Turning Away From The Plow: Regret

This weekend I had the opportunity to hear Jeffrey Holland speak in church. The thing that stuck out most to me about his talk was his repetitive and emphatic council to live our lives in a way that we would never look back with regret. In support of this, he told a story of an old friend of his who made small decisions over time that led him to a life that he never desired. We were told to always do what we know we should, rather than take the easy way out.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland discussing regret

In reading from Hugh Latimer's Sermon on the Plowers, I couldn't help but to make connections to the council I had received from Elder Holland. Quoting from the New Testament scripture that says that "no man that putteth his hand to the plow and looketh back is apt for the kingdom of God", Latimer says that he is racked by guilt and "cr[ies] God mercy for it." His explanation for this is that he as a preacher had been negligent in doing his office. With reference to the initiation of the time period in which Latimer writes, this tone of repentance is a great indicator of the change that began to take place among people living during the time of the reformation. We can see the evolution of humanity in these writings as religious people begin to adopt a sense of humility and begin to recognize a need for more truth and obedience.

In our day, we too must follow the advice of Hugh Latimer and Jeffrey Holland. We must live our lives without regrets and not turn away from the plow. We may not be preachers as Latimer discusses in his work, but we all are responsible to make the most of our opportunity in this life and to do all that we can so that we do not look back with regrets.