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by Elder Henry B. Eyring from an address at Brigham Young University March 28, 1982 We're talking about an application of the law of the harvest. Here we're talking just about sowing to the Spirit. We're going to try to understand one universal challenge: How to keep waiting and working when the harvest seems delayed. The most important fact to note is that crops, even the spiritual ones, are not all of one kind. There are early maturing varieties and late varieties. Maybe you've noticed in seed catalogs that one variety of corn can be harvested in less, sometimes nearly half, the time it takes for another to be ready. Efforts, spiritual or practical, don't all bear fruit in the same length of time. Early crops produce fast results. Now, one trouble with most of our struggles is that you can't see the seeds and the crops clearly. So, you have to make this decision frequently: "Has this effort yielded about all it's going to, or shall I keep working and waiting?" Most people usually assume they are working with early crops. Think of the last time you went home teaching or visiting teaching. Did you visit once, and late in the month — or not at all? Or did you reach out with extra contacts, extra love, and extra service? Think of the last Sunday School lesson you prepared. How many times did you rework it? Did you try another approach to the subject once you felt you had a workable plan? Did you read some additional chapters in the scriptures, beyond those assigned? How much time did you spend on that last lesson? Twenty minutes? An hour? A day? Several days? The answers will vary, but not much. For most of you, the best bet is that you stopped early. Why? Because you understand something called the "law of diminishing returns." Most of us believe in the law of conservation of energy, particularly our own. We treat most of our effort like planting and harvesting an early crop. We expect early results with little more to come from keeping up the effort after the first rush of rewards. Most of you know what investments — and patience — are required to maintain virtue, serve an effective mission, or build an eternal family. But perhaps many of you haven't given enough attention to how much the world is moving away from the idea of delaying gratification long enough to do those things. There are spiritual crops that require months, years, and sometimes a lifetime of cultivation before the harvest. Among them are spiritual rewards you want most. That shouldn't surprise you. Common sense tells you that what matters most won't come easily. But there is another reason suggested in the scriptures. Remember this from the Book of Mormon? "And now, I, Moroni, . . . would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" (Ether 12:6). And from the Doctrine and Covenants: "Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. "For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand" (D&C 58:3-4). If you wanted to give this idea a name, you could call it "the law of increasing returns." Instead of first efforts yielding returns, with a steady decline, it's the reverse. First efforts, and even second efforts, seem to yield little. And then the rewards begin, perhaps much later, to grow and grow. I pray that you won't let the world nudge you toward spending your futures now. There are some things you should work for and expect results now. But along with getting early harvests, I hope you'll work for the late ones. That will take seeing the law of increasing returns as an opportunity, not just a test. Delayed blessings will build your faith in God to work, and wait, for him. The scriptures aren't demeaning when they command, "Wait upon the Lord" (Psalm 37:9; Isaiah 8:17; 40:31). That means both service and patience. And that will build your faith. Home / For Latter-day Saints |