When Doing the Right Thing Seems Crazy
In the 1940’s my grandpa, Marwood J. Hales, bought some land west of Redmond, Utah. He then took a mule and a plow and went to work. The locals thought he was crazy--that land had way too much gravel to actually grow anything, but Marwood saw something they could not.
You see, before moving back to Redmond and buying that gravel-infested land, he had been working in the Salt Lake valley as a construction laborer. In that job, he saw other people making a pretty decent living simply by delivering loads of gravel to the construction site. Marwood remembered an area where he grew up where he could find tons of gravel, and over 60 years later, the enterprise he started with that mule and plow had grown to become one of the major employers in Sevier County.
You see visionary people, like my grandpa, are often thought to be crazy because they see things others do not. Christ was no different. As he hung on the cross,
“they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
“And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
“Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
“He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
“He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
All those who mocked Christ did not see His greater vision. They didn’t realize that the temple was His body and would in reality be restored in three days. They didn’t realize that he did not save himself because he was still saving others. They didn’t realize that drinking the bitter cup of the atonement was the ultimate act of trusting God, His Father.
Many times in our lives, the Spirit compels us to do things that seem crazy. We might be prompted to make a crazy career change. We may be prompted to speak to someone we have no interest in speaking to. We may be prompted to speak up on an issue when we know we may be ridiculed.
Following modern prophets may seem crazy as well. Harold B. Lee once said, “You may not like what comes from the authority of the Church. It may contradict your political views. It may contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of your social life.” (Teachings of Harold B Lee)
In those times, it is important to remember that our Father in Heaven is the greatest visionary of all:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Harold B Lee continued:
If you listen to these things, as if from the mouth of the Lord Himself, with patience and faith, the promise is that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory” (D&C 21:6).
It is my experience that this is true. All of the experiences that gave me this knowledge are too many to discuss here, but I will give one example. Shortly after returning from my mission in East Africa, I was living at home and working to save money before I returned to school in the fall. I had a pretty good situation; I was making decent money, with virtually no expenses.
However, I felt very strongly that I needed to move up to Utah County. After searching for a few weeks, I found a job, but it didn’t seem like a prudent decision. I would be making less money while increasing my living expenses. I made the move anyways and ended up spending a lot of time with Brandi Bastian, who became my wife about 6 months later.
I can’t promise that following the Spirit will lead you to your spouse. I can’t even promise that you will see the fruits of your decision in this life, but if you will follow God, no matter how crazy the path seems, you will know, as I do, that “the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory.”
