The title of this blog is taken from the last musical Fred Astaire ever made, “Finian’s Rainbow.” In the movie, he’s chasing a rainbow in hopes of finding the pot of gold. But that’s not what I want to talk about right now.
Throughout history, we see evidence of men and women who were dreamers. Edison dreamed he could invent a phonograph. Salk dreamed he could invent a vaccine. The Wright Brothers dreamed they could fly. Each of these individuals were laughed at and scorned, often by friends and neighbors, and sadly, often by family.
We have examples of dreamers in our church history, as well. Abraham dreamed he could have a son. Noah dreamed he could build a boat. Lehi was described by his family as being “a visionary man.” Joseph Smith, the first prophet of this dispensation and the restorer of the true gospel on the earth, was labeled a dreamer, a fraud, a charlatan. Those who laid such accusations at his feet said he was either crazy or perpetrating a huge scam.
Men and women of faith will often be called dreamers because the natural man is not capable of seeing things the way God sees them. When a person of faith draws near to God and He allows them a glimpse of His glory and of all the possibilities that exist, they will be able to bring creative and clever solutions to the drawing board, and their ideas may seem a bit far-fetched. But it is these far-fetched ideas that are, so often, so very close to the truth.
Being a dreamer is not bad. In fact, being a dreamer is the only way to actually get anything done – you have to envision it before you can do it, and this goes for spiritual matters just as much as it does in material matters. Let’s follow those dreamers who are like Lehi of old, Father Abraham, and other worthy Priesthood leaders who have sought to obey the will of the Lord, even when it seemed a little strange. Let’s look to our modern day prophets and listen to their words, not backing away when something goes against our own particular comfort zone. Let’s dream of a more fulfilled life, a more Christ-like life, and envision what we must do in order to achieve that.
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