The Grasshopper and the Ants

THE ANTS were spending a fine winter's day drying grain collected in the summertime. A Grasshopper, perishing with famine, passed by and earnestly begged for a little food.

The Ants inquired of him, "Why did you not treasure up food during the summer?"

He replied, "I had not leisure enough. I passed the days in singing."

They then said in derision: "If you were foolish enough to sing all the summer, you must dance supperless to bed in the winter."

(Moral of the Story) It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow.

For more fables, visit this delightful website:
www.AesopFables.com

More about Provident Living


Quotes on Self-Reliance

Everyone wants to live at the expense of the State. They forget that the State lives at the expense of everyone. – Frédéric Bastiat

The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature. Ezra Taft Benson, November Ensign, 1985, p.6

Let me tell you a story that I heard recently in Mexico. In Torreón I was driven about in the fine automobile that belonged to the man of whom I speak. His name is David Castañeda.
Thirty years ago he, his wife, Tomasa, and their children lived on a dry little run-down ranch near Torreón. They owned 30 chickens, 2 pigs, and 1 thin horse. The chickens provided a few eggs to sustain them and the means whereby to earn an occasional peso. They walked in poverty. Then the missionaries called on them. Sister Castañeda said, "The elders took the blinders from our eyes and brought light into our lives. We knew nothing of Jesus Christ. We knew nothing of God until they came."
She had two years of schooling, her husband none. The elders taught them, and they were eventually baptized. They moved into the little town of Bermejillo. They were fortuitously led into the junk business, buying wrecked automobiles. This led to association with insurance companies and others. They gradually built a prosperous business in which the father and his five sons worked. With simple faith they paid their tithing. They put their trust in the Lord. They lived the gospel. They served wherever called to do so. Four of their sons and three of their daughters filled missions. The youngest son is presently serving in Oaxaca. They have now built a very substantial business and have been prospered therein. They have been taunted by their critics. Their answer is a testimony of the power of the Lord in their lives.
Some 200 of their family and friends have joined the Church due to their influence. Over 30 sons and daughters of family and friends have served missions. They donated the land on which a chapel now stands.
The children, now grown to maturity, and the parents take turns going to Mexico City each month, there to work in the temple. They stand as a living testimony of the great power of this work of the Lord to lift and change people. They are typical of thousands upon thousands throughout the world who experience the miracle of Mormonism as a testimony of the divinity of the work comes into their lives.  Gordon B. Hinckley, May Ensign 1998 or April CR
Temporal well-being includes food, clothing, shelter, health, education, work, and emotional strength.

Spiritual well-being includes worshipping God, studying the gospel, strengthening the family, receiving ordinances.

Work is physical, mental, or spiritual effort. It is a basic source of happiness, self-worth, and prosperity.
As people become self-reliant, they are better prepared to endure adversities [and are] better able to care for others in need.

Seek to be self-reliant in 6 areas:
1.    Education and literacy
2.    Physical health
3.    Employment
4.    Home storage
5.    Resource management
6.    Spiritual, emotional, and social strength
Self reliance means using all of our blessings from Heavenly Father to care for ourselves and our families and to find solutions for our own problems.