Choices and Decisions

I feel like I'm at a turning point in my life. Our lives are constantly and consistently filled with crossroads. These points in our lives are times when we must choose which path to follow. The great poet Robert Frost wrote in his famous poem, The Road Not Taken:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both.

And by one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear

Through as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

--Robert Frost

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “There are certain mortal moments and minutes that matter--certain hinge points in the history of each human. Some seconds are so decisive they shrink the soul, while other seconds are spent so as to stretch the soul.” In the words of Elder Maxwell, there are certain points that are more important than others and thus should be given more thought and much more preparation.

In his book, Defining Moments, Hoyt W. Brewster, Jr. affirmed the words of Elder Maxwell when he wrote: “While each decision we make has an ultimate bearing on our future opportunities and blessings, certain pivotal points are critical. In these soul-defining moments, we are faced with choices that one made will, in many cases, forever open or close door of opportunity. Every moment is not equal. Some moments simply pass while other moments determine the course of life.

“History records the positive and negative results of choices that were made in defining moments of such earthly and eternal consequence—moments that mattered so very much. Adam and Eve’s choice to partake of the forbidden fruit and thus effectuate the plan that would bring each of us to earth was a hinge point of history. The scriptures remind us that “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” (2 Nephi 2:25)

“Esau’s decision to sell his birthright for a bowl of beans, in order to satisfy a short-lived physical craving, not only shoed shortsightedness on his part but also had lasting effects on his potential posterity. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are today the children of Jacob rather than of Esau.

“How often in life have we, like Esau, bartered away something of significant, even eternal, value in order to satisfy a short-lived passion, appetite, or desire? Occasionally this bartering away of values occurs in private moments, when we succumb to personal temptation. Choices made in character-defining moments, whether public or private, determine our destiny.

“King David’s decision not only to pause and watch a woman bathing but also to pursue the evil thoughts spawned in that moment of sin led to his loss of a much more important crown than the one won on his mortal brow.

“Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, was an example of one who made the right choices regardless of the sometimes unfair consequences. His steadfast refusal to submit to the seductive invitations of his master Potiphar’s wife led to her unrighteous rage toward him. Because he stood for what was right in a defining moment, Joseph was unjustly cast into a foul prison for years.

“Blessings for doing right do not always come immediately. One who stands for the right may sometimes suffer severe persecution or stand outside the popular crowd—for a few mortal moment. But the Lord has promised, “If thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (D&C 121:8).

“The prophet Abinadi’s unwavering refusal to recant his testimony of Jesus Christ led not only to his own martyrdom but also to the conversion of a young priest named Alma. In a defining moment, one man’s death by fire kindled the flame of faith in another.

“One of the great lesions to be learned from those who have made correct choices is that they have decided on their course of action in advance. They have set their lives on such a proper path that when a moment of decision arrives, their reaction is natural. Thus, if you haven’t already done so, make the decision now that you will never barter away the standards you know to be true.”

According to Hoyt W. Brewster Jr, it is before these decisive moments arise that we must make our decision. If we wait until we’re looking it in the face, it will be too late. Neal A. Maxwell wrote, “Act now, so that a thousand years from now, when you look back at this moment, you can say this was a moment that mattered—this was a day of determination.”

Our lives are all about choices. The choice is ours.