Gospel Prinicples Chapter 4

"Freedom to Choose"

 Our freedom to choose is so important. We are told through the scriptures that Agency has been given to us from the very beginning. We were able to choose to come down to earth and to get a body or to follow the plan that Satan had proposed in our pre-earth life. Agency was the principle issue that we fought over in our pre-earth life. Satan's plan was to take away our agency from the beginning and to force us to return to live with God again. Agency is the thing that makes this life a time of testing. It is what allows us to make choices and to either follow what Christ would have us do or to follow what Satan would have us do. An analogy that I really like comes from the manual, it says, "When we follow the temptations of Satan, we limit our choices. The following example suggests how this works. Imagine seeing a sign on the seashore that reads: 'Danger—whirlpool. No swimming allowed here.' We might think that is a restriction. But is it? We still have many choices. We are free to swim somewhere else. We are free to walk along the beach and pick up seashells. We are free to watch the sunset. We are free to go home. We are also free to ignore the sign and swim in the dangerous place. But once the whirlpool has us in its grasp and we are pulled under, we have very few choices. We can try to escape, or we can call for help, but we may drown." We are told how to escape the grasp of Satan many times in the scriptures. We are told to "watch and pray continually," as we do that we will be able to overcome the temptations of Satan and be able to make correct choices.

Gospel Principles Chapter 3

"Jesus Christ, Our Chosen Leader and Savior"

Why was the need for a Savior so important? The answer: Because our Heavenly Father knew that we would all come here and make mistakes, and that we would need help along our way. "We needed a Savior to pay for our sins and teach us how to return to our Heavenly Father" (Gospel Principles, 13). The scriptures teach us that Jesus Christ was foreordained and chosen to be our Savior. In the Book of Mormon, there is an account of the Savior appearing to a man named the Brother of Jared and Christ tells him, "Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. … In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name" (Ether 3:14) Even though Jesus Christ was chosen to be our Savior, Lucifer stepped up and said, "Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor" (Moses 4:1). Satan wanted to take away some vital things from us and Heavenly Father. The first thing he wanted was to take away our agency, or our right to chose, which we will discuss more in Chapter 4, and the second thing is he wanted Heavenly Father's glory. After hearing this he said, "I will send the first" (Abraham 3:27). Because Heavenly Father chose Jesus Christ, Lucifer got angry and rebelled against God. In his rebellion, Satan managed to convince one third of the hosts of heaven to come with him, and in doing so, they were also cast out of heaven along with Satan. We know that we made the right choice because we are here today. "By following [Christ's] teachings, we can inherit a place in the celestial kingdom. He did His part to help us return to our heavenly home. It is now up to each of us to do our part and become worthy of exaltation" (Gospel Principles, 16).

The Articles of Faith part 11 of 13

Article of Faith #11, "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."

Such a basic statement about freedom of religion. We don't shove it down your throat, at least we aren't supposed to, but we allow you the privilege of worshiping how, where, or whatever you choose. We like worshiping God in our own way, and we want to give you that same right. I believe that God made the United States of America the way it was because of this reason right here. Freedom of religion was one of the main reasons why people came over to America, and still come to America. Thus, if we believe God to respect our agency, and give us truly the ability to choose for ourselves. Wouldn't the church that claims to be Christ's restored church believe in respecting that agency as well? I believe so. I know that this church is true. It was restored, and continues to operate under the direction of Jesus Christ through Thomas S. Monson.

Actions

The things we do and say are very important to our daily lives and the daily lives of others. They not only affect our daily lives but also our eternal salvation if we are not careful. Actions can be for our good and for the bad. We have been given that opportunity by our Heavenly Father. He has given us the ability to choose, or agency. As we use our agency properly we can come in closer harmony with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, but as we misuse our agency it drives us further and further away from our Heavenly Father and closer and closer to Satan. It says in the Book of Mormon, in 2 Nephi 2:27, "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." That is really the only two things that we have to decide. It tells us that all of the choices we make in this life are to either choose God or choose Satan, and that should decide what our actions should be. Of course we have to love God and have faith, but our actions are another part of how we get into Heaven. It says all of the time in the scriptures that we need to have faith, but that we also need to show that faith. If we continue on in doing those things, and "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven," we can eventually return to live with our Father in Heaven.