Brothers and Sisters, Aloha! It is wonderful to welcome you to our first BYU–Hawaii devotional of this new year. We hope that each of you had a wonderful break and enjoyed the opportunity to remember the Savior and His birth as well as spend time with friends and loved ones. We are grateful to have you with us on this beautiful campus and we look forward to a rewarding and fulfilling year.
Today I would like to talk about one of those eternal laws that a loving Father has given us to help us grow and accomplish all that He knows we are capable of. This law can help us not only when we are in the role of a student, but also when we are in the role of a spouse or parent, in our career and working life, and in developing our eternal destiny. I refer to the Law of the Harvest.
In its simplest form, the law of the harvest is that we reap what we sow. That is, if we plant or sow appropriately, having done all of the work necessary to prepare the soil, we will in time reap the harvest that is commensurate with our planting and cultivating efforts. This law was used repeatedly by the Savior in His teaching (See Mark 4:1-9). And it also has been used frequently by His Apostles and prophets both ancient and modern.
Today I would like to explore with you the essential aspects of this God-given law, and illustrate its applicability and pervasiveness in all we pursue in life. I’d like to begin by exploring some of the varied ways in which during our early years we can learn the basics of the Law of the Harvest. Then I’d like to examine how this law applies to each of the primary dimensions of our lives – as a student, in our career and employment, in our homes and families, and finally in the development of our character and our eternal progression. I’ll close by sharing a few of the wonderful summaries that our present day prophets have given of this law.
Lessons in the Law of the Harvest
Let me begin with my own experience in learning the realities of the Law of the Harvest. When I was 8 years old, I desperately wanted a bicycle so that I would be more mobile and independent and could go places on my bike that I would not be able to go otherwise. My grandfather, who was living with our family at the time, agreed to help me. We started by assessing the resources that we had available to us. Through odd jobs and projects, I had been able to save $9 over the prior year. However, while things were cheaper in those days, they weren’t that cheap.
My grandfather knew that every summer the Salt Lake Police Department held a bike auction of all the old, abandoned bikes they had removed from inappropriate locations. So one Saturday, my grandpa and I went to the police bike auction to get a bike. My grandpa assumed that I’d need new tubes and tires, so he decided we could spend no more than $5 on the basic bike. I remember seeing some pretty good bikes that I would have loved but they cost much more than what I could afford. Finally we were able to get a solid frame with a good seat, handle bars and brakes for $5. Then, on the way home, we stopped at a store and I used the remainder of my savings to buy two tires and two tubes.
I can remember working hard to clean up the frame, rims, and fenders and then painting the frame and fenders black, because that was the color paint we had. When the paint was dry, my grandpa helped we put on the new tubes and tires. Once it was finished, we took it into the backyard where my grandpa taught me how to ride it. After some spills, I finally got the knack of balancing, and then I moved to the parking lot of our nearby ward building, and finally onto the streets. I loved that bike and the freedom it provided.
However, by the time I was 11 years old, I felt my bike was “old fashioned” because it only had one gear and looked like an 8-year-old boy had painted it and put it together. And of course, there was the inevitable peer pressure as others in my neighborhood began to have racing bikes with handbrakes and a gear shift on the handle bars.
During the spring of my 11th year, my mom began to sense my growing disappointment with my old, rebuilt bicycle. She also recognized that the three cherry trees in our backyard were going to produce a bumper crop of cherries that summer. One day, she and my dad suggested that I take responsibility for spraying the trees, harvesting the cherries, and then selling them. They said that if I did all the work, I could keep the money and use it to buy a new bicycle. I loved the idea and went to work on a plan. I decided that I could make the most money if I sold the cherries door to door in two-pound sacks for 25 cents or one-pound sacks for 15 cents. I did the spraying, bought the sacks, and, when the cherries started ripening, I starting picking, weighing, packaging and selling. After harvesting about 400 pounds of cherries and selling them door to door, I had saved about $44.
Our assistant scout master became aware of my goal regarding a new bike, and he brought me a wholesale catalog from a business owner he knew. There I discovered that I could buy a great racing bike – a Columbia Racer built by Schwinn – for $54 with tax. I was still $10 short. I also realized that most of the remaining cherries were at the tops of the trees where they were hard to reach. When one of our ward members said they were looking for cherries to put up in quart jars, I jumped at the chance to make a special deal. I said they could have all the remaining cherries they could pick – which we estimated was somewhat over 100 pounds - for $10. I recall that they picked about 110 pounds, gave me 10 dollars, and I went off with my assistant Scoutmaster to buy the bike of my dreams.
That Columbia Racer was a great bike and I rode it everywhere for the next several years. I loved the independence that bike provided, the fact that it was new, and the fact that I had bought it with my own money. But far more important was what I had learned about the law of the harvest and the rewards of diligent and consistent hard work. That’s a lesson that I have never forgotten.
