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Category Archives: Freedom

The Gift of Choice

08 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by Colby Alexander in Agency, Freedom, General, Obedience

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hawkisland25

We have never, since the beginning of time, been compelled to do or be good. We have always been invited to do, or become good. This holds true going all the way back to our the pre-earth life. The essential principle that guides our relationship with God and our progression to be more like him is Agency. It is a divine gift. We will never be compelled to action by God. He invites, inspires, petitions, prompts, nudges, beckons, teaches and leads.

In the Book of Moses we learn more about what happened in the preexistence when this gift that God had already given us, was threatened. Lucifer wanted to force or compel obedience, at the expense of agency, in order to guarantee that, “one soul shall not be lost” (Moses 4:1). We also learn what became of him, at least in part, because of his desire to take away this essential gift.

SONY DSC

Stained glass window in St Mary, Hitchin, England

“Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him …. I caused that he should be cast down;”
(Moses 4:3)

So, why is Agency so crucial?

Agency, or our freedom to choose, allows for the growth and development of Godly characteristics. No one is compelling God to be God. His character is who He is. He is pure. He is authentic. He is love, He is charity. He is perfect. Because He is pure and perfect, in order for us to become like him, we must develop his attributes. This simply cannot be forced or compelled.

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure…” (Moroni 7:48)

It’s like when I was a kid, my brothers and I would be caught fighting and smashing each other’s faces in the carpet. When this happened, my mom, following the mom code, broke up the fight, and subsequently compelled us to hug each other and say two good things about the other, inevitably “you’re good”, and “you’re nice”.  During those moments, I didn’t really feel sorry. I didn’t really feel that my sibling opponent of the moment was actually good or was actually nice. It wasn’t real. Unfortunately, it was not yet in my character to feel it, or even say it. It wasn’t who I really was to give that hug, and say those things. We were a perfect live example of…

“…for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness. [if] he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift…If he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such.” (Moroni 7:6-9)

It was, however, teaching us how we should be.

We gain greater power, or growth when we freely choose faith, and when we freely choose to believe in and follow God and his plan of happiness. This progression and spiritual growth is stunted and inhibited or even reversed when we are compelled to action. Elder Tad Callister wrote, ”There exists an eternal principle—the greater the agency, the greater the opportunity for growth.” (The Blueprint of Christ’s Church)

This growth begins as a result of a desire or yearning to be with our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. To be with them, however, requires us to be more like them. This seedling desire then can steer our daily decisions and influence our actions. Our personal desires to emulate our Savior and His character can effect how we view and treat ourselves, our spouses, our own families, and everyone else around us.

We all know the Book of Mormon story of Nephi and the brass plates. Nephi had exhausted all his options to fulfill the Lord’s commandments to obtain the brass plates from their wicked owner, Laban. One night, while following the promptings of the Spirit, Nephi was led to a drunk Laban lying alone in the street. In that moment, he was prompted to slay Laban. He was faced with an enormously difficult situation. The choice before him was to follow the directive of the spirit and slay Laban, or shrink, and disobey. This Laban also happened to be the same man that had stolen his family’s property, threatened them, and even attempted to have Nephi and his brothers killed in their previous attempts to obtain the brass plates.

I imagine the natural man in Nephi had some strong feelings about Laban at that moment. I imagine he might have struggled to know if the promptings he had felt to kill Laban were actually from the Spirit, or if they might have been his own. Nephi had to decide —to obey the voice of the Spirit, or disobey. He would either slay Laban and obtain the plates, or question, doubt, and shrink. I imagine it would have been enormously difficult to trust the feelings and promptings in his heart.

nephi_laban

He took eight full verses to explain these feelings and the honest and difficult conversation he had with the Spirit. Ultimately, he made his choice.  He stated, “I did obey the voice of the Spirit” (1 Nephi 4:18)

I imagine this experience with the whisperings of the spirit taught Nephi a great deal bout how to recognize these intimate promptings of the Spirit. I imagine he learned to trust in God more fully. I imagine this experience effected and guided Nephi with his future choices.

