Wages for Publishing-House Workers
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tithes and present their offerings to God do not have. Poverty is seen
in all their borders. The Lord loves the one just as much as the other,
with the exception that the self-sacrificing, humble, contrite souls who
love God and strive to serve Him, are ever kept nearer to the great
heart of Infinite Love than the man who feels at liberty to have all the
good things of this life.—
Selected Messages 2:192
.
Higher Wages for Qualified Workers—Those placed in lead-
ing positions should be men who have sufficient breadth of mind to
appreciate persons of cultivated intellect and to recompense them pro-
portionately to the responsibilities they bear. True, those who engage
in the work of God should not do so merely for the wages they receive,
but rather for the honor of God, for the advancement of His cause, and
to obtain imperishable riches. At the same time we should not expect
that those who are capable of doing with exactness and thoroughness
work that requires thought and painstaking effort should receive no
greater compensation than the less skillful workman. A true estimate
must be placed upon talent. Those who cannot appreciate good work
and true ability should not be managers in our institutions, for their
influence would tend to circumscribe the work and to bring it down to
a low level.
If our institutions would be as prosperous as God designs they shall
be, there must be more thoughtfulness and earnest prayer, mingled
with unabating zeal and spiritual ardor. To connect the right class of
laborers with the work may require a greater outlay of means, but it
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will be economy in the end; for while it is essential that economy be
exercised in everything possible, it will be found that the efforts to save
means by employing those who will work for low wages, and whose
labor corresponds in character with their wages, will result in loss.
The work will be retarded and the cause belittled. Brethren, you may
economize as much as you please in your personal affairs, in building
your houses, in arranging your clothing, in providing your food, and
in your general expenses; but do not bring this economy to bear upon
the work of God in such a way as to hinder men of ability and true
moral worth from engaging in it.—
Testimonies for the Church 5:551
.
Employment of Competent Men—I have been shown that, in
addition to the help now in the office, competent men should be em-
ployed to assist in the management of the different departments of the
work. Men should be employed who have experience in business and