Choosing

Scott C. Pugsley

Talk 10-18-2020

 

     I live in a condominium in what I like to call the “Donner St. Marys’ Archipelago,” composed of the condos on the west side of the street on Donner Way, a mile or so from this building.       Condo living has several good things about it – no snow shoveling, no lawn mowing, and the like.  One of the less great things about condo living is that there is a committee that makes decisions about matters of general interest, such as what color to paint the common areas.  In my condo, a few years ago, there was a spirited dispute about what color to paint the entry way. One of the committee members decided that a brown color would be good and directed that it happen.  Other residents reacted in quite a hostile and aggravated way.  It has been said that the reason such disputes are so bitter is because the stakes are so low.  Anyway, I tried not to get involved.  However, one day, waiting for the elevator, a fellow resident asked me what I thought about the new paint color.  Without giving it much thought, I said, quote, “I have chosen to like it.” “I have chosen to like it” I said. She gave me a look like I had just said the most unbelievable and horrible thing imaginable: “you have chosen to like it?” It seemed inconceivable to her that I could say such a thing: you either like it or you do not like it; you do not choose what you like.

     I would like to start my talk on this point: Yes, you can choose what you like, and yes, you can choose what you believe. This is, at least in part, what moral agency is about. To suggest otherwise is to suppose that our important likes and beliefs are something that just happen to us when the occasion arises; they just pop into our minds from somewhere but are not something that we can and do control. There may be some things that are inherent in our natures, built in so to speak, but paint color preferences, and of course, religious beliefs and preferences, are not something beyond our control and agency. What we believe and choose to do regarding religion, is something entirely within our control, entirely within our moral agency, and not something that we can suppose is outside our will. And since we do have moral agency to choose what we believe, we are morally responsible for the choices we make and the fidelity we show to those choices.

         In his talk in the recent Conference, Elder Bednar told this story:

“While I was serving as the president of Brigham Young University–Idaho, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland came to the campus in December 1998 to speak in one of our weekly devotionals. Susan and I invited a group of students to meet and visit with Elder Holland before he delivered his message. As our time together was drawing to a close, I asked Elder Holland, “If you could teach these students just one thing, what would it be?”

He answered:

“We are witnessing an ever greater movement toward polarity. The middle-ground options will be removed from us as Latter-day Saints. The middle of the road will be withdrawn.

“If you are treading water in the current of a river, you will go somewhere. You simply will go wherever the current takes you. Going with the stream, following the tide, drifting in the current will not do.

“Choices have to be made. Not making a choice is a choice. Learn to choose now.”

         In a 2015 General Conference address, Elder Whitney Clayton, now released but a member of our Stake, noted the following:

“God does not compel us to believe any more than He compels us to keep any commandments, despite His perfect desire to bless us. Yet His call to us to believe in Him—to exercise that particle of faith and to give place for His words—remains in effect today. As the Savior said, “I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.”

Elder Clayton continues: “Belief and testimony and faith are not passive principles. They do not just happen to us. Belief is something we choose—we hope for it, we work for it, and we sacrifice for it. We will not accidentally come to believe in the Savior and His gospel any more than we will accidentally pray or pay tithing. We actively choose to believe, just like we choose to keep other commandments.”

         Elder Renlund said it this way, in his October 2018 Conference address:

God’s plan includes directions for us, referred to in the scriptures as commandments. These commandments are neither a whimsical set nor an arbitrary collection of imposed rules meant only to train us to be obedient. They are linked to our developing the attributes of godliness, returning to our Heavenly Father, and receiving enduring joy. Obedience to His commandments is not blind; we knowingly choose God and His pathway home.

      I am aware that sometimes inappropriate things just pop into our minds, for no apparent reason and contrary to what we might choose.  Part of our moral agency is to deal immediately and decisively with those unwanted thoughts, substituting something different and better. Elder Soares said the following in his recent Conference talk: 

“Despite our continuous efforts to seek out the Lord, inappropriate thoughts may penetrate our mind. When such thoughts are permitted and even invited to stay, they can shape the desires of our heart and lead us to what we will become in this life and eventually to what we will inherit for eternity. Elder Neal A. Maxwell once emphasized this principle by saying, “Desires … determine the gradations in outcomes, including why ‘many are called, but few are chosen.’”

Our ancient and modern prophets have constantly reminded us to resist temptation in order to avoid losing our spiritual traction and becoming confused, disoriented, and disillusioned in life.”

         Temptations are tricky things – we are not tempted by things that don’t interest us; we are tempted by things we find tempting, things that do interest us even when we know we should avoid them.  That is what it means to be tempting. It would not be a temptation otherwise.  Enticement is another similar word to temptation. Lehi said

“Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself.  Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.” 2 Ne 2:16

It is not big deal to resist and avoid something that is of no interest, but it is a big deal, and vitally important, that we resist doing things that are tempting but which we know we should avoid.  Just because something is entertaining or feels or tastes good, does not mean it is appropriate; indeed, the things that are most entertaining may well be the things we most need to avoid.  I give as an example, the Broadway play, The Book of Mormon, so innocently named, and apparently entertaining to many, and yet so thoroughly inappropriate in content.  Just my opinion. Thus, temptations are something we can and must choose to avoid. Elder Dale Renlund said it this way:

“Our Heavenly Father’s goal in parenting is not to have His children do what is right; it is to have His children choose to do what is right and ultimately become like Him. … God is not interested in His children just becoming trained and obedient “pets” who will not chew on His slippers in the celestial living room.  No, God want His children to grow up spiritually and join Him in the family business.”

         As is so often the case, the Book of Mormon provides detailed and helpful instruction on the matter of choosing in the Gospel context.  In the recent Conference, Elder Holland referred to Chapter 32 of the Book of Alma as follows:

My beloved brothers and sisters, Christianity is comforting, but it is often not comfortable. The path to holiness and happiness here and hereafter is a long and sometimes rocky one. It takes time and tenacity to walk it. But, of course, the reward for doing so is monumental. This truth is taught clearly and persuasively in the 32nd chapter of Alma in the Book of Mormon. There this great high priest teaches that if the word of God is planted in our hearts as a mere seed, and if we care enough to water, weed, nourish, and encourage it, it will in the future bear fruit “which is most precious, … sweet above all that is sweet,” the consuming of which leads to a condition of no more thirst and no more hunger.

Many lessons are taught in this remarkable chapter, but central to them all is the axiom that the seed has to be nourished and we must wait for it to mature; we “[look] forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof.” Our harvest, Alma says, comes “by and by.” Little wonder that he concludes his remarkable instruction by repeating three times a call for diligence and patience in nurturing the word of God in our hearts, “waiting,” as he says, with “long-suffering … for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.”

         Here is what Sister Lisa L. Harkness said about choosing in the recent conference:

Regardless of our circumstances, we can intentionally make efforts to build and increase our faith in Jesus Christ. It is strengthened when we remember that we are children of God and that He loves us. Our faith grows as we experiment on the word of God with hope and diligence, trying our very best to follow Christ’s teachings. Our faith increases as we choose to believe rather than doubt, forgive rather than judge, repent rather than rebel. Our faith is refined as we patiently rely on the merits and mercy and grace of the Holy Messiah.

     After being inactive for a number of years, I have chosen to follow this process for myself and now have a testimony of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, springing initially, I will say, from a testimony of the Book of Mormon.

Now that I believe what I believe, it is my responsibility to conform my life to what I believe and to make choices to enable me to “endure to the end.”  For my part, I have chosen to be an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I have chosen to believe, and I do believe, in the essential and saving ordinances, covenants, doctrines, and teachings that are available through the Church.  I have chosen to believe, and I do believe, that the modern Church is the restored Church establish by Jesus Christ in the meridian of time, reestablished through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I have chosen to believe, and I do believe, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, brought forth by the gift and power of God through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith, who was and is an approved Prophet of God. I have chosen to believe, and I do believe, that the Church is led today by a Prophet and Apostles who have been called of God and anointed and set-apart to receive guidance and inspiration for the Church from the Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church.

     I have decided to be an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to be involved in the activities of the Church.  I choose to strive to be qualified to have, and to regularly use, a Temple Recommend. 

