Mormon work ethic extolled in national press

Economist.com explains why Utah’s economy is soaring above its neighbours.

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12480476

The article entitled "The Mormon Work Ethic" declares that Utah has more to be proud of than any other state in the West. "In September its unemployment rate was just 3.5%—less than half of California’s and the second-lowest rate in the region after oil- and gas-rich Wyoming." Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.



The article further notes: "The “cultural thing”, as businessmen from out of state delicately refer to Mormonism, helps in other ways. Utah’s almost universal conservatism makes for stable, consensual politics. It took the state legislature just two days last month to plug a $272m hole in the budget. By contrast, California’s budget was 85 days late. Nevada’s politicians are preparing for a nasty fiscal fight next year."

In a time when the whole world is sliding into economic chaos, it is reassuring to know that solid Christian values matter. That people who have a fundamental belief in the Divine Nature of man, also produce a stable economy and run counter to the modern destructive trends.

Personally, having traveled extensively throughout the U.S., I can say, without equivocation, that Utah Valley has the most friendly and helpful people on earth. You are treated better by store clerks and fast food workers in Utah Valley than anyplace else in America. For example, my wife and I were purchasing supplies for a wedding reception in Utah Valley. We needed some Cherry 7 Up for the punch. We could only find two or three bottles on the shelf. One of the clerks in the local supermarket asked if he could help. He led us into the back of the store and found the storage area with the soda. We still didn't have enough but started to leave the store and were waiting in line, when he came running up and led us to another display, in another part of the store, we had overlooked. There was enough of the soda to complete our requirements. Now, that would only happen in Utah Valley and that is one reason why the Utah economy will not falter as it will throughout the rest of the world. The people in Utah prosper in the land because they follow the teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ.

What are people thinking?

My wife and I went to visit a close friend in the hospital where she had recent surgery. It was one of the larger regional style hospitals in the east part of Mesa, Arizona. In walking through the parking lot, I spotted a garbage can, right next to the entrance to the hospital, with an attached cigarette disposal tray. The entire tray was covered with extinguished cigarettes. In addition, we had to run the gauntlet of smokers, sitting outside the hospital indulging their habit. Some of these smokers were sitting right next to large signs extolling the hospital as a major stroke treatment center. Apparently, none of these people can read.

One of the best ways to begin to prepare for hard times is to seriously consider any addictions you might have and immediately do what is necessary to start to break those habits.

Effects of the Economic Crisis

Unless you are a hermit living in a cave in the wilderness, you probably have heard that there is a financial and economic crisis going on around the world. During the past few months, the media's comparisons beginning with recent recessions, have now escalated to comparisons with the Great Depression beginning with the stock market crash of 1929. The statistics on the present "economic downturn," as it is called, are overwhelming. If you have been relying on the standard news broadcasts, including National Public Radio, you probably still believe that the problems stem from the U.S. housing decline. What you may not realize, is that there have been many days in the past few weeks when virtually every single stock exchange in the world has been down at the same time. The problem is far from just a U.S. problem.

Perhaps, you have missed the news that there are significant job losses, plummeting stock prices and rapidly eroding real property values. You may also have missed the news that several countries, including Iceland, the Ukraine, Belarus and soon, Argentina are in collapse or default of their international obligations. The Nasdaq has retreated 78 percent from 2000 to 2002. The S&P index of homebuilder shares has dropped 82 percent from its 2005 peak. The news goes on and on.

In talking to local businessmen, as I do on a daily basis, I find many are seeing significant declines in their business, in areas as diverse as sales, real estate, contracting, and insurance. Many of my older friends are alarmed at the dramatic decline in their retirement accounts. A number of people, I have talked to, are delaying plans for retirement.

In all this chaos and confusion, we need to listen to the voice of President Gordon B. Hinkley, a Prophet of God who said in 2005:

"We can so live that we can call upon the Lord for His protection and guidance. This is a first priority. We cannot expect His help if we are unwilling to keep His commandments. We in this Church have evidence enough of the penalties of disobedience in the examples of both the Jaredite and the Nephite nations. Each went from glory to utter destruction because of wickedness. ...We know, of course, that the rain falls on the just as well as the unjust (Matthew 5:45). But even though the just die they are not lost, but are saved through the Atonement of the Redeemer. Paul wrote to the Romans, "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord" (Romans 14:8)... Our people for three-quarters of a century have been counseled and encouraged to make such preparation as will assure survival should a calamity come. We can set aside some water, basic food, medicine, and clothing to keep us warm. We ought to have a little money laid aside in case of a rainy day."

http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-559-20,00.html

Let us head the counsel of this great man and make preparations for worse times ahead.