If we fast forward just a few more pages in the Book of Mormon, we learn about the time that Nephi broke his bow while his family was traveling in the wilderness. This fine steel bow had been the only means by which his entire family could obtain food. No bow, no hunt, no food. The family dinner situation had just taken a very bad turn. Even his father Lehi, the Prophet, was complaining. So in this terrible situation, how did Nephi’s past experiences guide his decisions?

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“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food?” (1 Nephi 16:23)

His previous experience had taught him to trust in God. It had helped him build the faith and character that could now trust God enough to fashion a handmade wooden bow, and a single arrow, not a quiver of arrows, but a single arrow, and faithfully and confidently head into the wilderness for food. That is complete trust. Nephi level faith and trust is not built in a day, or built upon desperation or compelled humility. It is built upon consistent righteous choices and experiences over time.

Just like Nephi, our own righteous choices today build the character we need to influence our choices and actions tomorrow.

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of agency and its practical influence in our lives, is when we attempt to honor it as parents when raising our children. At what point do we step back and allow our kids to exercise their gift? When are we teaching, inviting, or beckoning, and when are we mandating, compelling, and forcing?

I won’t attempt an answer here, as I am still working on this one. Im also not sure where the mom code section about making fighting kids hug each other fits either.  I do know, however, that our Father in Heaven lost 1/3 of his children before they even came to earth. He, a perfect Father, still would not compel his children to obey, even at the expense of losing their opportunity to gain a physical body, partake in the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and have a chance at Eternal life.

When we look for an example of a perfect parent, we should look to Him, even when we see our kids choose something other than what we would have them choose. We have to remember that real growth only happens when it is preceded by a free choice.

When we freely choose the right, it means that we have aligned our desire and will to God’s desire and will.

Our choices become a way to test or trigger our own spiritual development.
Our choices become consequences of the character we have developed
Our choices become an outward expression of who we really are, and act as stepping stones in our attempts to develop Godly attributes.

In Hymn number 240 “Know This, That Every Soul Is Free” the lyrics describe this concept perfectly.

https://4brosblog.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/03-know-this-that-every-soul-is-free.m4a

 

Know this, that ev’ry soul is free
To choose his life and what he’ll be;
For this eternal truth is giv’n:
That God will force no man to heav’n.

He’ll call, persuade, direct aright,
And bless with wisdom love and light
In nameless ways be good and kind,
But never force the human mind.

During the earthly ministry of the Savior, he continued to honor the principle of Agency. He never mandated compliance with his Gospel. He taught and lead by perfect example. He loved, taught, then invited…

“Wherefore, Hear my voice and follow me, and you shall be a free people…”
(Doctrine and Covenants 38:22)

To the rich young man he beckoned, “…If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”
(Mathew 19:21)

Hoffman-ChristAndTheRichYoungRuler

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mathew 16:24)

If we choose to follow the Savior, his Gospel, and his law, He will receive us, heal us, and bless us.

He demonstrated this with the 5,000 who would eventually experience the miracle of the bread and fishes…

“And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.” (Luke 9:11)

In this same way, and still honoring the gift of agency, we are all invited to follow the Savior even today through the teachings of living prophets and apostles. Living Prophets have encouraged the people to exercise their divine gifts of agency and make the choice to follow God from the very beginning…

The Prophet Enoch was instructed to tell the people …

“Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you.” (Moses 6:33)

Joshua famously encouraged, “…Choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

Today we are experiencing an extension of this same timeless invitation. We have been encouraged to Come unto Christ and come to know him primarily in the safety and security of our own homes. Through his prophet the Lord is inviting us, once again, to…

Come unto Him, to “Learn of [Him] and listen to [his] words, to walk in the meekness of [His] Spirit,… [that we] shall have peace in [Him].” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:23)

The name of the program we now have to study is perfectly named. Our Savior still, as he did in days long ago, opens his arms and invites all of us to “Come, and Follow Me” (Mathew 19:21) and it now becomes our choice, our decision to either follow, or not.

I hope that we all, as individuals, make the choice to accept the Savior’s invitation to follow Him, to learn of Him, and find the peace that only He can bring. As our own testimonies grow, our responsibility is then to strengthen our own families and our own homes. We can make them sanctuaries of peace in an ever more chaotic world. As we ourselves, and as families, choose to be more committed and converted to Jesus Christ and His gospel, we then have the responsibility to invite, encourage, beckon, and lead others along their path towards Him.

