Faith is one of the more challenging concepts of Christianity. Because it can’t be scientifically measured, or stored in a bottle to be pulled out as needed, many people either don’t believe in it or don’t know how to access it. Mormonism, a nickname commonly applied to beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is built on a strong foundation of faith. Mormons are taught from childhood to develop their faith and then to use it to gain a testimony of the gospel and to help them through challenging times without fear.

Many years ago, I found myself facing a major change in my life. For three years, life had been unusually peaceful and I was scared of sliding back into a world of changes. I fought the change hard and had to turn to prayer for help. I went weekly during that struggle to the Mormon temple, where I took time away from the world to pray in a quiet, Spirit-filled place. As I prayed, the thought came repeatedly to my mind, “If you’re prepared, you don’t need to be afraid.”

I recognized this piece of inspiration as coming from Mormon book of scripture called the Doctrine and Covenants, a collection of modern revelations given to church leaders. It was given to Joseph Smith and delivered at a conference in which the people were told to go to Ohio. I accepted the comfort and set out to prepare myself for the changes that were coming. Then, completely prepared, I sat back and waited for the fear to disappear.

It didn’t.

I kept right on being afraid and fighting against the coming changes. I didn’t understand why I continued to fear when I had done as instructed. Finally, I took it to prayer again and this time the answer came quickly and clearly, as clearly as if someone were speaking to me. The answer was this: I said you didn’t need to fear; I didn’t say you couldn’t choose to be afraid.

God believes in agency. He gives us the right to choose and we can choose whether to approach life fearfully or faithfully. Fear is a choice and it was what I had chosen. I went to work strengthening my faith and life felt so much better. In time, I understood the purpose of the changes and realized that even though I hadn’t wanted them, I had enjoyed the results of the changes. God knew much better than I did what I needed.

It’s sometimes said that faith is the opposite of fear. When we’re afraid, we aren’t completely putting the situation into God’s hands and trusting Him. What I attempt to keep in mind when I’m trying to overcome fear with faith is to remember that God sees the entire picture, whereas I only see a small bit of it. He is looking at life from an eternal perspective and I am not.

This doesn’t mean that if we have faith we will never have any problems. The story of the world isn’t just about us; it involves everyone who lives on earth at any time. Everything that happens impacts many different lives, all with different needs and plans, and God must juggle all those lives. In addition, people have agency. It is a critical part of God’s plan for us; we’re given the right to make decisions. Those decisions affect our lives and they also affect others who had no control over our decisions. We can choose our actions, but we can’t choose the consequences, nor can we choose who else will be impacted by our decisions. Sometimes our trials are caused by our own decisions and sometimes by the decisions of others; in addition, some things just happen and no one is to blame, as in the case of severe weather or illness. Sometimes God sends trials to help us learn something important. It can help to remember that even Jesus experienced extraordinary levels of suffering despite living a perfect life. Trials are simply a part of every life.

Having trials does not mean God has abandoned us. He is always in charge. While He may not always step in to protect us from our own choices or even from the choices of others, He has a master plan for all of us, and for each of us individually. The events that occur might not be the ones He would choose if He were micromanaging us, but He will not allow them to derail His overall plan for us. This means God is still in charge, and even when tragedy or trial occurs, we’re still inside the master plan and we will be fine in the eternal scheme of things.

We can’t always control what happens to us but we can choose our reactions to them. This power to choose is why two people can face the same trials and come out with different results. One person who experiences prejudice or poverty will spend his life angry and using this as an excuse. Another will use it to become stronger and overcome the challenges life has given him or go through them with a cheerful attitude. One person with an illness will become demanding and discouraged and another, perhaps after a natural time of grieving, will go on to uplift and strengthen others through her example and courage. One person loses his job and wastes priceless hours blaming his boss, the economy, the government or anyone else who comes to mind; another uses the time to start his own business or upgrade skills.

Having faith in Jesus Christ can help us turn away fear. The more we trust God and Jesus Christ to watch over us and to help us get through our trials, the less frightened we will be by those experiences. We need to prepare ourselves for possible trials physically, mentally, and spiritually. The best time to build a loving relationship with God and to learn to trust Him is before the trial, not during it. In this way, we come into the trials knowing how God interacts in our lives. We have a tradition of obedience that allows us to receive His greatest gifts and we know how to recognize His hand in our lives. We’ve learned how to get answers to our questions and to feel the comfort He sends.

How do we do this? First we need to set a goal to seek out complete truth and accept it, even if we find it where we don’t expect to. We can do this by believing the promise given in James 1:5, where we are promised that if we need wisdom, we can receive it from God. Then we need to act on that wisdom. We should put aside time each day to read scripture—not just racing through them to meet a goal, but reading them slowly and thoughtfully. If you’ve never read the Bible all the way through, this is a good time to do so. The Book of Mormon testifies of the truthfulness of the Bible and helps strengthen our testimony that Jesus really did live and that He came to earth for everyone, not just those who lived in His small geographical location. Reading this book will bring additional understanding of the Savior’s mission, since it actually discusses this more often than does the Bible.

We need to put time into prayer, not just the ritual repetition of words but meaningful discussion with God followed by quiet and patience as we wait for answers. If we leap up and go back to everyday life, we may miss the gentle inspiration that follows. In a conversation with another person, when you ask a question, you wait for the answer before leaving the conversation. Prayer requires the same courtesy. Act as though you expect God to answer your question—this is faith.

When we ask God for help, we need to do our share of the effort and we also need to act like we trust Him to come through with the help. For instance, I’m a writer. I’m trying to learn to write fiction and sometimes I get lost. I reach a section of my novel I know I don’t have the skill to carry out. I often turn to God for help with those sections, but then I follow up by going to my bookshelf to read how to do what I need to do. I trust God to help me find the right book, and maybe even to have encouraged me to buy the right book before I knew I needed it. And then I sit at my computer and start typing, even if I don’t yet know what I’m supposed to type. If I’m not at my computer, I can’t write the book and God can’t guide my mind and hands to type the right words. Sitting at my computer is an act of faith that God will come through with the help.

I find it very helpful to try to figure out what God is trying to teach me when I’m facing a frightening trial. When I know what He wants me to learn, I can do my part to learn it, and I also find it easier to have faith. I watch for proof that God is nearby and participating in my trial with me. Knowing He’s nearby and I can talk the trial over with Him gives me courage to get through the trial. No matter how few people might be in my life at any given moment, I never have to go through a trial alone.

Nervousness or concern is natural, but paralyzing fear can frequently be overcome through faith. The more often we recognize God’s hand in our lives, the easier it will be to trust Him during the next trial. Every trial we handle with faith strengthens our ability to do it even better the next time.

