Lesson Summary - Chapter 4 - The Freedom to Choose

Gospel Principles - Chapter 4 - The Freedom to Choose

I want to state that this was the first time I read the lesson before we had it! Ha! I even underlined stuff. Crazy, huh? There's hope for me yet! :)

For today, I'm going to copy a few things that I underlined and explain why I thought it was important.

"We are happier doing things when we have made our own choices."
This is such a true statement. I hate it when people make me do stuff.  Could you imagine what life would've been like if Satan's plan had actually happened?  It would be so completely miserable!  True, we all would've made it back to the Celestial Kingdom, but it wouldn't be a very satisfying journey.  I imagine it would feel like winning because you cheated.  The victory seems shallow.  And I imagine we'd all feel like an emo teenager--"I'm here because they made me be here."  I am SO grateful to a Heavenly Father who understands that we need to make our own choices in order to be truly happy and for a Savior who was willing to follow his plan so that we could.

"Right choices increase our power to make more right choices."
We talked about this in our class today.  Our teacher asked why we thought that was true.  One sister said she felt like it was the spirit.  If we make right choices, then the feelings of the Spirit will increase, so that when we are faced with another temptation, the promptings to make the right choice will be stronger.  She said the same goes for making wrong choices.  If we make a wrong choice, then when we are faced with another temptation, making a wrong choice will be even easier.  Also, I feel that if we've made one right decision, then when we're faced with another problem, that we can look back on it and remind ourselves that we've done the right thing before, so we can do it again!  Another sister quoted from our manual saying, "As we obey each of our Father's commandments, we grow in wisdom and strength of character.  Our faith increases. We find it easier to make right choices."  The fact of the matter is choosing the right feels GOOD!  When we feel that good, we can't help but want to do it again!

"[Satan] does not love us."
There's a scriptures in 2 Nephi that says that Satan "seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."  Satan is angry that we have a body, and he doesn't.  He despises us.  Anything that he wants us to do will only hurt us.  He could care less if we cry.  He probably laughs when we're hurting because of some sin we committed.   Fortunately, we have a loving Heavenly Father and brother Jesus Christ who love us.  There's a scripture in Moses that I love that talks of the Lord crying because his children are being wicked, and he is having to punish them. I imagine that this isn't the only time God weeps for his people.  I like to think that when I am sad and going to him in prayer for comfort that he is crying right along with me because he has compassion on me and my plight.  I am eternally grateful for a God who loves us and cares for us.

"When we follow the temptations of Satan, we limit our choices."
Growing up in the LDS faith, I've been told a lot that my church is too restrictive.  I can't do anything.  Most of these comments were in reference to the Word of Wisdom.  When I look at the lives of those who follow the Word of Wisdom compared to those who don't, I can see who is truly free.  While we can choose to drink alcohol, we lose our agency when we get so drunk that we don't know what we're doing. We can make the choice to smoke cigarettes, but when we finally make the decision to quit, our bodies and minds won't let us do it so easily.  We can make the choice to use drugs, but eventually we become slaves to them.  These are extremes, but even giving in to smaller temptations can limit our choices and eventually lead to bigger temptations.

"Our Heavenly Father will not allow us to be tempted beyond our power to resist."
I find this statement very comforting.  When I'm feeling very overwhelmed and like I can't handle anything else, it makes me feel better to know that Heavenly Father knows I can handle this.  I have the strength to do so.  He has faith in me.  However, as one sister pointed out, even though Heavenly Father won't allow us to be tempted beyond our power, that doesn't mean that we won't put ourselves into situations of temptation.  For example, if there's a party where you know there will be alcohol, the Holy Ghost is going to tell you to not go!  But if you don't heed his advice and go anyway, then you're setting yourself up to be tempted.  Heavenly Father can only protect us if we follow his commandments and heed the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

In closing, I wanted to share this poem by Robert Frost called "The Road Not Taken."  Remember that the road back to our Heavenly Father is not going to be the most popular road or the easiest, but if we choose to follow him, it will make all the difference.

The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.