As we review decision’s we have made in life most of them could probably be categorized into two columns.
1) I Wish I Would Have 2) I’m Glad I Did
Much of our happiness depends upon which column has the most entries. I will share one of my experiences to illustrate: This picture is of me when I was 18 years old. I was taking an Auto Mechanics class held every afternoon for three hours. This Model A Roadster was sitting outside the Mechanics Shop while I was overhauling another Model A. It was not nearly as classy as this car. One day I inquired about who owned the Roadster. It belonged to a student who was taking Woodshop in the classroom next to the Mechanics class. I went into the Woodshop and asked him what was wrong with the car. He told me that they were looking for a manifold gasket and could not find one anywhere in town. I asked: “Are you interested in selling it?” He responded in the affirmative and for $23 I became the new owner. The Manifold gasket he needed was in the overhaul kit I had for the other car. It ran perfectly after making the needed repair and my friends and I had lots of fun driving it.
I Took it to Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) in Rexburg, Idaho. After allowing some of my friends to take it for a spin, it never ran again because of transmission or differential problems, so I sold it to some guys who had been pestering me to sell it for $60.00.
I wish I would have kept it!
I’ve mourned over the decision to sell that car numerous times. Foolish decisions have consequences and we are not exempt from the consequences of them. Someone once said: “Experience is a dear teacher and fools will learn by no other. Am I the only fool out there? I think not. Let’s consider what a wise man once said about fools:
1) Fool – a person who acts unwisely of imprudently (Webster)
2) Psalm 53:1 – The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
3) Proverbs 12:15 – The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
Not long ago my wife and I talked to a man at a car show. I told him about my 1931 Ford Roadster and told him my experience of purchasing and then selling the car. He said, “Do you know how much that car would be worth today?” I responded, “Probably around $10,000.” “How about $40,000” he replied. Ouch!
A year after selling this car, I made another decision. This time the decision was in the “I’m glad I did” category. In fact, it was among the best decision of my life. I accepted a call to serve as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was sent to the East Central States Mission to serve. This single decision to serve as a missionary influenced every aspect of my life since, including the precious woman I married and my future employment. This single decision has brought joy and happiness far beyond what owning a 1931 Model A Ford could have.
I remember another story about a young man who decided that rather than serve as a missionary as his friends had done, he would buy a new 1951 Chevrolet. Oh, how he loved that car, but as time went on, his friends returned from their missions. He noticed that they had more confidence than they once had. Their lives were happier than they were before.
One day, years later, the consequences of his decision were once again brought to his attention when he noticed in a junkyard an old 1951 Chevrolet just like the car he had once prized so dearly. His decision, years earlier, came back to him as he thought, I wish I would have chosen differently.
I do not wish to imply that one cannot have a happy, successful life if he does not serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or any other church), but it is a true principle that choosing to serve God brings joy. It does not matter our age, what poor decisions we have made or what we have done in the past. Tomorrow is a new day. Each day gives us a new chance to make new choices. When we evaluate our lives, we will observe that what we become is a sum total of the choices we have made. Even now, we are in the process of becoming what we will someday be.
Fortunately for us, the Savior gave His life to bring about positive changes for us. No matter how much we may feel estranged from Him, His Atonement can save us from ourselves and our foolish decisions. He has promised: Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isaiah 1:18).
The Savior also said: And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.
If we want eternal life (life like God enjoys) then our daily choices must reflect that desire. How do we come to know God? We spend time learning about Him from the scriptures, communicate with Him through prayer and do the things that bring us nearer to Him. We will learn to love Him and want to keep His commandments. We will want to serve Him.
And how do we serve God? A wise prophet/ leader once said, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are in the service of God (Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2:25).
Jesus, referring to when He would return to earth in all His glory, spoke of a judgement of all nations: and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink (Matthew 25:32-37)?
The Savior’s response was: Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25:40)
It is interesting to note that the righteous were already doing good unto the “least of these, my brethren”- while the wicked were saying “well, I didn’t know!” To me the message is clear. We should be serving and helping others along the way. These are things the righteous normally do The righteous will say, “I’m glad I did,” whilst the wicked will say, “I wish I would have.”
If we are wise and not foolish, we will hearken unto the counsel of these words of wisdom. We will choose to improve ourselves and help others improve as well. We will keep covenants we have made with God, and prepare ourselves to meet Him when He returns.
Our Prophet today has counseled: My dear brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ invites us to take the covenant path back home to our Heavenly Parents and be with those we love. He invites us to “come follow me.”
Now, as President of His Church, I plead with you who have distanced yourself from the Church and with you who have not yet really sought to know that the Savior’s Church has been restored. Do the spiritual work to find out for yourselves, and please do it now. Time is running out (Ensign, General Conference Address, April, 2019, President Russell M. Nelson, “Come Follow Me,”).
Let us be wise and choose the “I’m Glad I Did” response.
Merlin Frei