Although anyone can attend most Mormon services and activities without being a member, conversion is required to experience everything the Church has to offer. Mormonism is actually a nickname for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the principles of Mormon conversion are based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose mission is as central to Mormonism as His name is to the true name of the Church.

A book called True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference, which offers introductions to many Mormon principles, explains that conversion is not an event in Mormonism. It is a process. Simply announcing that we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior does not complete the process. Gaining a testimony that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not complete the process. Nor does baptism or confirmation as a member of the Church. Conversion, for a Mormon, is a life-long process, and even an eternal one. It may be why Pew Foundation studies often show Mormon teens and adults score higher than many other religions in various aspects of religiosity. An understanding that conversion requires constant effort and strengthening will naturally lead one to work harder at keeping the commandments, studying, praying, and improving faith.

Conversion is expected of all Mormons, even those who were born into Mormon families. From very early childhood, Mormons are taught to study the gospel and then to pray to God to know if it is true. Only God can give a sure answer to the question of which church to join. Mormon children are baptized at age eight and are encouraged to pray for their initial testimony prior to that time.

Those who join at age nine or older meet with missionaries prior to baptism. A series of lessons, called discussions, help them learn the very basics of the gospel. They certainly won’t know everything prior to baptism, but they have a foundation to start with and can continue to study and pray afterwards.

Conversion is normally a very quiet and personal event. While some experience miracles, such as the one received by the apostle Paul, most do not. Their prayers are answered in very quiet ways, sometimes so quietly the person has a testimony without even knowing it.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a Mormon apostle, calls this “waiting on the road to Damascus.” This is a reference to Paul’s miraculous conversion. Because they haven’t had a big dramatic revelation or miracle, they think God hasn’t given them a testimony yet.

We know that manifestations such as this happen. In fact, we testify that a similar divine experience happened in 1820 to a boy named Joseph Smith. It is our clear and certain testimony that the heavens are open again and that God speaks to His prophets and apostles. God hears and answers the prayers of His children.

Nevertheless, there are some who feel that unless they have an experience similar to Saul’s or Joseph Smith’s, they cannot believe. They stand at the waters of baptism but do not enter. They wait at the threshold of testimony but cannot bring themselves to acknowledge the truth. Instead of taking small steps of faith on the path of discipleship, they want some dramatic event to compel them to believe.

They spend their days waiting on the road to Damascus.  (See Waiting on the Road to Damascus by Dieter F. Uchtdorf.)

Those working to gain a testimony are taught to study the gospel. You must read the Bible and the Book of Mormon to know they are true. You can’t have a testimony of something if you don’t know it exists or don’t know enough about it. Often, as a person is studying the teachings of the Mormons, he will begin to feel a warmth and peace in his heart. This comes from the Holy Ghost and is the only way conversion occurs. Another way to gain a testimony is to act as if it were true. If you want to know if God really wants  you to keep the Word of Wisdom, the Mormon health code, begin to keep it and see what happens. God can better testify to you of the truthfulness of something while you are living it, because he can show you the blessings.

David A. Bednar, also a Mormon apostle, helped listeners at a recent conference understand the principle of gradual conversion in a talk called The Spirit of Revelation:

We as members of the Church tend to emphasize marvelous and dramatic spiritual manifestations so much that we may fail to appreciate and may even overlook the customary pattern by which the Holy Ghost accomplishes His work. The very “simpleness of the way” (1 Nephi 17:41) of receiving small and incremental spiritual impressions that over time and in totality constitute a desired answer or the direction we need may cause us to look “beyond the mark” (Jacob 4:14).

I have talked with many individuals who question the strength of their personal testimony and underestimate their spiritual capacity because they do not receive frequent, miraculous, or strong impressions. Perhaps as we consider the experiences of Joseph in the Sacred Grove, of Saul on the road to Damascus, and of Alma the Younger, we come to believe something is wrong with or lacking in us if we fall short in our lives of these well-known and spiritually striking examples. If you have had similar thoughts or doubts, please know that you are quite normal. Just keep pressing forward obediently and with faith in the Savior. As you do so, you “cannot go amiss” (D&C 80:3).

Once a Mormon or potential Mormon has received this testimony from God, he is expected to act on it. If we go to God with a request for help or advice, we must act on the light He gives us.

This initial testimony is only a beginning place, however. Over the coming years, Mormons will continue to study and pray. They will plan for experiences that will strengthen their testimonies of Jesus Christ and become more familiar with His teachings. They will continue to improve their ability to live the commandments of God. All of these things will continue a lifelong process of conversion. As our testimonies grow stronger, our ability to obey God becomes easier. As obedience becomes easier, our testimonies are strengthened. It is those first steps that are critical; after that every step circles back to strengthen the previous steps and to make the next ones easier.

Treating conversion as a process rather than a single event makes it more likely a person will sustain the initial conversion and more likely he will continue to work on improving his testimony and spirituality. True to the Faith offers several benefits that come from being truly converted:

1.    A desire to do good. Someone with a true conversion will not be perfect, but will be filled with a desire to make gospel-appropriate choices out of love for Jesus Christ. The motive behind the goal is one sign of true conversion.

2.    A refusal to rebel against God. A person who is truly converted will accept the teachings of God and of the prophet without rebellion or trying to “exempt” any teaching or action that does not match other non-spiritual aspects of his life.

3.    A willingness to share the gospel. When we have something we know will make the lives of others better, we long to share it. If we have a testimony of the gospel and know how much happier it has made us, love for others will cause us to share it with them.

4.    An increased love for others. When we are truly converted, God can fill our hearts with love for others and a desire to help them be happy and safe. It impacts the way we treat others and the way we view them.

These goals often take a lifetime to achieve, but each day we are actively working on our testimonies and conversions, we are bringing ourselves closer to a Christ-like life and a complete conversion.

Ezra Booth, a former minister, became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are often called Mormons, in 1831, when the church was still new. He had seen Joseph Smith heal the arm of a church member, and this was his reason for joining. However, Mormons know miracles don’t really convert people. The miracle must be followed up with appropriate steps to gain a true testimony, including study and prayer. However, Booth did not do this and so he had only the single miracle to bolster his thin faith.

In the early days of the church, adult men, even those married, could be sent out on missions and often did so when they were quite new to the church. This is not the case today, where missionaries must be well-versed in their religion and have strong testimonies. Ezra Booth left on his mission only a few months after joining. This mission demonstrated his lack of true testimony as he faced his first necessity to sacrifice for his faith. He was angry over having to walk to his destination instead of being given transportation, even though the young church had no money for such things and neither did he. He began to feel upset that he didn’t see a continual stream of miracles, not understanding that miracles are miracles precisely because they are rare. Missionary work wasn’t the glamorous task he expected it to be.

