TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE!
--Paper Power No.2!--To a WS Unit.
DFO 1689         11/83

         1. You should have just given the first thing that popped into your head & I could've trusted that to be inspired of the Spirit! That would've been better under these circumstances when we were really in quite a rush.
         2. You should have done the work on paper--& not on the telephone! When it's anything that important & anything that requires accuracy, especially with figures such as a reference, it's better to put it on paper than to be rattling them off on the telephone! Don't ever expect others to do your work for you. Make sure you do your own work, whatever you can do, then send it on paper unless it's impossible to send it on paper.
         3. I established the "paper power" idea a long time ago when people in my own house bothered me too much & wanted to come in & tell me this & tell me that & tell me the other when I couldn't remember half of what they said! (See No.303A.) I finally required them to put it in writing & stick it under my door & I'd answer them later. So it'd be a good idea if you'd practice the same policy of putting everything on paper & mailing it, unless there's some reason why you'd have to phone it. So let's try to remember that, shall we? And don't expect others to do anything for you that you can do for yourselves.
         4. That's a rule for you: Don't expect others to do anything for you that you can do for yourself, & don't phone it unless you're explicitly asked to. I hope we've got that straight! For God's sake, please try to put it on paper so that we don't have to get people upset on the telephone where they get too many facts & figures & whatnot over the phone.
         5. I would also suggest that maybe you could get somebody to type it for you, because your writing is not the best in the World & it would be far more accurate. We've got quite a few people in the Family that write hieroglyphics that have to be deciphered! I've told some people that I refuse to take a report from them any more unless they have it typed.
         6. The list should be clear & decipherable & understandable so there won't be any confusion. Check it & make sure it is accurate, because figures are the hardest things to type without mistakes & they're the hardest things to proofread.
         7. And after this, remember that's the best way to do business: To get things accurate & to get them on time & do exactly what you're asked to do! Then if it's wrong you're not to blame, or if it's too long you're not to blame, or if it's too short you're not to blame--if you just do what you're told in a case like this!
         8. But from now on, don't expect others to do anything for you that you can do yourself!--Period! Get it?--And on paper! And no more than you're asked, no more, no less. That'll save us all time. And make sure everything is accurate & correct & it'll save some people's nerves & dispositions.
         9. Just be sure that what you're doing gets done & don't leave the other undone!--And don't ever use word of mouth or telephone hereafter if you can possibly put it on paper & get it there in time.
         10. When we're proofreading we don't have to check everything that's right, we just check the things that are wrong! So that's life. It's a funny thing, people seldom remember all the good you did but they always remember the mistakes you made & they can always remember your faults. But in a way that's necessary, because it's not the good that causes the problems, it's the shortcomings. So maybe that's established a little policy between you & others that will come in handy from now on & help you to remember:
         11. Don't use the phone when you can use your pen & don't use your mouth when you can use paper! You've done a great job, so don't let one little mistake discourage you! Just rectify it & get it straightened out right now. "To obey is better than sacrifice & to hearken than the fat of rams."--1Sam.15:22. That's exactly what that means to do, exactly what the Lord tells you, no more, no less.--One man thought he could do better than that, but he lost his job!--King Saul! "To obey is better than sacrifice!" Savvy? Amen? GBAKY obeying!

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