the marketplace or on the homefront) produces sore muscles and a weary mind. But there’s often a good portion of butter and honey on that earned bread.

Pitching pea vines at 4:00 A.M. is not fun. Or is it? In retrospect I have no bright recollection of being tired and grumbling and sore. What I seem to remember more than the feel of the pitchfork handle is joy in the handiwork of the Lord. I remember the dew in the fields, the heady scents of rich growth, the magic shifting of light and shadow that happens softly before full sunrise. I recall also a comfort in togetherness that transcends any memory of aching muscles.

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“It’s Saturday,” my mother would sing out at eight o’clock, and all of us children knew what she meant. In the winter we’d spend the morning cleaning house. In the summer, we’d arm ourselves with weeders and head for the front lawn, or grab hoes and shovels and get the weeds out of the tomatoes.

I hated weeding. Nothing galled me more as I was growing up than wasting an entire Saturday morning digging dandelions out of the front lawn, knowing that in a week there’d be more. But my parents always said, “We all share the work and we all share the play”—and they meant it.

And it’s funny—today I enjoy gardening, though not every aspect of it. But I learned that work precedes accomplishment, that the watermelons don’t grow unless I water them, that the dishes aren’t there for the next meal unless I wash them from the last, that clean clothes don’t magically appear in closets, that money doesn’t get deposited regularly in the bank unless I work first.

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More than 6,000 years ago, Father Adam received the commandment, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” (Gen. 3:19.)

Some 2,700 years ago, a Greek poet observed that “in front of excellence the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to it.” (Hesiod, Works and Days, 1. 287, as cited in John Bartlett, Familiar Quotations, 14th ed., Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1968, p. 67.)

My young friends of the Aaronic Priesthood and you trainers of this great army of Christ, the principle of work has been taught from the foundation of the world. It is the bottom line of any forward motion of success. The frightening disappearance of work as a part of our basic ethic is alarming. We constantly hear the statements, “It’s too hard,” “Give me something easier,” “I want it now,” “I can’t wait that long” coming from our young people. The ugly disease of “nothing to do” is growing in epidemic proportions among us. It undermines the basic fabric of our nations. The prophet Ezekiel clearly defined iniquity as an “abundance of idleness.” (Ezek. 16:49.)

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Few writers in our generation have produced the number and quality of best-selling books that James A. Michener has. I am amazed at the range of his interests and his commitment to excellence. His success is not accidental. It does not come solely from the endowment of a natural talent. His success comes from developing the habit of hard work.

He was raised in poverty by a widowed mother. From age eleven, James worked six days a week every summer and delivered papers during the winter. At age fourteen he apprenticed as a plumber and worked fourteen hours a day in the summer and four hours a day in the winter. In looking back he says, “Instead of turning me against work, this ingrained in me the attitude that sensible people work hard to attain sensible goals—a philosophy I still adhere to.” (“An Authentic Work Ethic: I. The Path to Achievement,” Reader’s Digest, Jan. 1977, p. 149.)

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“We all worked very hard to make a living for such a large family,” wrote Hannah Romney of her pioneer life, “but work is what keeps the world moving and the people living and progressing, expanding our minds so that we will be more able to cope with the bigger things in life.”

Hannah and her husband, Miles, and their nine children understood the value of work and enjoyed the results of their industry. Their lifestyle and work ethic were typical of many Latter-day Saint pioneers. Married in 1862 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, the Romneys settled in St. George in southern Utah in 1867, St. Johns in east-central Arizona in 1881, and the Latter-day Saint colonies in northwestern Mexico in 1886. Each new settlement required commitment and hard work as these settlers not only built houses, plowed unbroken fields, and planted gardens, but as they also built churches, stores, and roads.

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In our travels visiting Church members throughout the world and by means of established priesthood channels, we receive firsthand feedback on the conditions and challenges of our members. For years many of our members have been affected by worldwide disasters, both natural and man-made. We also understand that families have had to tighten their belts and are concerned about enduring these challenging times.

Brethren, we do feel very close to you. We love you, and we pray always for you. I have seen enough ups and downs throughout my life to know that winter will surely give way to the warmth and hope of a new spring. I am optimistic about the future. Brethren, for our part, we must remain steadfast in hope, work with all our strength, and trust in God.

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