Listen to the right sources

One of the hallmarks of any crisis is the appearance of rumor and innuendo. It is all too easy to become alarmed by giving credence to the latest unofficial document making its rounds on the Internet. Fortunately, it is relatively easy to verify the origin and reliability of anything that comes through chain E-mails or any other rumor mill. Here are a couple of examples of the process:

Years ago I was contacted by a near relative who was visibly upset because Madalyn Murray O'Hair was going to force the FCC to remove all religious programming from the airwaves.

As shown in Wikipedia:

Madalyn Murray O'Hair (April 13, 1919 to September 29,1995)was an American atheist and activist. She is best known for the lawsuit Murray v. Curlett which led to a landmark Supreme Court of the United States ruling and ended the practice of daily prayer in American public schools. She was murdered in 1995 along with her son and granddaughter, for reasons unrelated to her public image and activism.

For years, this rumor was and still is circulating. I personally called the FCC about the rumor and found out that they had a department specifically established to try and stop the rumor. The rumor was and is without any basis at all in fact. The whole episode has now passed into the realm of urban legend. Notwithstanding, the efforts of the FCC, I recently received an E-mail claiming that the FCC was going to ban religious programming due to the efforts of the now, long dead, O'Hair.

All it took was my call to the FCC where the issue was immediately laid to rest to my satisfaction.

Recently, I received another Internet document with some highly inflammatory statements. This document purported to be a report of statements made by a prominent religious leader. Fortunately, the validity of the material could be easily ascertained. In a matter of minutes, I had a response confirming my suspicion that the document was not an official statement and contained misstatements.

The rule is simple, verify your source and verify the content. Do not be alarmed by rumor.

Prophetic Counsel

In a talk given at the Church's General Conference in 2005, the then Church President, Gordon B. Hinkley said:

"We have built grain storage and storehouses and stocked them with the necessities of life in the event of a disaster. But the best storehouse is the family storeroom. In words of revelation the Lord has said, "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing" (D&C 109:8).

Our people for three-quarters of a century have been counseled and encouraged to make such preparation as will assure survival should a calamity come.

We can set aside some water, basic food, medicine, and clothing to keep us warm. We ought to have a little money laid aside in case of a rainy day.

Now what I have said should not occasion a run on the grocery store or anything of that kind. I am saying nothing that has not been said for a very long time.

Let us never lose sight of the dream of Pharaoh concerning the fat cattle and the lean, the full ears of corn, and the blasted ears; the meaning of which was interpreted by Joseph to indicate years of plenty and years of scarcity (see Genesis 41:1–36)."

In addition President Hinkley gave the following counsel:

"We can so live that we can call upon the Lord for His protection and guidance. This is a first priority. We cannot expect His help if we are unwilling to keep His commandments. We in this Church have evidence enough of the penalties of disobedience in the examples of both the Jaredite and the Nephite nations. Each went from glory to utter destruction because of wickedness.

We know, of course, that the rain falls on the just as well as the unjust (see Matthew 5:45). But even though the just die they are not lost, but are saved through the Atonement of the Redeemer. Paul wrote to the Romans, "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord" (Romans 14:8)."

We have the guidance and counsel of a Prophet of God, let's listen.

Good advice for difficult times

"We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. . . . If you have paid your debts and have a financial reserve, even though it be small, you and your family will feel more secure and enjoy greater peace in your hearts."
—The First Presidency, All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances, Feb. 2007, 1

If...

I had to memorize a poem in grade school, that keeps coming back to me during the present economic crisis. The poem was written by Rudyard Kipling and is called "If..." It says, in part, "If you can keep your head when all about you, are losing theirs..." Keeping your head seems a good idea right now with the stock markets of the world gyrating hundreds of points within a matter of minutes. The poem goes on to say:

"If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss..."

Now is the time for social and emotional strength. In talking to friends the last few days, there is a preoccupation with loss, primarily from those worrying that their present retirement funds will evaporate or that their plans for the future are now drastically changed. There is no denying the real effect of the economy on individuals' lives, but the way we react to those challenges is under our control.

The AARP magazine did a survey concerning hunger in America and found, surprisingly, that many people were going hungry that lived in large homes, drove late model cars and had good jobs. The subjects of the study were so attached to their material wealth, that when they could not make enough to pay for all their "stuff" they would rather starve than give up their car or house or boat. Luke 12:34 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Ardeth G. Kapp, then, general president of the Young Women of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said the following in a devotional
address given at Brigham Young University on 13 November 1990:

"I believe the most destructive threat of our day is not nuclear war, not famine, not economic disaster, but rather the despair, the discouragement, the despondency, the defeat caused by the discrepancy between what we believe to be right and how we live our lives. Much of the emotional and social illness of our day is caused when people think one way and act another. The turmoil inside is destructive to the Spirit and to the emotional well-being of one who tries to live without clearly defined principles, values, standards, and goals."

Link for the entire talk: http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=7064

Now is the time to reassess our goals and our lives and, if we haven't already started, begin now to implement a plan of preparedness. Let's all hope that it isn't already too late.