Let Freedom, From God, Ring!

As an American we hear the word Freedom a lot in our country. We look at it as a true blessing to live in "the land of the free and the home of the brave" We, as a country and as a people, never want our freedom taken away or put in jeopardy. This causes us to even fight and risk our lives for our freedom. We want to be able to choose and make our decisions in life. We want independence! We want to Let Freedom Ring! I can testify to you that by being a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and an American I know why we all have this desire for freedom. It's something that is ingrained into us from before we were born. It's natural and God given.
   God has given us the gift of freedom to act and make decisions for ourselves. This freedom is called free agency. We received this gift before the world was even created. God gave us this gift because he knew that in order for us to truly learn and grow we needed to experience life through our choices.
   Our country allows us to make choices but with all choices comes a consequence, whether good or bad. Many think we can always make a choice but not choose our consequence. This is true, however God would rather have us learn how to make better choices with our freedom that has a positive consequence attached to it.
     2 Nephi 2:27 states that "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."
    Through this scripture we see men are free to choose, liberty and eternal life. This means through correct choices, and through obedience to God's commands, in the end we will find ourselves free from sorrow, pain, guilt, shame, and addiction. This allows us to keep our agency.
    On the flip side if we make choices contrary to God's commands we will find ourselves bound and captive to sorrow, pain, guilt, shame, and addiction, and more. This is exactly what Satan wants because these kinds of choices slowly bind us and our freedom to the point that it is very limited, if not gone.
    A simple real world example of this process is driving a car. If we drive a car as long as we follow the laws, or commands, of the road we have the freedom to drive where ever we desire. But if we break those laws, or commandments, we can find ourselves with fines from tickets, to having to attend driving school, to ultimately having our license suspended. And with no license we can't drive and our freedom to drive is gone.
   Unfortunately all of us over time in life have broken a lot of these laws, or commandments. This means all of us are in jeopardy of losing our eternal freedom. Luckily God has given us His son, Jesus Christ. Because of what Christ did by performing the atonement for all of us, through repentance, we can be forgiven. This sets us free of the penalties of sin and allows us to live with God again.
   How grateful I am for my freedom. Freedom from God and in my country. I know that if I make correct choices with that freedom that it will remain intact. I challenge all of us to examine our lives to see if there is, in any way, things we are doing to limit our freedom. Pray and seek God's help about it. As you do, through repentance, you'll feel liberated and free. I can promise this to you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

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