“What Do Your Decisions Say about You?” Liahona, April 2017
What Do Your Decisions Say about You?
What we can learn from an event that happened 180 years ago.
We make countless decisions every day—wake up or hit snooze, trash or recycle, Uber or Lyft. Some decisions are obviously more important than others, but in the end, our decisions are meant to show one thing: Am I on the Lord’s side?
Elder David A. Bednar uses an experience from nearly 200 years ago that can help us make decisions today. In 1834 the Lord told Joseph Smith to take a group of men 900 miles to help the persecuted Saints in Missouri. Elder Bednar points out two important lessons for us today from the events of Zion’s Camp:
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The lesson of testing, sifting, and preparing. Zion’s Camp was a refiner’s fire with hard work, poor food, and serious sickness. How the people chose to respond showed whether they would follow the Lord or not. The Lord later called many of the faithful as Church leaders, including nine members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
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The lesson of observing, learning from, and following the Brethren. The men in Zion’s Camp had the opportunity to learn from the Prophet Joseph. We can also choose to learn both from the teachings and examples of the Brethren.
Our Own Zion’s Camp
Elder Bednar said: “At some point in each of our lives, we will be invited to march in our own Zion’s Camp. The timing of the invitations will vary, and the particular obstacles we may encounter on the journey will be different. But our ongoing and consistent response to this inevitable call ultimately will provide the answer to the question ‘Who’s on the Lord’s side?’ The times to show are now, today, tomorrow, and forever.”