A forced (some call it volunteering) myself to give a talk this past Sunday. I worked hard on that sucker and many seemed to enjoy so I am graciously posting it. Just remember that speaking skills and writing skills are not the same.
If you type into Google “It’s my god give right” in quotes some of the more immediate search results include:
It's my God-given right to give your kids high-calorie desserts that contain no nutritional value.
It's my god given right to pull a robbery
It's my God given right to cry at the bus stop!
It's my God-given right to: Empty every last little bit of trash out of my car when I get gas;
And My personal favorite
As an athlete, it's my God-given right to marry a woman much more gorgeous than I.
In the for strength of Youth it talks about our god given right of agency it states
“Your Heavenly Father has given you agency, the ability to choose right from wrong and to act for yourself. While you are free to choose for yourself, you are not free to choose the consequences of your actions. When you make a choice, you will receive the consequences of that choice. The consequences may not be immediate, but they will always follow, for good or bad.”
Since we can’t control our actions Being Free means being responsible. In the March 2002 Ensign Elder Robert S. Wood speaks of this in his article “On the Responsible Self” when he said:
“Ancient Greek dramatists had a device they used when the characters in their dramas were trapped in a complex web of dilemmas, largely of their own making—the deus ex machine. This was a machine in which actors portraying the gods would suddenly be lowered on the scene to save the mortal characters from the consequences of their own actions.
Today many people manifest the desire for such a rescue in small and large ways:
the student who, having failed to study during the term, prays for assistance in an examination; the teacher who opens a lesson by saying that, having made no preparations, he or she intends to rely on the Spirit;
the individual who, having abused his or her body through lack of exercise and violation of the Lord’s law of health, expects to be delivered, sometimes through priesthood administration, from the ravages of self-induced ill health;
the drunken or reckless driver who prays for a “second chance”;
the individual who, having violated the commands of God or rules of society, expects mercy to utterly suppress the requirements of justice.
The psychologist Erich Fromm called the wish to escape the consequences of one’s actions a desire to escape from freedom. For being free requires being responsible. The very word freedom connotes the ability to judge rationally between alternatives and the willingness to accept the consequences of one’s decisions.”
I’m a public health major so I’m taking a lot of classes that focus on Chronic diseases. I’d like to share some statistics from one of my classes with you:
Stroke: 70% preventable, Colon Cancer: 71% Preventable, Heart Disease: 82% Preventable
And type II Diabetes is 91% preventable
I find it shocking that these diseases are in the top five causes of death in the US, since they are so preventable. This is just another example where our freedom to choose comes into play. We can choose to eat processed junk everyday or sit on our tushes watching the office instead of being active and exercising. It might seem pleasant at the time but when we have a heart attack we may regret that decision. It’s great that we can choose what we eat and do, I love having that freedom but we have been forewarned to some of the potentially harmful consequences of our actions.
Just as we’ve been warned about our health. Heavenly father has given us warning. Like it says in Mosiah chapter two verse 22
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. (Mosiah 2:22)
To keep the commandments, the church offers programs and guidance to help so we can avoid breaking the commandments. The “for strength of youth” is one of these things. The section on friendship always stood out to me as a teen. It says:
Choose your friends carefully. They will greatly influence how you think and act, and even help determine the person you will become. Choose friends who share your values so you can strengthen and encourage each other in living high standards. A true friend will encourage you to be your best self.
When I was in High school, I can’t think of a better description than of my New Hampshire friends than the one above. Sadly these high school friends have changed since the entered the wonderful world of college and this break I was put in a difficult place. Originally I was planning to attend our annual new year’s party. I soon found out that these underage friends now planned on including alcohol. I didn’t know what to do. My friends had changed but I still loved them. I knew that just because they wanted to drink didn’t mean I was expected to but the whole idea still made me queasy. I didn’t want my friends to think I thought I was better than them or that I didn’t love them. I started to reflect on why it made me queasy. It was then I remember the peace that I felt when I was with my friends, that I was safe and in a good place. I never associated the two before, but I believe this feeling was tied to the spirit, its presence in good places. I then realized that being around those same people drinking would make the Spirit I felt go away. I did not want this. Whenever I’m in a place without the spirit it’s easier to forget who I am and I feel almost sick. So I decided to heed the words of the strength of youth pamphlet and not go to that party. Instead I hung out with a different friends who choose to abstain from alcohol and although aren’t religious have high morals and integrity. My friendships with the people at the drinking party were damaged but at the same time I drew closer to very uplifting friends who encourage me to be my best self. I also know that through time and forgiveness the damage can be repaired.
