Work, work, work

The Desert did bloom as a rose. You know why? Work, work and work and then some more work. There was really no other option at the time the Saints came to Utah and before. If you wanted something, you found a way to do it and then you worked and worked and worked and you had patience with the process.

My brothers and sister and I will not hesitate to tell you that one of the most valuable things we learned from our parents is how to work. The kind of books my parents bought were how-to books. They read about how to do something and then did it and did it well. We joke with them about making my brothers dig holes in the backyard when there was no other work to be done, just so they could work! I of couse see more value in work now than I did when I was younger.

I have thought a lot about that more recently because Mark and I are trying to teach our kids the importance and value of work. I am not a believer in waiting for the proper age for a child to work. They are human, therefore they work. Now, I'm not running a sweat shop or employing child slavery or anything. I "help" them with most any job they do as they need, but because I do this, I'm discovering that teaching kids to work is a lot of work! But I know it's well worth it, so I will keep showing them which spots to wipe on the toilet and where the spots are on the kitchen floor and what exactly having a clean room means.

Pioneer children did not have any other option. They contributed to the family and household well-being. End of story. Because they worked hard, they prospered and produced and learned and had purpose and confidence. Like President Hinckley said (paraphrase): work will get you through a lot of things (speaking of his situation after Marjorie's death).

Thanks to all founders of nations and civilizations and cities and communities for all their work that we now benefit from.