The prime duty of help to the poor by the Church is not to bring temporal relief to their needs, but salvation to their souls.

How can we give if there is nothing there?... 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.

Receiving the Holy Ghost is the therapy which effects forgiveness and heals the sin-sick soul.

The only motive strong enough to induce men to exercise the self control required by the religion of Jesus is love.

Every choice one makes either expands or contracts the area in which he can make and implement future decisions. When one makes a choice, he irrevocably binds himself to the consequences of that choice.

Not only does inspiration from the Lord compensate for want of facts; it also induces men by self-discipline, to conform in their personal conduct and in their dealings one with another to the highest standards they know. In other words, it gives men the capacity which distinguishes wisdom from knowledge.

The principle of self-reliance grows out of a fundamental doctrine of the Church, that of agency. Just as each individual is accountable for his choices and actions in spiritual matters, so also is he accountable in temporal matters. It is through our own efforts and decisions that we earn our way in this life. While the Lord will magnify us in both subtle and dramatic ways, he can only guide our footsteps when we move our feet. Ultimately, our own actions determine our blessings or lack of them. It is a direct consequence of both agency and accountability.