Choice

Tonight some of the youth in our stake performed a concert
featuring the Kenneth Cope musical,
"Greater Than Us All" .
All of the youth were invited to participate in this evening
and encouraged to participate in this evening
and cajoled to participate in this evening
and still some of them chose not to participate.

Now I understand that some people really aren't singers
and this is the excuse that my youngest son used on me
but I live with the kid.
I listen to him sing with the radio.
I listen to him sing with the computer.
I listen to him sing with the TV commercials.
I listen to him sing with his brother.
I listen to him sing with gusto.
The boy sings.

I wish he would have chosen to be a part of the program
and I guess he was in the long run.
He was a member of the audience
and we all know the audience is an important part
of any successful production.

I am sure that I am like most parents.
I want what is best for my children.
I want them to have spiritual experiences.
I want them to learn to serve.
I want them to enjoy spending time with their peers,
ones who have the same beliefs and values that they do.
I want them to develop their talents.
I want them to work hard to accomplish a goal and feel good about it.
I want them to fill their time and their heads and their hearts
with so many uplifting things
that there isn't room left for anything else.
I want them to be happy.

Unfortunately, sometimes the things I am convinced
will ultimately bring them happiness
are not the things they choose to do.
Sometimes letting my children make their own choices
is the hardest thing in the world for me.
This was basically a benign choice.
While I think my son would have benefited from the experience,
I don't think he placed his eternal exaltation in jeopardy
by choosing not to.
There are times when that is not the case.
Sometimes I question why Heavenly Father
feels so strongly about each one of His children
having the opportunity to make their own choices.
Sometimes Satan's plan sounds pretty good to me.

As I also sat in the audience tonight
and listened to the beautiful music being performed
and pondered on the words that were being sung
and the messages that were being taught,
the words and the messages and the spirit
began to seep into my heart and my soul
and replace by disappointment and remorse
concerning my son's participation.

I once again realized some important facts.

I may not fully comprehend why agency
is so infinitely important to our Heavenly Father
that He was willing to lose one third of His children
before they even had a chance to come to earth and
receive a physical body because of it.
I may not know why being able to choose is so valuable
that our Heavenly Father was willing to allow His beloved Son
to atone for our sins and die on the cross
and that Son, my eldest brother,
was willing to do just that,
but I do know that it must be because,
I also know that our Heavenly Father
is a loving parent, not unlike myself,
who wants what is best for His children.
He wants us to have spiritual experiences.
He wants us to learn to serve.
He wants us to enjoy spending time with our peers,
ones who have the same beliefs and values that we do.
He wants us to develop our talents.
He wants us to work hard to accomplish a goal and feel good about it.
He wants us to fill our time and our heads and our hearts
with so many uplifting things that there isn't room left for anything else.
He wants us to be happy.
And yes, the things that he knows will ultimately bring us happiness
are not always the things that we choose.
However, our loving Heavenly Father has provided
a way for each one of us to make choices,
benign or not so benign,
and still be able to be happy in the end.
He has provided someone greater than us all
to make everything all right
if we will choose to do what is right.

I also know that I need to teach my children
and encourage my children
and set a good example for my children
but ultimately the choice is theirs.
My choice needs to be to have faith in Heavenly Father's plan,
even the parts that I don't totally understand.