To "get a life," we must use our agency to love God and serve others. Then, no matter our circumstance, we can say "Life can't get any better than this."
This speech was given on January 3, 1993
Read the speech here:
speeches.byu.edu/talks/elaine...
Learn more about Elaine L. Jack here:
speeches.byu.edu/speakers/ela...
Subscribe to BYU Speeches for the latest videos: / byuspeeches
Read and listen to more BYU Speeches here:
speeches.byu.edu/
Follow BYU Speeches:
Facebook: / byuspeeches
Twitter: / byuspeeches
Instagram: / byuspeeches
Pinterest: / byuspeeches
© Brigham Young University. All rights reserved.
"Just before the children of Israel crossed into the promised land, Moses, their leader, gave them a great final lecture. Their leader for forty years, Moses delivered this sermon about the essential knowledge of life, knowing full well he would not accompany his people into their new homeland. What would he have said this last time? Moses told his people the most important things to know if they were to live happily and return to their Heavenly Father.
Near the end of his message he laid out their choices very clearly. He said these significant words:
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days. [Deuteronomy 30: 19-20]
My dear brothers and sisters, like Moses, I stand watching you, the young adults of the Church, prepare to cross into many lands of promise. Tonight I repeat Moses’ words and ask you to choose life, to understand with your heart and your head that the Lord is indeed your “life, and the length of thy days.”
To “choose life” is only possible when we understand that we have the power to do it. In the book of Moses we read about Enoch’s discussion with the Lord. At one point Enoch recorded,
The God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept. . . .
And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?
And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;
. . . how is it thou canst weep?
The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood. [Moses 7:28-33]
The power of agency is enormous. From the beginning of men and women’s journey through mortality on this earth, agency has been a critical factor. The Lord gave us agency so we might choose for ourselves. When Moses told us to “choose life,” he wasn’t speaking lightly. He was suggesting that when it comes right to the bottom line, each of us makes a decision to obey the commandments or not to obey them.
There are many and varied circumstances that exist in each individual’s life that govern our views of the world. But agency is still there, given to all. Your ability to choose can be one of your greatest blessings, if you learn to use it well.
A young man newly out of graduate school got a new job, bought a home, and made all kinds of plans to remodel it into his dream home, complete with a gym and study. Within seven months he got engaged to a woman with three young daughters. Six months after they were married his wife was expecting a baby. Things weren’t easy for this family. The young man’s job was promising but not lucrative. To meet expenses he took a second job as a newspaper delivery man.
One Saturday morning, cold and early, he pulled out of his driveway listening to a blues song on the radio. He resonated to the song about love and life and the pain of trying to get ahead in a grueling world, and he sank right into the blues himself. As he drove from site to site making his deliveries, the blues deepened into what you might call the blue funk. Now, to be in the blue funk is to feel like two cents looking for change. It is to think hope has gone south for the winter and has forgotten to come back.
As the sun crept into a new day, he thought about his life..."
Негізгі бет Get a Life | Elaine L. Jack | 1993
Пікірлер: 10