I haven’t posted in a couple of months as changes in my life’s circumstances have turned life upside down for me temporarily.
However, this morning while studying, I came across some things that while this is nothing new, and may seem I am stating the obvious, maybe there is a contrast here worthy of being highlighted.
Life is about choices.
Countless daily choices of all sizes, consequences and topics.
Those choices we make quietly, which are unseen by others – Choices which we would conceal from those we respect or love, OR choices of faithful, loving and selfless acts of good – these choices made in the quiet and unseen moments of our lives, all which begin first with a single thought…perhaps these are, in fact, the most telling and important choices of our lives.
The following two verses of scripture show a sharp contrast of the effects of our choices:
Our THOUGHTS: D&C 121:45 reads: “…let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.”
Our CHOICES that result in sin: Moses 7:26: “And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced.”
Fidelity to the highest and best within us…I can testify to the power and deep impact of the small choices we make, beginning in the quiet of our own minds. These are the moments in which we have the opportunity to rise above ourselves, and demonstrate our devotion, love and desires to our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Doing so is one of the purest moments of discipleship. As was stated in Matthew 6:4: “That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”
When our hearts are truly turned towards Him, then by necessity we will know this because our minds must therefore also be turned towards Him. Once this has happened, we place ourselves into a position where He can bless us, whereas before this moment, He could not. We do not qualify for blessings when we sit and do nothing on our part, but rather when we exercise even a particle of faith in Him, we are immediately within proximity of those blessings we need in that moment to help us take the next step. And when we deepen our faith into those quiet and silent moments wherein we elect to draw nearer to Him through prayer, selfless service to others, scripture study or other such Christ centered choices, we qualify ourselves for the deeper, richer and more powerful and insightful blessings of true discipleship. As the scripture says in Mosiah 5:13: “For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?”
This brief video does an excellent job of demonstrating this contrast of choices…
Never Tap Out - Spiritual Warriors 