Many Church members are not self-reliant and lack the ability to “provide the spiritual and temporal necessities of life for self and family." Helping people to become self-reliant is part of the work of salvation.  The Church helps individuals become self-reliant through a process that is guided by those who hold priesthood keys. This approach invites individual commitment and is supported by mentoring, group facilitation, and published resources.  Based on the success experienced overseas with the Perpetual Education Fund, in 2017 the church launched a new Self-Reliance Initiative to help members worldwide become self-reliant.  Members typically start on the path to self-reliance by attending a devotional. During the devotional, members learn the doctrinal importance of self-reliance, assess their current level of self-reliance, determine the skills needed to become more temporally self-reliant, and choose a self-reliance group that will help them gain new skills. By joining a group, each participant becomes part of a small council. A group typically consists of 8 to 12 individuals and meets for two hours each week for 12 weeks.  The My Path to Self-Reliance workbook facilitates this process (pdf version available below in English or Spanish). 

See the Self-Reliance Leader Guide for more information.  Click on the link to open the guide online or open the pdf versions from the Additional File Resources below in English or Spanish.​