In preparing for today’s devotional I was once again reminded of the great blessings that I received by learning early in life the importance of the Lord’s law of the harvest. I have also been struck by how many of our Church leaders have referred at one time or another to the way in which they, too, learned at an early age of the law of the harvest.
For example, Elder Keith Edwards, who presided over the Philippines Area until two years ago, shared a description of how he learned about the law of the harvest. As he recounted, “One of my older brothers taught me an important lesson when I was five years old. That was when my twin, Karl, and I were given a puppy. But we did not understand the responsibilities that came with having a pet—we thought it was just another toy that didn’t require any particular care. We didn’t worry too much about giving the dog food or water or taking care of it. But we had an older brother who felt just the opposite. He had a great love for animals. He saw the need and he took care of our puppy.”
Elder Edwards went on to say, “That dog grew up thinking that it belonged to our older brother, and we used to argue about whose dog it was. Karl and I insisted that it was our dog, and we had contests with our [older] brother to see to whom the dog would go if we called to it. The dog always went to our older brother. The dog understood loyalty and the love our brother showed it. This experience taught me a powerful lesson about the law of the harvest, which tells us that as you sow, so shall you reap. My brother planted love when he took care of our dog, and he reaped the rewards of trust and loyalty” (“My Brother and the Puppy,” Elder Keith Edwards, Friend, September, 2008).
One final example I’d like to share is that of Elder Robert D. Hales, who grew up on Long Island, about 30 miles from New York City. His father assigned him a number of chores involving yard work, and he thought he had worked pretty hard. Then, one spring day, his father said, “You’re never going to learn to work until you go out and work on the ranch with your Uncle Frank.” As a result, he spent that summer in Skull Valley, near Tooele, Utah, learning how to work.
Regarding that summer, Elder Hales recounted, “Ranch life was an education for me. I can remember [my] feelings when I first realized that an enormous amount of preparation was necessary before the crops were brought in. We had to plow, harrow, plant, cultivate, weed, irrigate, and then continue to cultivate, weed, and irrigate, endlessly it seemed. That summer is a cherished part of my heritage because it was there, in [that] desolate, remote corner of the world, that I learned the law of the harvest --that you don’t get something for nothing in life” (“Channeling Your Creativity,” New Era, Elder Robert D. Hales, August, 1983).
At first glance, the law of the harvest seems simple and straight forward – we reap what we sow, or in today’s vernacular, we get out of something what we put into it. But in reality the depth and breadth of its applicability is far richer and of greater significance than such a simple definition would suggest. In fact, like all of God’s laws, the scriptures make clear that this law applies to all things - both spiritual and temporal. In the time we have remaining, I would like to explore the richness of the law of the harvest by considering its relevance to four aspects of our earthly existence that are central to each of us and our growth, development and happiness.
The Pervasive Impact of the Law of the Harvest
First, let’s consider the law of the harvest as it applies to each of us as students. Here I think Paul’s statement to the Corinthians is particularly applicable: “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6).
Think for a few moments about one of the courses of study you have completed where you have learned a tremendous amount and made rewarding progress in your mastery of the materials. During my undergraduate studies, numerical analysis was such a course for me. As a math major, I had already taken several courses involving theory development and analytical problem solving but numerical analysis was my first course using computer algorithms to develop approximate solutions. That was during the early days of the U.S. space program, and, as our final project, we applied those algorithms in calculating the trajectory of a satellite being launched into orbit around the earth.
From the outset, I found many aspects of that course new and exciting – from developing algorithms and then writing the computer code to implement those, to solving real world problems such as launching and tracking a rocket with its payload and then simulating the effects of gravity and friction as the satellite eventually returned to earth. And because I found it so engaging, I spent considerable time and energy learning all I could about the subject matter, applying what I’d learned through my own efforts and as part of a team, and then discussing the outcomes and learning from experience so we could make refinements and adjustments and further improve our results.
I learned that if I applied my best efforts and collaborated with others who were also applying their best efforts, we could make steady and significant progress with each simulation run. By the end of that course, I could look back and see how the steps that we had taken both individually and collectively had resulted in far greater learning than I had experienced in many other courses. Indeed, I could see that we had diligently and consistently sowed and planted, and, as a result, we had reaped a bountiful harvest. In contrast, I also can recall other courses where I sowed sparingly, and as a result I also reaped sparingly (2 Corinthians 9:6).
In your role as a student here at BYU–Hawaii, I can promise you that if you will apply the conditions for a bounteous harvest- study, diligence, and hard work, and if you will plant in prepared soil – you, too, will reap a bounteous harvest of knowledge, understanding and new skills.
