Here are some of my "aha" moments captured in the third week.
Quote: "The
acquiring of wealth and material possessions would become Satan’s most fertile
ground, tempting mankind with the cunning strategy that this world is our
destiny and that anything and everything in this world is available for
money.
Three Helpful Principles:
Quote:
Quote: (TMOB LL Lesson 02 - The Formula and Happiness)
True blue, through and through
Working
in this world to make a living was part of the Lord’s plan for His children,
not just to survive, but to see how we would get along with others in making
that living – to see if we would be honest in our dealings with our
fellowmen. Satan quickly recognized the work environment as a strategic
setting to stir up all manner of sin, including covetousness, jealousies,
self-indulgence, living beyond one’s means, anger, contention in marriages,
infidelity, greed and envy, selfishness, even theft and murder.
If a
love of God and fellowmen is the primary motivation, then the working man or
woman will be a kingdom builder and a full-tithe payer. They will have a “zeal
towards their fellow men . . . and will be perfectly honest and upright in all
things” (Alma27:27). As a laborer they will be “worthy of their hire”
(Luke 10:7). As an employer they will give a “just recompense of wages,”
(D&C 124:121). They will be a beloved employer and endeavor to help,
not only their customers, but also their employees and community. They will
have a baker’s dozen mentality with superior customer service. Sometimes this
person will even render service at no charge to help someone in need, such as
those doctors who travel to Third-world countries to help the
disadvantaged. Their products and services are of the highest quality. " (
Quote: The following are some
important questions to ask of everyone in the workforce:
o Do you give an honest day’s work for your pay?
o Are you loyal to your employer?
o Are you honest with the customers?
o Are your products and service of the highest
quality?
o Do you charge fair prices?
o Are you concerned for the welfare of your
employees?
(
Quote: " Those
at the A-level aren’t working for mankind, but living for mankind, trying to
lift and help others. In addition to making a living, they are making a
life. They have a different vision than those at lower levels.
Because of their love for their fellowmen, they define their business in terms
of customers’ needs,
such as a builder of homes rather than merely a brick mason. At
levels B through D, business is usually defined in terms of products and services rather
than customers’ needs. "(
Quote: "
Three Helpful Principles:
Some
decisions that face members of the Church are not always easy or clear.
Here are
three helpful principles to help you make A-level choices.
Can you
ask the Lord’s blessings with a clear conscience? We
learn in Alma 34:24-25 that you can pray for success in your labors -- “over
the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. . . over the flocks of
your fields, that they may increase.” The Church Handbook
of Instruction teaches us that “Members of the Church should endeavor to
be involved in activities and employment upon which they can conscientiously
ask the blessings of the Lord and which are consistent with the principles of
the gospel and the teachings of the Savior.” (Church
Handbook of Instructions, Book 1 2006, p. 179)
When
questionable products or services are involved, is the person’s involvement
direct or indirect? Can an A-level grocer, for
example, sell coffee and tea to those customers who know nothing of the Word of
Wisdom and for whom it would not be a sin? The grocer might do so at the
request of his customers to meet their demands when he clearly would never
produce coffee himself. His involvement is indirect.
Does the
product or service hurt society? Some
products and services may be detrimental to the individual while others damage
the community. Coffee and tea, for example, would be products that have
individual consequences. Alcohol and pornography, however, have proven to also
have community consequences. Alcohol has resulted in traffic accidents
and domestic violence; pornography has led to divorce and broken homes,
pedophilia, rape, murder, etc. “Pornography damages individual lives,
families, and society . . . Church members should . . .
oppose its production, dissemination, and use.” (Emphasis added, Church
Handbook of Instructions, Book 1 2010, 166)
An
A-level company feels a community responsibility that goes beyond respecting
individual agency or rights and customer demands."
Quote: "Years
ago, while on a stake visit, President Kimball interviewed a brother who was a
grocer by trade. I quote President Kimball,“What do
you sell in this store?’ . . . ‘Groceries and miscellaneous merchandise.’
‘Your competitors sell other things including forbidden things, do they
not?’ I asked. ‘Yes, but we have felt it was not right. . . We lost
trade, of course. People leave our store and go to the other store and
buy many dollar’s worth of groceries where they can get a few cans of beer or
some wine, but we do not sell it.’ And I could not refrain from saying,
‘God bless you, my faithful brother. . . . Your dollars are clean.’”