Life comes down to a lot of these decisions. If I did attend the party I would have still abstained from alcohol but it came down to a more grey area of what sort of situations will I, given my agency, choose to put myself in. ELDER NEIL L. ANDERSEN talks about these situations in the article “A Gift Worthy of Added Care "in the December 2010 Ensign.
As the developments of technology and communication ever press the modern world upon us, being in the world but not of the world requires that we make constant choices and decisions (see John 17:14). Spiritual discernment is paramount. As disciples of Christ, we must make the gift of the Holy Ghost a conscious, daily, prayerful part of our lives. President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said, “No one of us can survive in the world of today, much less in what it soon will become, without personal inspiration.”4
How can we use this heavenly gift as a vital compass for our daily actions? We must believe that even in our weaknesses, the still, small voice we feel comes from our Father. We must pray and ask and seek and then not be afraid when answers come into our heart and mind. Believe they are divine. They are.
Life is full of many grey areas where there is no direct commandment telling us what to do. Part of this comes from our heavenly father’s desire that we use our agency and think for ourselves. If we had doctrine regarding every activity on the planet, we would never have to council with our father in heaven to discern what is right. When we are put in situations where we must discern for ourselves it can be a great testimony builder.
While there a lot of grey areas, it’s the more of the little decisions than the big one’s that make us who we are. Keith Merrill talks about some of the big secisions in the June 1976 New Era in his article “Deciding about Decisions”. He talks about several of the important big decisions we should make and three in particular stood out to me, he said
“First, decide that you are important. A lot of you have not decided that yet. A lot of you have fears and doubts. You’re unsure, you’re afraid, you’re struggling for your identity, and you want to be accepted. These things can get you into wrong decision-making modes.
-- The second great decision I think you need to make is to decide never to compromise. That’s the most reassuring decision you could make. And you only have to make it once.
The third is…
-- Be active in the Church. You will go through periods in your life when you will have a lot of questions. There will be times when you’ll wonder what’s happening. You’ll have doubts, fears, and concerns—but don’t let your activity in the Church fall off. See yourself as an active member of the Church in spite of how you feel at any particular time. In spite of what pressures you may be under, continue to come to Church.”
I can be very rebellious. I’m stubborn and I loathe being told what to do, I’ve always been that way. I remember when I was three years old and my great grampa told me to colour in the lines of my coloring book. I thought it was preposterous that he was giving me advice, the man is blind, but I will colored how I wanted to and I scribbled all over the page just to spite him.
As I’ve matured I’ve tried really hard to come to know things for myself. I guess you could call it testimony building in some aspects. This has helped tame my rebelliousness because if I’ve come to know something for myself, when I receive advice from a Prophet, parent, or teacher I am much more receptive. When I don’t understand why certain rules are in place it can be hard to follow them. I come from a state where seat belt laws are not mandatory for adults and I appreciate the choice but I have come to the decision that I would rather wear a seat belt because of its protection (I don’t want to pick glass out of my face years after an accident like my grama did when she flew through the windshield in a car wreck) than not wear it to be rebellious or demonstrate my “god given right” to not wear one.
Agency is great blessing but in using it we must not forget what a great blessing commandments are. Honestly it would be so unfair if we expected to come down to earth and prepare to live a celestial law without a clue as how to do so. So if you’re ever like me and just want to rebel make sure you are actually using your agency and thinking for yourself and not acting to make someone angry or because your feel pressured to participate in an unwise activity. Who’s motivating your decisions -populatirity, wealth, other secular crud or the will of the Lord.
Agency is a blessed gift; think about it next time you can’t make up your mind what outfit to wear. But we must not forget about our other gifts that go with it, like discernment through the holy ghost or the words of Prophets. I’ll leave you with this wonderful insight about the Prophets’ words from Robert D Hales during the April 1995 General conference. Think about this next time you’re tempted to abuse your agency. He says:
“If we listen to the prophets of this day, poverty would be replaced with loving care for the poor and needy. Many serious and deadly health problems would be avoided through compliance with the Word of Wisdom and the laws of sexual purity. Payment of tithing would bless us, and we would have sufficient for our needs. If we follow the counsel given by the prophets, we can have a life in mortality where we do not bring upon ourselves unnecessary pain and self-destruction. This does not mean we will not have challenges. We will. This does not mean we will not be tested. We will, for this is part of our purpose on earth. But if we will listen to the counsel of our prophet, we will become stronger and be able to withstand the tests of mortality. We will have hope and joy. All the words of counsel from the prophets of all generations have been given so that we may be strengthened and then be able to lift and strengthen others.”`