As he focused on all the things that were wrong, instead of on what was right or on the privilege of doing God’s work, his attitude descended lower and lower. All he thought about day in and day out was what he didn’t like about his new church. He had misunderstood a prophecy that said the gospel would bloom in Missouri because he thought it had already happened or it would happen while (and maybe because) he was a missionary there. Instead, he found only a small number of converts there. He didn’t think prophets ought to laugh or play with children. Ezra also resented that only the prophet could receive revelation, showing a distinct inability to understand the purpose of a prophet. He began to harbor resentment and anger towards his leaders. He even forgot he was there to share the gospel and instead spent his time attacking it. Naturally, when he returned home, the church had no choice but to excommunicate him. It was clear he lacked a testimony or commitment to the gospel.

Like so many though, he could not simply move on with life. He became obsessed with his former membership and began writing letters to the newspapers, making up new stories and slanting things to justify his decision to stay outside the church rather than to repent and re-convert. Many people find a need to try to justify their choices in this way. Unfortunately, many believed his words, not knowing his background or mindset and it increased the persecution the Mormons faced. Because of his attitude and gossip, many people suffered powerful tragedies.

Joseph Smith was naturally a preferred target, although Ezra’s persecution hurt many others as well. One day, Joseph’s adopted twins had measles and Emma, his wife, had cared for them all day. She eventually went to bed with the little girl and Joseph stayed up with the little boy, who was much sicker. Late into the night, he finally was able to sleep by putting the child with him on the trundle bed near the door. Just as he fell asleep, an angry and very drunk mob broke through the door and dragged Joseph into the streets. They left the door open, causing the baby to catch cold. They choked Joseph, ripped off his clothing, and tried to force hot tar and acid down his throat to kill him. After having second thoughts about actually murdering him, they tarred and feathered him. They also dragged Sidney Rigdon, another church member, out of his home and covered him in tar. The head injuries Rigdon sustained left him delirious for several days. Both men suffered untold pain as the tar was removed from them.

The saddest result of this mob action is that Joseph’s little son died because of the cold he caught when the door was left open. Despite all of this, Joseph forgave them and when they showed up at a sermon soon after, Joseph, still suffering his injuries, did not mention what they had done.

All of this came about because one person had a very bad attitude, choosing to focus on the wrong things, choosing to fill his life with hatred, choosing to spread false stories—and because others chose to believe this gossip instead of finding out for themselves what was true.

There will always be people in the world who will make up stories for their own self-centered purposes, whether it is about religion, politics, social life or any other part of life. However, we are accountable for our choices, including what we do with what others tell us. Ezra Booth would have to answer to God for the lies he told, but each person who acted on those lies without taking the time to find out for himself what was true would also be accountable for those actions. No part of our life is exempt from being accountable for our choices.

H. David Burton, Presiding Bishop of the Church, pointed out that our integrity impacts every other part of our virtue: “It is difficult for a person to display virtuous traits if he or she lacks integrity. Without integrity, honesty is often forgotten. If integrity is absent, civility is impaired. If integrity is not important, spirituality is difficult to maintain.” (See Let Virtue Garnish Your Thoughts by H. David Burton.)

There are many lessons to be drawn from the life of Ezra Booth—the importance of securing a firm testimony of your faith, the dangers of spreading or listening to gossip, the impact of sustained anger, and the power of choice and accountability. It is not likely Ezra Booth set out to cause as much trouble he did. He only wanted to get even with the Mormons for not living up to his unrealistic expectations. However, the choices he made led to widespread persecution, pain and suffering, and even the death of a child. Gossip and spreading false information or information we have not properly verified can have far-reaching consequences we cannot imagine. It is important, as we make our daily choices, to remember we can choose our actions, but not their consequences. Seemingly unimportant actions can lead to a chain of events we can no longer control. Agency is one of the greatest gifts God has given us but we must use it wisely.

Many of the reviews of the Broadway’s The Book of Mormon Musical claim it is only an attack on blind faith. The suggestion is, then, that the missionaries in the musical were operating on blind faith and that perhaps the converts were as well.

The musical features two young Mormon missionaries, one who wishes he’d been sent somewhere more fun and the other who knows nothing about his religion and so spends his time preaching Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. This is, of course, hardly a realistic portrayal of the typical Mormon missionary. Missionaries generally love being sent out of the country and the more unusual the place, the better. In addition, they are extremely well-educated in their faith.

Blind faith suggests basing faith on nothing at all. This is not what the truly converted Mormon does. First, by the time a missionary leaves for his mission at age nineteen, he knows far more than the average American teenager knows about his or her own faith. A recent Pew Forum study showed that Mormon teens were among the very few who could intelligently discuss their beliefs and were more likely to live it. Even a cursory review of Mormon teen life would have shown the composers that if they want ignorant missionaries, the Mormons aren’t the place to look for them.

Mormon children begin their religious educations in the home as infants. Their families hold daily scripture study and family prayer. In addition, they have a weekly Family Home Evening, which includes a lesson a gospel principle. In most homes, family members take turns teaching, in addition to rotating the other responsibilities in the home. In this way, young children learn how to teach their beliefs—which is one reason they can intelligently discuss them—and to lead meetings, conduct music, and plan activities. They learn the leadership skills necessary to become good missionaries.

When they are just eighteen months old, they begin to attend the nursery class. Although it is for toddlers and there is ample time to play, they also have lessons and spiritual singing times. They attend the regular worship service with their parents and attend their class during the two classes held afterwards. At age three, they start to attend regular classes and are also invited to prepare and give brief sermons, called talks, in the children’s program. Again, this helps them learn and discuss their beliefs. From ages eight to twelve, they attend a children’s group two to four times a month.

Teenagers get a far more extensive program of education. They give at least one sermon a year, lasting about five minutes, to the entire congregation and sometimes teach classes to their peers as well. Besides attending Sunday School and a class for young men or young women on gospel living, they also have a weekly activity where they put what they’ve learned into practice. They have regular service projects, youth conferences, and religious camps.

Beginning in high school, teens attend a class that is both spiritual and academic in nature on the scriptures. In this class they learn the scriptures in great depth, since it is held almost every school day, usually very early in the morning. The four year program devotes two years to the Bible, one to the Book of Mormon, and one to church history and modern revelations. They are required to read each of these books of scripture as part of this program, the weeknight program, and Sunday School. Since the classes are not all on the same book at the same time, they usually have several books to read at once.

