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In the age when children are sponges, we teach them to stick to blind obedience rather than loving everyone. This has serious consequences.
Discuss.
I actually like CTR. To me it means proactively choosing to do the right thing no matter the peer pressure. The hymn talks about a pretty generic sense of doing whats right without reference to human beings or the church. I wish my teenagers would adopt CTR. I can see how some would hear an echo of obedience in the saying but to me if everybody did what was right we’d live in a very different world. I’ve been a minority of one before and I’m interested to hear what others say. I think it’s a fine motto… For older ages. The issue is that at the age when it would be most helpful, the motto is too simple to be of use. I think it has the tendency of forming us vs them mentalities when taught at such a young age. You see a guy smoking? He’s not choosing the right. You see someone going to church? They’re choosing the right. Easy division.
CTR is the Mormon version of W.W.J.D. Pros. It is simple to understand and to teach. It is small enough to easily fit on small pieces of jewelry.
Cons. It oversimplifies many situations were there is not an easy “right” answer. It seems to remove the focus from Jesus as exemplar.
I agree that blind obedience is a bad thing. But I don’t think CTR promulgates that principle. It simply encourages everyone to choose the right. In other words, join the Republican party eventually. 😆 😆 😆 I am working on C.T.B.C (Choose the Best Choice) for each situation… It’s complicated 
So I actually looked at its history yesterday and discovered the motto came about in the late 60s/early 70s. This would make it likely a reactionary measure toward the hippy movement. My inner conspiracy theorist suspects the phrase was created to sell cheap rings.
I like it. I can’t think of a single situation where choosing the right is a bad idea, especially since you are the one doing the determining and choosing. Frankly, I think you are reading more into it than is there.
There are a LOT of things that bug me about the church. CTR is not one of them. I think it’s a simple little catch phrase that’s appropriate for primary-age kids. And, I think it’s a good message. Choose the Right. Isn’t that what we all want our kids doing? I don’t like hearing kids in primary singing “Latter-Day Prophets,” “I Love to See the Temple,” “Follow the Prophet,” and many of the other primary songs. And, I don’t like when the message is all about obedience. But, I don’t get that feeling from Choose the Right. I think any kid, Mormon or not, religious or not, could benefit from the simple reminder that when you’re faced with choices, lean towards doing good. Children need simplicity; black and white. As they get older, we start to see the gray. At such a young age, the gray can be paralyzing, if not dangerous.
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