Making
decisions is a part of life. Throughout life, and in the scriptures, we find many
different people who face challenges and temptations—some that seem easy to overcome and
others that are not so easy. It seems that determining in advance what your decision
will be in any outcome makes the decision-making process, in the moment, simple—but, simple
doesn’t always mean easy.
The
word “simple” has a few definitions including: easily understood or done;
presenting no difficulty; straightforward; uncomplicated; effortless and
painless. The other definition, that I want to refer to, is: composed of a
single element, pure, single, not elaborate or artificial (see definition).
In
the Bible we read about Joseph—a man who had a lot of trials, and hence, a lot
of decisions to make. His brothers hated him and sold him into
slavery, he was bought by a man named Potiphar who eventually made Joseph a
ruler in his house. At one point Joseph is approached by Potiphar’s wife.
“And it came to pass…that his master’s wife cast
her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
“But he refused, and said…how…can I do this great
wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:7-9).
In
his mind he had decided that he would put the Lord first, above all else. The
decision to refuse his employer’s wife was already made, despite the fact that he
was putting his own position at stake.
“And
it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto
her, to lie by her, or to be with her” (Genesis 39:10). Then, one day, when all
the men of the house were gone, “she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie
with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out”
(Genesis 39:12).
It
reminds me of an old adage, “when the time for decision arrives, the time for
preparation is past.” Joseph did not have to decide in the moment how he would
respond but acted on the decision he had previously made.
Where
do we each stand on decisions of chastity, or any other commandment for that
matter? What covenants have we made? If we have never thought about how we
would handle different situations, now is the time to stop and decide. Elaine
S. Dalton shared the following example from her life,
“When I was a
young woman, I learned that some decisions need to be made only once. I wrote
my list of things I would always do and things I would never do
in a small tablet. It included things like obeying the Word of Wisdom,
praying daily, paying my tithing,
and committing to never miss church. I made those decisions once, and then in
the moment of decision, I knew exactly what to do because I had decided
beforehand. When my high school friends said, ‘Just one drink won’t hurt,’ I
laughed and said, ‘I decided when I was 12 not to do that’” (link to talk).
Have
we decided whether or not we will fully, and completely, follow the Savior
throughout our lives? Are we acting in accordance with those decisions?
In
the New Testament Jesus calls His apostles, and I find it rather telling about
them by how quickly they followed when He called.
“And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren,
Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for
they were fishers.
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers
of men.
“And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
“And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the
son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father,
mending their nets; and he called them.
These
men had probably been learning of the coming of a Messiah throughout their
lives. They had probably studied the scriptures to know how to recognize Him
when He came. If they had taken the time to spiritually prepare themselves for
His coming, and were waiting patiently for that day, then their decision to
leave their nets isn’t quite as abrupt as it might originally seem.
When
we have our lives focused on the Savior the decisions can be so simple. It is
when our eyes stray, or we lose focus, or our lives become cumbered, that
making decisions becomes more difficult. When in a situation that we are not
prepared for we have many influences that may affect what we do in the moment: the
expectations of others, our own inadequacies, our desire to fit in, or numerous
other factors. But, if we have our “eye
single to the glory of God” (Doctrine & Covenants 4:5) then the decision is
clear.
I love
Elder M. Russell Ballard’s counsel about keeping our eyes focused on the Lord, and on
His chosen leaders. He was specifically speaking to mission presidents, but I have
adjusted it a little because I feel that these same principles can be applied
in our own lives and homes.
“'Keep [your] eyes…on the leaders of the Church.…We will not and…cannot lead [you] astray.
“And as
you teach your [families] to focus their eyes on us, teach them to never follow
those who think they know more about how to administer the affairs of the
Church than…Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ do’ through the
priesthood leaders who have the keys to preside.
“I have discovered in my ministry that those who have become
lost [and] confused are typically those who have most often…forgotten that
when the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve speak with a united
voice, it is the voice of the Lord for that time. The Lord reminds us, ‘Whether
by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same’” (link totalk).
In
looking for ways to keep our eyes focused on the Lord, another thing we can do
is to take time to evaluate our lives. Where is it that we want to end
up? We can then determine the path necessary to get there, and then make the decisions that will lead us where we want to be. If our end goal is to live with our Heavenly Father,
then we can use the resources that He has given us to help us along the path
such as, prayer, scripture study, temple attendance, and obedience to His
commandments.
Prayer
When
we pray, we can come to know our Father in Heaven and His plan for us. We can
approach Him with our hopes, and dreams, our fears and sorrows, our
achievements and weaknesses. We can receive guidance in knowing how to get to
where He knows we can be.
We must first, however, decide that we will pray sincerely, and humbly, every
morning and night no matter the hour or our circumstances. By doing so we can
gain the spiritual strength needed to face the challenges of this life.
Scripture Study
If
we want to get nearer to God, we need to decide now that we will read His holy
writ, and apply it in our lives. As we study the scriptures we can try to
emulate the values, virtues, and principles we read about. Elder Russell M.
