Elder Russell M. Nelson said in November 1990 October Conference: “Not long ago a beautiful young mother asked me for guidance with a very difficult decision she was facing. It pertained to an important surgical operation that was being considered. Consequences of her choice would affect her husband and her family as well. She said, “Decisions are really hard for me. I even have trouble choosing what to wear each morning.”
“You are not so different,” I replied. “Each of us must make choices. That is one of life’s great privileges.”
I told this lovely mother that my fellow physicians are regularly asked questions about the human body. Some questions relate to surgical intervention to save a life or to save a part of the body. Other questions relate to elective procedures to alter the body’s structure or function. In recent years, many questions relate to the “choice” to abort the life of a newly forming human being. Ironically, such “choice” would deny the developing human being both life and choice.
I reminded her that questions regarding our bodies represent only an important fraction of life’s most challenging choices. Others include “Where shall I live?” “What should I do with my life?” “To which cause should I commit my effort and my good name?” These are but a few of the many choices we must make every day. . . .
Because challenging choices face all of us from time to time, I invite others to join with us as I extend my conversation with this young mother.
I would suggest three questions you might ask yourself as you consider your options. Whether they are once-in-a-lifetime or routine daily decisions, serious reflection on these three questions will help clarify your thinking. . . . They are:
“Who am I?”
“Why am I here?”
“Where am I going?”
Truthful answers to these three questions will remind you of important anchors and unchanging principles. As you consider these fundamental questions, it will become clear that decisions you first thought to be purely personal virtually always impact the lives of others. In answering these questions, then, you must be mindful of the broader circle of family and friends who will be affected by the consequences of your choice. This self-evaluation will be a silent examination. No one else will hear your replies. . . . the ultimate responses must be uniquely yours. (see “Choices,” Ensign, November 1990) (Above taken from “Teachings of Russell M. Nelson” Deseret Book 1918 p.47-48)