While they are in college, they attend a similar program that is even more rigorous, both spiritually and academically. Most missionaries will have had several years of this program, known as Institute of Religion, behind them before they begin their missions.

As you can see, between home, church, and personal study, a Mormon missionary leaves for his mission with a great deal of education in his faith. Of course, there is more to faith than just knowledge, but knowledge is important. Mormons do not believe in blind faith. Children and converts are expected to learn the beliefs of their faith prior to baptism, which cannot happen earlier than age eight. While they may have only a rudimentary knowledge at this time, they are expected to continue to study and learn.

Next comes testimony. A testimony of God, of Jesus Christ, and of the Savior’s church is a requirement for baptism. Even children are taught to pray for a testimony. They beginning saying simple prayers with a parent’s help as soon as they can talk, but as they get older, they learn how to make prayer a personal conversation with God and to ask for and to receive answers. It is a lack of understanding of faith that makes The Book of Mormon Musical an extremely inaccurate portrayal of Christianity in general. Most Christians do not operate on blind faith.

A Mormon bases his faith on knowledge gained in a personal way. We all know we believe most strongly in things we have personally proven and this is the way with religion. There are some who say we need a physical proof in order to justify believing, but of course, proof is not faith and God teaches that faith what we were sent here to earth to learn. And yet, while we may not have put our hands on specific objects or seen God in person, we can still know what is true.

A Christian does not believe in the Bible because he saw the original papyrus on which it was written or because he personally watched the author at work. He might find scientific proof of the Bible’s authenticity interesting, but it isn’t the basis of his faith. If there were not lions found in the places and times the Bible says there were lions, a Christian knows it is not that they weren’t there, but that we haven’t found the proof yet. Science makes new discoveries every day and today, many things scientists once said weren’t true have been proven true. Christians are patient people in their faith.

Mormons, who also use the Bible, exercise this same faith in the Book of Mormon as well. They don’t need to see the plates on which the Book of Mormon was written any more than they need to see the papyrus on which the Bible was written. They enjoy seeing that archaeologists have, in modern times, discovered ancient records recorded on metal plates, even though they said, in Joseph Smith’s time they never were. However, that isn’t why they believe. They believed before scientists made that discovery.

Everyone knows things that they have never proven scientifically. We live by and believe in many scientific facts without bothering to recreate the experiments for ourselves. We believe in love even though we don’t head for a laboratory to find out if we really are in love. We believe in democracy without a scientific proof that it is the best form of government. We choose our parenting methods based on instincts and preference. We live our lives using faith in things we cannot or choose not to scientifically prove.

And yet, Mormons believe they can prove the existence of God and the truthfulness of their religion. They can’t prove it to anyone else because faith must be individually proven. This proof comes from the Holy Ghost. A person must first have a desire to believe and a basic understanding of what he is about to pray for. Then he takes it to God, because while man is imperfect and might mislead, God never will lead us astray. A testimony based only on material proof can be destroyed when science makes a new discovery that contradicts the old beliefs. The testimony of man can become shaky when we see that person’s imperfection or hear something we didn’t want to believe. When the testimony comes from God, however, there is no question that it is true.

Dallin H. Oaks, a Mormon apostle of Jesus Christ, offered this explanation of why faith is not blind faith:

“In closing, I refer to the relationship between obedience and knowledge. Members who have a testimony and who act upon it under the direction of their Church leaders are sometimes accused of blind obedience.

Of course, we have leaders, and of course, we are subject to their decisions and directions in the operation of the Church and in the performance of needed priesthood ordinances. But when it comes to learning and knowing the truth of the gospel—our personal testimonies—we each have a direct relationship with God, our Eternal Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, through the powerful witness of the Holy Ghost. This is what our critics fail to understand. It puzzles them that we can be united in following our leaders and yet independent in knowing for ourselves.

Perhaps the puzzle some feel can be explained by the reality that each of us has two different channels to God. We have a channel of governance through our prophet and other leaders. This channel, which has to do with doctrine, ordinances, and commandments, results in obedience. We also have a channel of personal testimony, which is direct to God. This has to do with His existence, our relationship to Him, and the truth of His restored gospel. This channel results in knowledge. These two channels are mutually reinforcing: knowledge encourages obedience (see Deuteronomy 5:27; Moses 5:11), and obedience enhances knowledge (see John 7:17; D&C 93:1).

We all act upon or give obedience to knowledge. Whether in science or religion, our obedience is not blind when we act upon knowledge suited to the subject of our action. A scientist receives and acts upon a trusted certification of the content or conditions of a particular experiment. In matters of religion, a believer’s source of knowledge is spiritual, but the principle is the same. In the case of Latter-day Saints, when the Holy Ghost gives our souls a witness of the truth of the restored gospel and the calling of a modern prophet, our choice to follow those teachings is not blind obedience.” (See Dallin H. Oaks, “Testimony”, Ensign, April 2008 General Conference.)

In 1852, when Hannah Last Cornaby was baptized, she and her husband had to enter the church building through a volley of stones being thrown at them by a screaming mob. She did not turn back. She bravely pushed through the mob, coping with the rocks and insults and allowed her husband to baptize her. Perhaps this event motivated her to later write the LDS hymn, “Who’s On the Lord’s Side?”

Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?

Now is the time to show.

We ask it fearlessly:

Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?

(“Who’s on the Lord’s Side?” Hymns, no. 260)

Hannah didn’t just choose the Lord’s side when it was easy or popular. She chose it when her very life was in danger. She left her home in England for it and endured many hardships with good humor for it. Hannah chose the Lord’s side.

Today, there are many forces trying to get us to choose the other side. Secular forces try to convince us it is old-fashioned to be on the Lord’s side. Political parties urge loyalty to them over the gospel. Media mocks the Lord’s side on a regular basis. This is reminiscent of a story in the Book of Mormon about a prophet named Lehi.

Lehi had a vision which featured a tree. The tree represented God’s love. Many people worked to get to the tree but some, after reaching it and tasting the fruit, became aware of a great and spacious building off to the side. It was filled with glamorous people who were mocking those who worked so hard to reach the tree. Many people got distracted by this or embarrassed by the taunts and rushed away, abandoning God to join the people in the building. The building represented the secular world.

Today, that building is rapidly filling up with people who never tasted God’s love and with those who did taste it but who thought they could find a better way to live, one with fewer rules, perhaps, or one with more selfish rules, or one that is more popular. There are so many distractions to test our testimonies.