As a second area of application for the law of the harvest, I’d like to consider its impact on marriage and family. Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said, “The law of the harvest is nowhere more in evidence and nowhere more relentless than in [the] family” (“Take Especial Care of Your Family,” Elder Neal A. Maxwell, May, 1994). I’ve often thought that Paul’s counsel to the Galatians is especially applicable to marriage and families: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
This scripture does not say that everything we might experience in our relationship with our spouse or our family may be the result of our previous efforts. However, what we do in our marriage and family relationships will inevitably have consequences. In this sense it is completely consistent with what the Lord told the prophet Joseph Smith in April of 1843: “When we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” (D&C 130:21).
Thus the scriptures make it plain that if we desire greater harmony, joy and happiness in our relationship with our spouse and our family, we must sow the seeds that will lead to that harvest. The Family Proclamation, given to us by our apostles and prophets, identifies some of those principles of planting that lead to such harmony, joy and happiness and how those seeds can best be sown. It states:
“Parents have a sacred duty to …teach [their children] to love and serve one another, [and] to observe the commandments of God…. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work and wholesome recreational activities” (See “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah).
Even now as grandparents, Sister Wheelwright and I find these guidelines invaluable as we seek to develop strong family bonds with each of our nineteen grandchildren who live in New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Texas, Washington, Utah, and Concepcion, Chile. Certainly letters, emails, phone calls and text messages help but even more important is spending time together. For example, a few years ago we felt we needed to strengthen our relationship with our five oldest grandchildren, who at that time were teenagers. We arranged to take them to Southern Utah for some mountain biking, river rafting, sightseeing, swimming and game playing. Just before we left Salt Lake on our drive to Moab, we collected all the cell phones, iPads and computers and left them at our daughter’s home. Everything we did for the next four days we did together and it was wonderful. Through respect, love, service, compassion and wholesome recreational activities, we strengthened family bonds that due to time, age and distance had started to weaken.
Sometimes, when difficulties arise in a family or a marriage, we are hesitant to continue to treat the other person well because we are not sure “good will be returned for good,” or we don’t believe anything positive will result if we display love and kindness when it seemingly is not warranted or acknowledged by another. But again, referring to the law of the harvest, the Lord has said, “Fear not to do good… for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward. Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good” (D&C 6:33-34).
As a third area for application of the law of the harvest, let’s consider how it applies to a career and the work we do in our profession. Our modern day prophets have repeatedly warned us that while the world around us may believe that they can reap what they have not sown, that is not the case and it never will be. For example, President Faust taught,
"Contemporary society rushes headlong to accumulate the material goods of this world…. This leads many to think they can alter the law of the harvest, reaping rewards without paying the price of honest toil and effort. Wishing to prosper immediately, they speculate in high-risk financial schemes that promote instant wealth…. [In contrast], Latter-day Saints have long been taught to live by the virtues of independence, industry, thrift, and self-reliance. Working for what we receive is a cardinal, timeless principle of self-respect” (See President James E. Faust: 'The Spirit of Christ Should Permeate All We Do', LDS Church News, 1998, 04/11/98. Also, President James E. Faust, “Integrity – The Mother of Many Virtues,” Ensign, May, 1982).
As Margaret pointed out in her introduction today, when I first started teaching, I had the good fortune to be in a department where excellence in teaching was the standard. With the help of colleagues, I devised a plan by which I could learn from them by sitting in on their classes, being part of a teaching group, and having them periodically sit in on my classes. To those efforts, I added my own diligent preparation and follow up. While the investment required in those early years was substantial, it made all the difference in my rate of progress and my acceptance by both students and faculty. Once again, I learned that the Lord is true to His promise – the harvest was great because of the investment and preparations that had been made.
Of course the adversary knows that if he can get us to do things contrary to God’s laws, misery and unhappiness will follow. Nowhere has that been more evident in recent years than in the financial markets. Whether tempting us to reap rewards without paying the price of honest toil and effort, tempting us to take on debt that encumbers our family’s financial security in hopes of a quick gain, or simply tempting us to cut corners in our dealings with others, Satan’s plan is to convince us that the law of the harvest is not immutable. But such is not the case. Certainly in my own life, I have learned by experience that careful, thoughtful investment of hard earned savings, while avoiding speculation and quick payoffs, leads to long-run security and makes it much easier to sleep soundly without financial worry.
President Howard W. Hunter has added his voice of warning regarding the importance of observing the law of the harvest as we pursue a career and work to support our families. He stated:
“There appears to be a trend to shift responsibility for life and its processes from the individual to the state. … The government is often looked to as the source of wealth. There is the feeling that the government should step in and take care of one's needs, one's emergencies, and one's future. …[Thus] can an entire people be imperceptibly transferred from individuals, families, and communities [responsible for their own sowing and planting] to [placing those responsibilities on] the federal government” (66-01, pp. 7-8) (Howard W. Hunter, The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, edited by Clyde J. Williams [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1997], 167).
