Thought of the Sunday 42

Here is a favorite scripture for many.  Joshua 24: 15, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

To me this scripture involves two main principles.  One is our ability to choose...we get to choose for ourselves who we serve and what we do.  We have been given agency so that we are not forced into anything.  And we should not force someone else to do anything either because they also have the same agency.  The other principle is service.  How do we serve?  In what ways can we show our service?  

President Monson, President of the Church, gave a talk about this very subject in October 2004.  I encourage you to read it, just because it's pretty good.  

President Monson says about making choices: "Some choices may seem more important than others, but no choice is insignificant."

On service I am reminded of a scripture in the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2:17:

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

And President Monson gives this simple formula for our success:

"May I leave with you today a simple yet far-reaching formula to guide you in the choices of life:

Fill your minds with truth.

Fill your hearts with love.

Fill your lives with service."

So as we make choices we need to remember our purpose in life, why we are here and where we are going.  Willing service will also help us as we make our choices.  We should always strive to see the other people around us and remember their potential as sons and daughters of God.  We need to serve them in love.  May we all choose to serve the Lord by serving others.