Last week of GCBC. Wow.
This week we will study President Monson’s talk from the priesthood session.
“The Three Rs of Choice”
President Thomas S. Monson
“Our Heavenly Father did not launch us on our eternal journey without providing the means whereby we could receive from Him God-given guidance to assist in our safe return at the end of mortal life. . . . Each of us has come to this earth with all the tools necessary to make correct choices.”
Share in the comments some things you learned or appreciated as you studied this talk. If this is your first time visiting the General Conference Book Club, click here for more information.
Diapers and Divinity 
The three R’s are all very basic, and well appreciated! But one that I especially appreciate being reminded of is the “results” of choice. I like it because though I would never intentionally “choose” to use my right to choose foolishly… I do make choices I regret. I was shocked once, when I made a choice to do something that was just fine for everyone else, but which I knew in my heart may not be a good choice for me because of specific events in my past. Satan knew this, and tempted me to make the choice to do it, saying that everything would be fine… I had nothing to worry about and was being paranoid. I made that choice, and the results followed causing pain and sorrow and the opening of old wounds. Thankfully, there is a way out. I quote from this talk…
“God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 9
“We have all made incorrect choices. If we have not already corrected such choices, I assure you that there is a way to do so. The process is called repentance.”
For me, the repentance process included NOT doing certain things that were just fine for other good people to do. I learned that sins are not always universal… some things are a sin for one, and not for another. And that if something is a sin FOR ME (if Satan tempts me, and the Lord says, “stop! Don’t go there!” then the results of that choice will not be the same for me as for others, and will lead to pain and suffering for me.
I’m thankful that with the results of choice… there is ALWAYS a way to repent. No matter how difficult it may feel to make the needed change, we are not slaves to our choices. The lord will always make a way for our escape.
Actually, I should have used the word “mistake” rather than “sin” in the above comment… but the concept is still the same. There are results to our actions, whether they be sins or mistakes; and a different course can always be taken. (…just thought I should clarify 🙂
That’s just such an excellent talk!
My goodness, I’ve been GONE forever (I guess thats what vacation does to you). I was thinking about what I wanted to post on my blog about today, and how convenient! This is what I was going to do it on, mainly because this is what our lesson was on in Relief Society.
There were a few thoughts that came to my mind that I didn’t share when we had our lesson, due to a shortage of time, or the subject matter moved to something different.
First off, I think that agency, or our right to choose, is something that is very specific to our religion. We talk about this doctrine of agency to choose because it is central to the Atonement and *because* we are free to choose, it means more to Jesus Christ when we choose His way. Deeper change comes when *we* choose to follow His ways. No one makes us do anything, we are all free stewards to act according to our own wills.
I also think that we are living in a society where it becomes more acceptable to shift the responsibility of one’s choices when things go wrong. We like to “pass the buck” and blame others for things we chose to do. “He made me do it!” I often heard when I taught elementary school. We laugh at this, but its a very real thing that even adults do at times. I loved this quote: “If we make the wrong choice, we have no one to blame but ourselves.” When we make choices, wrong or right, we must be willing to accept the consequences instead of trying to run from them. This reminds me of a quote from the talk “What Have You Done with My Name?” by Elder Mervyn B. Arnold: “While [we] are free to choose for [ourselves], [we] are not free to choose the consequences of [our] actions.”
I also remember thinking in class when we talked about the responsibility of making choices, that “there is no middle ground” and how we can’t be neutral. To be neutral is to be on Satan’s ground. Not making a decision *is* a choice, and the decision made for us is usually not something we would choose on our own. Standing idly by never built up the kingdom of God.
This one was a good reminder that we are all always accountable for things we do (and don’t do).
“First off, I think that agency, or our right to choose, is something that is very specific to our religion.”
This was exactly what I was thinking about with this talk — partly because my hubs said someone made this point during his Priesthood lesson yesterday. I guess I had never realized that this doctrine is unique to our faith. But what a gift that understanding is! I wonder if this is the key that balances our dependence on grace and our need to “work out our own salvation”?
Thanks for your thoughts!
I loved this talk when I read it. It actually humbled me quite a bit to think about choices and the responsibility of our choices. I love the previous comments as well and find them to be very accurate and thought provoking at the same time.
Wonderful talk! No one makes choices in a bubble–what we do has consequences and those consequences spill over into the lives of the people around us. Sometimes we carry the results of choices that were made on impulse for the rest of our lives.