To Act for Ourselves...

"For Behold, Ye Are Free, ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free. He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you." (Helman 14:30-31)

I find free agency an interesting thing.  Often I find myself contemplating what I want now for what I want in the future and the future is a hard thing to imagine when it comes to the next life.  It's obvious that major wrong decisions hamper our spiritual well-being and probably the outcome in the next life (without repentance), but what about the smaller things?  I feel like sometimes I'm always doing a balancing act.  BUT, I soon realize that is because my life is not inline with where it needs to be.   The balancing act comes from falling to far to the left.  Imagine a straight line.  Our job is to stay on that path and the Lord helps us stay on that path through the scriptures, prayer and the Spirit.  When we cross the path more than staying on it, it is because we let temptations, however small, pull us one direction or the other rather than staying on the path.  That being said, it is the divine plan of the Savior to let us make those decisions and use repentance to correct when we're off.  I'm grateful for the foresight and love of our Heavenly Father to give us that chance and know it is part of the Plan of Salvation.