I was 17 years old and attending Ricks College (now Brigham Young University-Idaho) when, while traveling through Pocatello, Idaho, on a Friday night with a friend, I received a speeding ticket. I thought it was just a typical traffic ticket until I was told to pull over at the weigh station to pay. When I pulled out my checkbook to write a check for $40, they informed me that they do not accept out-of-state checks, and I would need to go with the officer to jail and stay in a cell until either someone paid the ticket for me or until Monday morning when the courthouse opened.
To say that I was devastated would be an understatement. Though my friends would find this to be humorous, and my dad would see it as divine intervention for a daughter who liked to live on the edge, I was mortified. Before I knew it, I was frisked, given a cot and a blanket, and I was soon lying in a cell with a runaway teenager.
It was a horrible experience and one I will never forget. I knew that the consequences for speeding may be a ticket, but I certainly didn’t see beyond that. This was my first recollection of unintended consequences.
I think that usually we make choices in life with a calculated risk, weighing out the best- and worst-case scenarios, but fail to see the sometimes painful or devastating unintended consequences, or the amazing and surprisingly wonderful unintended consequences of our choices.
Reality TV does a great job of teaching us this concept. Individuals join a show under the premise of finding a spouse, winning a race, getting a job, being discovered or winning money. However, time and time again, participants are faced with unintended consequences. Secrets of their past are revealed, weaknesses are exposed, their families lose anonymity, and they lose perspective and judgment as they get caught up in the competition, etc. Now they are dealing with a lot more than being a contestant on a reality show or enjoying their 15 minutes of fame.
On the other hand, there are also good unintended consequences of our choices.
For example, my parents joined the church because they knew it was true and wanted to be sealed to their family forever. The unintended consequences were a lifetime of opportunities to bless and be blessed through service, callings and rubbing shoulders with some of the finest people on earth.
I served a mission to pay back a very merciful and loving Heavenly Father by sharing his gospel. The unintended consequences were amazing experiences, a rooted testimony, great memories, and a depth of character and relationship with my Savior, which are priceless to me now.
Recently I accepted a calling in order to serve the young women. The unintended consequence was a dear and special friendship with one of the leaders.
I have learned that the best and worst parts of mortality are unintended consequences. People’s lives can be shattered or abundantly blessed and rewarded by the unintended consequences of our choices.
When we choose to live and be committed to the gospel, our lives will be full of wonderful unintended consequences. When we choose to live on the edge, or take casually things of an eternal nature, we may be surprised at all the sad unintended consequences that eventually come our way.
I am reminded of a couple that would come home from church and play intellectual Ping-Pong by criticizing and debating the talks and lessons that were given each week. They had solid testimonies; their intentions were good; they just enjoyed intellectual sparring. However, the unintended consequence was that four children, whose testimonies had not taken root, listened to this each week and therefore questioned the gospel and chose a different way. The parents were dumbfounded and full of regret. They did not see the unintended consequences of this game.
We have been given the wonderful and sometimes painful gift of agency. Our agency will indeed have its intended and unintended consequences. We have also been given the gospel of Jesus Christ, which will minimize the negative and maximize the positive consequences in our lives.
Elder Marvin J. Ashton said, “When we abuse our agency to choose a lifestyle contrary to revealed patterns, we must live with the consequences. Our unwillingness to follow the true and tested patterns given for our happiness causes the individual, family, and friends heartaches and ultimate disaster. Our freedom to choose our course of conduct does not provide personal freedom from the consequences of our performances. God's love for us is constant and will not diminish, but he cannot rescue us from the painful results that are caused by wrong choices" (Marvin J. Ashton, "A Pattern in All Things," Ensign, November 1990, 20).
I believe the key word is “pattern.” The gospel is intended to be a pattern for our lives, not sketches or speed bumps for us to occasionally embrace.
As we commit ourselves to the gospel pattern, we will not only avoid spiritual jail time, but our lives will be full of many wonderful unintended consequences.
