All Your Choices Have Been Your Own

I recently read the book The Dark is Rising to my children. In that book there is a man named Hawkin who was originally a servant of Merriman, one of the Old Ones belonging to the Light. But Hawkin was later convinced to leave the Light and serve the Lords of the Dark and he betrayed Merriman. At the end of the book when the Light had won the day against the Dark, the Black Rider dropped what Will (the main character and student of Merriman) thought was a crumpled cloak on the ground. After the Black Rider flew away, “Will peered closer, and saw with a shock that the dark heap was not a cloak, but a man. The figure lay face upward, twisted at a terrible angle. It was the Walker; it was Hawkin.” The account continues, “Merriman said, his voice deep and expressionless, ‘Those who ride high with the Lords of the Dark must expect to fall. And men do not fall easily from such heights. I think his back is broken.’” As Hawkin saw them he said bitterly to Merriman, realizing what had happened, “He threw me down. Yes, You knew this would happen.” The story summarized, “There was dreadful, desolate hopelessness in the lined face now.” He soon thereafter died. I couldn’t help but think of the story of Korihor in the Book of Mormon when I read this. At end of the account of Korihor, after he became dumb and could no longer speak, Mormon recorded that this anti-Christ went forth among the Zoramites and “was run upon and trodden down, even until he was dead.” He then summarized the lesson we should learn this way: “And thus we see the end of him who perverteth the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell” (Alma 30:59-60). Both the real Korihor and the fictional Hawkin were abandoned by their evil masters when they were no longer of any use. Mormon wanted us to see that there is no long-term future serving Satan and sin. In the end we will always reap the reward that we don’t want.

               In the brief conversation that Hawkin had with Merriman at this point in the story, as they reviewed what had brought him to this terrible state, Merriman made this comment: “All your choices have been your own.” He had never been forced to join the Dark or do anything else—he could only blame himself for his current hopeless condition. We never need to fear Satan or his servants because he can only bind us with his cords if we so choose. Lehi said it this way: “And [men] are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27). We always have the power to choose, but as Nephi taught, we must be vigilant that we don’t heed the evil one’s voices with which he tries to ensnare us: “And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance” (2 Nephi 28:22). This seems exactly like what happened to Korihor who explained in writing after he went dumb: “The devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God. And he said unto me: There is no God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say. And I have taught his words; and I taught them because they were pleasing unto the carnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch that I verily believed that they were true” (Alma 30:53). We must not let the devil flatter and deceive us with things that are “pleasing unto the carnal mind” so that we choose to follow his path, for then he can grasp us with his chains as he did Korihor. Alma summarized this principle of agency this way: “For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey” (Alma 3:27). Ultimately we will get the wages we deserve, for, like for Hawkin, every choice is our own. So we must be ever committed to following that great Mediator of all men who alone can offer liberty and eternal life.