Andrew McLane
Farewell Talk
Courage to Choose the Right
Sunday August 23, 2015
Hi, as many of you know, my name is Andrew McLane. I’ve spent the last year away at BYU having the best freshman year possible and only messed up my grades a little bit. But in 3 days I will head down to Mexico City for 6 weeks and then straight to the California Ventura mission speaking Spanish. So that will be a bit different than Billings since instead of -30* to 100, I’ll be having perfect weather everyday for the next two years.
Hi, as many of you know, my name is Andrew McLane. I’ve spent the last year away at BYU having the best freshman year possible and only messed up my grades a little bit. But in 3 days I will head down to Mexico City for 6 weeks and then straight to the California Ventura mission speaking Spanish. So that will be a bit different than Billings since instead of -30* to 100, I’ll be having perfect weather everyday for the next two years.
In Alma 11, Alma and Amulek were preaching the Gospel to the people of Ammonihah as instructed by the Lord. The people began to be angry with Alma and Amulek because they told them that they were wicked and needed to repent. An especially angry man, Zeezrom, tempted them with a large amount of money to deny God’s existence. When this did not work, Zeezrom proceeded to question Alma and Amulek, trying to trick them into countering their own words. However, Amulek stood his ground, and bore his testimony that he knew that what he taught of was true and would not deny it.
Over this last summer, I worked as a lifeguard, and found how easy it is to give into angry people. Even though my experience is not nearly as difficult as what Alma and Amulek had to go through, I can still recognize how hard it is to stand up for your beliefs. Which leads to my assigned topic, courage to choose the right.
When I think of courage to choose the right, the first thing I think of is choosing not to do drugs when you’re offered them. But that really isn’t a great example, especially since I wouldn’t even know who to get drugs from in the first place and have never had the desire to do so. So what is choosing the right? Is it really just following all the things we aren’t supposed to do? I think that it certainly starts with that. Lets separate the commandments into two categories; the “Do Not” and the “Do”. Of the “do not” commandments, I think there are two types, the ones that others can see, and the ones that no one does. The ones that others can see are both potentially easier and more difficult to follow. Since you are with others, peer pressure can be immensely difficult to overcome. The best way to deal with this is to decide early on what choices you will make. It is far easier to decide what action you will take when you are at home with your family than in the heat of the moment with the friends you are trying to impress. Even better is to avoid situations that could lead to difficult choices and to surround yourself with friends that will help you make the right choices.
I think that I haven’t had to deal with many of these situations because all of my friends knew that I was LDS and what my beliefs were. I don’t think that they would have even allowed me to drink or smoke even if I had wanted to. People are a lot more accommodating to your beliefs than given credit for, and I think one of the best ways to demonstrate your commitment to your covenants is by living in a way that people recognize your different lifestyle. Doing so will not only keep you from temptation, but could lead to missionary opportunities as they realize they want what you have.
The other type of situation is in your personal life, where no one knows about your actions but you and the Lord. I think that these could be the most difficult situation and need the most courage to keep God’s commandments. Examples of these sins could be bad thoughts toward another or pornography. There are often no obvious consequences for these, like there are with more public sins. The only way to deal with these is by having a strong enough testimony so as to resist temptations and by having a strong enough relationship with God so as to not want to break his commandments.
Having the strength to keep God’s “Do Not” commandments is essential, but courage to follow God’s “Do” commandments is where I believe we should focus our efforts on. These include all the primary answers like praying daily and reading our scriptures, going to church and taking the sacrament. These are also acts you can’t check off a list like loving everyone and serving others. This is where real conversion happens. When I was younger, I thought that as long as you didn’t break the bad commandments, that you would magically become like one of the spiritual giants and have a great testimony. However, I now recognize that by following the “do” commandments first, our strength to resist temptations increases and our desire to sin falls away and keeping the “do not” commandments becomes easy, something that you don’t even have to think about.
This brings us to the question of why do we even need to choose the right? The wrong looks like so much more fun! We hear that wickedness never was happiness over and over, but it seems almost cliche, easy to say, but is it really true? But it is true; the happiest people I know are the ones who live the gospel exactly, who serve and care about others more than themselves, who are completely devoted to the Gospel. I know that when I have lived the gospel more exactly, my life has been more enjoyable. Several of my friends at BYU came from lifestyles different than what living the Gospel creates. Each one who I talked to about their previous lives emphasized how much better their lives are now that they live a gospel-centered life. As cliché as it might sound, Alma is correct in saying “wickedness never was happiness.” Joseph Smith taught, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God."
