Have No Regrets} Part Two

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately four to seven minutes to read from start to finish.

This post is based on September 1999 Devotional called, "Have No Regrets" by Richard G. Scott. This post is part two.

"Distractions

Have you noticed that when you have determined to accomplish a very important task, many other good ideas for other things to do seem to come to your mind? If they are allowed to interfere, they will distract you from the more important objective. I have found help by writing down those thoughts as they come, promising myself that as soon as I finish the important task, I will attend to them in priority. That practice helps me stay focused on those matters which are essential.

I believe there are times in your life when, because of your righteousness and your determination to do what is right, Satan will not be able to deflect you into serious transgression. He will switch then to the strategy of placing before you a banquet of good and worthwhile things to do, meant to distract you from those that are the most important and essential to accomplish in your life.

Have you discovered that detailed instructions on how to make choices, or how to live your life based on someone else’s experiences, are not nearly as helpful as is personal guidance from the Holy Ghost? Such divine guidance comes from pondering and living the doctrines of the Lord, understanding His plan of happiness, and obtaining the ordinances and keeping the covenants central to that plan. .. The promptings of the Holy Ghost will tell you how you stand before God, if you are progressing or retrogressing, what you need to improve on, and how to do it.

Do What Is Right

.. I can see now that the Lord guided me each step of the way in what to do and what to say. My replacement was a very capable, experienced individual who learned rapidly. .. As we close this experience together, think of what the words of the song “Do What Is Right” mean in your life. May the doctrinal message it contains be as helpful to you as it has been to me.

"At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets."
- Dr Steve Maraboli. 

Live to Have No Regrets

Unless you have already done so, make this decision now: “I will live to have no regrets.” I cannot tell you how immensely important it is for your life here on earth and throughout eternity to be able to say, regarding those serious sins of immorality that could be committed on earth, “I have no regrets; I have not participated.”

I know that through the process of repentance even egregious sins can be forgiven. Yet, in quiet moments of deep pondering, there must remain a disturbing memory when those boundaries have been crossed, even when full forgiveness has been given by the Savior. How much more serenely pleasant it is to live never having done those things. I testify that such a life brings immense joy, peace, and tranquility. Live to have no regrets.

There are many ways to be motivated to do good in life. ..  You may have discovered that an even stronger motivating force to do right is to study, ponder, and distill truths from the doctrines of the Church as the very foundation of your life. Doctrine, understood and applied, is a mighty, sustaining, supporting force when we have determined to do what is right.

I have found another extremely potent motivating influence. ..  It is the profound love of Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son Jesus Christ and of the Holy Ghost. This divine Godhead is the very foundation of all that we experience and enjoy for good. It is our Father’s plan of happiness that provides the way. It is the love of our Savior for us and His capacities earned from His willing Atonement that give us the power to grow and overcome mistakes. It is the direction of the Holy Ghost that leads us to make the right choices and warns us of dangers in our path. ..

They are absolutely trustworthy, They are perfect in love and compassion, and They want your success more than you could ever desire. They will help you live to have no regrets."

If you would like to read the whole devotional at your own time, here's the link below.
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/richard-g-scott/regrets/

Stay Tuned until next time.

Have No Regrets} Part One

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five to eight minutes to read from start to finish.

I would like to ask you a question and you can ask yourself that question either now or in your free time. 

"What's your definition and understanding about regrets?" This post is based on September 1999 Devotional called, "Have No Regrets" by Richard G. Scott. I would like to share with you some highlights as I was reading the Devotional and I have decided to broken up the highlights into two different blog posts. This post is part one. 

Richard mentioned, ".. You are some of the most choice, righteous, and devoted of Father in Heaven’s children on earth. .. 

Trust the Lord

Do not play games with the Lord. When you trust Him fully, He is able to bless you richly. He knows what is best for you. Sometimes a very clever person can deceive a human being, but none of us can do that with the Lord. Trust Him. Live so that He can trust you. He then can guide and bless you more abundantly. I am confident that the Lord expects each of you exceptional youth to do the right things. He expects you to be pillars of strength in His kingdom.

.. Satan is the epitome of this model of life. .. Be assured that were he to have such capacity he would use it. God’s constant protection of our moral agency assures that he cannot have such power. Satan can have no influence over a righteous individual unless that person yields to temptation or allows fear to overcome faith. 

The devil does have great influence in this world, because individuals make the wrong choices. He is the father of lies. Nothing he tempts you to do will have a beneficial outcome absolutely nothing. The hook may be baited by seemingly attractive promises and outcomes, but he is the master of deceit and his agents are powerfully effective in his cause. 

The heavenly light that sheds forth from God has power to overcome the darkness of unwholesome influences around you. That is as certain to occur as does a brilliant light overpower the darkness in a room. How can you get the brilliant light of the Lord into your life more abundantly? By making consistently the right choices and fulfilling them.

"Never regret anything that has happened in your life, it
cannot be changed, undone or forgotten so take it as a
lesson learned and moved on."

Discerning Between Good and Evil

.. You have the capacity to develop an incredibly sensitive instrument within your own being to discern righteous and evil influences around you. It is done by cultivating the gift of the Holy Ghost. That is accomplished by consistent, righteous living so that the correct choices are made and followed to completion. As you enhance your capacity to sense the direction of that infallible influence in your life, you will avoid disappointment, discouragement, and even tragedy. 

 Currents of Divine Influence

.. Seek, through the Spirit, to identify and carefully follow the current of direction that the Lord has placed in your life. Align yourself with it. Choose, willingly, to exercise your agency to follow it. Do not be overcome by concentrating solely on today and its challenges, difficulties, and opportunities.