Freely choosing to follow and be with our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ, and to ultimately become like them is the goal.

I hope that we all choose this day to accept the invitation, and follow Him.

 

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Titles of Liberty

25 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by Colby Alexander in Battle, Book of Mormon, Freedom, General, Liberty, Loyalty, Strength

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flag-of-fort-mchenry

 Flag remnant from Fort McHenry

Eleven days ago it was September 14th. It was a special day. And, up until a few days ago, I never realized quite how special it really was. I always thought that the only thing worth remembering about that particular day was that 38 years ago, yours truly was born. But, as usual, something way more cool and better than me is the real reason for that day’s awesomeness.

On September 14, 1814 something vastly more inspiring than me was born. It was the birth of the Star Spangled Banner. We all know the basics of the story. Francis Scott Key saw the flag standing after a battle and was inspired to write his poem, one thing led to another, and voila, we had the National Anthem.

The back story, though, is a lot more amazing than just that little snippet we hear from the history books.

Francis Scott Key was a lawyer, and an amateur poet. He had a way with words. Because of his skills, he was sent by the Americans to meet with the commander of the British naval fleet floating in the bay outside the city of Baltimore. In this fleet, hundreds of American prisoners were being kept in cells under deck. His job was to be a prisoner exchange negotiator.

After reaching an agreement to release the American prisoners being held, the British Commander informed him that the agreement would be meaningless soon, because the war would soon be over. The war would end because of a massive impending British attack on the nearby Fort McHenry.

The British had plans to unleash all hell on the fort. The Commander was confident that as soon as the Americans realized their plight was helpless, they would be ready to surrender.

In order to give up the fight and survive, all they had to do was lower the American flag that was flying over the ramparts of the fort. If, and only if, this happened, the bombing would stop, that was the deal. The fort would then be turned over to the British, and the battle, and soon the war, would be over.

Needless to say, Key, was anxious to see how this played out. All of the American prisoners below deck were also anxious to see, and were all focused on the flag flying above the fort. In many ways, that one flag’s survival symbolized the survival of the USA, and real freedom that she had fought for and won.

Soon, at the twilight’s last gleaming, the bombing started. It was relentless, endless, and complete. All the British ships were aiming all of their cannon fire on the flag. If it fell, the battle was over. The bombing lasted all night. The flag took numerous direct hits, but somehow stayed upright. All night the prisoners were below deck anxiously hoping, and actively praying for the survival of the flag. They constantly begged for updates from Key as he watched from above deck. After a long night, and with the gleam of the morning’s first beam, the flag was still there, upright, although hammered, shredded, and teetering.

Upon his return to the fort, Key was able to get a better understanding of just what had taken place over that terrible night. Each bomb had taken its toll. The fort had been ravished.The flag had indeed fallen several times due to direct cannon strikes, only to be hoisted back up, over and over again, by individual men. These men were willing to hold it up themselves, with their hands. Doing so was a death sentence. But, they were willing to die, so that the flag would still fly.

As the bombs had been aimed squarely at the flag, the cannon fire had thus taken the lives of many of those men. Their bodies now lay strewn around the pole holding the tattered flag up at that tilted angle. Those men knew exactly what their fate would be when they volunteered to hold up that flag, and yet, they were still willing to so. It wasn’t just for the flag, but for what the flag stood for. It was their symbol of God given freedom and liberty.

Is it any wonder, that after what he had witnessed, both from the ship in the harbor, and then from the fort itself, that such a poem would be written? The same flag that had inspired those men to give their lives for its continued display, had also inspired Francis Scott Key to write an amazing few verses, that now, in turn, inspire so many of us.

Think of all the times that you have heard the National Anthem, before a baseball or football game, or special event. Remember each time that we all sing those words that describe the feelings of that day. Think about the climactic ending of the words, “O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!” It instills a sense of pride to be an American. It helps us honor and appreciate the men and women that helped preserve us a nation. That is what our flag represents. It represents our liberty, and freedom. The gifts that God gave to this land.

