Elder Kent F. Richards was working as a trauma surgeon when he received word that an ambulance was on its way and that he needed to be ready for a man with a stab wound in his heart. Elder Richards knew he might be able to save the patient even though he was clinically dead, so he rushed him to the emergency room.
Before You Continue...
Do you know what is your soul number? Take this quick quiz to find out! Get a personalized numerology report, and discover how you can unlock your fullest spiritual potential. Start the quiz now!
Elder Richards discovered blood and clots in the pericardial sac around the heart after getting a better picture of the area inside the man's chest. The heart began to beat again after emptying the sac. As the crew resuscitated the guy, Elder Richards inserted his finger into the hole in his chest, and the man survived.
The narrative, according to Elder Richards, who is now an emeritus General Authority Seventy, is analogous to how repentance works, with sins like piercing one's own heart. “It's a small needle prick sometimes, and a long bladed knife other times.”
But, according to Elder Richards, the Savior can heal all broken hearts and make everyone whole again.
In a June 11 devotional at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square, he challenged all to become spiritually self-reliant through prayer and repentance, speaking to LDS Business College students and professors.
“Self-reliance isn't something you learn on your own. He quoted Church self-reliance online trainings when he added, “It is learned.”
According to Elder Richards, the ultimate goal of physical self-reliance for each individual is to “develop the ability to care for oneself and one's family, as well as to be joyful and forward-thinking.” He went on to say that spiritual self-reliance should be considered in the same way.
Spiritual self-sufficiency “means doing everything we can to help ourselves grow spiritually, acknowledging that we can't succeed without the help of spiritual strength and gifts from on high.”
Heavenly Father knew we'd need assistance, so He gave His children the light of Christ and the Holy Spirit to lead them back to Him, according to Elder Richards.
President Wilford Woodruff was quoted by Elder Richards as saying: “The Holy Ghost's company is the greatest blessing accessible to man on earth.”
Elder Richards used the family of Lehi as an example, explaining that the Liahona's assistance on their journey out of Jerusalem is analogous to how the Spirit's direction works throughout life. The Liahona may be used by Lehi's family as long as they put their faith in the Lord and prayed to Him in humble supplication.
According to Elder Richards, prayer and adherence to God's commandments are the keys to success “By being blessed and happy, you reap the lovely results.”
This joy should not lead to complacency or a lack of fortification against Satan's forces, yet the enemy has been known to infiltrate our defenses, according to Elder Richards.
He quoted President Lyndon B. Johnson, who said: “Repentance is a process, not an event. It is the secret to happiness and mental tranquillity.”
When used in faith, repentance gives people access to the power of Jesus Christ's Atonement, which allows them to be healed and cleansed of their sins.
How do you achieve self-reliance?
Here are some suggestions for developing self-reliance, whether you want to do it yourself or aid your child on their own developmental path.
Mandy Kloppers, a mental health counselor, outlines numerous practical strategies in an article on establishing self-reliance.
Accepting yourself, and being your own best friend.
It's critical to understand and appreciate your own character characteristics in order to be able to sustain yourself as you travel through life. What are your character's defining characteristics? Are you a good person? Curious? Brave? Don't forget to think on your accomplishments and the things you've done that make you proud. It's critical not to berate yourself or undermine your own efforts.
Inner confidence.
We've been socialized to believe that receiving comments, praise, and reinforcement from others makes us happy. If it does not happen, we may feel insecure, vulnerable, and even helpless. Being self-reliant entails being able to trust yourself when these people aren't around, which isn't always the case. Not sure what to be certain of? To boost your sense of self-worth, try one of these activities.
Making our own decisions.
Kloppers cautions against relying on others to accept us for who we are and to constantly look outside for protection. We can discover inner security when we can accept ourselves as unique and practice non-judgment.
We've already discussed the need of intelligent, independent thinking. When it comes to addressing difficulties or making decisions, we learn to seek to others for help as children. The tendency gets engrained in us, and even as adults, we aren't always capable of dealing with adversity in a confident manner. It's a lot easier to find security within yourself if you have faith in your own talents.
Recognize and manage dependence.
Self-awareness is recognizing when you turn to others for help. We may recognize that we rely on others for certain things, but this can mean we're missing out on opportunities to boost our own self-esteem. Setting and attaining objectives on your own terms provides you a sense of success and fulfillment, as well as increased confidence in your own judgment.
Accept yourself for who you are.
