Lessons From The Garden of Eden

Agency is the ability and privilege God gives us to choose and to act for ourselves. God respects our agency so much. In the third chapter of Genesis there is a wonderful illustration of how He helps us use our agency.

9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

When God asked Adam where he was and what he was doing, do you think God did not know where he was or what he was doing? He knew exactly what had just happened!

God knows all things. He knows the desires of our hearts and our circumstances. He knows that without the ability to act for ourselves we would not be able to learn or progress or follow the Savior. God wants us to be agents who act, not objects who are acted upon. He will help us use our agency wisely if we seek His word. 

"Bear All These Things With Patience"

Last night I was reading in the twelfth chapter of Ether in the Book of Mormon. In verse 27 it reads:

“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

The Lord himself is speaking in that verse.

After reading this I asked myself two questions. Am I patient with the faults and weaknesses of others? Am I patient with myself and rely on the Lord as I work to overcome my weaknesses? Patience has never been one of my strengths. It takes a lot of faith to have patience. When we have patience we are willing to wait for the Lord’s promised blessings to be fulfilled. We have to be patient with all people, especially ourselves, as we work to overcome faults and weaknesses and strive to develop Christ-like attributes. The Lord promises that He will “make weak things becoming strong unto [us]”. He always keeps His promises.

“God’s grace is sufficient. Jesus’ grace is sufficient. It is enough. It is all we need. Don’t quit. Keep trying. Don’t look for escapes and excuses. Look for the Lord and His perfect strength. Don’t search for someone to blame. Search for someone to help you. Seek Christ, and, as you do, I promise you will feel the enabling power we call His amazing grace.” (Brad Wilcox, Brigham Young University Devotional Address, July 12, 2011)

As we seek Christ we will one day be able to say “I ‘did bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with [me]’.” (Alma 38:4)

Experiment Upon the Word

Titleist is one of the most powerful golf brands in the world. They are known for having the #1 ball in golf and have a great reputation. Titleist’s Pro V1 line of golf balls had 186 worldwide wins amongst professional golfers in 2012 while the nearest competitor had only 25 wins.

On their website I clicked on a link that lead me to an article about golf ball fitting. The header of the page said to “lower your score with the best golf ball for your game”.  Below the header it said “tour players know that changing their golf ball changes every shot…. Their golf ball evaluation is done on a golf course.” In order for these professional golfers to find the truth about the Titleist Pro V1 they had to act and find out for themselves. They could easily take everyone’s word for it. They’ve seen the stats and they’ve seen other players play great rounds of golf with the Pro V1. Titleist’s reputation is simply the best! However, that’s not something they’re willing to chance. There is too much on the line for them to play with a golf ball they don’t fully trust yet. After all, “changing their golf ball changes every shot”.

Whether you’re professional or not, every golfer’s ultimate goal is to play their personal best. It’s important to trust in a golf ball that can help you do that. The only way to know if you trust it is to find out “ON A GOLF COURSE”.

Is this not the same type of process that should be used to know if a spiritual truth is a truth? Let me rephrase something I said earlier. Every Christian’s ultimate goal is to live in God’s presence with their families forever. This is eternal life. It’s important to trust in a religion that can help you do that.

Jesus Christ is the #1 and center of God's eternal plan for us. Living the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to inherit eternal life. The Bible and the Book of Mormon together contain the fullness of the gospel. "The Book of Mormon testifies of Christ and His Atonement; the Bible provides the account of His birth, ministry, death, Atonement, and Resurrection. Both testify of Jesus Christ” (Preach My Gospel, 106).

Was Joseph Smith a prophet of God though? Did he really restore Christ's church and the fulness of His gospel on the earth again? Is the Book of Mormon really another testament of Jesus Christ? Yes he was, yes he did, and yes it is. Don't only take my word for it.

The Titleist Pro V1 is either the right ball for a golfer or it is not. This is not something they leave up to chance. A golfer experiments with the golf ball on the golf course to find out. Christ's church has either been restored or it has not. Is this something we want to chance? You can know the truth by the power of the Holy Ghost. But first you have to act! "But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words." (Alma 32: 27) Read from the Book of Mormon, ponder its message, ask in prayer to your Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ if it's true. "No one can know of spiritual truths without prayer. Knowing that the Book of Mormon is true leads to a knowledge that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet and that the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through him" (Preach My Gospel, 39).