Now lets look even further back in American history. Like about 2,089 years ago to be exact. Lets look back at the story of another inspiring flag. One that has a very similar story, and that was equally inspiring. Its pretty amazing how these stories are so similar. I guess the old adage of “history repeats itself” really is true.

title-of-liberty

Captain Moroni’s Title of Liberty

We read all about this ancient flag in The Book of Mormon in Alma Chapter 46. At this time, there is a huge uprising all over the land of the Nephites. If we look back at this story and compare it to 1814, its amazing how the stories can be so similar so many years apart.

This Nephite uprising was led by a conniving, evil man named Amalakiah. Amalakiah wanted to be king. His only problem was that the Nephites were a free people, they no longer had a king. They had recently transitioned into a free government system of elected lower, and higher judges. At this time, the Nephite people were in their 19th year of this whole no king experiment. It was then that Amalakiah decided he should be king and because of his pride and malice, caused pain and misery. But, because he was a persuasive man he had convinced most of the lower judges to side with him. They, like Amalakiah, sought the same thing. Power.

However, not everyone was on board with Amalakiah. In fact, the majority of the free Nephites opposed him. Among those who opposed Amalakiah was the famous Captain Moroni. Moroni was integral in reminding the Nephites of what was at stake, and was unrelenting in his defense of liberty.

Moroni had done this same thing time and time again. He had just led the Nephites for years against the invading Lamanites in order to preserve their lands and freedom. The Lamanites were in a near constant state of war to attack and take over the lands of the Nephites. But, this time, he found himself needing to fend off the threat of Amalakiah and his supporters from within his own people.

So how did Moroni do it? How did he manage to inspire an already war torn and weary people yet again? He made a flag. Not an ordinary flag, but a personalized, symbolic flag. He cut off his coat, and wrote on it by hand, he wrote just a few simple words, but words that reminded the people just what was at stake. He needed to inspire them to turn to God, and turn to the cause of freedom and liberty. He needed them to fight for the very thing that meant the most. The words he wrote on his flag were “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children¹”. He then fastened it to a pole and raised it to rally the people, and inspire them to join the cause.

Just as the American flag over Fort McHenry stood as a symbol of liberty and freedom attained  by sacrifice in war and loss of life, so did Moroni’s Title of Liberty. Both flags inspired men and soldiers to fight for what their flags represented. Which, in both cases, was freedom and liberty. Not only freedom from tyranny, and oppression, but freedom to worship God how they wished.

Both of these events seemed to be centered around their respective flags, or titles of liberty. As we listen to these words of Moroni, they could almost be used interchangeably to describe the times that would come 2000 years later.

“And it came to pass that when he had poured out his soul to God, he named all the land which was south of the land Desolation, yea, and in fine, all the land, both on the north and on the south—A chosen land, and the land of liberty²”.

“Behold, whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant that they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord God may bless them³”.

This land is special. It has been special for a long, long, time. Even before Columbus was a twinkle in his father’s eye, this land was special. Long before that inspired morning’s sunlight shone on our flag in 1814. It will remain a special place for freedom and liberty for exactly as long as we treat it as such. It is a God blessed land, a chosen land for those who would honor Him. Its up to us to live up to our end of the covenant. Our blessings as a country will depend upon our collective obedience to God’s commandments.

Let’s always remember the history of this great place. This history goes back thousands of years, but seems to always have a way of repeating itself. These two stories show how a simple flag served as the reminder of the fragility of freedom and liberty. Both of these flags inspire me. They make me want to be better. They make me want to be a part of the great cause of liberty and freedom.

Amazingly, we still live under those same skies that watched the flag survive over Fort McHenry. We still live on the same land as those who followed Captain Moroni against the forces of Amalakiah. We still live under that same covenant today. Let’s try harder to be like those who sacrificed for us, and understood the necessity of liberty and freedom. Lets try harder to honor our part in the covenant. Lets try harder to keep God’s commandments so that we can be deserving and worthy of the freedoms we currently enjoy.

 

  1. Alma 46:12
  2. Alma 46:17
  3. Alma 46:20

 

Additional Note:

We are all very familiar with the first verse of the National Anthem. But, all 4 verses of this poem are amazing. Sometimes, I wish we would sing the 1st and 4th verses at least…

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro’ the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen thro’ the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov’d homes and the war’s desolation;
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

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