This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday Afternoon Session of the October 2013 Conference.
This week I was struck by this quote from Elder Quentin L. Cook's talk:
God intended that men and women would be free to make choices between good and evil. When evil choices become the dominant characteristic of a culture or nation, there are serious consequences both in this life and the life to come. People can become enslaved or put themselves in bondage not only to harmful, addictive substances but also to harmful, addictive philosophies that detract from righteous living.
I remember hearing somewhere that one of the reasons the Lord sent the flood at Noah's time was that the people on earth were so wicked that children coming to them had basically no choice to be righteous anymore. I don't know if that is the whole reason, but this quote reminded me of that, and made me wonder—are we at that point now? We must not be, quite. Surely there are many righteous people on earth teaching their children good and righteous things. Still, I feel discouraged sometimes at how much it feels like "evil choices have become the dominant characteristic" of our world too. Our children have—not NO chance—but it seems such a slim chance of being able to escape those harmful, dominant worldly philosophies.
But of course, as always, Jesus is the answer. Elder Cook reminds us:
Our challenge is to avoid bondage of any kind, help the Lord gather His elect, and sacrifice for the rising generation. [But] we must always remember that we do not save ourselves. We are liberated by the love, grace, and atoning sacrifice of the Savior. When Lehi’s family fled, they were led by the Lord’s light. If we are true to His light, follow His commandments, and rely on His merits, we will avoid spiritual, physical, and intellectual bondage as well as the lamentation of wandering in our own wilderness, for He is mighty to save.
I need to remember that no matter how bad things get, if we are determined to follow Jesus, His light will be enough—for us, for our obedient children, for our disobedient children, for our neighbors, for everyone. His plan is good enough. It takes into account our day and our challenges. Jesus is mighty to save, and He wants to save, and He will save everyone who has the desire for good somewhere in their hearts.
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