Work in Families

The eighth principle listed in the Proclamation that will bless families is work.  We see the blessings that working together in families brings in a few different examples in the scriptures.  Adam and Eve were clearly the first example.  The Lord told Adam that he would “eat his bread by the sweat of his brow.”  As soon as he left the Garden of Eden, he “began to till the earth,” but not alone.  “And Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him” (Moses 5:1).  They did physical and spiritual labor together as a unified couple, and because of that they were able to provide for their children who were born.  They certainly couldn’t rely on anyone else to provide for them!  A second example in the scriptures is the work that Lehi’s family did to build the boat.  Nephi was commanded to “construct a ship” to cross the great waters, and at first Laman and Lemuel would not help him (1 Nephi 17:8).  After showing them the power of God, he commanded his brothers that they should not “withhold their labor” from him (1 Nephi 17:49).  The text doesn’t say how much they actually helped, but presumably they must have contributed some because they acknowledged the power of God in Nephi and “were about to worship [him]” because of it (1 Nephi 17:55).  Nephi didn’t really give us many details about the work, but certainly many in the family must have helped—including Laman and Lemuel—and they were blessed because they worked together.  Laman and Lemuel were so impressed with the final product that they “beheld it was good…; wherefore they did humble themselves again before the Lord” (1 Nephi 18:4).  We read of another family working together in the account of the Jaredites.  Again, we don’t have many details, but when they were stopped in their progress by the ocean, the Lord commanded them to “go to work and build.”  The account tells us that “Jared did go to work, and also his brethren, and built barges” (Ether 2:16).  They successfully prepared the vessels, and their families were able to cross the ocean in part because of the work that they had done.  These and other stories affirm the importance of work in the Lord’s eyes, including working together as families.