Point of no return
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For the past few years Craig Wilson has been urging BYU students to adopt an extreme philosophy that will lead them to a point of no return.
As an adjunct faculty, Brother Wilson teaches a one-credit lecture course at BYU through the Marriott School of Management he calls "How to Change the World." The class, which has grown so popular that the Marriott School caps its enrollment at 148 so that more students will enroll in the other courses in the business lecture series, encourages students to strive for complete financial freedom.
"I got an MBA from BYU years ago and jumped out into a small little company here in Salt Lake called Lite Touch," Brother Wilson said. "We just lived pretty simply. It's partly the story of the class – we lived simply, saved quite a bit, and got to a point in a debt-free state of living where we reached what we call the 'Point of Choice' or the 'Point of Consecration' where the income from the saved money was greater than our minimal expenses. And that was such a fantastic moment where we could really start to do what the Lord would want us to do without any strings attached.
"I thought that that discussion ought to at least be started, and I started teaching about it in Salt Lake and some surrounding environs. I jumped into some guest lecturing in places like BYU, and that's kind of how the class got started."
Brother Wilson combed through General Conference archives and noticed the Brethren repeatedly teaching from the pulpit a four-step method for financial freedom: don't get in debt unless it's absolutely necessary for either education or a home, and even then do so moderately and get out of debt as quickly as possible; spend less than you make; save money; and pay an honest tithe.
According to Brother Wilson, the consequences of obeying those seemingly simple principles can be profound and far-reaching.
Speaking hypothetically, he said: "Family A goes to a General Conference, feels strongly about what they hear, goes the following night to Family Home Evening and discusses a plan that will allow them to live this way. Family B is good members of the Church, certainly solid, loving, kind, grateful, testimony, but doesn't hear the message and lives like most of America. Just take the two over the course of time and see what happens to their balance sheet given that they have the same job, the same sized family, the same initial debt, and the same salary structure forever.
"If things are exactly the same except one family lives these principles and the other doesn't, it's incredible the difference just in pure balance sheet kind of things with Family A versus Family B. And the weird thing is, Family B looks on the outside certainly to be wealthier because they're the one driving the new cars and probably having the bigger house and all of that – but they have nothing and no peace usually and very little in the coffer. And Family A has a huge amount of actual wealth, lives moderately, is able probably within 15-20 years to do exactly what they're inspired to do instead of being chained in the financial messes that we find ourselves in."
Brother Wilson envisions the business students of today reaching the Point of Consecration by middle age and, resultantly, having significantly more time available for the building up of the Lord's kingdom.
"Especially for the Church," he said, "if a small group between 18 and 25 caught this vision and lived this way, they would be more free than most of us at a younger age to be able to completely consecrate all their time and everything to the Lord knowing that maybe it was Him that caused these thoughts to come to them, or His inspiration.
"It could really allow the preparation of the earth to take much stronger place for His coming than what I at least normally see – people are chained for the most part financially and stressed out and have a hard time really consecrating a whole lot. This is a way that it could be done."
