Men [and women] are... {Book of Mormon Forum}

My good friend Jocelyn over at We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ (and my guest here) has decided to continue The Book of Mormon Forum with a blog-hop once a month. I first joined the Forum here, and I'd like to continue joining each month because the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are a big part of me being "just" who I am, so it just seems natural to share this with you as part of all the other loveliness I share. Thanks for reading! :)

I was contemplating what thought to share for this month's Book of Mormon Forum blog hop when my husband and I read this verse in our nightly scripture study:

 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. (2 Nephi 2:25)

In the next few verses (26 and 27), Lehi continues to talk about what other things men -- and women -- experience as a result of the fall of Adam and our Savior's atoning sacrifice. Editing it down (while still maintaining the meaning, of course), I read that men are...

• that they they might have joy (verse 25)
• to act for themselves and not to be acted upon (verse 26)
• free to choose liberty and eternal life... or captivity and death (verse 27)

For all three of these purposes to be fulfilled in our lives, we must act for ourselves to choose liberty and eternal life, and thereby gain joy in this life and the next. Without our ability to act and choose for ourselves, we could not experience the fullness of joy that our Heavenly Father has prepared for us: the joy of eternal life.

Each choice that we make each day is a choice toward either liberty and eternal life, or toward captivity and death. As Elder Russell M. Ballard says,

We prepare each day, right now, for eternal life. If we are not preparing for eternal life, we are preparing for something less, perhaps something far less. (Sept 2011 Ensign)

Looking at my choices of the past week or two... I haven't been preparing for eternal life all that well. But, thanks to the Atonement, I can repent of my shortcomings and I can be better. I can do my very best (even all that I can do) so that my life is the very best that it can be, to allow me live eternally with my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ, and my beautiful family!

If you have questions about the Book of Mormon or my beliefs as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please leave a comment or email me at iamjustlu@gmail.com. 

If you're interested in receiving a complimentary copy of the Book of Mormon to read for yourself, I would love to send one your way, along with my testimony and a special copy of The Ensign magazine explaining the origins of the Book of Mormon.

Learn more about the Book of Mormon here at mormon.org
or by reading some of the great links in the Book of Mormon Forum blog hop: