Chose Liberty!

I feel bad for my parents... If any of you know them, you should give them a huge pat on the back, or a congrats for making it through me alive. Seriously, I think the reason I was born to them is because they were the only two individuals on the planet who could handle me. You see, I (like probably every teenage boy) had this thing with rules... I didnt like them very much, and made it my personal goal to break every one I could... I used to think that rules were things to bind you down, that, "with all those rules, there was no way I could be free!" Man, I wished I had paid better attention those nights our family happened to read 2nd Nephi, woulda saved me and my parents a lot of grief!

Sad-face Homeless man...

I know there are tons of people out there who still think like I used to. I meet them everyday... "Naaahhh mannn, Im going to do what I want, when I want to, I dont need no stinkin religion to tell me what to do! God knows me mann, I aint' gonna hurt nobody!" I hear it all the time. Some of those people are homeless. Some are rich, others seem completely normal. All of them however, are completely missing the point...

Nephi has it though. In 2 Nephi 2:27, Nephi says,

"Wherefore, men are ^afree according to the ^bflesh; and ^call things are ^dgiven them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to ^echoose ^fliberty and eternal ^glife, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be ^hmiserable like unto himself."

He understood what is probably one of the hardest things for any of us to learn... That we have rules, not to bind us down, but to protect us from being bound, and set us free. Most of the time, we have rules to keep us out of harms way.

No one would question a Danger: High Voltage sign... Could you imagine? "Oh thats just some lame advice, we can hop that fence without being hurt!" ... What about eating something that said Danger: Toxic on it? You would have to be a fool to do that kind of stuff right? The person who put that sign there probably knows and understand thats what may seem like a fun rebellious thing to do at first can quickly turn really, really bad.

I think we can all safely say that God knows and understands our world better than any of us can begin to comprehend. Because he understands what will harm us, and what is good for us, he sets up boundaries, that if adhere to will enjoy a life free from certain consequences. If you never smoke, you wont have to worry about getting lung cancer. If your not looking at porn, you wont have to worry about that addiction creeping into your relationships, and potentially breaking them down. Just some examples





God gives us commandments to keep us free... Free from guilt, pain, shame... the list goes on but you get the point. As we follow His commandments, He is more able to bless us. Ultimately, as it says in verse 25 of that same chapter in Nephi, "men are that they might have joy." I know that God wants us to be happy. It took me a while, but I really have learned that through keeping the commandments, and really striving to live a better life, I have become happy. I am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who's selfless sacrifice made this all possible for me. I know that eveyone on this earth, no matter who they are or what they have done, was meant to be happy! The only way to find true and lasting happiness is by following the example of Jesus Christ, and keeping the commandments. Seriously, if your not happy with your life, try it out! It works! I am living proof!