Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening,
this post should take four to six minutes to read from start to finish.
This post focuses on May 2009 BYU - Hawaii Devotional and it is called; "Decision Making The Lord's Way" by Steven C. Wheelwright. This post is part two and I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the devotional. I hope you will learn something new while you are reading throughout this post.
President Wheelwright mentioned the following; "Scriptural Examples of Righteous Decision Making
In other words, he had a desire to know God’s will for him, and that desire led to action - he “did cry unto the Lord,” and the Lord visited him, softening his heart and teaching him to believe the words of his father. ... We probably all know Nephi’s faith-filled reply by heart: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
I enjoyed learning the part that stated, "Our use of agency determines who we are and what we will be." I know that statement is true and applicable into my life because I know that several times in my life, I have forgotten about how agency determines who I was in the past, who I currently am and what I will be in the future. Most times, I like trusting and putting my faith into Heavenly Father with my past decisions whether it is good decisions or not because I know that I have been able to decide on my own choices and follow any consequences afterwards. I know that sometimes I would just act and do something without thinking about if it is a good decision or not.
Duration of my youth; I would make tons of friendships throughout the years. I have forgotten to ask myself whether some of those friends would still be my friends when I leave Young Women's, and move into YSA (Young Single Adults) or would some of those friends would leave me and won't be my friend anymore before I turned eighteen years old. I guess at times I didn't know how to be a great friend to someone who really needed a friend.
I have read about "friends" from The Strength of Youth pamphlet. I love how a section that stood out to me and that was; "To have good friends, be a good friend. Show genuine interest in others; smile and let them know you care about them. Treat everyone with kindness and respect, and refrain from judging and criticizing those around you.
Do not participate in any form of bullying. Make a special effort to be a friend to those who are shy or lonely, have special needs, or do not feel included." Decision making in the Lord's way can help us to feel peace and assurance that we would be able to feel the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
You may or may not like to read the whole devotional either now or in your own time, here is the link below.
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/steven-c-wheelwright/decision-making-lords-way/
President Wheelwright mentioned the following; "Scriptural Examples of Righteous Decision Making
... In addition to Joseph, consider the stories of Ruth, Job, Esther, Nephi, and so many others; these courageous men and women trusted in the Lord with humility, gratitude, and faith. Faced with life-altering circumstances and decisions, they chose to trust in the Lord rather than lean unto their own understanding. By so doing, they were blessed with safety and peace, just as we will be. Following the Lord’s process of decision making results in consistently and powerfully righteous decisions.
And that pattern of righteous decision making in turn develops our character. Elder Scott explained the relationship between making decisions the Lord’s way and forming righteous character. He said: "... When strengthened by obedience and worthy acts, correct decisions form a fabric of character that brings victory in time of great
need. Righteous character provides the foundation of spiritual strength that enables you to make difficult,
extremely important decisions correctly when they seem overpowering.
And that pattern of righteous decision making in turn develops our character. Elder Scott explained the relationship between making decisions the Lord’s way and forming righteous character. He said: "... When strengthened by obedience and worthy acts, correct decisions form a fabric of character that brings victory in time of great
need. Righteous character provides the foundation of spiritual strength that enables you to make difficult,
extremely important decisions correctly when they seem overpowering.
Building our character is certainly part of the Lord’s process of building us into a palace. Trusting in the Lord actually becomes an upward spiral: when we trust in the Lord, our faith and character are strengthened, and the stronger our character and the deeper our faith, the better we are able to trust in the Lord, and so on, which all results in better decision making." This was certainly the case with Nephi in the opening scenes of the Book of Mormon. ... Nephi is faced with many critical decisions. ... We know he had “great desires to know of the mysteries of God.”