The true test of whose side you are on comes when a person, a political party, a television program or some other thought leader you admire takes a stand that is different from the one your faith declares is God’s stand. For Mormons, this refers to what the prophets tell us, since only a prophet can speak for God—the Bible makes this very clear. In Mormon beliefs, the test comes when the prophet declares something, as a prophet, that is different from a belief you cherished. What do you do? Do you refuse to raise your hand to sustain the prophet or do you get down on your knees and pray to know what is true?

Your decision will help you know the depth of your testimony.

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15.)

There are many gods calling on us to switch sides, and it takes courage and a firm foundation of faith to identify the correct one and to choose that side before anything else.

The Lord has left no doubt in defining His side and where the Saints should be in their thoughts, words, actions, and practices. We have His counsel in the scriptures and in the words of the prophets. To ancient Israel, the Lord said through Moses: “I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil.” (Deut. 30:15.) The Lord counseled His prophet Jeremiah to instruct the people: “Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.” (Jer. 21: 8.) That is the contrast; that is the choice. Either we are on the Lord’s side of the line or on the side of the adversary. Nephi declared, [we] “are free to act for [ourselves]—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.” (2 Ne. 10:23.) Yes, “men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” (2 Ne. 2:27.) (See Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Lord’s Side”, Ensign, Mar. 1993, 69 )

It is often not the big sins that catch us off-guard, especially as we get older and are good at resisting certain typesof temptations. Instead, it is often the small things, the single toe sliding across the line to decide we disagree with the prophet on this one little thing. Unfortunately, the toe is attached to a foot and one small decision away from the teaching of the prophets can lead to making it easier to disagree with the prophet on one more thing. Soon our whole foot is over the line, and then our bodies, and finally our hearts. Step by small step, Satan wins the battle.

The statements of the prophets are not given to compel, coerce, dictate, control, or infringe on any person’s right to choose. Church leaders are guided by the Lord’s injunction in the Doctrine and Covenants: “No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

“By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile.” (D&C 121:41–42.) The prophets and other Church leaders never have misled the members on a principle of righteousness. Every principle is for our benefit. However, if we choose to ignore the prophets, we choose the consequences that follow. We have the God-given agency to either follow the prophets or not, but we cannot choose the consequences of exercising that agency. They will follow with absolute certainty. If we ignore the prophets, we become like the people the Savior chastised when he said, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46.) (See Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Lord’s Side”, Ensign, Mar. 1993, 69.)

Being on the Lord’s side sometimes requires us to make changes in long-held beliefs. We don’t have to automatically accept what we hear. We can take it to God and pray for wisdom. However, we know the prophet will not lead us astray and at some point in time, we have to gain a testimony of the prophet, not just of individual doctrine. It is not the work of the prophet to tell us what we want to hear or what the world wants us to say.

You may not like what comes from the authority of the Church. It may conflict with your political views. It may contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of your social life … Your safety and ours depends upon whether or not we follow … Let’s keep our eye on the President of the Church.” (Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1970, p. 152–153.)

Sometimes, when faced with a prophet who seems to be telling us something different from what we thought was the word of God, we turn to dead prophets. “But Joseph Smith said….”

Ezra Taft Benson, a past Mormon prophet, spoke of this challenge:

But it is the living prophet who really upsets the world. “Even in the Church,” said President Kimball, “many are prone to garnish the sepulchres of yesterdays prophets and mentally stone the living ones.” (Instructor, 95:527.)

Why? Because the living prophet gets at what we need to know now, and the world prefers that prophets either be dead or worry about their own affairs. Some so-called experts of political science want the prophet to keep still on politics. Some would-be authorities on evolution want the prophet to keep still on evolution. And so the list goes on and on.

How we respond to the words of a living prophet when he tells us what we need to know, but would rather not hear, is a test of our faithfulness.

Said President Marion G. Romney, “It is an easy thing to believe in the dead prophets, but it is a greater thing to believe in the living prophets.” (Ezra Taft Benson, “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet“, Liahona, June 1981, 1)

For a Mormon, a prophet today is the same as a prophet in Biblical times. God counseled people to listen to the prophets, not just when they agreed with them but always. Refusing to do so came with dire consequences. While today, we may not find ourselves on the wrong side of the ark doors because we didn’t follow the prophet, we can find ourselves in a much worse situation.

“The Prophet spoke out clearly on Friday morning, telling us what our responsibilities are …

“A man said to me after that, ‘You know, there are people in our state who believe in following the Prophet in everything they think is right, but when it is something they think isn’t right, and it doesn’t appeal to them, then that’s different.’ He said, ‘Then they become their own prophet. They decide what the Lord wants and what the Lord doesn’t want.’

“I thought how true, and how serious when we begin to choose which of the covenants, which of the commandments we will keep and follow, we are taking the law of the Lord into our own hands and become our own prophets, and believe me, we will be led astray, because we are false prophets to ourselves when we do not follow the Prophet of God. No, we should never discriminate between these commandments, as to those we should and should not keep” (N. Eldon Tanner, CR, October 1966, p. 98, quoted in the above-mentioned talk by Elder Benson.)

In Mormon beliefs, the prophet is the mouthpiece of God. God said he would do nothing without first revealing it to his prophets and He did not put a time limit on that promise. Today, as in Old Testament times, God is speaking. Today, the spiritual situation is at least as perilous as it was in past times when prophets spoke loudly and clearly, declaring the word of God. It is the personal responsibility of each person today to pray to know if there is a prophet on the earth, who he is, and how he is to be followed. The rewards and penalties for our decision to do this or to not do it, and for our decisions about following him, are the same as they were in Biblical times. The prophet of God helps us to stay on the Lord’s side, not just when it’s easy, but always.

Who is the Mormon prophet today?

Mormons are known for their high moral standards. Some people think those standards are old-fashioned or out of touch, but Mormons know those standards protect them from many of life’s challenges and help them to live up to standards God himself has set.

Too many of our young men and women are succumbing to the pressures imposed by a world saturated with evil messages and immoral behavior. Lucifer is waging a vicious war for the souls of young and old alike, and the casualty count is climbing. The standards of the world have shifted like the sands of a windblown desert. That which was once unheard of or unacceptable is now commonplace. The world’s perspective has been so dramatically altered that those who choose to adhere to traditional standards of morality are viewed as strange, almost as though they must justify their desire to keep the commandments of God.

But one thing is certain: the commandments have not changed. Let there be no mistake about that. Right is still right. Wrong is still wrong, no matter how cleverly cloaked in respectability or political correctness. We believe in chastity before marriage and fidelity ever after. That standard is an absolute standard of truth. It is neither subject to public opinion polls nor dependent upon situation or circumstance. There is no need to debate it or other gospel standards. (See M. Russell Ballard, “Like a Flame Unquenchable,” Ensign, May 1999, 85.)

