Helaman 12

Mormon pauses in the abridged narrative from time to time to draw conclusions and lessons from the history he is recording. Helaman 12 is one of those summary chapters -- a sermon on the unsteadiness of man. 

4 O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world!

5 Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom’s paths!

6 Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide.

Mormon meditates on the fact that all things are obedient to the will of God except for man. In blessing us with the gift of agency, God created us with liberty to choose. So often we choose evil over good. We choose the path of least resistance -- the low road. I pray that I will be inclined to choose Him as my guide whether in poverty or prosperity, in sickness or in health, in peace or in persecution.