Whistle While You Work

This post is part of the General Conference Odessey. This week covers the Priesthood session of the April 1998 conference.

So many powerhouse speakers in this session! I remember Elder Maxwell's address, not because I heard it, but because when I read it in the Ensign it resonated with me as something my parents had done with their five children. (They adopted a sixth, but she was handicapped and treated a bit differently.)

Oh how we need a strong work ethic today among our citizens, old and young. In the (I believe) wrongful emphasis on getting a college education we have given too much emphasis on working with minds instead of with our hands; looking down on those who do as less intelligent. WRONG!  My hero, role model for a husband was always President Hinckley, who was a scholar with a great mind, but could build or fix just about anything. He was accomplished in both ways, mind work and hand work. I have great admiration for the many craftsmen and tradesmen who keep our world running and beautiful.

Elder Maxwell said, "Young men, your individual mix of work will vary, understandably, by season and circumstances as between the hours spent on homework and family work and Church work, part-time work, and work on service projects. Each form of work can stretch your talents. . . . Whatever the mix of work, the hardest work you and I will ever do is to put off our selfishness. It is heavy lifting."

What I've learned over the years of mothering is that you can't tell the end from the beginning. The son who was the laziest has turned out to be the most disciplined and hardworking. The son with the best work ethic as a youngster has struggled to keep a job as an adult. It is amazing to see. We treated them all the same!

Elder Maxwell also gave this interesting observation: "When the time comes, young men, make your career choices. Know that whether one is a neuro-surgeon, 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."

When I was a child I didn't understand my grandmother's love of doing the dishes. I do now. There is satisfaction is working to make home a clean and lovely place for myself and my family. There is joy in working, even at something that will need to be done again tomorrow!