Choices...Choices...

Being passionate about things is painful. Having knowledge can have the potential of injecting fear into us or help us feel empowered and free. Many like the saying "ignorance is bliss", well, sometimes there is some value to that, but how can you live life without questions and learning?

For the sake of everything holy, we have to learn!

 In the April 1980 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,  Elder Dean L. Larsen of the Quorum of the Seventy stated that "by our very endowment as children of a Heavenly Father, we have had implanted within our souls the urgency to be free. It is natural for us to want to be accountable for our own fates, because there is a whispering within us confirming that this accountability is absolutely essential to the attainment of our eternal destiny." What a wonderful truth this is! I feel a whole lot better knowing that my desires to learn are eternal gifts and if I live by my "truths" or findings, I will be blessed! 

Now can we talk about raising kids...? 

A few days ago we got a box from Grandma. 

Oh no... Not a box from Grandma! My heart is pumping, I do have a responsibility to her and the kids, she expresses her love differently than I do, she feels that "moderation in all things" means food coloring and other "food" products that should be labled "not fit for human consumption". I can appreciate that her understanding of nutrition is a little different than mine, but no lie, I wish I could hide it. I'm sure whatever is in that box will last through the millennium with all the preservatives and corn syrup that are responsible for the rise in neurological disorders, obesity, and diabetes. I am dying...But really though. I cannot teach my children to fear, I know that my example will always remain in their little hearts, and they will remember that I gave them the "choice". They will appreciate me for giving them the freedom to feel the difference. Elder Larsen continues,

 " The existence of laws, regulations, and procedures has never been sufficient to compel men to obedience. Productive obedience comes through the exercise of free will. Elder Albert E. Bowen of the Quorum of the Twelve once said:“It is a truism that no law is any better than the people who administer it. Howsoever well framed a law may be or however worthy its purpose, it can degenerate into utter futility unless wisely administered by those sympathetic with its purposes” (The Church Welfare Plan, Sunday School manual, 1946, p. 115). "

I have faith that my knowledge empowers me to make wise choices. I lived unclean and now that I am clean, I can feel the difference. My kids need to gain their experience slowly and moderately, so that they can also exercise their agency. If I place too many restrictions on them, I will be setting them up for failure, and will,therefore, watch them fall. The words of this inspired man restores my faith that my children are watched over by their loving parents in heaven, but by me they will be prepared to face the world, which is filled with temptations and luxurious sweets that may look appealing on the outside, but will literally convert their cells into a toxic jungle. 

I conclude with these powerful words and eternal truths that can be applied to any aspect of our lives "Unless we retain a vibrant desire to be free, and unless we understand and practice the principles that give life to essential freedoms, we have little reason to hope they will endure. If we allow ourselves to accept dependency and regulation and to cease valuing independence and self-accountability, then we are vulnerable to the forces that destroy freedom. "

May you be free this day and experience all the joys that this crazy life has to offer, remembering that you are the agent of change, and that you have the ability to effect change in the lives of others. May your journey be blessed with the opportunities to share those passions which you may have; that you may share that joy with others.