The fourth and final area of application for this law that I would like to discuss is that of our spiritual development and our eternal progression. As the prophet Joseph Smith stated so succinctly, “Do good and work righteousness with an eye single to the glory of God, and you shall reap your reward when the Lord recompenses every one according to his work” (Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 Vols. 2:229-30). Our eternal judgment will be predicated not just on what we believe, but on our works. Our works inevitably define who we are and what we become.
As the Apostle Paul taught the Galatians,
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
“For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:7-9).
Thus the final judgment itself will be an application of the law of the harvest. But this law is also the basis on which we develop and grow spiritually to become more like our Savior. The prophet Alma taught that because of our “diligence and faith” in “nourishing” a growing testimony, “by and by” the harvest of “fruit” will be “sweet above all that is sweet” (Alma 32:42-43). In our own day Elder Bednar has explained:
“[The] ongoing cycle of gaining spiritual knowledge ultimately produces a precious and delicious fruit, but that fruit cannot and does not grow from a blossom to its ripened state overnight. Furthermore, such fruit cannot grow in barren soil. Obedience to God’s commandments and our personal integrity and adherence to commitments provide the needed nutrients for fertile spiritual soil. It should be obvious to all of us that evil influences such as filthy language, immodest clothing and appearance, and pornography are bitter poisons that kill the soil and halt the spiritually subtle process of receiving help from heaven “line upon line, precept upon precept.” There can be no shortcut around the law of the harvest; truly, we reap what we sow (see Galatians 6:7)” (Elder David A Bednar, “Line upon Line, Precept upon Precept,” New Era, September, 2010).
Furthermore, we cannot separate our spiritual development and growth from our temporal development and growth, even though some may try to do so. The law of the harvest applies to all aspects of our lives, both individually and collectively. As Elder L. Tom Perry has pointed out:
“[Surely] we know the results of temperance, frugality, and industry. When they are discovered in the actions of man, wealth, prosperity, and abundance are the sure rewards for his efforts. Justice, kindness, and charity always produce peace, love and harmony. The results of gluttony, drunkenness, and lust are clearly predictable. They will surely destroy the temporal body… The results of stealing, lying and defrauding are also absolute. We know the waste of such activities as they literally rob us of our inheritance…. We must always answer to the law of the harvest… This is a Law that will never be repealed” (Elder L. Tom Perry, “As a Man Soweth,” Ensign, May, 1976. See also, Elder L. Tom Perry, The Tradition of a Balanced, Righteous Life,” Ensign, Aug. 2011).
I am grateful for parents who taught me early in life of the truthfulness and reality of the law of the harvest. And I am grateful to a loving Father in Heaven for His consistency in helping me to understand, comprehend and apply this law in my own family. But the law of the harvest is much more than just a guide in understanding the relationship between what we sow and what we reap as we do school work, career work, marriage and parenting work, missionary work or any other type of work. It is also a guide to the processes the Lord expects us to follow in other aspects of our daily life. As Elder Hales pointed out during a Priesthood Session of General Conference,
“The law of the harvest offers a pattern for making decisions. Prepare the soil through prayer, knowing that you are a son of God. Plant the seeds by counseling with those who will give sound advice; then seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Let the seeds of inspiration grow. The budding ideas need tending. They need time to mature. The light of inspiration will bring the spiritual harvest which will come when we ask our Heavenly Father in prayer if we have made a correct decision. As we follow that light, the darkness will vanish and the light will grow “brighter and brighter until the perfect day” —that day when we are in the presence of our Father in Heaven” (Elder Robert D. Hales, “Aaronic Priesthood: Preparing for the Decade of Decision”, Ensign, May, 2007).
As we make choices about every aspect of our life, we are also making choices about who we will become and the consequences we will reap. As President Howard W. Hunter summarized,
“If you [choose to be] dishonest in your dealings, if you cheat in your examinations, you are sowing the seeds of slavery and you will reap that harvest. If you [choose to be involved] in … immoral practices, you are becoming enslaved to your own passions and appetites… But if [through your choices] you resist these satanic temptations and determine to pay the daily price, to live the Law of the Harvest by clean, moral thoughts and practices, by upright, honest dealings, by integrity and conscientiousness in your studies, by fasting, prayer and worship, you will reap the harvest of freedom and inner peace and prosperity” (President Howard W. Hunter, The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, edited by Clyde J. Williams [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1997], 74).
Our hope for each of you as you are here on this beautiful campus is that you will continue to deepen and broaden your understanding, appreciation and application of the law of the harvest. We pray that whether in your academic studies, your marriage, your family, your career or in serving in the kingdom, that you will sow righteously on prepared and fertile soil. That in due time you may reap the promised harvest of thirty, sixty or an hundred fold because your efforts have been founded on the sure foundation of our Savior and have been done in accordance with His doctrine and laws (Mark 4:1-9). Such is our hope and prayer for each of you, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.