Our son, Michael, who is the manager of a large feedlot in Kansas was offered a job as manager of an even larger feedlot for a different company in Washington state. It would come with a $20,000 bonus and possibly the opportunity to move up to a corporate position sooner. The Washington company was one our son had worked for before, and he and his wife had both liked living there, It would be closer for extended family to go visit. He would have better working hours and more prestige. But uprooting the family and changing companies was not a decision to take lightly. In fact, Michael and his wife had a lot of trepidation about it.
Our family knows that God lives and that He cares about us. Through the power of the Holy Ghost, God can speak to our soul and gives us answer to our prayers. We know that. We also believe in fasting on occasion and for special purposes - which means going without food or water for at least 2 meals. Doing so helps us to be more in tune with the spirit of the Holy Ghost.
So our son and his wife fasted and prayed together to seek the answer God wanted to give them. And they both felt good about the decision to change jobs and move to Washington. Both received the same answer that they should accept the new job offer. The decision was made and plans set in place.
Michael gave notice to his current company and flew to Washington this week to get settled in as the new manager, organize his office, and find a home for his family to move into two weeks from now.
But things did not go well. It didn't feel right from the very first day. He said sitting in the manager's office made him feel like he was "sitting in someone else's office" and the employees "felt like someone else's employees." He couldn't find any homes they wanted to move into and he was feeling really discouraged because he had gotten such a strong reassurance from the Spirit that he should accept the job offer, but now it didn't seem right and he couldn't understand why. Everything he thought of doing for the new company just left him in a "stupor of thought."
He knew that if he decided against the offer at this point, the new company would never come asking for him again and that he would be letting a lot of people down, but suddenly thinking of his old job and the place he currently lived in Kansas filled him with excitement. His job there was still secure if he wanted to go back; in fact, his employers were thrilled that he would do so. And then he knew what his choice had to be.
Just as strongly as he had felt he should take the new job, he now felt as strongly about not taking it.
So WHY would God have told them to take the new job? and then have it turn out to be so obviously wrong? We couldn't understand. Then a friend sent us the link to this video clip by Elder Jeffrey R Holland.
Watch it....it's just the answer.
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