Planning Ahead

Last night, in Scouts, we talked about how to prepare for a back-packing trip. Tips included bringing everything you're sure to need, but not much more than that, wearing comfortable hiking boots, and (this is something that was new to me) try to put most of the weight of what you carry as high in your backpack as you can - It's easier to carry there than lower down your back. Above all, the tip that came up most often was to plan ahead. Where are you going and what will you need to be comfortable there? What sort of wildlife (including bugs) can you expect to encounter there? What will the weather be like? Look forward, plan ahead, and pack what you need.

It's also note-worthy that the Scouts met in the Primary room of our church building, and on the wall there was a scripture that the Primary-age children in our ward are learning about, 2 Nephi 9:13, which begins, "O how great the plan of our God!" The connection between that thought and the discussion that the Scouts were having there last night was striking to me.

I'm sure that God was thinking ahead when He formed that plan for His children to come to Earth. He knew we'd need guidance and commandments. He knew we'd need motivation in the form of promised blessings and threatened punishments. He knew we'd need help and forgiveness from time to time. I wouldn't be surprised if He literally thought of everything. So He formed a plan that includes all of those elements, and presented it to us as the Plan of Salvation, or the Plan of Happiness, or whatever we called it back then.

But Satan had another plan. He wanted (and still wants) to take our essential freedom of choice out of the equation. So he presented a plan by which he'd basically mind-control all of us into going through the motions of righteousness, and thus technically qualify for the Celestial Kingdom, being justified by the law which we would literally have been forced not to break. The problem with this idea is that it would neither test nor strengthen our character and we wouldn't learn anything from the experience. For that and other reasons, Satan's plan was rejected. Feeling bitter about this and about the other consequences of his proposal, Satan formed another plan, a more subtle plan, one that would ensnare many people with figurative chains that would be to light to feel until they became too heavy to carry and too strong to break.

But of course, God saw that coming, so He factored Satan's plan into His own plan (astonishingly before Satan's plan was even formed. How's that for forethought!) God knew that Satan's temptations would be subtle, so He warned us about that and gave us the Spirit, by which we could be warned of otherwise undetectable dangers. God knew that we would all commit sin at certain periods of time, so He provided a Savior for us. God also knew that many of us would become so trapped by Satan's temptations that it would be difficult for us to choose the right, so He made sure Christ's Atonement would have great liberating power, and that there would be help on both sides of the veil for those who had become trapped by sins and addictions.

God has a plan for our salvation, and Satan has a plan for our destruction. We had better form our own plan, too.

One of Satan's greatest advantages is that he often catches us off-guard. He uses subtle tactics and attacks us when we're not paying attention. We need to be sharp to recognize his temptations and see them coming. Often, we need the gift of spiritual discernment in order to be that sharp, so developing a good connection to the spirit is important.

Satan also attacks our weak-points. Some of our weak-points are the results of our personalities, others are the results of our physical natures. We need to find out what our weak-points are, what temptations we most struggle with, and form plans for how to resist those temptations specifically. Since everyone's weaknesses are different, I can't give you specific advice, but the Apostles and Prophets can. This morning, I watched a General Conference talk that spoke about my specific problem and gave me some solid advice. I'm sure you can find such advice for your situation if you look for it on LDS.org.

Another thing we need to know in forming our plan is exactly who we are. I'm sure that most of us are already aware that we are mortal, fallen, weak, imperfect people. That is currently a part of our identity, and Satan goes to great lengths to make sure that we're aware of that. He uses the fact that we're mortal to try to discourage us and make us give up. I'm human. Humans are imperfect. As long as I'm human, I'll never become the kind of person I'd like to be. That is both discouraging and true, but it's not the whole story! We were not always mortal, and we won't be mortal forever. Mortality is part of our current identity, but we are all destined for immortality. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (which was also part of God's plan), Jesus broke the bands of death and promised that everyone who has ever been born will also be resurrected. Everyone who has ever been mortal will one day become immortal, and we can be free from Satan's influence.

And here's another thing about our identity that we desperately need to remember: We are children of God. That implies a number of glorious things about us. God loves us as any good father loves his children, and He always will, no matter what mistakes we make. Because God loves us, He's willing to help us, so long as we ask for His help through prayer. As His children, we have inherited a portion of His tremendous spiritual power, giving us more than enough power to resist and overcome temptation when we really put our hearts into it. And that's not all we've inherited from Him! We have the potential to become as strong, as wise, as loving, and as perfect as God Himself is.

Satan would do anything to make us forget those glorious truths about ourselves, and all too often, he tragically succeeds, so I'm going to make it a part of my personal plan to remind myself who I really am and who I have the power to become. I am a son of God and I have the potential to become like God. And so do you. Remember that, and form your own plan to follow God's plan for you.