The human spirit craves predictability. We fear the unknown; we fear losing control. The desire for order is a spark of the divinity in each of us. For who better able to control events and understand their causes than the God of the universe? Without control, without predictability, without obedience to eternal law, God would cease to be God. Yet if we desire this predictability too quickly, too ardently, we risk losing everything even as the fallen angel who sought to ascend God’s throne (Isa. 14:14).
We long for certainty in our predictions, but absent judgment day, we are faced with another reality of God’s making: free will. Individuals are too complicated to predict without universal knowledge; and universal knowledge is too great a burden for nearly all of us here. Our longing does not point to its own fulfillment in the near term, but it serves to keep us pointed to our long term goal: a heaven where the dominion of the righteous shall flow to them without compulsion forever (D&C 121:46).
All of us, like rough stones rolling, must be polished of some desires and guided by others if we are to reach ultimate fulfillment. But while predictability and stability are not for this time of testing, of growing, of developing, the God of the universe has not abandoned us to our laboratory. While we may not be allowed to predict the timing or the manner of His answers, He has granted us the certainty that He will infuse our question-saturated existence with everlasting, predictable, and indestructible truth (John 14:6). He will prepare us (Ether 2:25); He has prepared the way for us and the eternal rewards of following that way (Ether 4:19; 1 Ne. 3:7). He has commanded us to live by the word of God (Matt. 4:4), eschewing any lesser imitation of men or devils (2 Ne. 28:31). We may live in a world of unpredictable, changeable values and desires, but we are not called to be of this world. Only in the fixed quest for a better world will we find the anchor that allows us to be our best selves in this fleeting moment called life (Ether 12:4).
Because we are eternal beings, we don’t have the luxury of choosing an unpredictable or indeterminate eternity. Creativity and originality in our chosen sphere, granted, but the sphere of being must be according to a law: and a law is predictable, absolute, unchanging. Thus, whatever lies a man may tell himself to the contrary, he must (in simplest terms) choose life or death (2 Ne. 2:27-29; Alma 34:32-39). He must choose between the masters of life and death (which, to the chagrin of many a prideful soul, does not include himself). He must follow the Spirit of God or the spirit of the devil, for no other eternities exist (2 Ne. 9:39; 10:23-24; Hel. 14:31; Moro. 7:11-13), and light does not share with darkness (2 Cor. 6:14; 1 Ne. 14:7). The only decision that will matter after all will be the one our creator irrevocably gave to us when we entered our second estate: to choose the kingdom of God, or not. And the consequences are fixed and predictable: death to those who choose death, and life to those who choose life: and a continuation of the lives (D&C 132:22) of all who are bound in the new and everlasting covenant.
