We have to accept that life is a battle between two forces—the Truth and the Lie; Christ and the Liar. That’s just the way it is. The tug and pull, the on-again-off-again phenomenon is inevitable. We must also accept that we have no ability to determine the ratio of easy days to not-so-easy days. We […]
Read More challenges, choices, ebb & flow, faith, grace, imperfection, trustThere is something to doing a thing simply for the goodness of doing it. There is freedom in doing something because it’s the right thing—the good thing—to do, because it’s the healthy thing for here and now. There is a quote that I’ve seen attributed to St. Augustine: ”Wrong is wrong, even if everyone is […]
Read More choices, grace, recoveryVerily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer. (D&C 59:14) Fasting is not meant to be a negative experience. It is more than just refraining from eating. Fasting is as much about attitude as about action. It refocuses our hunger and thirst on the spiritual life, rather than on […]
Read More abstinence, choices, fasting, gift, humility, joy, rejoicingWhen a child makes choices that lead them from the path of righteousness, it’s easy for a parent to become worried, fearful, upset, and controlling. We want the very best for our child—and we want it RIGHT NOW! We want to protect our child from the all the evils of this world but it becomes […]
Read More atonement, choices, faith, family relationships, hope“…wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.” (2 Nephi 9:38) This verse is immediately preceded by a list of sins and their terrible consequences—specifically hell and damnation. I think one of the reasons we are so strongly […]
Read More agency, choices, consequences, pride, sinI have a friend who lives just down the road from a large and lovely lake. When I visit her, I often take my morning walk to the lake and back. I like to pause above the lake, to feel the breeze as it skims across the water and blows through my hair, to smell […]
Read More choices, consequences, ebb & flow[had Adam not transgressed]…they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. (2 Nephi 2:23) No misery = no joy. No sin = no good. I get the second one. It’s the […]
Read More choices, joy, oppositionImagine, if you will, that every moment of your life is comprised of stepping stones creating a path across a vast lake. The moment you are in right now is the stone you are standing on. From this stone (this moment), you can see that there are a number of other stones within reach of […]
Read More choices, consequences, potential