Ahh!! I know Michelle and Jill both already blogged about this, but I can't help it! I was so inspired by the first talk in General Conference by Robert D. Hales. (General Conference is a twice yearly event in my church where we are uplifted and renewed! In Utah we are *oh so lucky* enough to watch it on tv in our living rooms!)It was about choice and agency! It was one of those times that it seemed like it was just for me. (Apparently it was just for a lot of us though...) I haven't been able to shake these thoughts ever since Jill's initial post about choices. Here's what I got from his talk.
* The adversary cannot make us do anything
* Everything we do either moves us closer to the Lord or farther away
* We allow Satan to influence us, and he knows this.
* The adversary cannot take away our agency without our yielding it to him.
* CHOOSE TO:
* Truly accept that you are a child of God.
* Truly accept that He has the power to help you.
* Put everything you have on the altar of God.
* Feel the Spirit through prayer, scripture study, church and in your home.
I am feeling like this applies so much in my life right now. It makes me feel kind of stupid that I haven't caught on more before the age of 25, but better now than never, or later! (If only I can retain some of this knowledge...) I am also reading The Screwtape Letters right now for the first time and *loving* it!!! I love reading something that is so interesting and thought-provoking, but also uplifting! I have many thoughts on that as well, so I just need to gather them so I can post something coherent. I highly recommend the book.
Here are some random thoughts on choice I had today after conference.
*I can choose to be self-conscious, or I can choose to forget about it, or I can choose to do something about it. Going back to grandma's wisdom- does it really matter? Is it okay with me, and is it okay with the Savior?
*I can choose to be happy. This is a lesson my mom tried to teach me as a youth. As a young and ornery spazz (as opposed to the older ornery spazz I am today-) She used to try and tell me that happiness was a choice, not merely a fortunate circumstance. It would make me so mad, as she generally tried to tell me this as I was already unhappy. This is still a difficult thing for me since I suffer from depression. It's not *quite* that simple for me because of the physiological two cents my brain throws in, but I'm learning I have more choice in the matter than I may have initially thought. Turns out that may be the case with most things. Seriously- aha! Moment here with the choices I have everyday in my little life.
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Loved this talk. I felt like it was just for me, too. I'm not sure why it felt like new information, because it really isn't, but maybe I think of the big choices in my life and forget that each day is filled with little tiny ones, all of which add up to much bigger things...
I love agency! It's such an awesome and heavy responsibility because it places everything--our entire destiny--in our control which can be seen as daunting, but when it comes down to it, it's comforting to me to know that I am in complete and aboslute control over where I go. I was listening to John Bytheway this afternoon and he said that when we mess up it's our fault and when we succeed it's because of the Lord; that to me seems an important part of agency. Part of agency is also knowing to whom to give the credit. I love being in control and even though agency is a powerful responsibility, it's comforting to know that no one can make me do anything and that I can make my choices with the assisstance of the Spirit.
I didn't see this post earlier when I commented about the scrapbooking layout, silly me.
I appreciate your thoughts on this great talk as well. It's a good idea to label the things you have a choice about. Like being self-conscious, being happy, and most importantly doing something about it. Like taking the necessary action to visit a doctor and get a prescription for depression medication if that's what it takes to help the situation.
I don't think any of this is easy, but certainly our conversations about this and our current ability to recognize the fact that we get to chose just about everything in our lives is empowering and amazing.
I love the "Screwtape letters" too! Although its been awhile since I read it, I remember really liking it. "Mere Christianity" is another one you might want to check out if you haven't already- also very good.
In Ohio, although I can't watch conference from my living room, we can listen to it over the internet which is almost as good! (I cleaned my house all while listening to conference!) By the way, dido to all other comments regarding Robert D. Hales' talk---- soooooo good! I'm already excited to read it in next month's Ensign.
As I mentioned in Michelle's blog, "It's always fair when you get to choose!" So sorry I missed this talk.
I think everyone loved this talk by Elder Hales. It touched me, too, as you well know, seeing as how we were sitting right next to eachother. Anyway, I love Conference. And I love how the Spirit can touch all of us at once.
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