Tag: Choice

Laws Become Corrupted When Those Who Choose Evil Are More Numerous Than Those Who Choose Good

~ Richard Rowley

When governments designed to reflect the will of the people are established, laws reflect the spiritual condition of the nation that creates the laws. When the majority of the people choose evil over good the laws become corrupted and (without God’s protection) the nation will begin to destroy itself or will be deconstructed by outside powers.

“…Their laws and their government were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted.” (Helaman 5:2)

Questions:

-Using the United States as an example of a country that is supposed to operate by the voice of the people: Are most of the people still choosing what is good?

-Have the laws (and the process by which laws are created) been corrupted to the point where many of those who are supposed to represent and serve the people are instead serving themselves?

-As you think about your answers to the above questions, do you believe the United States is in the process of being destroyed?

The Same Spirit Which Doth Possess Your Body at the Time Ye Go Out of This Life Will Have Power to Possess Your Body in the Eternal World

~ Richard Rowley ~ Leave a comment

Amulek explains why “death bed” repentance, while better than no repentance, isn’t a good idea. The health of one’s spirit is the result of cumulative choices. Decisions that are made — day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year — form the essence of one’s spirit and that essence will largely hold sway once a person passes through the veil of death into the eternities (and receives a resurrected body).  

“…I would that, after ye have received so many witnesses, seeing that the holy scriptures testify of these things, ye come forth and bring fruit unto repentance. Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you. For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.” (Alma 34:30-32)

“…I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance, until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for the same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.” (Alma 34:33-34)

Questions:

-How quickly does one’s spirit start to heal and be enlightened after he or she repents and softens his or her heart toward God?

He That Persists in His Own Carnal Nature Remaineth in His Fallen State

~ Richard Rowley

Salvation comes to individuals who choose God rather than their carnal nature.

“…All mankind were lost and behold they would have been endlessly lost were it not that God redeemed his people from their lost and fallen state. But remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him. Therefore he is as though there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God and also is the devil an enemy to God.” (Mosiah 16:4-5)

Questions:

-Is there anyone that doesn’t need to overcome their carnal nature?

-How many in our times celebrate their carnal nature rather than seeking to overcome it?

-Under whose power do those who persist in their carnal fall under?

The Lord Redeemeth None That Rebel Against Him and Die in Their Sins

~ Richard Rowley

God always adheres to justice when Christ’s mercy cannot be applied based on the choices individuals make.

“…The Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have willfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them….For salvation cometh to none such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its claim.” (Mosiah 15:26-27)

Questions:

-Do you believe it is right that God holds each person responsible for what he or she knows and how he or she acts in relation to that knowledge?

-What causes people to willfully rebel against the gospel knowledge they have?

God Gave unto Man that He Should Act for Himself

~ Richard Rowley

Lehi teaches his son, Jacob, about how God structured mortal life so we would be free to choose between the good and the evil.

“…There is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon. And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. 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 Nephi 2:14-16)

Questions:

-Do you believe there is a God? If so, why?

-Is there is a Spirit that testifies to the heart and soul that God exists? If so, when and how does this occur?

-Do you have a worldview that allows for good and evil? If so, are those categories of good and evil defined by you or by God?

-Do books such as the Bible and the Book of Mormon help define God’s standards of right and wrong through the commandments and teachings found in them?

-If God has defined good and evil, what happens if men and women create their own separate definitions of what belongs in these categories?

Teachings of Latter-day Prophets, Seers, and Revelators

“The simple truth is that we cannot fully comprehend the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ and we will not adequately appreciate the unique purpose of His birth or His death … without understanding that there was an actual Adam and Eve who fell from an actual Eden, with all the consequences that fall carried with it” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 105).

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“Four great principles must be in force if there is to be agency: 1. Laws must exist … which can be obeyed or disobeyed; 2. Opposites must exist—good and evil, virtue and vice, right and wrong—that is, there must be an opposition, one force pulling one way and another pulling the other; 3. A knowledge of good and evil must be had by those who are to enjoy the agency, that is, they must know the differences between the opposites; and 4. An unfettered power of choice must prevail” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 26).

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“Without the existence of choices, without our freedom to choose and without opposition, there would be no real existence. … It is a fact that we can neither grow spiritually nor thereby be truly happy unless and until we make wise use of our moral agency” (Neal A. Maxwell, One More Strain of Praise [1999], 80).

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“Adam and Eve [through the Fall] became mortal. Happily for us, they could also beget children and fulfill the purposes for which the world was created. … Other blessings came to us through the Fall. It activated two closely coupled additional gifts from God, nearly as precious as life itself—agency and accountability” (Russell M. Nelson, “Constancy amid Change,” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 34, italics added).

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“The old saying ‘The Lord is voting for me, and Lucifer is voting against me, but it is my vote that counts’ describes a doctrinal certainty that our agency is more powerful than the adversary’s will. Agency is precious. We can foolishly, blindly give it away, but it cannot be forcibly taken from us.

“There is also an age-old excuse: ‘The devil made me do it.’ Not so! He can deceive you and mislead you, but he does not have the power to force you or anyone else to transgress” (Boyd K. Packer, “Cleansing the Inner Vessel,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 74).