I stand as a witness that these are spiritual truths. I have experienced a mighty change of heart and continue to become more converted to the Lord as my understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ increases daily. "Much of the time we are just too casual about all of this. This is eternal life. This is the salvation of the chrildren of God. Eternity hangs in the balance. It is the most important path [we] will ever walk" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland "Making and Keeping Covenants," missionary satellite broadcast, Apr. 1997).

One-Way Street

Imagine yourself driving down the road and approaching a stoplight. You don’t know whether to turn left or right in order to reach your destination.  When you get to the stoplight you see a sign that says“one-way street”. A one-way street is defined as a street on which vehicular traffic is allowed to move in only one direction. It makes your decision as clear and simple as possible. You turn the way the traffic is moving or else you’re in big trouble!

Some decisions we must make aren't quite that simple and we have to use our own intelligence and the reasoning powers God had given us. Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said that “personal decision making is one of the sources of the growth we are meant to experience in mortality. Persons who try to shift all decision making to the Lord and plead for revelation in every choice will soon find circumstances where they pray for guidance and don't receive it. For example, this is likely to occur in those numerous circumstances where the choices are trivial or where either choice is acceptable” (“Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall,” Ensign, October 1994). Some decisions however are just as simple as having a “one-way street” sign in front of us.


God wants us to know how we can return and live with Him again someday. He wants us to live in His presence along with our families together forever. This is God’s purpose, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”. (Moses 1:39) He doesn't want us to be confused nor will we be unless we decide to confuse ourselves. It is as clear as possible how we are to receive Eternal Life. “There shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ,the Lord Omnipotent.” (Mosiah 3:17) Only through the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ can we be cleansed from sin and held guiltless before the Father. Christ stands between justice and mercy.The gift of grace or mercy is received as a believer repents, enters into the specified covenants, receives the Holy Ghost, and endures the end. This is called the gospel. Only by living the gospel can we inherit Eternal Life, which is living forever in God’s presence. We will all be resurrected, we will all receive the gift of immortality, but receiving the gift of Eternal Life is conditional upon our submission to the will of the Lord and the desires of our hearts.


“We must cast aside the philosophies of men and the wisdom of the wise and hearken to that Spirit which is given to us to guide us into all truth.” (“The Purifying Power of Gethsemane,” April 1985 General Conference) There is only one way. We must turn onto the path that leads to Eternal Life and never waver off course.

Growing up as an avid golfer, I always wanted to shoot a great score and win! What golfer doesn't want to do that? This mentality made me give a great deal of thought towards the result or the end score. Preferably, a good golfer wouldn't want to have more than 70 shots over the course of a round that lasts 18 holes. Even though 18 holes might sound like a lot of golf, the first shot is no less important than the last. Unfortunately, I would sometimes lose focus on the shot at hand because of this mentality. When I was playing well, I would wish that the round was over so I wouldn't have time to mess up. When I was playing poorly, I would wish I could just restart the round. After nearly every round I would find myself thinking, "If only I had made that one putt the result of my round would have been completely different!" Or "If I would have hit that one drive in the fairway I could have won the tournament. I'm so stupid!" This turned into disappointments and even regrets. 

My dear friends, these are destructive thoughts. We simply cannot think like that!  I lost sight of the beautiful golf course I was playing on, the great weather, and even the great blessing of being able to be an athlete. This applies in all that we do, whether we're on the golf course or not. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a wonderful talk about regrets and resolutions in the October 2012 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

"Sometimes in life we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to find joy in the journey. I don’t go cycling with my wife because I’m excited about finishing. I go because the experience of being with her is sweet and enjoyable.

Do we listen to beautiful music waiting for the final note to fade before we allow ourselves to truly enjoy it? No. We listen and connect to the variations of melody, rhythm, and harmony throughout the composition.

Do we say our prayers with only the “amen” or the end in mind? Of course not. We pray to be close to our Heavenly Father, to receive His Spirit and feel His love.

We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. “This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,” the Psalmist wrote. “Rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalms 118:24)

No matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it."

Let's all resolve to enjoy the journey a little more. Make the decision to be the best you can be right now and don't let anything or anyone stop you :) Make every shot count!