Amy Jex, an associate professor in the Department of Dance, delivered the devotional address on Tuesday morning at the Marriott Center. Her remarks focused on the love and divine help that God offers His children as they navigate mortal life.
Jex opened the devotional by sharing a memorable quote from her youngest son, who once assumed that a trouble-making classmate would automatically become well behaved after baptism. When Jex tried to clarify the misunderstanding, her son interjected with “What? You mean he’s not doin’ the plan?”
In her address, Jex explained that “doing [God’s] plan” isn’t just about checking off ordinances but about experiencing eternal growth “as we learn through choosing for ourselves.”
Sometimes this ability to choose seems overwhelming. Jex admitted that she once felt worried about making the wrong choices and “messing up” God’s plan for her.
When making the difficult decision between two graduate programs, Jex felt frustrated when she didn’t receive a clear answer from Heavenly Father about which program to choose.
Later in life, she realized how wrong this reaction was. “I was actually given a gift of love and trust that day by a loving parent who wanted me to grow,” Jex said. “He wanted me to learn to trust myself and take ownership of this big decision. It was as if He was saying, ‘I know what you want, and it’s a good thing. I trust you. Now trust yourself.’”
Jex went on to compare mortal life to a zip line — an experience that can be thrilling and safe when the right precautions are taken. Just like ziplines come with harnesses, clips and instructions, mortal life comes with spiritual tools for success from a loving Heavenly Father.
“We all have the help we need to be successful and safe,” Jex said. “Our Father has given us so many ways to stay connected with Him and our Savior, but we have to use our agency to clip into them and receive divine help.”
Jex emphasized that although mistakes and falls from the zipline of life will inevitably occur, the Atonement of Jesus Christ will cover all imperfections and sins. In fact, making mistakes and learning from them is the central part of “doin’ the plan.”
Jex testified of God’s ability to work miracles with imperfect people and circumstances. Like a master choreographer, God brings order and purpose to the plan.
“In trusting in His plan, we can also grow to trust ourselves and our ability to choose wisely,” Jex said. “Everything will be fine — when we include Him in our plans.”