“What Would You Change?” New Era, Jan. 2010, 45
What Would You Change?
Some time ago, I had experiences that caused me to stray. I stopped going to church and reading my scriptures, and I started doing and saying things I shouldn’t. I didn’t care at all. I put God at the back of my thoughts and out of my heart.
Then my seminary teacher brought up a question that changed my perspective. He asked, “Would you like to know when you’re going to die? And if you did know, what would be some things you would change?” Most of the students in my class said they would be more charitable, read their scriptures more consistently, and make up with people they were mad at.
As I was pondering about this, I thought, “Shouldn’t we already be doing those things? It shouldn’t take the matter of death for us to decide to do them. And if we do them, we don’t have to worry about our salvation.”
Then I thought about the things I was doing and how, if I continued to do them, I probably would not end up in the place I wanted to be. I told myself that I won’t have to worry if I try harder to do the things I need to and should do, but first I had to give my heart back to God.
I know that we are children of our Heavenly Father and that bad things happen for a reason: to strengthen us and our faith. If we continue to do the things we should and remember that God always loves us and wants us to be eternally happy, then we will be happy.