People often think they’re modern and sophisticated when they ignore traditional values. However, ignoring God’s commandments always comes with consequences. Children grow up without the benefits of both a mother and a father. Poverty sometimes results, although poverty can, of course, happen to those who live righteously as well. Some diseases are passed only through immorality. Immoral choices tear apart families through pornography or infidelity.

Sheri L. Dew, a former leader of the Mormon Relief Society and now the head of a major religious publishing company said, “Several years ago, I participated in an international policy forum where the discussion moved from prostitution to pornography to abortion and so on. When the moderator invited me to comment, I noted that it seemed impossible not to notice a common theme—that every thorny issue had immoral underpinnings.” (See Sheri L. Dew: The Power of Virtue.)

Relative morality is a dangerous thing. We alter morality to suit the standards chosen by television and movies, rock stars, and political action groups. We let popular culture decide what is right, and yet popular culture has no authority, no long-range vision, and sometimes no responsibility for the consequences of the course they choose. They seldom care about the consequences…they’re just after the attention and influence. Consequences aren’t their problem. Too often people with influence say, “I just tell people what I think. What they do with it and what happens as a result isn’t my problem.” But, of course, it is.

There comes a time of reckoning for everyone. No one lives forever in a mortal state. Eventually we all die and stand before God to account for the choices we made, the influence we had over others, and the consequences of our actions. God made commandments and He didn’t make them for entertainment value. He meant them to be kept.

Jesus spoke firmly to the Pharisees about their habit of altering the gospel to suit current fads or personal “freedom.”

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

  7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

  8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

  9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition (Mark 7:6-9, King James Bible)

Jesus understood the danger of constantly changing moral standards, based on nothing but personal opinions of people. Only in a world that consistently follows certain essential principles of morality are people truly safe from dangerous fads and whims. It’s easy to say, “But these are modern times and this is how we do things.” By the time we understand the dangers of that fad, it is usually too late.

As an example, using a non-moral issue, a number of years ago a state decided to mandate a method of teaching reading using the force of law. Teachers, who had far more experience than lawmakers, protested loudly that it would not work, and yet the decision was made by people with no real understanding of the process of teaching reading or the consequences of their decision. They only knew this was an “exciting” new fad, modern and popular. They jumped on the bandwagon of popular opinion. Four or five years later, they admitted the method was a complete failure and that thousands of children could not read as a result. Much of an entire generation suffered because lawmakers were more interested in being modern and popular than in worrying about the well-being of the children they were responsible for. They admitted their mistake, but they could not undo the damage caused by their irresponsible passion for fads. The children who could read were largely taught at home using methods that had long been proven worthy.

In the same way, many people today are making decisions about right and wrong without the eternal knowledge or authority to do so. By the time they see the dangers of their decisions and the damage it has caused those under their influence, it will be too late. They can apologize, but they may not be able to undo the damage caused by their choices.

We need not compromise. We must not compromise. The candle that the Lord has lighted in this dispensation can become as a light unto the whole world, and others seeing our good works can be led to glorify our Father in Heaven and emulate in their own lives the examples they have observed in ours.

Beginning with you and me, there can be an entire people who, by the virtue of our lives in our homes, in our vocations, even in our amusements, can become as a city upon a hill to which men may look and learn, and an ensign to the nations from which the people of the earth may gather strength,” (Gordon B. Hinckley, A City upon a Hill,” Ensign, Jul 1990, 2.)

Unless we know what matters most to us, we will spend much of our life doing things that don’t matter to us as much as the things we neglect. To use our agency wisely, we have to know what we want out of life. One question I often as myself when faced with a choice to make is this: Is what I’m getting worth more than what I’m giving up?” This question reminds me that each time I choose something, I am giving up the other options. The challenge is to choose the option that gives me what I really want from life—not right this moment, but for eternity.

For instance, I am sometimes asked by church members struggling with the gospel, “Do you think God will really keep me out of the Celestial Kingdom over a cup of coffee?” The church teaches us that coffee is one of the several things God has asked us to avoid. The answer to this question, of course, is, “Are you willing to give up your right to spend eternity in God’s presence for a mere cup of coffee?” It’s important to ask the right question when settling priorities. When deciding what to drink with my breakfast, I can see I have two choices (at least.) If I’m a coffee drinker and a member of the church, or someone who wants to become a member, I will ask myself, “Which do I want most for eternity: Coffee, or God?” Put that way, the choice seems obvious. A cup of coffee this morning is not worth more to me than the opportunity to live with God someday. While it might bring momentary pleasure, it will deny me the eternal joy I’m seeking.

While the questioner might have felt she had the question the right way around, she was simply organizing it to meet her own short-sighted desires. God always knows what is best for us, and one reason we are here is to develop self-control and to set priorities. Just as we teach our young children to forego a candy bar this week so he can save faster for the bicycle he wants, God wants us to learn to put aside immediate pleasures in favor of eternal ones.

When faced with a choice, evaluate the short-term and long-term consequences. When we find ourselves choosing the short-term pleasures even when we know the gospel has taught us otherwise, we can see this as a warning that it is time to evaluate and strengthen our testimonies.

For those who are not Mormons, and are held back from converting due to an unwillingness to give up certain habits, the first step is to pray and find out if the lifestyle choice you’ve made has God’s approval. If it’s something you’re strongly attached to, it can be a challenge (and even an act of courage) to go to God humbly, and completely ready to receive His advice without imposing your own will on it. This is, however, the only way to find the strength and conviction needed to make choices and changes.

Once you know God’s will on the subject, spend time putting it into context of your personal goals and your eternal goals. Is the party you want to attend more important than the test you need to study for in terms of your personal goals? Is the friend whose company you enjoy but who is always baiting you to lower your standards important enough to risk giving in to him at a weak moment?

Is that cup of coffee worth the price of Heaven?

In order to learn to make wise use of our eternal gift of agency, we must understand that each choice we make has consequences. These consequences can affect our entire lives and even our eternities. They also affect others. When we learn to evaluate the consequences of our choices, we are better able to make wise choices and get the most from our agency.

In the past, many Mormons used the term “free agency” to describe our God-given right to choose for ourselves. Today, church leaders discourage that term, because agency is not free, and they want us to understand this. Instead, they encourage the use of the term “moral agency.”

