Together or Alone- I'm Going.

The dilemma.
        It was time for one of the most challenging finals of her entire college career. This teacher was infamous for writing test with questions covering things down to the minutest details of the droning lectures they had given several weeks prior. Everyone was divided into study groups for preparation.
        They sat gray faced in the library sharing notes and trying to makes sense of the complex material. As things were finally picking up, in walked Mr. Skip In His Step to save the day. He strutted up to the table and threw his backpack down. A dramatic unzipping and slow motion reach in followed. Out came the test that everyone was so furiously studying for. Was anyone else shocked? No one else seemed to feel anything other than utter relief.
*Pause Story*
       What now? We all know that the right answer is to refrain from cheating. Is it that simple though?

 

      I made this visual to help us get the idea of what needs to be considered. You stay and study with the test, you get a great grade, succeed with your classmates, remain comfortable in the class.  Negative to using the test, you feel bad, are being dishonest, lose the companionship of the Holy Ghost, run the chance of getting caught. Positivity to obedience, keep the Holy Ghost with you, follow the commandments, remain with good integrity. What about that last box? I think that this is the box that is all too often more powerful than it ought to be. The negative to obedience in this situation would be loss of camaraderie and likely friendships, potentially failing the test, hours studying that you could cut out, etc. 

       Are you ready for the cost of discipleship? Have you made the resolve that nothing  matters more than the eternal salvation that comes from always choosing obedience? 

        This week I read Jarom. A teeny tiny book in the Book of Mormon. Just one chapter. Jarom starts out by saying, "What could I write more than my fathers have written? For have they revealed the plan of salvation? I say unto, Yea; and this sufficeth me." He's saying that nothing else needs to be written or said, as long as God's plan for us has been mentioned. We know where we came from, we know why we're here, and we know where we're going. Do we really need a 'break-it-down-box' to help us make our decisions? Shouldn't we already know that obedience might often be the unpopular choice but will always have eternal benefits and sin will only bring temporary satisfaction and eternal consequences. 

       Luke 9:62, "And Jesus said unto him, No man having put this hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."  Understanding and accepting the cost of discipleship is the first step to becoming the kind of person that God intends on us being. He will make it worth it. We might not have popularity, riches, or the other benefits from living a worldly life, but that leaves us in good company. (Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, etc.)

        I am trying harder to remember that I have already committed my life to Him. I promised that to Him when I was eight years old, and then I recommit every single Sunday. Now if only I could follow through with that more gracefully....

      Christ is there to pick us up when we fall, He's there to give us another opportunity to choose the right. The Holy Ghost is there to help us remember. The scriptures are there to give us evidence and courage. There are so many safe holds in the gospel. We were meant to succeed! Let's make it easier on each other and personally resolve to be true disciples.