Tag Archives: free agency

Chances to Be Good

Last week, Mary Ann Romans left this comment in the trail of one of my blogs on obedience: What a great post! I’d love to see more on this topic, such as how to overcome the personality traits that might influence a lack of obedience or how to recognize the opportunities to be obedient. I don’t think she was expecting to become the focus of two whole blogs devoted to answering her question, but I loved having the chance to really think about it and to try to put into words everything that comes to mind when I contemplate this. … Continue reading →

Accountability

Every person who comes to this earth is given the gift of free agency, or free will. God will never force any man to heaven. He must allow us all to choose for ourselves. I can certainly think of worse things than being made to inherit Celestial glory, but that’s not how it works—He’ll only give it to us if that’s what we want. As we make our choices every day, we have a set of results that will come about because of those choices. The results of good choices lead us to happiness, while the consequences of bad choices … Continue reading →

The Giver – Lois Lowry

“The Giver” is an absolutely fascinating science fiction novel written for the young adult market. I spent last night glued to it. Jonas lives in a community where everything is run and regulated by the Elders. Imagine for a moment that there is no freedom of choice – your mate, your occupation, your food is all chosen for you. You don’t have your own children – they are provided by birth mothers, and are assigned to you. You never have to feel pain – as soon as you begin to ache, you are injected with a strong drug that takes … Continue reading →

Liken the Scriptures – Ammon and Lamoni

In this installment of the Liken the Scriptures Gold Series, we find Spencer struggling through the Book of Mormon, trying to understand it but not making much headway. His older brother McKay brings home a CD with music his mother objects to, but McKay doesn’t see why it’s so bad. He goes upstairs to find Spencer waiting for him with questions about the story of Ammon, and he takes the time to explain it to his little brother, who of course uses his imagination to bring it all to life. Ammon is on a mission in the land of the … Continue reading →

The Brothers — Chris Stewart

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that we existed in Heaven before we came to earth, as spirits waiting to take on physical bodies. We believe that we had the same personalities then that we do now, and that when we die, those personalities go with us into the next life. This is one of the many beliefs author Chris Stewart explores in his ground-breaking novel “The Brothers,” the prologue to the series “The Great and the Terrible.” The novel focuses on the lives of four spirits: Samuel, Ammon, Luke and Elizabeth, who live together … Continue reading →

Censoring — Good or Bad?

To go along with our discussion about the little black marker . . . Several years ago when Eminem came out with his first rap album, there arose a big controversy over whether or not censorship labels should be put on music. His lyrics were more obscene than any we had yet seen on the market, and parents were very upset that there was nothing on the packaging to indicate what might lie beneath. I remember that there was even an episode of Donahue dedicated to the topic. Free rights activists argued that there should be no such labeling, and … Continue reading →