Agency is not free because it comes with a price—consequences. We may choose what to do, but we may not choose the consequences, nor may we choose how our choices affect others. The consequences may result from eternal laws, or they may be the result of natural consequences. They might even result from choices others make in response to our choices. Each choice we make limits other choices we might have made, for good or for bad. All of this is beyond our control, and so we must train ourselves and our children to look at the big picture when we’re faced with a choice.

Throughout the scriptures, we find examples of people who used their agency and faced the consequences. When Noah preached to the people to repent, they chose to ignore him. He warned them of the impending flood. They continued to ignore him. They had every right to do this. God would not force them to repent. They had to choose for themselves whether or not to trust the prophet. They chose not to do the hard work of finding out whether or not Noah was a true prophet of God, and this was their eternal right. However, they could not choose the consequences of that decision. God had decreed that anyone who did not choose to repent—in effect, anyone who chose not to gain a testimony and then act on the knowledge received—would be killed in the flood. God always keeps His promises. Therefore, while they could choose to ignore the prophet and the need for a testimony, they could not choose to get on the ark anyway once the flood began. When the rain began, and it was too late to repent, some might have felt it was unfair that they couldn’t do a last second “conversion,” but choices have consequences and even time limits. They had a certain amount of time allotted them to gain a testimony that Noah was a true prophet of God, repent of their sins, and live the gospel. Once that time ended, the time for decision was over. They could still repent, but they could not board the ark.

Ordinarily, the choices and their consequences are not so explicitly spelled out for us. They may be more subtle, and we may not be able to easily see the consequences. In order to make sure we’re happy with the results of our choices, we must pray for guidance. God alone knows what the consequences of our choice will be.

However, although prayer should always be a part of our decision-making, we must also practice using wisdom ourselves. We can take time to think through the possibilities to which our choices might lead and then make a decision. Following this, we can take our choice to God for confirmation.

Let’s look at the life of one young man who has to make a decision with short-term consequences, or at least, the consequences seem to be short-term. It’s Thursday. Sam has an important test to take on Friday. He also has a last-minute invitation to attend his first professional football game on Thursday night. He doesn’t feel well-prepared for the test, and would need to study all evening to even have a chance to pass it, but he doesn’t want to miss the game, either. He’s always wanted to go to a professional football game.

Because Sam doesn’t feel he is prepared for the test, we know he has already been making choices that have affected his choice now. Clearly, he has not been keeping up with his studies, regularly putting other things ahead of his coursework. This is why he’s not ready for the test. He can’t undo the past, so he must now deal with the consequences as they stand. The consequences are that because he has not already prepared for the test, he cannot choose the game without seriously harming his grades.

His right to choose has not yet ended. He can still choose the game or the study session. However, his choices have narrowed. Were he well-prepared, he might have been free to attend the game without risking failure. As it stands, though, if he chooses the game, he is most likely choosing to fail the test. The next day, when he sits at his desk, pen in hand, it will be too late for choices. He will take the test with whatever knowledge he has and he will receive the grade he earns. He will be unable to choose the grades, or the results of those grades.

In the future, Sam may recall the results of his choices. He might decide to keep up with his studies, so he can take advantage of interesting opportunities once in a while without harm. He might, however, continue on the path he seems to have chosen and constantly choose other things over his studies. Eventually, these choices will lead to poor grades. Enough poor grades might keep him from being allowed to attend a university, or may even set a pattern he finds it nearly impossible to undo, so that he is            consistently choosing fun over work. While the choice to neglect his studies just once may seem unimportant, the total of many such choices can impact the rest of his life, as he struggles to earn enough money to care for his family and neglects to meet his responsibilities when fun awaits.

A single failed test might seem to only affect Sam. It may, of course, upset his parents, but Sam cannot control this. If he chooses to fail the test, his parents will experience whatever feelings come, and however sad he might be at having hurt them, he won’t be able to prevent it. If he chooses to continue the path of academic destruction, many will be hurt in the future—his parents, his future spouse, and the children he will have. He will not be able to control this.

He may choose to undo these decisions at some point in the future, perhaps developing a work ethic or returning to school under much more difficult circumstances. He cannot, though, undo whatever bad effects happened in the past.

Our choices often set a precedent for future choices. Every choice has a consequence, and one consequence might be the impact the choice has on our character or personality.

Choose a plan for making decisions. Take time to think ahead to short-term and long-term consequences and learn to pray for guidance as you make the choices that will affect your life.

The teen years are filled with temptation. The media, peers, even teachers and other adults can try to convince a young person that sin is okay, natural, normal, and fun. For a teenager with high standards and an eye for eternity, it can be a challenge to stay on the right path, when so many people are determined to take her off that path. Fortunately, God and His servants have outlined effective ways for teens—and adults—to stay safe.

Staying safe is a matter of choices, and to make wise choices, we have to understand the concept of agency. This article will focus on agency, and future articles in this series will walk through the process of using that understanding to make eternally safe choices.

Agency is the right to choose. It is not the right to do anything we want without consequences, however. With every choice comes consequences, and those consequences are beyond our control. We can’t choose how the choices impact us, or their impact on others. Because of this, agency must be accompanied by responsibility.

Satan can’t take our agency from us, but he can encourage us to give up our agency or to weaken our ability to use it well. When we allow someone or something  else to do our thinking for us, when we choose to partake of an activity or substance that dulls our judgment, such as hypnotism, alcohol, or drugs, we are making it harder for the Spirit to reach us, and weakening our ability to choose for ourselves. We’ve chosen to participate in something that is designed to allow others to control us. While we might still break through and avoid doing wrong, we are less inclined to do so because we are not able to have the spirit to guide us. The Holy Ghost cannot be where sin is. This choice to allow another person or substance to control us puts us in danger.

We can also weaken our ability to use our agency wisely when we begin to put too much faith in something or someone other than God. Do we, without prayer, follow the advice of a friend, a popular student, a celebrity, a self-help guru, a club, or a political party, even when their teachings conflict with those of the living prophets? If so, we’re handing over our agency to another, who may not have our best interests at heart, or who may not know eternal truths. When we listen to the counsel of another that conflicts with the teachings of God, we’ve decided this person knows better than God what is right and true, and that we ourselves know someone better than God to trust. This weakens our ability to hear the Spirit, who never yells, but who speaks quietly to those who trust Him.

The ability to listen to the spirit is critical to the wise use of agency. None of us is wise enough to know what is right or wrong on our own. We need the promptings of the spirit to guide us through the many choices offered us every day. The adversary is very smart and is an expert at manipulation. He can take a truth and present it half-way, and so skillfully the twisted version sounds reasonable. Assurances that we are safe, we won’t lose control, or we won’t get hurt can fill our minds and block the gentle reminders of the spirit.

