David O. McKay: The Prophet of Purpose and Work
Origins of This Powerful Work Quote
David O. McKay, the ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, delivered this stirring declaration about the virtue of work during a period of profound social and economic transformation in mid-twentieth-century America. He served as president of the church from 1951 until his death in 1970. This era saw post-World War II prosperity reshaping American society, yet spiritual values seemed increasingly threatened by materialism and secularism.
McKay’s emphasis on work as a “privilege,” “blessing,” and source of personal fulfillment reflected not merely religious doctrine but a deeply humanistic philosophy. He elevated labor from mere survival necessity to a pathway toward spiritual and personal actualization. The quote emerged from McKay’s broader teaching mission to reconnect Latter-day Saints with fundamental values during rapid technological change and cultural upheaval. Understanding this statement requires exploring McKay’s remarkable life, his unique perspective shaped by nineteenth-century Mormon pioneer heritage, and his enduring influence on millions of people’s relationship with their work and purpose.
Born in 1873 in Huntsville, Utah, David Oman McKay grew up in a community shaped by religious conviction and frontier resilience. His parents were devout church members who had embraced hardship as a necessary price for religious freedom and community building. This environment instilled in young David a profound respect for industriousness and collective purpose—values that would define his entire adult life. Frontier circumstances limited McKay’s early education in nineteenth-century Utah, but he demonstrated exceptional intellectual capacity. Eventually his community sent him to the University of Utah, where he studied classical languages and became proficient in multiple tongues—a relatively rare achievement for his era.
After graduating, he served a two-year mission in Scotland from 1897 to 1899. This experience transformed his worldview by exposing him to a vastly different culture while deepening his religious conviction. The mission proved formative spiritually and intellectually. McKay encountered educated European society and returned with a cosmopolitan perspective unusual among his peers. His ability to synthesize frontier religious values with broader intellectual awareness became his defining characteristic as a leader.
Let us realize that: the privilege to work is a blessing
Beyond his well-documented accomplishments, McKay possessed fascinating qualities and interests that remained less visible to the general public. An accomplished photographer, he possessed a keen artistic eye and spent considerable time capturing images of natural beauty, particularly in the Utah landscape he loved deeply. He was also an intellectually voracious reader. McKay maintained an extensive personal library and engaged seriously with contemporary philosophical and literary works, not merely religious texts. Perhaps most surprisingly, he was a genuinely warm and charismatic individual with a keen sense of humor.
He possessed a remarkable memory for personal details about people he encountered. Colleagues and associates frequently noted that despite his elevated ecclesiastical position, he maintained a disarming humility. McKay showed genuine interest in individuals from all walks of life. His granddaughter, Ann Madsen, has revealed that he was also a devoted family man who played with his grandchildren with unfeigned enthusiasm and maintained deep emotional connections to his extended family. These human qualities gave authentic grounding to his teachings about work, purpose, and human dignity—he was not merely preaching abstract principles but living a philosophy that integrated personal joy, intellectual engagement, and spiritual commitment.
Transforming Your Career Through Work’s True Purpose
McKay’s elevation to the church presidency coincided with a pivotal moment in American religious history. Institutional religion faced increasing challenges from secularization and youth disengagement. His tenure witnessed the Korean War, the dawn of the nuclear age, the beginning of the Cold War ideological struggle, and the early stirrings of the cultural revolution that would explode in the 1960s. Into this turbulent landscape, McKay injected a message about work that transcended mere economic pragmatism or Protestant work ethic nostalgia. He articulated a vision in which work—any honest labor—constituted a form of divine participation and personal sanctification. The quote distinguishing between “privilege,” “blessing,” and “success” established a careful hierarchy.
Work is first a privilege, suggesting gratitude and humility. It is then a blessing, indicating spiritual and practical benefit. Finally, it becomes a source of success when approached with love and integrity. This formulation subtly inverted contemporary American attitudes that measured success primarily through external rewards and social status. McKay redirected focus toward the internal experience and spiritual dimension of labor. His teaching resonated particularly powerfully among members of the Latter-day Saint community, who embraced a theology emphasizing earthly work as preparation for eternal progression, but the message possessed broader universal appeal.
McKay’s work philosophy extended far beyond religious circles, influencing business leaders, educators, and motivational speakers throughout the latter twentieth century. His emphasis on viewing work as privilege rather than burden provided a counternarrative to growing labor alienation. He offered an alternative to the emerging critique of American capitalism offered by sociologists like C. Wright Mills and later scholars examining the “rat race” and meaninglessness of modern employment. The quote became particularly influential in business leadership training programs and corporate culture discussions. It offered a more philosophically grounded alternative to pure profit-maximization rhetoric. However, McKay’s teaching was distinctly anti-materialistic in its orientation. His point was never that work should be pursued for wealth accumulation or social climbing but rather as an expression of human dignity and spiritual growth. This distinction proved crucial. The quote remained relevant even as critiques of capitalist excess and consumerism grew more prominent. Educational institutions, particularly those