Without intending to take this discussion on too much of a tangent, here are a couple of parallels based on personal revelation:
1) An 18 year old receives personal revelation that the Law of Chastity is real and he should obey this law. He is subsequently confronted with a situation in which he has an opportunity to violate this law. It isn't against any law or NCAA regulation, but his Bishop, Stake President and Prophet have each advised him that this kind of activity will jepoardize his opportunity to serve a mission.
2) An 18 year old receives personal revelation that the Word of Wisdom is ordained of God and he should guard himslef to be sure that he is always in compliance. At a party, he is invited to partake of alcohol and drugs. His parents have told him that this is unacceptable behavior and a consequence of his participation will be loss of driving privileges. Further, he has received the same warning that lack of adherence to the WoW may also jeopardize his mission plans.
In each case, the 18 year old in question has a decision to make. Will he remain true to the revelation he has received or not. Character is defined by making the difficult choice when faced with the illusion of happiness for making the wrong choice.
Choosing ND over BYU isn't the same as choosing immorality over chastity, but choosing to ignore specific personal revelation can cause long-term pain and sadness. If Schwenke was inspired that he should attend BYU, then there are reasons for that. Only Schwenke knows what was revealed to him. The rest of us are speculating based on what he's told us.
I have a very good friend who was trying to decide which HS to attend (she had 3 options: the local public school and 2 elite private schools). She was really challenged with making the decision. It was a nasty time for her because she saw benefits to each option (and she was 14). There were many variables to consider (though none athletic, this was a mostly academic/social decision, but she was being pursued by the private schools). She prayed and fasted and was told thru revelation, in no uncertain terms, that she should attend the public school. After making her decision, one of the private schools told her they would waive tuition for all 4 years if she decided to enroll. Money wasn't the issue for her family, and for lots of our friends, this seemed to throw a wrench in her decision process ("They really want you! Go!") However, at age 14, she told them that her decision was made, because Heavenly Father had already told her that she should attend the public school. So the carrot now being dangled wasn't really valuable to her (no illusion of happiness). Some friends couldn't understand her decision, but for those that knew her, it was clear what she had done: remained true to what she knew.