Study the ways Satan uses to manipulate us into following his guidance or giving him our agency as a gift. Pay attention and listen with the spirit, not your emotions, to times when you see others are trying to influence you. What tactics are they using? Why are they using them? What will happen if you fall for the tactics? Are the teachings and arguments in line with the teachings of the gospel?

The only sure way to know how to use your agency well is to pray. A person who is considering becoming a Mormon is assigned by the missionaries to ask God before making their decision. Those born to LDS parents are taught from early childhood to also pray and make their decision based on the advice of the Holy Ghost. Only God can be trusted to give us wise advice for the use of our agency, and it’s critical that we ask Him if He’s there and if we have found His church. It’s important to know how He is communicating with us. In the Bible, we see that God communicated with man through prophets as well as through the spirit. Today, we are again guided by prophets, but we can’t be guided until we know for ourselves there really is a prophet and are able to identify him. We must also learn to recognize what it is like to receive personal revelation from God, so we can trust the answers He gives us.

Agency is a wonderful gift, but it has extraordinary power for both good and evil, depending on how we choose to use it and who we listen to when making our choices.

Robert D. Hales, a high-ranking church official, said,

Agency allows us to be tested and tried to see whether or not we will endure to the end and return to our Heavenly Father with honor. Agency is the catalyst that leads us to express our inward spiritual desires in outward Christlike behavior. Agency permits us to make faithful, obedient choices that strengthen us so that we can lift and strengthen others. Agency used righteously allows light to dispel the darkness and enables us to live with joy and happiness in the present, look with faith to the future, even into the eternities, and not dwell on the things of the past. Our use of agency determines who we are and what we will be. To all who desire to enjoy the supernal blessings of agency, I testify that agency is strengthened by our faith and obedience. Agency leads us to act: to seek that we may find, to ask that we may receive guidance from the Spirit, to knock on that door that leads to spiritual light and ultimately salvation.

(See Robert D. Hales, “To Act for Ourselves: The Gift and Blessings of Agency,” Ensign, May 2006, 4–8.)

Pay special attention to this sentence from his thoughts:

“Our use of agency determines who we are and what we will be.”

This is why the subject of agency matters and why we must devote a great deal of time learning to use it well.

Most of us want to do the right thing and to keep God’s commandments. However, in the press of everyday life, with rushed schedules, pressure from others, and conflicting desires, it can be difficult to make good choices, or even to remember to do the right thing.

One way to help resolve this problem is to surround ourselves with reminders of who we are and what we stand for. By having our world filled with symbols of our faith, we can stay focused on the eternal goal, even when the immediate demands of life are crowding in.

Mormon children are given a ring to wear on their finger that contains a shield with the letters CTR on it. The letters stand for Choose the Right, and children are taught to look at their ring when they make a decision.    If they develop the habit of doing this and remembering what the ring is telling them, in time, it can become a habit, so they’ll make the right choice even without a ring handy. However, even many adults wear CTR rings, because it never hurts to be reminded.

Mormons are counseled to place in their homes items that will remind them of their Savior. Gospel art work is one way to keep minds and hearts focused on God. Having a few inexpensive pictures in your home can help you to contemplate how you use your time when you’re at home. Place the pictures in the places you spend the most time or in the spaces that might create the most temptation. The artwork need not be expensive. I often purchase calendars with religious art, and then frame the pictures I like best when the year ends.

Mormons can also ask the leaders of auxiliary organizations to let them know when they’re planning to throw out old picture packets because too many of the pictures are lost. These often have farmable pictures in them.

LDS.org offers an inexpensive new gospel art book, as well. For only a few dollars, you can receive many colored pictures in a spiral binder. These can be placed on an easel, allowing you to change the picture often.

Keeping the scriptures in easily accessible places can also serve as a reminder to read them and to honor what is contained inside. During times when I expect it to be easy to get distracted, I place my Bible and Book of Mormon on my keyboard before going to bed. Since I am a writer and spend my days at my computer, this served as a clear reminder to me to read before I began my work for the morning.

I also have a framed quote on my desk about how God expects us to use our talents to serve Him. I copied it into a word processing program, and put a light picture behind it. Then I printed it off and framed it. Because it sits right where I work, it reminds me to write appropriately, and not to be tempted by popular culture to write something I should not.

Sometimes the greater challenge comes when we leave our home. This is one reason so many Mormons wear CTR rings. However, any type of religious jewelry can serve the same purpose, but only if you desire to do the right thing anyway. A ring is simply not enough to keep you from doing wrong if you’re determined to do the right thing.

The most important way to remember to do right is to live worthy of help from the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost can’t be in unclean environments, so we must be attempting to do the right thing. When we’re tempted to make a poor choice, the Holy Ghost or Spirit of Christ can remind us of the promises we’ve made to God and give us the courage to carry them out. However, it’s then our responsibility to act on that prompting. If we ignore it and continue the sin, the Holy Ghost must flee and we’re left alone to cope with the results.

“The gift of the Holy Ghost, given to us when we are confirmed, gives us the ability to discern the difference between the giving ways of the kingdom of God and the taking practices of the world. The Holy Ghost gives us the strength and courage to conduct our lives in the ways of the kingdom of God and is the source of our testimony of the Father and the Son. As we obey the will of our Father in Heaven, this priceless gift of the Holy Ghost will be with us continually.

We need the Holy Ghost as our constant companion to help us make better choices in the decisions that confront us daily. Our young men and women are bombarded with ugly things of the world. Companionship with the Spirit will give them the strength to resist evil and, when necessary, repent and return to the strait and narrow path. None of us are immune from the temptations of the adversary. We all need the fortification available through the Holy Ghost. Mothers and fathers should prayerfully invite the Holy Spirit to dwell in their dedicated homes. Having the gift of the Holy Ghost helps family members make wise choices-choices that will help them return with their families to their Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, to live with Them eternally.” (See Robert D. Hales, “The Covenant of Baptism: To Be in the Kingdom and of the Kingdom,” Ensign, Nov 2000, 6-9.)

The most important part of the process is to develop the desire to do right and the faith to know that what God has asked of us is always the best choice. Once that is in place, the other tools will help us to follow through with what we have chosen to do.

In time, obedience becomes easier. If we decide only once, rather than every time we’re in a decision-making setting, we are more likely to make the right choice. For instance, when I’m offered alcohol, I don’t have to stop and decide what to do. I made my choice when I was ten years old, long before I was LDS. It’s not a temptation, and it’s no longer a decision-it’s an automatic reaction. I simply say no without any thought at all. This takes time, but the more our faith grows, the more decisions will begin to be automatic for us.