Why was it important for the priests to labor with their own hands?

Thomas R. Valletta

“This is the pattern which had been exemplified by King Benjamin (see Mosiah 2:14) and no doubt by previous spiritual leaders among the Nephites. … It has ever been the practice for the great generality of those called to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to be required also to earn their daily bread by temporal labor. This necessary feature of mortality ought not be viewed as a spiritual disadvantage. In fact, many of life’s greatest spiritual lessons derive from life’s challenges and vicissitudes. Spiritual labor is its own reward, a labor not motivated by the idea of temporal remuneration” (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary, 2:263).

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