Making choices.

I gave a talk in church last Sunday about our agency and responsibility. It was great motivation for me to study more than I usually do. It seems that Heavenly Father knew I needed to learn more about this right now in my life. So, I studied and pondered all last week. I read quite a few talks and articles written by church leaders and found some great quotes as well. Here are just a few of my favorites:

"Our Father in Heaven wanted our growth to continue in mortality and to be enhanced by our freedom to choose and learn. He also wanted us to exercise our faith and our will, especially with a new physical body to master and control." 

-Howard W. Hunter

"How do we make correct choices? A choice involves making a conscious decision. To make an intelligent decision we need to evaluate all available facts on both sides of an issue. But that isn't enough. Making correct decisions involves prayer and inspiration." -James E. Faust

"Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man [or woman] who gives into temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. Christ, because He was [and still is] the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means." -C.S. Lewis

These quotes made me think of our willpower. I think willpower has a lot to do with the choices we make. I think that some decisions I made were influenced by my lack of confidence in myself. I know that some people are blessed with very strong willpower. I think it is very important for everyone to understand that charity is the main force that will have some influence on a person's level of willpower. The more we put down and judge others for their weaknesses, the more damage we do to their willpower. Yet, the more we encourage and strive to help and serve one another out of love, the stronger their willpower becomes. It is essential to have a strong willpower in our lives. It is the source of  motivation to endure through the trials we face.
My sister, Emily, wrote a few inspiring posts about her decision to have a natural childbirth. She gained some spiritual enlightenment from her birth experience. Her willpower was strengthened through her experience, and she is confident to share her knowledge with others so that they can strengthen their willpower as well.
She said:

"It is time to take a look at what society tells us about birth and change our expectations. As women, we use the knowledge we have to make the best choices for us and our baby but we must be knowledgeable on more than one kind of birth. Why believe the comments of people who haven't experienced natural birth. Don't let them scare you into thinking it is a stupid wasteful idea and that you can't do it and will be begging for the epidural. There are plenty of women who can testify of the amazing grace of a natural birth and want to do it again and they are all like you!!! They aren't Wonder Woman. Look them up, there are a lot out there."

She is very right. It is important to share what we know and experience. We need to know every side to every story to make the best decision for ourselves. God's input needs to be there as well. The more we go through this process and make decisions, the more we grow and our willpower grows along with it. I see that in Emily...for sure!
When I had Jocelyn, I planned to have a natural birth...to see how far I could go with the pain. I did have medication, but her delivery was great. I felt the spirit very strongly. I saw my husband, Abraham, in a way I had never seen before. It was a wonderful experience.
And so, as a woman, I did see a glimpse of what my sister talked about. Although a man will never have the opportunity to experience pregnancy and birth as women do, it is exciting to know that through life's experiences we can all grow in several ways we never thought we could.  The most important part of these choices is whether they bring us closer to our Savior or not.
And for some reason, I kept thinking of the birthing class Abraham and I took after reading her post. We wanted (well, it was mostly for Abe!) to know what to expect from a birth in the hospital. This was a large part of what we watched...

and this too...

I admit it is pretty funny. But then again, most of the choices we make in life and how we handle them are very amusing to look back on! Am I right?