The group “Musical Truth” performed a beautiful medley of “Teach Me to Walk in the Light” at the devotional held on Tuesday, July 6, as the congregation prepared to hear from Bishop Jim Nilson, the Associate Vice President for Technology at BYUH. Nilson served in and retired from the United States Air Force, including service rendered as a computer science teacher at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado. This being one of his specialties, he was a perfect fit for the technology department at our University.
Bishop Nilson prepared his talk with the purpose of reemphasizing the importance of a precious gift we inherited before we came to mortality: agency. As he shared the value of each of our choices, he recounted the experiences we had in the pre-mortal existence where we were taught about the great plan of happiness. He said, “[Heavenly Father] told us that we would need to leave His presence to be tested…objections were made by several of our brothers and sisters, and a battle ensued.” Those of us who chose to follow the Lord’s plan were those who realized that “agency was not something to be feared, but to be embraced,” he said, “We are among the two-thirds that exercised our agency wisely.”
Nilson uncovered the point that the war has not ceased, but is still raging on in the hearts of every one of us. “The devil has not conceded defeat, he is still fighting the war,” he said. He compared this conflict of good and evil to a contest where both sides are competing for the souls of men. As he recounted the choices made by such men as Adam, Noah, King David, and Nephi, he shared their good and bad actions and consequences, but as he spoke about the simple decision of Joseph Smith to go into a grove of trees, Nilson said, “His choice was not a minor one, it affected everyone in the world and particularly those of us who are members of the church.” This illustrated the importance of each and every one of our decisions.
As he spoke of the different paths that are presented at every turn in our lives, Nilson said that “Though we are free to choose, we are not free to choose the consequences.” This encouraged the students to recognize what the consequences of their actions would be and make the decision as to what path they would take. He implored the students to not be deceived by the devil, and to understand that “there is no happiness in immorality, there is no joy in sin.” He presented the words of several modern day prophets who have given guidelines that will help in preparing to withstand temptation and preventing making choices that will bring us misery.
Preparation and Prevention:
- Decide now to be chaste.
- Control your thoughts.
- Pray for the power to resist temptation.
- Carefully plan positive activities.
Nilson also presented several ways to find your way back to a state of moral purity if you have wandered. Coming Back:
- Remove yourself immediately from any situation you are in that is either causing you to sin or may cause you to sin.
- Plead with the Lord for the power to overcome.
- Let your priesthood leaders help you resolve the transgression and come back into full fellowship with the Lord.
- Drink from the divine fountain and fill your lives with positive sources of power.
- Remember that through proper repentance, you can become clean again.
He left us with the empowering thought that as we accepted the plan of our Father in Heaven, “we accepted the responsibility for the deeds we do, the lives we lead, and the goals we pursue.”
Trevor and Brittany Heaney, a newlywed couple from California, were in attendance. Brittany shared several of the things she took away from the meeting, “I learned that the adversary is very real but that the more you cling to the Savior and truly try to follow the commandments, you will be protected.” Her husband, Trevor, a junior studying human resources and organizational behavior, thinks these devotionals are a great way to break up the week. He said, “I always enjoy the spiritual uplift we receive during these devotionals.” Max Chen, a senior in IDS from Taiwan said, “It was interesting to realize that [in the pre-mortal life] we made the choice to keep choosing, so we should be happy here because we chose to come.”
–Photo by Nathan Lehano
Click here to view full transcript of Jim Nilson's Devotional Address.