Good, Better, Best... and Best?

We often hear about 'good, better, best' decisions. How do we choose between two seemingly 'best' options?

    The path to the Lord is straight and narrow, but it doesn’t mean that there is no room for variation. Not every person has to follow the exact same course of action to be able to successfully return to God’s presence. In fact, God wants us to learn how to act for ourselves as explained in Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-27, “For behold it is not meet that I should command in all things… Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness” This might be a scary principle to apply in our lives because we may feel like God has a path for us, and even though these two decisions both seem good, how can I be sure that I didn’t miss out on some of the blessings by picking the wrong path. The Lord assures us that we can be confident in our decisions in Doctrine and Covenants 58:28, “…And inasmuch as men do good, they shall in nowise lose their reward.”

    Maybe in the past we have felt good about a decision and then it ended up not being the “best” like we thought it was. This shouldn’t make us afraid of continuing to act for ourselves in the future. Sometimes the Lord will wait for us to go down the wrong path before instructing us, as was the case with the elders traveling to Missouri. They asked God if they should travel by land or canoe and received the answer that it didn’t matter to the Lord. They chose to travel by canoe and then the dangers of the river forced them to the banks and they had to continue on foot. When the elders questioned why they were permitted at all to travel by water the Lord responded, “I suffered it that ye might bear record; behold, there are many dangers upon the waters, and more especially hereafter;” (Doctrine and Covenants 61:4). When the Lord doesn’t give us specific direction, and both options seem “best” we should proceed with faith and trust that if we go the wrong way, the Lord won’t let us get far without correcting our course.