There are several obvious ways that sin leads to misery. Substance abuse leads to addiction, lose of agency, and slowly takes over your life. Pornography has similar effects; it takes control of your freedom and makes relationships more difficult. Even simple things like gossiping can lead to mistrust and a lack of empathy. Having to do anything takes away happiness and that is what many sins lead to, an addiction. No sin will lead to lasting happiness.
The more important reason to choose the right is to return to the presences of our Eternal Father. Everyone will make mistakes and can repent, but it is far easier to not make them in the first place. If we are to have lasting joy, which I like to think of as a step above happiness, we have to be in the presence of God. Having courage to choose the right will allow us to return to Heavenly Father, and look at him unashamed.
Obviously choosing the right is crucial; it is the whole point of earth life. So how can we improve our commitment to choose the right and have courage to do so? One way suggested by Elder L. Tom Perry is to decide NOW what choices you will make. In his words, we should…
“Develop discipline of self so that, more and more, you do not have to decide and redecide what you will do when you are confronted with the same temptation time and time again. You need only to decide some things once. How great a blessing it is to be free of agonizing over and over again regarding a temptation. To do such is time-consuming and very risky. Likewise, my dear young friends, the positive things you will want to accomplish need be decided upon only once—like going on a mission and living worthily in order to get married in the temple—and then all other decisions related to these goals can fall into line.”
Another way that I have found immensely helpful is to fill your life with light. I don’t know where, but I heard a quote that essentially says that we are either progressing or they are falling back. There really isn’t a motionless option we can take that keeps us at our current spiritual level. Either we are living the gospel in a way that invites the spirit and allows personal revelation, or we are slacking and slowly returning to a mindset where we are more easily tempted or tripped up by the Devil. For me, it seems the hardest time to keep the commandments is right after you start trying to return to good habits such as daily scripture study. When I’m not doing it, there really isn’t a need to work on me and when I am doing it, the spirit helps give me strength to resist temptation. I’ve found that I have to push through the first little bit before it gets easier
Having the courage to choose the right does not always mean not doing something wrong in the moment. Better is to avoid the situation that could lead to that decision. The lord says in Doctrine and Covenants that he will not allow Satan to tempt us above what we can bear. However, continually allowing ourselves to be in situations that force the spirit to leave is a sure way for us to allow ourselves to make decisions we would not make with the presence of the Holy Ghost. In addition, avoiding or leaving difficult situations can prevent a small transgression to become a serious sin. One example is that of King David and Bathsheba. Even though his initial action was fine, David should have left when he recognized that the situation could lead to him breaking God’s commandments. David couldn’t have imagined that going out on his balcony could lead to him committing both adultery and murder, two of the most serious sins.
Courage to choose the right can be to get help from the lord and from church leaders if needed as well. If David would have had courage to admit his mistake he could have avoided so much pain. Everyone will make choices that seem to cripple them and they want to keep private, but it is so much easier and helps staying out of the dark hole of sin
A final way to choose the right is prayer. This may be a less obvious way to have courage to choose the right, but let me explain. Mosiah 27:14 says that God will answer our prayers, according to our faith. If we pray for the strength to always choose the right, then that desire will be granted, according to our faith. Combine this with the early commitment to choose the right, and even if we do find ourselves in an immensely difficult situation, Heavenly Father will give us the strength to stay strong and keep his commandments. Joseph Smith is an excellent example of this. When he went the sacred grove to inquire which church to join, a dark force came over him, and he says that “it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to a sudden destruction.” I think his next reaction is similar to what many others would be. He prayed. “But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me…I saw a pillar of light.” His faith and reliance upon God is what saved him from the darkness. I would like to concentrate on one part of that scripture however. It is “exerting all my power.” Most of the time, I think that my prayers are standard. I ask for roughly the same things and check “pray” off my list. There is a difference between saying your prayers and praying. Saying your prayers might cross off that for your day, and I think Heavenly Father will listen, but actually praying is different. It involves opening your heart and admitting that you can’t even begin to do it on your own. It is turning your will over to God and doing what he wants from you, regardless of what you thought your path was. Following this is probably the greatest form of courage. You the only thing you are relying on is your faith that God exists and has a plan for you.
Having the courage to choose the right has so many blessings. Most obvious is that we will keep the commandments. We take the first steps to salvation. Our faith will increase as follow God's council, others will see how we live and notice that there is something different and good about our lives. Missionary opportunities will present themselves as a result.
This brings us to the question of why do we even need to choose the right? The wrong looks like so much more fun! We hear that wickedness never was happiness over and over, but it seems almost cliche, easy to say, but is it really true? But it is true; the happiest people I know are the ones who live the gospel exactly, who serve and care about others more than themselves, who are completely devoted to the Gospel. I know that when I have lived the gospel more exactly, my life has been more enjoyable. Several of my friends at BYU came from lifestyles different than what living the Gospel creates. Each one who I talked to about their previous lives emphasized how much better their lives are now that they live a gospel-centered life. As cliché as it might sound, Alma is correct in saying “wickedness never was happiness.” Joseph Smith taught, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God."