In other words, he had a desire to know God’s will for him, and that desire led to action - he “did cry unto the Lord,” and the Lord visited him, softening his heart and teaching him to believe the words of his father. ... We probably all know Nephi’s faith-filled reply by heart: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
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| "The decision to BELIEVE shapes all our other decisions." - L. Whitney Clayton. |
Elder Scott described this type of motivating faith as follows: Motivating faith is centered in trust in the Lord and in His willingness to answer your needs. ... The consistent, willing exercise of faith increases your confidence and ability to employ the power of faith.
Again we see the upward spiral that results from having a spiritual perspective: the stronger our faith, the more we are able to trust in the Lord, and the better the decisions we will make.
The scriptures and the lives and experiences of modern-day prophets are filled with excellent examples of making decisions the Lord’s way. I urge you to study the scriptures with a focus on searching these out.
The lessons we learn from the scriptures will strengthen us and fortify our determination to seek the Lord’s will in our own lives as well.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell summarized beautifully the blessings of habitually trusting in the Lord: ... If you will but trust the Lord to lead you from what you are to what you have the power to become. .. If you are righteous, his purposes will be served. Remember, each of us can choose to trust in the Lord, ... what better time to commit to developing the habit of following the Lord’s process of decision making and learning to trust in Him than during this critical period of young adulthood, full of frequent and significant decision-making opportunities.
If we can shift from the world’s way of making decisions to the Lord’s way, our paths will be safe and peaceful and our destination divine. ... Rather than focusing on ease and prestige, may we concentrate on eternal considerations as we make life’s daily decisions. I pray that we will be able to replace feelings of self-centeredness, entitlement, and political correctness with an attitude of humility, gratitude, and faith through righteous obedience to God’s commandments.
... Our free will is literally the only thing that is truly ours; therefore, the ultimate consecration is in yielding ourselves to God. I pray that as we seek to know the Lord’s will for us and as we humbly and gratefully make decisions in His way, ... and that we will enjoy His promised peace in the process."
If we can shift from the world’s way of making decisions to the Lord’s way, our paths will be safe and peaceful and our destination divine. ... Rather than focusing on ease and prestige, may we concentrate on eternal considerations as we make life’s daily decisions. I pray that we will be able to replace feelings of self-centeredness, entitlement, and political correctness with an attitude of humility, gratitude, and faith through righteous obedience to God’s commandments.
... Our free will is literally the only thing that is truly ours; therefore, the ultimate consecration is in yielding ourselves to God. I pray that as we seek to know the Lord’s will for us and as we humbly and gratefully make decisions in His way, ... and that we will enjoy His promised peace in the process."
I enjoyed learning the part that stated, "Our use of agency determines who we are and what we will be." I know that statement is true and applicable into my life because I know that several times in my life, I have forgotten about how agency determines who I was in the past, who I currently am and what I will be in the future. Most times, I like trusting and putting my faith into Heavenly Father with my past decisions whether it is good decisions or not because I know that I have been able to decide on my own choices and follow any consequences afterwards. I know that sometimes I would just act and do something without thinking about if it is a good decision or not.
Duration of my youth; I would make tons of friendships throughout the years. I have forgotten to ask myself whether some of those friends would still be my friends when I leave Young Women's, and move into YSA (Young Single Adults) or would some of those friends would leave me and won't be my friend anymore before I turned eighteen years old. I guess at times I didn't know how to be a great friend to someone who really needed a friend.
I have read about "friends" from The Strength of Youth pamphlet. I love how a section that stood out to me and that was; "To have good friends, be a good friend. Show genuine interest in others; smile and let them know you care about them. Treat everyone with kindness and respect, and refrain from judging and criticizing those around you.
Do not participate in any form of bullying. Make a special effort to be a friend to those who are shy or lonely, have special needs, or do not feel included." Decision making in the Lord's way can help us to feel peace and assurance that we would be able to feel the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
You may or may not like to read the whole devotional either now or in your own time, here is the link below.
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/steven-c-wheelwright/decision-making-lords-way/
Stay Tuned until next time.
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