Service/Self Reliance Cycle

Would you say that god is self reliant?

“Behold, this is my work and my glory: to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of [humanity].”

It is hard to call God self-reliant, if God needs others to fulfill God’s work AND glory. That simple framing is one of my favorite aspects of Mormonism.

Also, just to say it directly, Mormonism describes Lucifer as being and promoting an existence that is purely self-reliant – with the attending demands for praise and individualistic glory.

Would you say that god is self reliant?

I dislike how some seem to frame self-reliance as if independence were the ideal. I get that being dependent is not the objective but neither is living off the grid in a bunker somewhere. Interdependence seems to me to be the higher form of living – both giving and receiving with those around me. Perhaps God is interdependent.

“Can we see how critical self-reliance becomes when looked upon as the prerequisite to service, when we also know service is what godhood is all about? Without self-reliance one cannot exercise these innate desires to serve. How can we give if there is nothing there? Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot come from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come from the spiritually weak.” – Marion G. Romney

This seems to me to be a perfect justification for setting boundaries. I can turn down a calling to teach in primary because I am emotionally starved and need the weekly sisterhood and upliftment I get from RS every week. I can decline to home teach for a period because my family is quality time starved. Balance and moderation is the key I believe. Not to hoard all the best in your time, money, and energy for yourself – nor to “wear yourself out in service”. A balanced and sustainable growth model would be the ideal.

I believe God is self-reliant in that he is able to sustain himself physically and spiritually, and he has great knowledge and power to share. But you can’t apply the self-reliance and service cycle on his role as a LEADER in his quest to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Leaders need others to do the work of their organizations, and therefore, are never self-reliant in that regard. They are wholly dependent on the goodwill of others in service contexts to do the work of their organization. In this respect, they must be “self-reliant” in their knowledge about how to get results through other people. But they are dependent on followers who commit their time and energy to their cause. Otherwise, they are not leaders.

And this is something I think your church does well for many people, and poorly for others. Sadly, I think our church has taken the low road when it comes to recruiting, motivating and retaining volunteers. But their approach works in getting the results they seek. But I feel that it violates the D&C which talks about not exerting compulsion on the souls of men. Our TR process sort of violates that principle. And they tend to treat members like unpaid employees rather then individuals who are to be appreciated for giving a freewill offering of their time, talents and resources.