Free To Choose

Being Free To Choose is a foundational principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We learn that this freedom of choice dates back to our pre-mortal existence where we are taught that just being on this earth is an indicator that we chose to follow Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s plan.  This freedom to choose is an integral part of both the gospel plan and of our earthly existence.

Choices Come With Consequences
In the Book of Mormon, Helaman chapter 14, Samuel the Lamanite prophet reminds us of that we are free to choose.  However, he also reminds us that there are consequences to our choices and when we make a choice, we also choose the consequence that goes with that choice and cannot change that consequence.  Some of these consequences are eternal in nature and will determine our destiny after this mortal life.

Helaman 14:30-31
30 And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free.

 31 He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you.

This freedom is an essential aspect of our life on earth.  We are here on earth to be tested and see if we will follow God’s commandments even when we are no in his presence.  Those who are parents can understand this concept.  When a small child is in our presence he is more likely to follow the rules and be on better behavior.  However, when he is not aware of a parent’s presence, sometimes he is more likely to be tempted to sneak another cookie from the cookie jar when he knows he has been told no more until after dinner.  In the same way, this earth life is for us to be tested as well.  Will we follow the rules, i.e. keep the commandments, even when we are not in our Heavenly Father’s presence?  As we make choices on this earth, we demonstrate our ability or inability to make reponsible choices.

Effects of Choices
As we make decisions in our life, we discover that although we are free to choose what we are going to do, we are not free to choose the consequences or effects of our choices.  In the Book of Mormon, Helaman chapter 10, God bestows much power upon the prophet Nephi – to teach, to preach, to seal, and to inflict trials on the people.

Helaman 10:6-7
6 Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God. Behold, I declare it unto thee in the presence of mine angels, that ye shall have power over this people, and shall smite the earth with famine, and with pestilence, and destruction, according to the wickedness of this people.

 7 Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people.

God knows that Nephi is righteous and will only use this priesthood power in accordance with God’s will.  Nephi preaches repentance to the people, but the Nephites were free to choose whether to listen to Nephi and Lehi.  He taught them that they must repent of their sins or perish.  They chose not to listen and as a result their society became contentious and began to war among themselves.  The war became so bad that Nephi asked God if he could instead inflict them with famine.  In this way, he thought at least it might humble them and stop them from killing each other.  His idea seemed to work, and the wars subsided and the primary struggle of the people became the drought and famine.  We see in this how we are free to choose our actions, but not free to choose the consequences.

Some might say God is cruel and evil to inflict these trials upon people.  Again, anyone who has children knows that when a child’s behavior is unacceptable we cannot idly stand by and accept it.  We must let them know what is and is not acceptable and what the consequences of their choices are.  In the same way, God continues to try to teach and guide us through our experiences on this earth in order to help us to make better choices in our life.

God created the universe and everything in it.  Everything we think we “own” actually belongs to Him and we are given all things through Him.  Just a toddler says “Mine!” even when all of his belongings have been provided to him by parents or grandparents, we too at times say “Mine!” of our earthly belongings that have been provided to us by our Heavenly Father.

God is truly the owner of everything and there is nothing in the world that we can give God that he does not already own.  The only thing WE truly “own” is our free will.  When we choose to use this free will to make choices that are aligned with His will, we can truly show our love for Him and that when we Free To Choose, we have learned to use this freedom responsibly.