Pharaoh’s dream was a prophecy. Joseph helped him understand its meaning: there would be seven years of prosperity followed by seven years of famine. The appropriate course of action was clear. Store excess food during the first seven years and distribute it during the next seven to avoid starvation. (See Genesis 41:1-36.)
In 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley quoted from that story before urging church members to set their houses in order financially. He said, “I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future.” But he introduced a number of troubling economic indicators with this warning: “There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed” (“To the Boys and to the Men,” General Conference, October 1998).
Saving for the future and preparing for emergencies can spare us unnecessary suffering. It can help us feel peace and avoid anxiety. It can also empower us to share with others in need. President Marion G. Romney taught:
We lose our life by serving and lifting others. By so doing we experience the only true and lasting happiness. Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made. …
Without self-reliance one cannot exercise these innate desires to serve. How can we give if there is nothing there? Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. 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.
“The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance,” October 1982 general conference
During a happy time in the history of the Nephite people, we read that they were not only blessed with wealth but also with opportunities to give:
In their prosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were naked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need.
Alma 1:30
There is great joy in giving. After Joseph helped Pharaoh store grain for seven years, the famine arrived. Far away, his family, whom he had not seen in decades, learned that food was available in Egypt. Joseph’s father said to his ten older brothers, “I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die” (Genesis 42:2). And so Joseph had the privilege of providing for his family because he had helped Pharaoh provide for his country.
Today, I will prepare to share. I will remember that my own efforts at self-reliance and emergency preparedness aren’t only for my benefit but also for the benefit of those I will be able to serve.
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