There are several obvious ways that sin leads to misery. Substance abuse leads to addiction, lose of agency, and slowly takes over your life. Pornography has similar effects; it takes control of your freedom and makes relationships more difficult. Even simple things like gossiping can lead to mistrust and a lack of empathy. Having to do anything takes away happiness and that is what many sins lead to, an addiction. No sin will lead to lasting happiness.
The more important reason to choose the right is to return to the presences of our Eternal Father. Everyone will make mistakes and can repent, but it is far easier to not make them in the first place. If we are to have lasting joy, which I like to think of as a step above happiness, we have to be in the presence of God. Having courage to choose the right will allow us to return to Heavenly Father, and look at him unashamed.
Obviously choosing the right is crucial; it is the whole point of earth life. So how can we improve our commitment to choose the right and have courage to do so? One way suggested by Elder L. Tom Perry is to decide NOW what choices you will make. In his words, we should…
“Develop discipline of self so that, more and more, you do not have to decide and redecide what you will do when you are confronted with the same temptation time and time again. You need only to decide some things once. How great a blessing it is to be free of agonizing over and over again regarding a temptation. To do such is time-consuming and very risky. Likewise, my dear young friends, the positive things you will want to accomplish need be decided upon only once—like going on a mission and living worthily in order to get married in the temple—and then all other decisions related to these goals can fall into line.”
Another way that I have found immensely helpful is to fill your life with light. I don’t know where, but I heard a quote that essentially says that we are either progressing or they are falling back. There really isn’t a motionless option we can take that keeps us at our current spiritual level. Either we are living the gospel in a way that invites the spirit and allows personal revelation, or we are slacking and slowly returning to a mindset where we are more easily tempted or tripped up by the Devil. For me, it seems the hardest time to keep the commandments is right after you start trying to return to good habits such as daily scripture study. When I’m not doing it, there really isn’t a need to work on me and when I am doing it, the spirit helps give me strength to resist temptation. I’ve found that I have to push through the first little bit before it gets easier
Having the courage to choose the right does not always mean not doing something wrong in the moment. Better is to avoid the situation that could lead to that decision. The lord says in Doctrine and Covenants that he will not allow Satan to tempt us above what we can bear. However, continually allowing ourselves to be in situations that force the spirit to leave is a sure way for us to allow ourselves to make decisions we would not make with the presence of the Holy Ghost. In addition, avoiding or leaving difficult situations can prevent a small transgression to become a serious sin. One example is that of King David and Bathsheba. Even though his initial action was fine, David should have left when he recognized that the situation could lead to him breaking God’s commandments. David couldn’t have imagined that going out on his balcony could lead to him committing both adultery and murder, two of the most serious sins.
Courage to choose the right can be to get help from the lord and from church leaders if needed as well. If David would have had courage to admit his mistake he could have avoided so much pain. Everyone will make choices that seem to cripple them and they want to keep private, but it is so much easier and helps staying out of the dark hole of sin
A final way to choose the right is prayer. This may be a less obvious way to have courage to choose the right, but let me explain. Mosiah 27:14 says that God will answer our prayers, according to our faith. If we pray for the strength to always choose the right, then that desire will be granted, according to our faith. Combine this with the early commitment to choose the right, and even if we do find ourselves in an immensely difficult situation, Heavenly Father will give us the strength to stay strong and keep his commandments. Joseph Smith is an excellent example of this. When he went the sacred grove to inquire which church to join, a dark force came over him, and he says that “it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to a sudden destruction.” I think his next reaction is similar to what many others would be. He prayed. “But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me…I saw a pillar of light.” His faith and reliance upon God is what saved him from the darkness. I would like to concentrate on one part of that scripture however. It is “exerting all my power.” Most of the time, I think that my prayers are standard. I ask for roughly the same things and check “pray” off my list. There is a difference between saying your prayers and praying. Saying your prayers might cross off that for your day, and I think Heavenly Father will listen, but actually praying is different. It involves opening your heart and admitting that you can’t even begin to do it on your own. It is turning your will over to God and doing what he wants from you, regardless of what you thought your path was. Following this is probably the greatest form of courage. You the only thing you are relying on is your faith that God exists and has a plan for you.
Having the courage to choose the right has so many blessings. Most obvious is that we will keep the commandments. We take the first steps to salvation. Our faith will increase as follow God's council, others will see how we live and notice that there is something different and good about our lives. Missionary opportunities will present themselves as a result.
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