Monson - Choices - April 2016

President Monson addresses us at the Sunday morning session of April 2016 General Conference.  He begins by announcing new temples that are going to be built.

• Before I begin my formal message today, I would like to announce four new temples which, in coming months and years, will be built in the following locations: Quito, Ecuador; Harare, Zimbabwe; Belém, Brazil; and a second temple in Lima, Peru.
  

President Monson is famous for his saying "decision determine destiny."  He returns to this theme as he talks about choices that we make and how they relate to our lives.

• I have been thinking recently about choices. It has been said that the door of history turns on small hinges, and so do people’s lives. The choices we make determine our destiny.

He speaks of the story "Alice in Wonderland" and how the Cheshire Cat when asked which road she should take, said that it depended on where they wanted to get to.  The Cheshire Cat told her that it didn't matter what path she took if she didn't know where she wanted to go.  President Monson encourages us to know where we want to go and get on that path.

• We know where we want to go, and it does matter which way we go, for the path we follow in this life leads to our destination in the next life.

We need faith to choose the right path.  Without faith, we will have no direction in our lives.

• May we choose to build up within ourselves a great and powerful faith which will be our most effective defense against the designs of the adversary—a real faith, the kind of faith which will sustain us and will bolster our desire to choose the right. Without such faith, we go nowhere. With it, we can accomplish our goals.

If we have chosen the wrong path in the past, it is not too late.  We can repent and get back on the path with the help of the Savior.

• Although it is imperative that we choose wisely, there are times when we will make foolish choices. The gift of repentance, provided by our Savior, enables us to correct our course settings, that we might return to the path which will lead us to that celestial glory we seek.

The most famous saying from this talk speaks of making the right choice even though it may not be the easiest choice.

• May we maintain the courage to defy the consensus. May we ever choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.

Finally, President Monson encourages us to make choices in favor of the Savior.

• As we contemplate the decisions we make in our lives each day—whether to make this choice or that choice—if we choose Christ, we will have made the correct choice.

Such a simple message.  The choices we make in our lives determine where we will be down the road.  I am grateful for a prophet and leader of our Church that speaks a simple and understandable message.  The message is simple, make the right decisions.  I was recently reading the Book of Mormon where Jacob encourages us to be wise.  I have adopted that counsel with my kids lately.  I have a daughter that is entering adulthood and I just remind her that the decisions she makes need to be made with the wisdom and experience she has been raised with.  The choices we make matter as we will never be happy choosing a path that does not lead us to the Savior.