Latter-day Saint Life

The Two-Word Phrase President Kimball Kept on His Desk on Temple Square

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Elder Ronald A. Rasband recently shared a post on Facebook, sharing how his parents helped teach him a strong work ethic as a young boy—something that has helped him find success later on in life. 

Elder Rasband's mother, who worked as a secretary for a General Authority, arranged for the young Elder Rasband to meet with President Spencer W. Kimball one day. From the experience, Elder Rasband still remembers the two-word phrase written on President Kimball's desk:

My mother and father mean very much to me. I will always cherish the lessons they taught me about work. My father taught me how to work by his example, and my mother taught me about work by having me do it.
My father did not have a glamourous job. He drove a bread truck. He worked and worked and worked. Some of my youngest memories are of his tenacity of going to work every day. I often helped him carry Wonder bread and Twinkies into grocery stores in the early morning.
Mother didn’t give me a pass on learning to work, either. She was a taskmaster. She worked as a secretary for a General Authority, and one day she arranged for me to visit President Spencer W. Kimball’s office. I recall seeing a cube on his desk with the saying “Do it.”
I can sum up what I know about working hard in three words: “example” and “do it.” If we apply this in our jobs, our homes, and our callings, we will be successful.

Lead image from lds.org.
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