All that being so, I do not have to check the news each morning to see if anything has happened to shake my testimony.  I try to assure that my testimony is independent of my circumstances, including world developments.  Let me say that again: I try to assure that my testimony is independent of my circumstances and world developments.  I know that life holds many challenges, adversities, even tragedies.  Several talks in the recent Conference dealt with dealing with adversities, particularly those of Pres. Eyring and Elder Holland.  For my part, Church history has some quirks and Church administration is sometimes different than I would choose, but my testimony does not depend on either Church history or administration. My testimony is based, primarily, on the Book of Mormon, which I know to be true.

Since I have chosen to be an active, loyal member of the Church, I try to never make an important decision based on something I do not understand or, for that matter, when I am upset about something.  Let me repeat that: I try never to make an important decision, especially about the Church, based on something I do not understand. My testimony is too precious to risk in an unguarded moment. My default response is to support the Brethren and be true and loyal to the Church.

In Elder Clayton’s 2015 General Conference address on Choosing he said the following related to actively choosing to be a faithful member of the Church:

“Alma’s call for us to desire to believe and to “give place” in our hearts for the Savior’s words reminds us that belief and faith require our personal choice and action. We must “awake and arouse [our] faculties.” We ask before it is given unto us; we seek before we find; we knock before it is opened unto us. We are then given this promise: “For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.”

As I endure the trials of my life, I try to remember this key point: Jesus suffered most! Think of that: Jesus, the Beloved Son, suffered most under the Father’s plan.  We should not be surprised if we suffer, although immeasurably less than our Savior.  We do not relish it, but we should not be surprised or have our testimonies shaken by the adversities of life.  If we want to end up where Jesus is, and where all the ancient and modern prophets and apostles are, we should not be surprised that we need to prove ourselves in various trying circumstances while enduring to the end. Only then can our “confidence be strong in the presence of God.” D&C 121.

As Elder Holland said in the recent Conference: 

The point is that faith means trusting God in good times and bad, even if that includes some suffering until we see His arm revealed in our behalf. That can be difficult in our modern world when many have come to believe that the highest good in life is to avoid all suffering, that no one should ever anguish over anything. But that belief will never lead us to “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”

We do not have to be perfect to enter the kingdom of Heaven; it is not possible for us to be perfect at the time we leave this life.  We should not fret over the fact that we are not perfect or that someone else seems to have it all together better than we do.  What we have to do in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is be clean, free from unrepented sin, which is something we can achieve through repentance and the Atonement of the Savior on our behalf. Repentance is, of course, something we choose to do. If we repent of our sins, on an ongoing basis, when we come to the pearly gates we can be as clean as an eight-year old child coming forth from the baptismal font.  As the scriptures say, “No unclean thing can enter into the Kingdom of God.” It does not say that no imperfect person can enter the kingdom of God.  While we are to strive for perfection, and while perfection is an achievable goal in the hereafter, it is not either possible or required in this life.  If you think you need to be perfect, stop it. Be sure you repent and just do the best you can. God loves you just the way you are, and you should love yourself as you repent and try to keep the commandments.

In his closing remarks in the recent Conference, Pres. Nelson expressed his optimism about the future:

Despite the world’s commotion, the Lord would have us look forward to the future “with joyful anticipation.” Let us not spin our wheels in the memories of yesterday. The gathering of Israel moves forward. The Lord Jesus Christ directs the affairs of His Church, and it will achieve its divine objectives.

Pres. Nelson continues: “The challenge for you and me is to make certain that each of us will achieve his or her divine potential. Today we often hear about “a new normal.” If you really want to embrace a new normal, I invite you to turn your heart, mind, and soul increasingly to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Let that be your new normal.

Embrace your new normal by repenting daily. Seek to be increasingly pure in thought, word, and deed. Minister to others. Keep an eternal perspective. Magnify your callings. And whatever your challenges, my dear brothers and sisters, live each day so that you are more prepared to meet your Maker.

         As I did with the paint color in the entry way of my building, I pray that we can all choose to like, to choose to believe, and to choose to follow our Savior and the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  By the way, the hallway color was eventually changed.  May we all prepare to meet our savior with confidence in our standing, which is hope for our destiny, and have “joyful anticipation” as we make righteous choices and endure to the end, is my prayer.