Teach A Friend, Mid Course Feedback & Learning Report

I taught my mother and I began by sharing a personal thought that I had about acting in faith, as acting in faith is most definitely making a decision. I said that we should do things that are righteous and help us to do good things and we also need to make sure that we don't allow our fear to stop us from acting in faith. I then taught Mom about the three R's of decision making; right, responsibility, and results and I said that we alone are responsible for making sure that we use all the R's wisely and frequently so that our agency is not lost to apathy or to Satan's frequent, but very subtle attempts to trap us in bad decisions.

I then shared a personal thought on habits and how habits can impair the proper use of the decision making process. I said that when it comes to habits, people have become so set in their ways that they become dependent on behaviors that might not be what is good, but what has become such a part of daily life that to try and make the decision to stop would be pure agony. When we become too comfortable with habits, we lose our ability to make a decision and it turns into an addiction that will more than likely require some sort of help to kick.

I then explained to Mom about making correct choices and that a choice is a conscious decision, but that making a correct decision involves prayer and inspiration. I then went on to explain that the scriptures have said that when a decision is correct, we will feel that it is correct, but if a decision is incorrect, we will have a stupor of thought about it. If we use our agency properly when it comes to small decisions, I said, it will more likely be easier for us to use our agency when it comes to making bigger decisions.

Explaining the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) formula came next and I touched on the eight points in Elder Ballard's talk to explain the importance of balance in life so that when it comes to making decisions, we have the coherence to make good ones instead of being distracted by what is not right in our lives.

When Mom and I discussed the three R's of decision making, she said that having the right to choose is very interesting because we truly do have the right to choose and we need to remember that it is our own personal right unless we give it away by making bad choices and not repenting of them. She found the mention of responsibility very amazing and said that the fact that we have such a sacred responsibility is very true. When it came to discussing the concept of results, Mom said that we definitely have to choose which choice we are willing to do.

When I shared that habits can definitely impair the proper use of the decision making process, Mom said that it is so true and when it comes to making correct choices, she thinks about how many tough decisions our family has had to make since my father's death last year and how the Spirit has helped us so much to be able to make decisions peacefully. Mom also said that when it comes to the decision-making process, the decisions we make affect us on either an unconscious or conscious level and that each decision has an impact.

Mom's view on the SMART formula was that not only do you need to set a realistic goal, you also need to set a realistic timeline in which to accomplish that goal. She added that small decisions help us make bigger ones and that small decisions also help us to become decisive enough to handle making decisions on the bigger things in our lives when they happen.

I then did a survey concerning mid-course feedback and the learning report.

The most difficult thing for me during the last several lessons has been not being able to receive all of the information through the gathering because the Institute class beforehand goes a little over time quite often and leaves less time for students to get everything that they may need to get through the Pathway gathering. I am in no way bashing Institute, as I think it's great, but I think time needs to be allocated a little better so we can learn everything we need to.

The most important thing that I want to remember from this lesson are the three R's of choice because I feel they teach how to be more aware of the importance that the decision-making process should have to us and in our lives. Having the right and responsibility to choose what results we want will make me more aware of how the process of agency is precious enough to safeguard carefully so that I don't end up losing my agency because I was careless enough to act irresponsibly. To me, agency is like a well-guarded treasure and unless you guard it, use it wisely, and make sure that you show that you care about it, it will be lost. It only takes one careless step to go into freefall and it only takes one bad decision to lose the Spirit and end up where you may want to be.