Choice.

One of the greatest blessings our Heavenly Father gave us is our Agency, or our right to choose. All through life we make decisions some small, like what to have for breakfast, and others quite large, like what to do for a career. These choices really show us who we are and will be. For instance, the small choice of not doing homework leads to choosing that repeatedly. This will eventually lead to poor grades, which will ultimately limit career choices. Choices of spiritual matters are even more important, because “I can’t stress too strongly that decisions determine destiny. You can’t make eternal decisions without eternal consequences.” (Thomas S. Monson, Prophet. As Quoted by Elder Randall K. Bennett) When we look at these choices with that eternal perspective things get more clear and we can better see what we really want for ourselves. We must always realize that although we can make our choices the consequences are naturally connected, we don’t choose those. “My dear brothers and sisters, your eternal destiny will not be the result of chance but of choice. It is never too late to begin to choose eternal life! (Elder Randall K. Bennett) If you want it, Choose it. I love the scripture in Joshua 24 which reads: “choose you this day whom ye will serve; …but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. (v.15) So let’s all make our choice, and let it be to Serve God!

Trials

I was reading the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees (Jacob 5, The Book of Mormon) the other day, which sometimes is a stumbling block for many of us. But I learned something that is pretty amazing to me, although it may not be the main message of this allegory but a good message nonetheless. In verses 20 – 22 it shows the Master/Lord of the vineyard (God) showing his servant a branch which he had hid in the “poorest spot in all the land of [the Lord’s] vineyard”. The servant wondered why this spot was chosen, and the Lord says “Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit.”

On the other hand look at verse 25 where the Lord of the vineyard shows a branch placed in a good spot of ground (later in the chapter he describes it as "a good spot of ground; yea, even that which was choice unto me above all other parts of the land of my vineyard" v. 43). This tree was nourished just like the rest but only part of it brought forth good fruit. It had some things handed to it, had it easy.

What I was thinking of today as I read this scripture is that though sometimes we feel that God has handed us a "poor spot of ground" (trials, or a "hard" life), and it’s just too much to deal with. Sometimes we seek to "counsel" God and tell him we don't deserve our situation. We observe others with not so poor ground, and think that we have been unjustly dealt with. We do not know what God knows, great things are in store for those that follow His counsel. He nourishes all of his children just sometimes we don’t recognize all the blessings he gave us. Some of us don’t accept blessings either so therefore we let ourselves start to whither away. What we need to focus on is what we can do to bring forth good fruit. Strive to do what the Lord our God asks and requires of us. Lay up treasures in heaven! Trials are always for our good and will help us to become better. God knows our potential and he lets us struggle so that we may grow.

Responsibility and/or Priorities

I haven’t written anything for a while and by way of excuse I offer only this: my responsibilities and priorities were changed and jumbled. This topic is something of a big one and I will try to keep it short. Often times as people we wonder what are different responsibilities are and how we can better prioritize them, because we struggle to complete everything that needs doing in just one lifetime. Some struggle with the balance between career and family, as teens, we struggle with the balance of family and friends, some struggle with a balance of virtual things (technology) and the real world. As I have been away it has been because of the fact that I have was called as a missionary trainer, which gives me the responsibility of helping a new missionary find and control the reigns of missionary work. I was told that everything I did would shape this missionary's entire mission. This added weight caused me to evaluate my priorities and I changed a few things around, deciding to put other things ahead of my blog.

I have come to realize that this was a mistake, small, but nonetheless a mistake. So this has made me ponder and think of how we can really know how to find this balance in our lives, I was led my Preach My Gospel (page 107) to the scriptures. In 3 Nephi 13 Jesus teaches the people in America about laying up treasures in heaven and not on earth, then he tells the disciples not to worry about food or clothes or drink, because God will provide. It says he takes care of the lilies so he will take care of you. After reading this I was thinking we should all quit our jobs and just do the lords work… that really wouldn’t work, and that confused me, but as I read on, He sheds a little more light on the subject, he says “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”(3 Nephi 13:33) So what he is saying is that if we seek to keep the commandments first he will help us to also do what is necessary to provide for our temporal well being. So the answer to figuring out our priorities is to seek to do what Christ would do. The choice I made was well intentioned and at the time what I thought was right. But my leaders were all stressing that we continue doing what I was weeding out, I was reasoning that the message they were sharing was to those who weren’t facing the same issues as I was/am. I was wrong. If we want to know what is most important we need to seek for revelation from two venues: personal and priesthood. To know more on the revelation topic see "Two Lines of Communication".

Time.

This past Sunday was my birthday,and it made me think of what I have done with the last 20 years of my life.  It makes me wonder what is time and what is it for? The dictionary defines time as: “a limited period during which an action, process, or condition exists or takes place”. This is one point I would like to discuss. As stated in Alma 12:24 this life is “a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God”. This is very important to remember but often times forgotten. It would be really handy if I could have this constantly in my mind reminding me of the purpose of all of the things that life can throw at us. I have made some obvious mistakes at different points in my life, of which I am not proud of. Of course I wouldn’t change them either, because as I relied on the Atonement I have changed for the better and have been forgiven. One can never be perfect but we can get closer as we progress through life.

                It’s also essential to remember the eternal perspective by remembering just how short this life is compared to our existence extending forever.  Our existence here is illustrated by this mental picture: take a string and extend it in both directions until you can’t see either end standing where you are tie one thread on the string. That is this life in the eternal comparison. Let’s not let the decisions of this tiny little moment ruin our hopes and dreams for the rest of forever. Although we sometimes have trials, the adversity and afflictions of this life “shall be but a small moment”, but if we “endure it well” (D&C 121:7-8) the rewards are out of this world, literally. I love this promise given by the lord. As we face life we can hold our heads high and keep our eyes pointed to God as the goal. Those that can keep this perspective tend to move past their trials with out getting hung up and blaming the one that could help them through those points in their lives, God. Let us move forward with faith and remember why we are here, and where we plan to go!