The choices we make throughout our lives have both temporal and eternal consequences.

Many of our early choices involve choosing right from wrong. As we mature in the gospel, we realize that selecting between right and wrong is relatively easy. Through the teachings of the Savior, we learn to distinguish between the light and the dark.

"God has given to all men an agency and has granted to us the privilege to serve Him or serve Him not, to do that which is right or that which is wrong, and this privilege is given to all men irrespective of creed, color or condition," President Joseph F. Smith, then a counselor in the First Presidency, said at the April 1883 general conference.

Six months before, in Grantsville, Utah, on Oct. 29, 1882, President John Taylor said, "We need to learn to place our dependence upon God, and trust in Him, and to observe His laws and keep His commandments."

The scriptures remind us: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." (James 4:7-8.)

By drawing near to God, we put Satan behind us and we choose the correct path. President David O. McKay, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, said that men and women, through self-mastery, rise "toward intellectual, moral and spiritual enjoyment," depending upon the kind of choices they make every day, nay, every hour." (Conference Report, April 1949.)

President Brigham Young warned, "Do not suppose that we shall ever in the flesh be free from temptation." (Tabernacle, May 24, 1863.)

But there are ways we can know if we are on the right path. President Gordon B. Hinckley suggested three questions we can ask ourselves to determine if the choice we make is correct:

• Does it enrich the mind?

• Does it discipline and strengthen the body?

• Does it nourish the spirit? (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 54.)

If we can answer affirmatively to each of these questions, we may enjoy the whisperings of the Holy Ghost, that we are proceeding correctly. If our answer is no, we may need to rethink our decision.

"But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come." (D&C 59:23.)

Our task is not only to follow the Lord, but to DO what we know to be right. We may never be free from temptation, as President Young has reminded us, but we need not compromise our standards either.

When faced with situations that may test us, we can call upon our spiritual reserve. If we have already pre-determined our course of action and resolved to obey the commandments, then when we come face-to-face with temptation, we know which course to take. Our response, then, will be the correct one, because — having weighed the consequences beforehand — we have made the decision to do right. President Hinckley said, "The Lord expects great things of His people. . . . He expects us to be good men and women — men and women of honesty, men and women of integrity, men and women of faith, men and women of goodness. That is His great teaching, that we might become perfect even as He is perfect. That is one of the expectations of those who have become members of His Church and kingdom. He expects us to love Him, to worship Him, to do His will." (Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Feb. 13, 1998.)

As we do His will, we put temptation farther and farther behind us. We can overcome the doubts we may face about our choices. As we remain true to the gospel standards and the covenants we have made at baptism and in the temple, we grow closer to God and His Son and enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost.

Our view then is toward the eternal aspects of our lives and choices and away from the "temporal distortions" that afflict us. As we come to recognize that we are sons and daughters of God, our choices are made simpler by our desire to be more like Him. We see that choosing the right path is the right thing to do. It is the way to eternal life.