SATISFACTION WITH DAILY WORK.
All must work--in defense if for no other reason. Without some kind of
labor, body and mind will deteriorate. Clearly, however, all cannot do
the same work, unless each man does practically all the variety of
work necessary for the production of the things necessary in his life.
In a complex civilization of many needs, that would be impossible or
wasteful. The great satisfaction of earth-life is to be content with
whatever work may come.
**Variety of Earthly Tasks.** In obedience to God's command, man must
devote himself to the work of subduing the earth. This is no simple
task, for the earth is an organism of many elements. Moreover, the
needs of man are varied and manifold, to the satisfying of which, the
subjection of the earth is ordained. There is an endless variety of
tasks, for body and mind, to be accomplished by the men and women of
earth. These tasks differ greatly; some concern themselves chiefly
with the body; others, chiefly with the mind; and yet others with both
body and mind. Some deal with this, and others with that, essential
need; some with this, and others with that, necessary condition. The
vocations of man are almost numberless. Much unhappiness has come to
men because they have been obliged in life to follow one vocation when
they would rather follow another. If a man thus be unhappy in his
daily work the whole of his life is akin to failure, because he does
not truly realize the possible joys of life. Occasionally, the
discontent is due to the unwillingness of the man to earn his bread in
the sweat of his brow. This is due to ignorance. Earnest, sincere
labor, requiring steady and full effort, is the source of many abiding
joys.
**All Work May be Intelligent.** If intelligence pervades all things,
and if all things belong to the Great Plan, including the labors in
which man lives and moves, then all tasks may and should be made
intelligent and appealing to mind as well as to body. Rational as it
is, it is however a relatively new thought, that to every task, if
properly illumined by knowledge, many forces of the mind may be
applied. As man has gained added knowledge, this has become more and
more evident. The fact that intelligence may be made to illuminate the
so-called humbler tasks, lifts much of the so-called curse from the
labor of man. This is another reason for the education of man into an
understanding of the full meaning of the necessary tasks of life. It
justifies the support of research into all divisions of nature, and
stamps with approval honest study and investigation of every kind. All
kinds of work must be done; full preparation for every kind of work is
fully justified.
**Nothing Temporal.** God has never given a temporal commandment. All
God's creative works are first spiritual, then temporal. That is, they
were first begotten of the intelligent mind, and must represent some
necessity in the Great Plan. Whatever, therefore, is brought into
operation on earth for the good of man, must represent great, eternal,
spiritual realities. In conformity with this thought, every task,
however apparently humble, however apparently remote from fundamental
principles, has a spiritual counterpart, and is necessary for the
completion of the plan under which man works. It matters little,
therefore, whether man devote his life to the tilling of the soil, the
making of shoes or the writing of books, so that the work be well
done. All such tasks are proper, dignified and necessary parts of the
Great Plan, and will lead man along the path of eternal progression.
This means that, no matter to what work a man may give himself,
providing it is honorable and he do it with all his might, he may rest
secure that on the last great day, the work will be transmuted into
spiritual values, and as such will be written into the eternal record.
The quality and not the kind of work is the final test of man's
achievements.
Man knows relatively little. He accepts his part without knowing its
meaning in the full economy of God's plan for his children. Wise is
the man who spends his strength, with a full heart, in the
accomplishment of the nearest work. He will find his work transmuted
into things glorious beyond his dreams. More than that: Man need not
wait long for the transmutation of his honest work. Strength comes to
the man of honest and full endeavor, irrespective of the kind of work,
and on this earth his efforts are transmuted into a great and noble
joy. All work is holy, and, well done, will bring its own reward, here
and in the hereafter.
Without question, men should seek the work they think they love best,
or for which they are best fitted. Yet,' the majority of men can do
most work in a satisfactory manner. The work that we finally must do,
we should accept in the light of its eternal value.
**Subjection of Self.** Nevertheless, to accept a place in
society--not always the place one desires; to do well the work that is
near at hand--not always the work one wishes; to love and to cherish
the work, and to forget oneself in the needs of others, all that is
not always easy. Such a life means a subjection of self which can be
accomplished only if there is a clear understanding of the plan of
salvation.