Self-acceptance is quite important. Instead of relying on people for approval, it's perfectly acceptable to provide it yourself. Seeking acceptance from others is another way we cultivate dependence on others, and it may be a widespread and difficult-to-break behavior. We must first recognize these tendencies before we can change them in order to achieve self-reliance. It is, nonetheless, worthwhile.
We can also deduce several pretty apparent conclusions from Emerson's article on its own. More techniques to develop self-reliance can be found here:
Having your own values.
The values of society may differ from our own deeply held convictions. We don't usually notice this because it happens on a subconscious level. When society favors something that differs from our own, we may find it difficult to acquire acceptance.
For example, you may value diversity and inclusion but work in an environment that does not. This leads to cognitive dissonance, which can be difficult to deal with (Fostinger, 1957).
Not relying on ‘things' to feel happiness.
Emerson also advocated vehemently against the harmful effects of worldly possessions, believing that we live in a materialistic era. If we base our happiness on external objects, what happens when they are no longer there?
Decide who you want to be, and how you want to get there.
This is almost the same as having your own set of values. Except that once we grasp our own beliefs, we can figure out what makes us happy and how we want to live. After that, we make our own decisions about how we want to get there.
These aren't the only strategies to cultivate self-reliance, though. It's also true that youngsters typically require far simpler learning methods that might begin at a more practical level. Taking on small duties, learning to tie one's own shoelaces, and so on.
What are the qualities of Self-Reliance?
1. Self-assurance: This entails being fearless and brave.
2. Work ethic: A self-sufficient person must be willing to put in long hours.
3. Have faith in your abilities.
4. Responsiveness and accountability.
5. Leadership ability: This refers to the capacity to successfully lead others.
6. Determination: A self-sufficient individual must be determined to achieve in any endeavor he or she undertakes.
7. Passionate: In order to reach specified goals, a self-sufficient person must have a lot of love and enthusiasm for what he or she does.
What are the 4 steps to self-reliant?
This essay series is now available in a professionally designed, distraction-free paperback or ebook that you can read at your leisure while offline.
The first topic in this series on 31 bits of knowledge you should learn before venturing out on your own is more of a mindset than a skill set, but it's a critical building block that will lay the groundwork for the rest of the series “We'll be covering harder, more practical skills throughout the month.
Taking care of yourself and making your own decisions is an important part of growing up. You don't know how much you rely on grownups to make your life work smoothly until you're on your own. Your parents probably did a lot for you, from doing your laundry to phoning the doctor when you were sick.
While you may not be totally self-sufficient when you move out (many young people continue to rely on their parents for varied degrees of financial help far into their twenties), you can be self-sufficient in a number of areas. For example, you shouldn't need your mother to remind you of key appointments or your father to remind you to get your car serviced on a regular basis. You should be able to remember to take care of those tasks on your own. A man with a self-reliant mindset does not wait for others to take care of the things that need to be taken care of. When he faces a difficulty, he takes the initiative and tries to fix it on his own.
One of the better responses I've seen to this issue comes from a fantastic, though endearingly cheesy, 1950s educational video called “Improving Self-Sufficiency.” It's only ten minutes long, but it's well worth your time:
For one of his young students, a kind-hearted instructor lays out the four principles of developing self-reliance in the film:
1. Take responsibility for your actions. Begin to accept responsibility for your life and the events that occur in it. If you've been relying on your mother to wake you up every morning so you don't miss school, it's time to make friends with your smartphone's alarm clock. To keep track of your appointments and crucial deadlines, start utilizing a calendar. Clean up your apartment or dorm room as soon as you discover it is becoming cluttered. If you're having trouble in class or at work, don't blame your teacher or your boss. If you make a mistake, own up to it and try to correct it yourself rather than running back to Mom and Dad to have it fixed for you. When you visit your parents, don't fall back into old habits and let Mom do your laundry. Parents make significant sacrifices in taking on not just their own burdens, but also the responsibility for each of their children. However, they should not be forced to carry more than their own loads indefinitely; when a child is competent, he should begin to transfer his load from his parents' shoulders to his own as soon as he is able, in appreciation for the altruistic care he got for many years from his parents.
What is the importance of Self-Reliance?
Children need to be able to rely on themselves. It is critical to teach self-reliance to children at an early age so that it can develop as they grow older. Being self-reliant is defined as having control over your life, being self-motivated, and being capable of taking care of yourself.