Plenty of work to do

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Priesthood Session of the April 1998 Conference.

I liked Elder Maxwell's talk about work, "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel." He showed off a bunch of the awards he won for pig raising! I had to turn on the video so I could see him and Elder Nelson hold up a big blanket full of ribbons at the pulpit. I'm sure my brothers all remember this talk because of that!

Anyway, in our Stake Conference last weekend, one of the speakers talked about helping our children learn to work and quoted Elder Maxwell, and I thought, "Hey, I just read that talk!" So it must be I needed to ponder this again:

When the time comes, young men, make your career choices. Know that whether one is a neurosurgeon, forest ranger, mechanic, farmer, or teacher is a matter of preference not of principle. While those career choices are clearly very important, these do not mark your real career path. Instead, brethren, you are sojourning sons of God who have been invited to take the path that leads home. There, morticians will find theirs is not the only occupation to become obsolete. But the capacity to work and work wisely will never become obsolete. And neither will the ability to learn. Meanwhile, my young brethren, I have not seen any perspiration-free shortcuts to the celestial kingdom; there is no easy escalator to take us there.

I'm pretty much always worried about work in our family. I worry that we don't have our kids do enough, or that they aren't learning the value of it. I often think, "Would things be better if we lived on a farm?" We have tried many things to create opportunities for them to work more, and there is certainly always plenty to be done around here; having a large family is good for that reason—but it is a constant struggle to balance "I need to let the children learn and grow" with "I'm so tired of fighting about it." *sigh* 

But Elder Maxwell understands that. He even says

"For most young men, there are no cows to be milked, pigs to be fed, et cetera. Yes, some of today’s work may seem artificial and contrived. Nevertheless, young men, be patient with your parents as they try to help provide reasonable and meaningful work."

Yeah. We are trying! And as we do, it's good for me to remember WHY work is important. I think I often need these nudges toward working hard myself, too!

My brethren, old and young, sweeping is the only way to describe your spiritual history and your possible future! There will always be plenty of work to do, especially for those who know how to do the Lord’s work!…I believe in your future possibilities. You are special spirits sent to do special chores. It is toward those chores that I have tried to give you a friendly nudge tonight!

I'm grateful that Abe is learning hard work on his mission. And I'm grateful that Sam is such a good example of a hard-working father! Hopefully some of the lessons we're trying to teach will sink in…someday!😄

Other posts in this series: 

Rozy's post on work