Choosing the Right

And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given. - 2 Nephi 2: 26

President James E. Faust taught, “A choice involves making a conscious decision. To make an intelligent decision we need to evaluate all available facts on both sides of an issue. But that isn’t enough. Making correct decisions involves prayer and inspiration.” In section 9 of the Doctrine and Covenants in verses 7 through 9, the Lord said to Oliver Cowdrey:

“Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.

“But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

“But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong.”

There are many examples throughout the Scriptures of people that were faced with making decisions. In Genesis 2:16-17 for example, we find Adam being faced with the decision to obey God or to disobey God. He and Eve could freely eat of every tree in the Garden with the exception of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. For in the day that they should eat thereof, God had said that they would surely die. As we continue our reading, we find that later in chapter 3; Eve becomes enticed by the serpent and partakes of the forbidden fruit. Not only does she partake, but she also offers some of the forbidden fruit to Adam who also partakes. Several consequences resulted from their actions. One such consequence was that sin entered the world, and thus the beginning of spiritual death, or separation from God. For the first time Adam and Eve realize that they are naked and are ashamed, and when they hear God walking in the Garden, they run and hide themselves amongst the trees. God asked Adam and Eve three questions at this point: (1) Where are you? (And why are you hiding from me?), (2) who told you that you were naked? (And why did you believe someone else and not me?), and (3) what is it that you have done? (And are you ready to take responsibility for your actions?). Another consequence was that at this time Adam began to die physically. And so, God was true to His Word.

How many of us can remember when we were kids and our mothers sent us outside to play and warned us to not go near or tamper with a certain thing? However, being kids, our curiosity eventually got the best of us and before we knew it, we were exploring the very thing that our mother warned us to stay away from. Before long something would go wrong and when we would hear our mother coming we would try to run and hide. When she asked, “What are you doing?” we would quickly reply, “Nothing!” Then when she saw that we had disobeyed her and had tampered with the very thing that she had told us to stay away from, we knew that we were in serious trouble as there were definitely consequences to be paid for our disobedience.

Another example of decision making can be found in Joshua 24:14-18. Joshua knew without a doubt that he and his house were going to serve the Lord. Some of the Israelites chose to follow Joshua’s example and witnessed great blessings in their life. However, when we come to the book of Judges, we find that some of the Israelites chose to follow after foreign gods and thus they endured heartache and destruction as consequences of the decisions they had made.

Serving the Lord and being obedient to His will for our lives brings great blessings and unspeakable joy. When we hearken to the voice of the Lord we find that our way is made prosperous and we are blessed with good success. On the other hand, when we harden our hearts and seek after the things of the world rather than the things of God, we find that our lives become filled with heartaches and disappointments.

And then there is the story of the rich young ruler as recorded in Luke 18:18-23. Here was a young man that supposedly had it all, or did he? He comes to Jesus and asks, “Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replies by reminding him to keep the commandments and this young ruler replies by saying, “All these things have I kept from my youth up.” Jesus hearing these things says unto him, “Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me.” After hearing these things the young ruler became very sorrowful for he had many riches. How sad, for though he was rich according to the world’s standards, he was spiritually poor. His choice was his riches and the consequence of his choice was that he lost out on the best gift of all – eternal life.

How many of us have faced similar situations in our own lives? For example, a student has the opportunity to study hard, get good grades, get his name on the honor roll, and possibly receive scholarships to help further his education. However, being a good student may not be a popular thing at his school. And so, not wanting to be treated as an outcast, he chooses to forgo all of the opportunities that are afforded him. Instead he chooses to hang out with his “friends” and do the bare minimum of what is required in each of his classes. Studying hard and getting good grades could bring great rewards later in his life, but for now, to him it is much more important to be considered as one of the “popular” kids in the school.

When faced with having to make decisions, consider the following keys to help in making the right choices:

1. Matthew 6:33 - But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

2. Proverbs 3:6 - In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

3. Mosiah 2:21, 22 - I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

In closing, hear the words of President Thomas S. Monson when he said, “Life's journey is not traveled on a freeway devoid of obstacles, pitfalls, and snares. Rather, it is a pathway marked by forks and turnings. Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed: the courage to say, 'No,' the courage to say, 'Yes.' Decisions do determine destiny. The call for courage comes constantly to each of us. It has ever been so, and so shall it ever be” (Thomas S. Monson, "The Call for Courage," Ensign, May 2004, 54).

These thoughts I leave with you humbly in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

I do not mean to come across as being callous, cruel, or mean-spirited, but the older I get, the more discouraged and dishearten I become as I watch some of our young people - the future of our world, place themselves in a proverbial box called defeatism. Unquestionably, some of us have grown up in unfavorable conditions and in an unkind society that constantly reminds us, and in some cases has thoroughly convinced us, that our father never amounted to much, and our mother has never amounted to much, and so, as the proverbial apple never seems to fall far from the tree, we ourselves can expect to never amount to much either. The tragedy of it all is that society is not alone in painting this picture of hopelessness and despair, but that same picture hangs on the walls in our homes, as well as, in the classrooms of our schools.

I wish to send a very clear, precise, and concise message to our youth of today: the time has come for you to stop wallowing in the mud of hopelessness and slowly drowning yourselves in the sea called despair. Now is the time to break free from that proverbial box that you have found yourselves in, and from the strangling chords of the voices of naysayers who preach negativism and defeatism. Rise above your current station in life. You can if you believe that you can!

Maybe it is true that your father and mother have never done anything to make an honorable name for themselves, or have ever tried to get out of their current situations and better themselves. Maybe it is true that you were born in unfavorable and adverse conditions. Maybe it is true that all of your young life people have done nothing but knock you down and kick you while you were down. However, it does not have to stay that way. Though the night may seem dark and dreary, nighttime only last for a season and then the morning comes. And with the dawning of the morning comes a light of hope that shines bright as the noon day sun.

Now is the time for you to start realizing that you are not your father and you are not your mother. God Almighty has made each of us uniquely YOU. He has meted to you and me a measure of faith, hope, courage, talents, and abilities. It is time for you to put behind you those things that once were, and press forward to obtain those things that can, and (with faith, hope, patience, determination, and endurance) will be. Stop listening to the perpetual lies of those who do not have your best interest at heart, and start believing in yourself. You can do whatever it is you have a mind to do, and you can become whatever it is that you have a desire to become in life, but YOU have to believe that you can do it. If you cannot believe in yourselves, how can you honestly expect anyone else to?

Do not become discouraged if at first you do not succeed at doing something, but try and try again knowing that the road to success is often filled with potholes called failure. Many a success in life has been wrought through heartache and failure, so don't let that stop you. Even along the road of success will be hurdles and discouragement which you will have to get over, but don't let that stop you either. Continue to run your race with your head held high and a song of hope and gladness in your heart. You may not be the first to cross the finishing line, but then the winner of a race is not always necessarily the swiftest runner in the race, but he who runs his race well by remaining focused, staying his course, and enduring to the end.

There will be times along the way when you may become weary. Stop and rest for a little while if you must, but don't give up, give in, or quit. Remain focused on your goals and objectives. The finishing line is just in sight. You can make it. Yes you can! May God give you the hope, courage, faith, and determination to endure to the end. God bless you all!