Just and Holy Principles

The Founders:

Benjamin Franklin: Work as if you were to live 100 Years, Pray as if you were to die To-morrow. (Franklin, Benjamin Poor Richard's Almanack, 1757)

Benjamin Franklin: This gave me occasion to observe, that when Men are employ'd they are best contented. For on the Days they work'd they were good-natur'd and chearful; and with the consciousness of having done a good Days work they spent the Evenings jollily; but on the idle Days they were mutinous and quarrelsome, finding fault with their Pork, the Bread, &c. and in continual ill-humour. (Franklin, Benjamin Autobiography, 1771)

Alexander Hamilton: To cherish and stimulate the activity of the human mind, by multiplying the objects of enterprise, is not among the least considerable of the expedients, by which the wealth of a nation may be promoted. (Hamilton, Alexander Report on Manufactures December, 1791)

Thomas Jefferson: In our private pursuits it is a great advantage that every honest employment is deemed honorable. I am myself a nail-maker. (Jefferson, Thomas letter to Jean Nicolas Démeunier, April 29, 1795)

George Washington: It will not be doubted, that with reference either to individual, or National Welfare, Agriculture is of primary importance. In proportion as Nations advance in population, and other circumstances of maturity, this truth becomes more apparent; and renders the cultivation of the Soil more and more, an object of public patronage. (Washington, George Eighth Annual Message to Congress, 1796)

The Brethren:

David E. Sorensen: Have you ever thought about what would happen if people did not work? Would our schools function? Would our government run? Would our televisions have programming? Although we sometimes think it would be nice to have all the money we ever wanted and never have to work again, I can assure you that is not the path to true happiness. Some of the most miserable people I have met have been those who, for one reason or another, have not been able to work for extended periods of time. (David E. Sorensen, CES Fireside, March 6, 2005)

Ezra Taft Benson: He [Secretary Benson] was convinced that government intervention in and control of agriculture threatened to undermine the moral fiber of farmers. 'It just isn't good for government to do for people what they can and should do for themselves,' he said again and again. In this vein, his economic philosophies were strictly in line with those of his spiritual leader, President David O. McKay, who had said, “We are placed upon this earth to work...No government owes you a living. You get it yourself by your own acts.”

”Any country which pursues policies that cause the self-reliance, initiative, and freedom of its people to drain slowly away is a country in danger,” Ezra said...[price] supports should be used only to protect the farmer against disaster and to stabilize the volatile commodities market--not to guarantee the farmer a living. He would support flexible price supports based on market performance, but not rigid supports. He expressed his belief that freedom was more precious than life itself, and that no person who depends upon the state for sustenance is free. “The supreme test of any government policy,” he stated, “should be, “How will it affect the character, morale, and well-being of our people?” (Ezra Taft Benson: A Biography, Sheri L. Dew, 1987, p. 270)

Sterling W. Sill: The dictionary says that a trap is a device set to capture, defeat, confound, or ensnare. Think how many people are caught in this trap of mediocrity. In earlier days every man was his own master. The philosophy of going the second mile, of doing more than we were paid for, was popular. Now a well-meaning government sets out the snares of unemployment insurance, minimum wages, and paid vacations. We have a certain kind of tenure where we cannot be fired, either for our sloth or disloyalty. The prizes for excellence have been done away with and the government puts the cheese on the trap labeled maximum pay for minimum effort. In some cases it also gives out a near maximum pay for no effort at all. (Sterling W. Sill, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve, “Trapped by the Average,” New Era, Oct. 1976, 5)

References:

→  David E. Sorensen, "The Blessing of Work," CES Fireside, 6 March 2005