(Melchizedek Priesthood Personal Study Guide 1984, p. 84)"
(
Quote: "True Blue, Through and
Through.
True to yourself, meaning who you are as a son or daughter of God, and who you
are in the process of becoming. True to others, meaning that you do what you
say you will do. And true to God, meaning that you practice what you preach and
that you are doing what you covenanted to do here in mortality."
(
Quote: "I learned three things
that day: First, that with lightening speed, I went from complete observance to
complete disregard of the law. Second, my demise started with a small crack in
my integrity. The instant I talked myself into taking a small liberty, I was on
a slippery slide into full-scale disobedience. And third, there is no such
thing as slightly breaking a law–whether a law of the land or a law of
God–because even a slight breach of integrity opens the door for Satan."
(
1.
Decide today, once and for all, that you will be
worthy of trust
2. Have faith that
the Lord can and will help you, and then diligently seek His help.
3. Make covenants and keep them.
4. Stand up for what you
believe. In fact, look for every opportunity to do so. Don’t be showy
or loud about it, and please don’t ever criticize or judge others in the
process. But relish every opportunity to stand for something, to be true to
what you know is right.
If you want to feel real joy,
keep the commandments and be true to who you are. It is actually easier to
stand up for what you believe than to not do so.
5. Expect your integrity to be challenged. Metaphorically speaking, be on the
lookout for Potiphar’s wife. She will show up again and again. Be ready to
leave your cloak in her hand and flee again and again, because Satan won’t
tempt you just once. Moses had to resist Satan’s temptations four times. And he
had to tell Satan to beat it four times before he finally left–and that was
after ranting and raving, weeping and wailing, and exposing Moses to the
bitterness of hell (see Moses 1:19-22).
You too
will have to tell Satan to beat it over and over again. Never forget that we
are here on probation. We are here to be tested and to show, by our choices,
whether we want to be part of the Kingdom of God more than we want anything
else. Satan knows this. So count on the fact that your integrity will be
tested. It will be tested in ways large and small. This is actually a blessing,
for you don’t really know what you believe until your beliefs are tested. You
don’t know if you’re honest until your honesty is tested. You don’t know if you
really prize chastity until your virtue is tested. You don’t know if you can be
trusted–with someone’s feelings, with money, with influence, with power–until
your trust is tested. In every trial comes a moment of truth when you must
decide what you really believe.
So count
on tests of your integrity. But also know that every time we choose to be obedient,
every time we make a tough but righteous choice, our integrity is fortified.
6. Don’t give up.
7. Covenant–or perhaps I should
say, renew your covenant–with our Father and His Son to do what you came here
to do. For doing what we agreed to do premortally is the ultimate
expression of our integrity.
(
Quote: "people understand if it’s an
ethical environment right away. It’s
something people innately gravitate to and that’s it so you just got to build
it early and never step off of it.”
(Frank Levinson- Finisar Corportation: Top 10 Must Have For A Start-Up)
Quote: “It
doesn’t matter how you look, it matters what you do. So focus on that.”
(Frank Levinson- Finisar Corportation: Top 10 Must Have For A Start-Up)
Quote: “Don’t
hold ideas too closely, it will prevent you from getting new ones.”
(Frank Levinson- Finisar Corportation: Top 10 Must Have For A Start-Up)
Quote: “It is
important that you get people to have skin in the game. Whether it is time, effort, they take a lower
salary…. Then they are aligned with what you are.” (Jan Newman- Risks In Business)
Quote: “Who
cares exactly and why? Who are these
people and what are they going through in their lives? What is the real problem you are solving of
theirs?” (Acton Hero- Ken Zolot)
Quote: (TMOB LL Lesson 02 - The Formula and Happiness)
Success=
J. Paul Getty David B Haight
1.
Get up early 1.Get
your education
2.
Work hard 2.
Make your mark
3.
Find (your) oil 3.Prepare
to Serve
Thoughts: I love the idea of being an "A-level" worker. I thought Elder Robbins' talk gave an excellent self-check list that everyone should go through periodically to see what their current grade is. When I one day have my own business this is a list I would like to put up on the wall as a reminder of where my priorities lie. Sis Dew's story of the slippery slide is also a much needed reminder today of how even those with good intentions can find themselves way off course. I want my business to be a place where the Spirit can dwell and a place, as Frank Levinson put it, "people innately gravitate to".
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