CORONA, Calif. — "Employment is nature's physician," Galen, the Roman physician wrote some 1,800 years ago. In our day, President Spencer W. Kimball echoed that sentiment when he said, "Work is essential to happiness." (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 362.)

But for those who are unemployed or underemployed, the search to find a meaningful way to support themselves and their families may be one of the greatest trials and challenges they face.

With the help of LDS Employment Services, the Church in Southern California is offering an excellent opportunity to members as well as to those who are not members of the Church to achieve their goals to become gainfully employed. Every six months, the LDS Employment Services agency in Southern California organizes and invites employers and applicants to attend its "job fair." The job fair is a place where those who are looking for work can meet with potential employers.

Ballard Veater, manager of the Colton LDS Employment Center, explained that the job fair provides an opportunity for people who are looking for employment to meet face to face with employers who are looking for qualified applicants. "Often, what you have is a case of ships passing in the night," Brother Veater said.

"Employers are often desperately searching for the right employee, the one who could fit in perfectly and make a contribution to the success of their organization. At the same time, the very person they're looking for may be out there looking for the perfect job, the one that fits well with his interests, skills and abilities. The problem is getting these two people to meet face to face. Once that happens, often the result is magic."

For the more than 1,000 job seekers who gathered at the Corona California Stake center recently, the LDS Employment Services-sponsored job fair was just the opportunity they had been looking for.

One employer, a supervisor of a major restaurant chain, was looking for someone he could move into a management position in the company. He was so impressed with one young man who attended the job fair that he asked if he could meet with him later that afternoon. The applicant was hired on the spot and started work the following Monday.

This is not an isolated case. According to Brother Veater, more than 150 people who attended the previous job fair accepted employment offers that sprang directly from contacts they made that day.

In addition to opportunities to meet with representatives of companies such as American Airlines, Allegiance Health Care and Macey's department stores, job fair participants can attend classes that teach important job-finding skills. These workshops offer instruction in everything from writing a resume to networking to interviewing skills.

"I'm very impressed with the caliber of people that I've seen today," said the personnel manager of one company. "I've already reserved a spot for the next job fair six months from now."

"An answer to prayer," wrote one applicant who found several promising job leads. "Thank you for providing this forum and for your encouragement!"

President Gordon B. Hinckley in an address said, "There is no substitute under the heavens for productive labor. It is the process by which dreams become realities; the process by which idle visions become dynamic achievements." (St. George, Utah, Area Chamber of Commerce address, Jan. 20, 1998.)

If Galen was right and employment is nature's physician, then hundreds of people in the Southern California area will be in better health as a result of the job fair sponsored by LDS Employment Services.