Which Path You Take

I sent this email to our kids on May 19, 2016.  After reading it again I decided to post here for our posterity.  

I've been thinking about President Monson.  I told Wayne a few days ago that he won't be here for much longer. He was so feeble at conference and very humble as he spoke to us.  His comments were brief but so important.  He spoke about how important every decision we make is.  I really liked his quote from Alice in Wonderland when Alice came to the crossroads and asked which way to go, the Cheshire Cat replied, "That depends on where you want to go.  If you don't know where you're going it doesn't matter which way you go."  Then he reminded us that we all know which way we are going.  Our goal is to return to the Celestial Kingdom and every good choice we make, gets us closer.

I just want you all to know how much I appreciate you, the good things you do, and the good choices you make everyday.  I think a lot about our family as I watch the film in the temple.  Our Heavenly Father has a great love for us.  I know sometimes you might wonder how can he possibly care about you?  Sometimes I think that, but I know he does care about each one of us.  He wants us ALL back!  He loves us and he keeps loving us.  He will always be there because he want us to come home.  I want that too.

I sure do love you ALL!

Mom-Jan

President Thomas S. Monson announces 4 new temples; Quito, Ecuador; Harare, Zimbabwe; Belém, Brazil; and a second temple in Lima, Peru,  in the 186th annual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City at the Conference Center on Saturday, April 2, 201

May we ever choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.

Brothers and sisters, before I begin my formal message today, I would like to announce four new temples which, in coming months and years, will be built in the following locations: Quito, Ecuador; Harare, Zimbabwe; Belém, Brazil; and a second temple in Lima, Peru.

When I became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1963, there were 12 operating temples in the entire Church. With the dedication of the Provo City Center Temple two weeks ago, there are now 150 temples in operation throughout the world. How grateful we are for the blessings we receive in these holy houses.

Now, brothers and sisters, I wish to express my gratitude for the opportunity to share a few thoughts with you this morning.

I have been thinking recently about choices. It has been said that the door of history turns on small hinges, and so do people’s lives. The choices we make determine our destiny.

When we left our premortal existence and entered mortality, we brought with us the gift of agency. Our goal is to obtain celestial glory, and the choices we make will, in large part, determine whether or not we reach our goal.

Most of you are familiar with Alice in Lewis Carroll’s classic novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. You will remember that she comes to a crossroads with two paths before her, each stretching onward but in opposite directions. As she contemplates which way to turn, she is confronted by the Cheshire Cat, of whom Alice asks, “Which path shall I follow?”

The cat answers, “That depends where you want to go. If you do not know where you want to go, it doesn’t matter which path you take.”1

Unlike Alice, we know where we want to go, and it does matter which way we go, for the path we follow in this life leads to our destination in the next life.

May we choose to build up within ourselves a great and powerful faith which will be our most effective defense against the designs of the adversary—a real faith, the kind of faith which will sustain us and will bolster our desire to choose the right. Without such faith, we go nowhere. With it, we can accomplish our goals.

Although it is imperative that we choose wisely, there are times when we will make foolish choices. The gift of repentance, provided by our Savior, enables us to correct our course settings, that we might return to the path which will lead us to that celestial glory we seek.

May we maintain the courage to defy the consensus. May we ever choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.

As we contemplate the decisions we make in our lives each day—whether to make this choice or that choice—if we choose Christ, we will have made the correct choice.

That this may ever be so is my heartfelt and humble prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen.

Written by Jan