Yesterday I shared a Clayton Christensen quote from the feature article in Forbes Magazine. During his health struggles Clayton learned turning inward only made him miserable; while focusing on others gave his life meaning and joy. At the end of the Forbes article I was really touched when Clayton sneaks a testimonial of his religious beliefs into a business publication. It's short and sweet (very Clayton like) but gives the final word.
After all the discussion about his heart attack, his cancer, and his stroke, in the end, Clayton finds truth in his belief in a loving God who created him. I hope Forbes readers will notice the fact that while Clayton is a brilliant scholar, his crown jewels are not accolades in the business world but his gospel beliefs and his family.
Although Brent and I only knew the Christensen family well during our years in the Belmont Ward together in Boston, they are one of the finest families we've ever met! Following is the conclusion of the Forbe's article on Clayton:
"When I was at Oxford, each one of us had responsibility for three or four families in our congregation, which we call a ward. Another student at the university and I were assigned to look after quite a poor family.
I learned that their 10 month-old baby, Wendy, had been in the hospital for six months. She couldn't digest anything. Wendy had the body of a newborn, but her face looked like a 10-month-old's. They had decided nothing could be done. So my companion and I said let's go see Wendy, and we went there and understood the situation. I then had a feeling in my heart, which I feel came from the Holy Ghost, that in this case God wasn't trying to bring her home. Wendy was sleeping. So we put our hands on her head, and through the power of God and authority of the priesthood, blessed her. And she got better.
I don't view it as mystic. I believe that God is our father. He created us. He is powerful because he knows everything. Therefore everything I learn that is true makes me more like my father in heaven. When science seems to contradict religion, then one, the other, or both are wrong, or incomplete. Truth is not incompatible with itself. When I benefit from science it's actually not correct for me to say it resulted from science and not from God. They work in concert." - Clayton Christensen, Forbes Magazine, March 14, 2011
