Fight for Your Dreams, But Dream Righteously

It’s been said that you can accomplish about anything you put your mind to. Oft is heard the rallying cry toward students, salesmen with lofty monetary goals, and others, that you can win if you really focus, if you’re willing to sacrifice, etc.

Then you ask yourself, “so, self, since you can have anything, what do you want?”

You can be some sort of wizard guru in any chosen field. To be world renown is quite simple, you daily apply the trait you wish to improve upon, and in a decade of an hour each day in that thing, you’ll be one of the best at it in the world.

So we’re back to the question, what do you want? This is the key question.

In all your wanting, I suggest one set of dreams that we can fight for.

I preface this by saying that too often people consider the “ordinary life” is something that gets in the way of “dreams”.

I submit that the people of the past were dreamers too, they just dreamed of having an “ordinary life.” They fought for that dream, and they often obtained it. Don’t think that the “ordinary life” of having a wife and large posterity, being free of debt, being politically free, and spending time with your family and neighbors is an easy thing. It is a dream like any other and doesn’t come cheap.

I submit that we have forgotten the dreams of our forefathers. We have all sorts of dreams, and we think that family centered lives are a thing of the past, and among the religious circles, we can even think that family centered life is not as pleasing to God as using the bulk of your resources (including your time) to specialize in some academic or professional thing to serve the human race.

I submit that the best way to serve the human race (and thus God) is to have a family centered life. Many times we have heard the prophets declare that the most important work you’ll do in your life will be in your own home (referring to your influence on your family).

Feminists complain of men who approach them at restaurants to have a good bout of righteous flirtation in hopes of future courting. What of the women who make the word “pregnancy” neigh unto a swear word? I’ve heard them actually praising God himself that they were lucky enough to not get pregnant for whatever time they wasted the night before. What of men who have no thoughts of providing, and no serious mind in matters of courting? Truly we are shifting away from family-oriented society. How little time our fathers and mothers spend teaching their children, or teaching them to work, or simply playing with them. Is this not a reflection of the scripture which declares that in the last days, the hearts of men (and women) will fail them?

So do we “dream big” and “sacrifice all things to obtain our dreams”? Yes! But the world doesn’t understand what we do when we tell them that our dreams area to live the gospel, to uphold freedom, and most importantly, to live a family centered life.