Nelson taught,
“Nephi said, ‘I did liken all scriptures unto us,
that it might be for our profit and learning.’ He was advising us to weave the
fiber of scriptural wisdom into the fabric of our own being” (Russell M.
Nelson, The Power Within Us, p29).
Temple Attendance
When
we attend the temple we make covenants with the Lord—covenants that can empower
and protect us. Nephi saw our day, and the blessings that come to those who
keep their covenants:
“And it came to
pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon
the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord,
who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with
righteousness and with the power of God in great glory” (1 Nephi 14:14).
Obedience
By
deciding that we will always be
obedient we can have the guidance of the Holy Ghost to strengthen, and remind,
us during those times when it may be hard to do so. I have an example that
might seem a little silly, but I feel that it illustrates the point.
A
while back I determined that getting up early to exercise would work best with
my circumstances and schedule. I set my alarm, and in the beginning it was
challenging to get out of bed. As I lay there, thinking of how nice it would be to have just a few more minutes of sleep, I would get a gentle reminder—I had decided to exercise and to do so would need to get out of bed. Some
days it was really hard and I would ignore the feeling and hit the snooze
button. However, being determined to stick to my goal I got to the point where
getting up became more of a habit, than a daily decision that I had to make.
So
it is with the commandments. If we are just starting to be obedient we may get
a lot of opposition—from within and without. As President Henry B. Eyring
stated, “In the short run, there will be
troubles and Satan will roar” (link to talk). But, as we listen to the
promptings of the Spirit we can be helped to make our goals become habits. We
just need to decide that we will act when we receive those spiritual reminders.
One
thing that I need to remember now is to get to bed earlier, so that I can keep
my goal of getting up early to exercise—otherwise I am technically only keeping
half of my goal. So it is with the commandments. We need to decide that we will
keep ALL the commandments, not just a selective few. Elder Russel M. Nelson
taught,
“Teach of faith to
keep all the commandments of God, knowing that they are given to bless
His children and bring them joy. Warn them that they will encounter people who
pick which commandments they will keep and ignore others that they choose to
break. I call this the cafeteria approach to obedience. This practice of
picking and choosing will not work. It will lead to misery. To prepare to meet
God, one keeps all of His commandments. It takes faith to obey them, and
keeping His commandments will strengthen that faith” (link to talk).
As
we are obedient to the commandments the Lord has given to us we will be greatly
blessed in all aspects of our lives. Elder Koichi Aoyagi reminded us, “when we
rely on the Lord and keep His commandments, He helps us accomplish things we
could not otherwise accomplish” (link to article).
We
must have the faith to decide, and then continue in faith and patience as we
endure to the end. However, despite whatever challenges we face we will not be left alone. President
Ezra Taft Benson taught,
“We will all have
disappointments and discouragements—that is part of life. But if we will have
faith, our setbacks will be but a moment and success will come out of our
seeming failures. Our Heavenly Father can accomplish miracles through each of
us if we will but place our confidence and trust in Him” (link to manual).
While
thinking of those who decide to follow the Lord, I was reminded of the
scripture where Alma says,
“Behold, here
are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are
desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people… if this be
the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of
the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him”
(Mosiah 18: 8, 10).
Entering into a covenant with the Lord is like coming into the
fold of God. Along those lines I was impressed by an
article that I read in the Ensign
about sheepfolds.
“[A sheepfold is] a
simple pen [or] walled enclosure…[made of] stones, usually with thorny brush
often placed into the top of the walls….
“In Israel, wolves, hyenas, panthers, and jackals are among
predators that would target sheep…
“A shepherd led his sheep to food and water during the day and
back to the fold at night. The shepherd would count the sheep as they returned,
searching for strays if any were missing. He would then lie in the doorway of
the fold to protect them” (link to article).
A
shepherd is one who would fight wild animals in an attempt to protect his flock,
and if necessary he would die in the process. In a like manner, the Good
Shepherd will lead us to living water, and will protect us as we stay in His
fold. He gave His life for us that we may return to Him, if we will repent and
be obedient. Whether or not we decide to stay in His fold is our decision.
Elder
Dale G. Renlund taught,
“Obedience
is our choice. The Savior made this clear. As stated in the Joseph Smith Translation
of Luke 14:28, Jesus directed, ‘Wherefore, settle this in your hearts, that ye
will do the things which I shall teach, and command you.’
"It
is that simple. Settle it. Decide now to be exactly obedient. As we do so, our
spiritual stability will be greatly enhanced. We will avoid squandering
God-given resources and making unproductive and destructive detours in our
lives” (link to talk).
It is only through
the Atonement of Jesus Christ that all mankind may be saved, and only by our obedience to
the laws and ordinances of the Gospel (see Articles of Faith 1:3). May we decide
to use the resources—including prayer, scriptures, temples, and obedience—that have been provided for us by the Lord to gain “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come”
(Doctrine & Covenants 59:23). Now is the
time to decide.
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