LILY Letter 105: Making Wise Choices
April 11, 2023
Before Joseph Smith went into the Grove of trees to pray, and ultimately received his first vision, he read the Bible passage in James: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5). In response, he wrote: "never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine." Joseph wrote further, "For how to act I did not know. Unless I could gain more wisdom than I then had, I would never know." It seems that Joseph was not looking for a direct answer to his prayer, but for the wisdom to arrive at the answer himself. This is when the lord stepped in and gave him specific direction.
Cathy opened a dialogue with God during her earnest efforts to date. With a righteous desire to marry, she expressed her desire to be told "no" if marriage to any particular dating partner wouldn't be best for her. As a result, she ultimately got a lot of "no's." At times, this felt discouraging but she followed the counsel she was given. At one point, when deciding which of the men she was dating to get more serious with, Cathy was told to "join none of them" - much like Joseph Smith was told to join none of the existing churches when he was sincerely seeking religion for himself.
It is prudent to gather as much relevant information as we reasonably can. There is also wisdom in knowing we will never have all the information we need, nor a crystal ball to tell us what will happen in the future. Bravely deciding which answers to take on faith and which to seek for Divine guidance is the essence of what we are here on earth to do. Wisdom is knowing that we don't know what God does. This can be difficult for many mid-singles who have been hurt and sometimes even received answers to prayers about a marriage that did not work out. Some relationships are meant to teach us things, while others are meant to successfully go the distance. Counsel with the Lord and be specific about the guidance and direction you want from Him and He will steer you well in making wise choices.
Cathy opened a dialogue with God during her earnest efforts to date. With a righteous desire to marry, she expressed her desire to be told "no" if marriage to any particular dating partner wouldn't be best for her. As a result, she ultimately got a lot of "no's." At times, this felt discouraging but she followed the counsel she was given. At one point, when deciding which of the men she was dating to get more serious with, Cathy was told to "join none of them" - much like Joseph Smith was told to join none of the existing churches when he was sincerely seeking religion for himself.
It is prudent to gather as much relevant information as we reasonably can. There is also wisdom in knowing we will never have all the information we need, nor a crystal ball to tell us what will happen in the future. Bravely deciding which answers to take on faith and which to seek for Divine guidance is the essence of what we are here on earth to do. Wisdom is knowing that we don't know what God does. This can be difficult for many mid-singles who have been hurt and sometimes even received answers to prayers about a marriage that did not work out. Some relationships are meant to teach us things, while others are meant to successfully go the distance. Counsel with the Lord and be specific about the guidance and direction you want from Him and He will steer you well in making wise choices.
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