We Cannot Say "I'll Choose the Right, But On My Own Terms"

One of my mother's distant relatives passed away last month. Here's an excerpt from her obituary:

"Sealed in the Salt Lake Temple in 1947 . . . she was a devoted member of the LDS Church, but on her own terms. She preferred reading a good book to attending Relief Society. She loved to sing with the ward choir and lead the singing in Primary, but she also enjoyed a good cup of coffee and a menthol cigarette. She faithfully wrote her missionary sons and grandchildren and even allowed them to attend BYU. During family weddings, as she waited outside the Temple, she was never bitter. She knew the rules. A hypocrite she was not."

It sounds like, if given a choice, she would opt for an "STG" ring (Smarter Than God) rather than one that says "CTR" (Choose the Right).

As I read the obituary I thought of this line from D&C 88:32 which describes the final reward of those who live by their own rules instead of humbly submitting to God's will: "They shall return again to their own [preferred] place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received."

There is a price to be paid for taking the Burger King approach to life ("Have it your way"). And the reality is that He will not force us to choose His preferred way. If "my will be done" is our motto, He will not stand in our way. But sooner or later those who make this choice will come face-to-face with what might have been. And that is when the weeping begins.

I pray we will all learn that His way is always better than our own. Being humble and submissive to Him is a sign of obedience and trust, not a sign of weakness.