Making the Right Choice

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life:

A fight is going on inside me, he said to the boy. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too.

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,Which wolf will win?

The old Cherokee simply replied, The one you feed

This quote has become one of my favorites that I reflect upon often. As Sons and Daughters of a loving Heavenly Father, we are given the capacity to choose for ourselves so that we may know right from wrong. Every choice made has temporal and eternal consequences attached to it and its up to us to make those choices, no one can do that for us. Freedom to act for oneself doesn't mean the consequences, good or bad, can be controlled. However, it does allow us to become who God wants and needs us to become regardless of the circumstances we are presently in. 

Within us all is the Light of Christ that enables us to judge for ourselves and choose that which is right. (Moroni 7:14-19, Book or Mormon) The key to making the right decisions is living a life that is centered upon Jesus Christ and his teachings which will enable that light within us all to grow. Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, "The Gospel of Jesus Christ opens the path to what we may become." 

Who do you want to be at the end of your life? What are you doing today to reach that end goal? King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon says: "For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" (Mosiah 5:13) I know that as we all choose to live a life that is centered upon Jesus Christ and to learn of him, He will enable us, by His Atonement, to make the choices necessary to follow the path that He has prepared for us. He lives to "...Bind up the brokenhearted,... to proclaim liberty to the captives,... to give unto them beauty for ashes..." (Isaiah 61:1-3, Old Testament)