RS Lesson Summary February 8th

Sister Walter opened her lesson with an activity: write down every choice you made in 24 hours. After looking at the list, she asked us what is the most important choice of your day?

The lesson for the week is found here: Freedom of Choice, an Eternal Principle

Some answers included: going to church, reading scriptures as a family, saying prayers, expressing love. 

Freedom of choice is a gift from Heavenly Father. 

From page 60 of the manual: 
The central issue in that premortal council was: Shallthe children of God have untrammeled agency tochoose the course they should follow, whether good orevil, or shall they be coerced and forced to beobedient? Christ and all who followed Him stood for the former proposition freedom of choice; Satan stood for the latter—coercion and force. The scriptures make clear that there was a great war in heaven, a struggle over the principle of freedom, th eright of choice. (See Moses 4:1–4; D&C 29:36–38; 76:25–27; Rev. 12:7–9.)¹³

The war that began in heaven over this issue is not yetover. The conflict continues on the battlefield of mortality.

The Lord permits evil so that we can make choices. Sister Walter showed a clip from Elder Oaks' talk entitled "Good, Better Best". Good Better Best

"A childhood experience introduced me to the idea that some choices are good but others are better. I lived for two years on a farm. We rarely went to town. Our Christmas shopping was done in the Sears, Roebuck catalog. I spent hours poring over its pages. For the rural families of that day, catalog pages were like the shopping mall or the Internet of our time.

Something about some displays of merchandise in the catalog fixed itself in my mind. There were three degrees of quality: good, better, and best. For example,some men’s shoes were labeled good ($1.84), some better ($2.98), and some best ($3.45).¹

As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best. Even though a particular choice is more costly, its far greater value may make it the best choice of all."

We should devote our best efforts to our families. Our best time, our best energies. Sometimes we need to forego things that are good, for the things that are the very best. The business of our lives is making choices, we don't get to choose the consequences of the choices we make, so making the best choices will ensure happiness. 

"Let us begin, therefore, by saying that earnestly seeking our Father in heaven, having faith that he will answer our prayers, is a comforting base on which to begin. …The Lord will not take water from a dry well, so we must do our part. Sometimes attempting to find a correct decision takes great amounts of energy, study,and long-suffering. In decisions of crucial importance, fasting combined with prayer can bring great  spiritual insight."