The lessons for today are highly relevant to us in their reminders to make good choices regarding how we live our lives.  On the “light” side, we are called to walk in the truth, follow the commandments, remain in the teaching of Christ, observe the Lord’s decrees, seek him with all our hearts, treasure his promises, and stand erect with your heads held high.

That is a good list to re-read each morning.  But all too often we are tempted to make other choices.  On the dark side, we get taken in by deceivers, our hearts go astray, and we seek worldly wisdom and satisfaction in earthly pursuits.

The message today is that even though we know the difference between walking in the truth and being deceived, we have much difficulty making wise choices in practice.  So, when we read the lessons today, we can see the fragility of our humanity.  But it seems to me that there is a great deal of encouragement in all these lessons as well.  My optimism stems from the fact that from the very beginning, we are told to love one another.  It is through love that we can uplift each other.  And through looking at ourselves via self-reflection of the wonders of the commandments, we can see how they keep us in loving relationships with each other.  That is the good news.

The bad news is that the choices to remain in the teachings of Christ are difficult because we get distracted with the activities of life.  We certainly all know that.  We can easily get dragged down.  Still, the hope that I feel after reflecting in the lessons for today is that if we take time out to treasure the Lord’s promises to us and to accompany each other in following the commandments, it is a lot easier to stand erect and raise up our heads.  I am thankful today that I am part of a large community of faith that helps me make better choices.  I especially pray today that my life will be an instrument of love and compassion to others in that community struggling to remain in Christ’s teachings.  It seems to me that if we first remember to love one another, the walk in the truth gets a lot easier.