.. You lived part of it in the premortal existence. You were valiant there and came here because you wanted to grow more and enjoy greater happiness. What you decide to do now will affect how well that divine plan He has for you is fulfilled. More than that, your decisions today can powerfully affect your children and grandchildren. 

The more closely you follow the current of divine guidance, the greater will be your happiness here and for eternity moreover, the more abundant will be your progress and capacity to serve. I do not fully understand how it is done, but this current in your life does not take away your agency. That right of moral agency is so important to our Father in Heaven that He was willing to lose one-third of His spirit children that it might be preserved.

You can make the decisions you choose to make. A disposition to do right brings peace of mind and heart. Should choices be wrong, there is a path back: repentance. .. As you continue to live righteously, you will always know what to do. Sometimes the discovery of that may require significant effort and trust on your part."

Stay tuned until next time.

Do you choose wisely with your choices?

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five to eight minutes to read from start to finish.

I know each individual in life including you, have the ability to make choices whether it is good choices or not. We still have to make a choice. Sometimes we have to adjust into reality with our choices, sometimes we have modify some decisions before we decide to act upon our final decisions and sometimes we just have to make a choice to help us to keep moving forward each day.

I would like to encourage you to ask yourself the following two questions. You can either ask yourself these questions either now or in your free time. "Do you think about your choices before making the final decision?"
and "Do you choose wisely with your choices?"

This post is based on October 2014 General Conference talk by Elder Quentin L. Cook called "Choose Wisely." I would love to share with you some highlights while reading this talk. “Refuse the evil, and choose the good” - Isaiah 7:15.

Elder Cook mentions the following, "I believe it is of particular importance in our day, when Satan is raging in the hearts of men in so many new and subtle ways, that our choices and decisions be made carefully, consistent with the goals and objectives by which we profess to live. We need unequivocal commitment to the commandments and strict adherence to sacred covenants. When we allow rationalizations to prevent us from temple endowments, worthy missions, and temple marriage, they are particularly harmful. It is heartbreaking when we profess belief in these goals yet neglect the everyday conduct required to achieve them.

Distractions and opposition to righteousness are not just on the Internet; they are everywhere. They affect not just the youth but all of us. We live in a world that is literally in commotion. We are surrounded by obsessive portrayals of “fun and games” and immoral and dysfunctional lives. These are presented as normal conduct in much of the media.

.. Arthur C. Brooks observes that when using social media, we tend to broadcast the smiling details of our lives but not the hard times at school or work. We portray an incomplete life sometimes in a self-aggrandizing or fake way. We share this life, and then we consume the “almost exclusively … fake lives of [our] social media ‘friends.’” Brooks asserts, “How could it not make you feel worse to spend part of your time pretending to be happier than you are, and the other part of your time seeing how much happier others seem to be than you?”

Sometimes it feels like we are drowning in frivolous foolishness, nonsensical noise, and continuous contention. When we turn down the volume and examine the substance, there is very little that will assist us in our eternal quest toward righteous goals. One father wisely responds to his children with their numerous requests to participate in these distractions. He simply asks them, “Will this make you a better person?”

When we rationalize wrong choices, big or small, which are inconsistent with the restored gospel, we lose the blessings and protections we need and often become ensnared in sin or simply lose our way.

"It is important to rise above rationalizations and make the best choices. - Quentin L. Cook." 

My intent is not to discourage participation in sports or the use of the Internet or other worthwhile activities young people enjoy. They are the kind of activities that require moderation, balance, and wisdom. When used wisely, they enrich our lives.

However, I encourage everyone, young and old, to review goals and objectives and strive to exercise greater discipline. Our daily conduct and choices should be consistent with our goals. We need to rise above rationalizations and distractions. It is especially important to make choices consistent with our covenants to serve Jesus Christ in righteousness. We must not take our eyes off or drop that ball for any reason.

This life is the time to prepare to meet God. We are a happy, joyous people. We appreciate a good sense of humor and treasure unstructured time with friends and family. But we need to recognize that there is a seriousness of purpose that must undergird our approach to life and all our choices. Distractions and rationalizations that limit progress are harmful enough, but when they diminish faith in Jesus Christ and His Church, they are tragic."

I encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time, here's the link below.
www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/choose-wisely

Stay Tuned until next time.

Does your past choices matters to you?

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately three to five minutes to read from start to finish.

I would like to encourage you to ask yourself following questions. You may ask yourself these questions either now or in your own time. What's your understanding and definition of the word, choice? Does your past choices matters to you? How does your past choices affect your previous employment and education? How does your past choices affect your family, relatives and friends? How does your past choices has helped you?

I think some people may or may not adjustify that each of our past choice does matters to us as individuals. I know that no one can change you, and you should be the only one who can change who are you. Some of our past choices may or may not have made us of who we are today and some of our past choices may or may not have helped us to get through our present choices.

"Don't make bad decisions for temporary happiness."

I would like to share some examples of my past choices.

During January 2012, I attended EFY {Especially For Youth}, it is multi-stake youth camp and it's organized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. EFY definitely has helped me a lot of creating some long-term friendships and also have helped me to gain a great testimony of the church.

I mostly share my testimony whenever I get the chance and it is absolutely a wonderful feeling to testify what's true.

During January 2016, I was very determined and focused on getting ready for the stake president interview for my full-time mission papers. I remembered having a very strong desire to serve a mission.

During January 2018, I was new into boyfriend and girlfriend relationship long distance with my husband and I was getting very excited to fly over to Utah, United States for the first time on my own. At the time, I remembered being employed and I didn't organized enough notice to get some time off work to become a very last minute FSY Counsellor which one week was held in Brisbane and the other one was held in Perth.

During this month, who would have thought that I would be married for a few months with my husband? I know that it definitely doesn't feel like that I have been dating for my husband for so close to the past two years.

Stay Tuned until next time.