Speaking of Moral Agency, Elder Bednar gives a quote from President Boyd K. Packer.
"If you put all the doctrines of the Church in boxes and laid them on a large floor
and asked me to assemble them in some order, I would sort through the boxes
and find One. It would be a heavy one, and it would say "Agency, Freedom, Agency." I would put that down first, and everything else we believe in would be stacked in proper order
On top of that."
(Mine Errand from the Lord, 176)
Elder Bednar then goes on to say, "Thus, Agency is the Fundamental Foundation upon which all other gospel doctrines and principles rest." (Act in Doctrine, 37)
Agency...as the Foundation.
Choice...as the Foundation.
I continued reading. He shares scriptures from Abraham 3:24-28 about the Pre-Mortal council in Heaven.
"And we will prove them now herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God has command them;
And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads forever and ever."
I began to see some connections here. Estates...have Foundations. And if Agency and Choice are our Foundations, then our first estate here could be compared to a Type of Choice. A good one? And our second estate, an even better one? "Good choices will be 'added upon' with blessings upon our heads."
Our first estate, our first true choice, was to choose God. Choose God when we Knew Him. Choose God when we lived in His presence. Choose God when we loved Him. It was an obvious and easy choice for most. Those souls who kept their first estate were given the opportunity to go down to Earth.
On earth, they would be made to forget about God. Then prompted to find him Again. This Second estate, this second choice was to be made outside of His presence. Outside of the reality that He really existed. It would be a hard choice to make. A scary one. On hard days, in the midst of trials and temptations, they'd begin to wonder if He really was there. Sometimes they'd get Angry at Him. Curse His name and want to deny His existence. How to believe in something they could not see, they would question. In the midst of all these trials and torments, it would be hard for them. But the choice would be theirs to make.
Moving on.
God asks, "Whom Shall I send?" Two answers, and He answers, "I will send the first."
"And the second was Angry, and Kept not his first estate,
and, at that day, many followed after him."
Satan gave up Choice. Good Choices. And by so doing, (if you'll follow an analogy), became a Tool, of Temptation and Trials. Became the Opposition to all things Good. Likewise, when we Choose Sin...We give up Choice. And become a Tool...to temptations and trials. Objects that are acted upon, rather than agents to act.
"...That Satan who is the same which was from the beginning,
and He came before me, saying--Behold, here I am, send me, I will be thy son,
And I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost,
and surely I will do it; wherefore, give me thine honor."
(Moses 4:1)
Agency is an eternal principle. When the Father presented the Plan to His Children in the Pre-Mortal Council, Agency was present. Lucifer was the Son of Morning. One of God's own Children. But he rebelled against his Father. Following Satan's plan, we would have become, likewise, tools...without Choice or Understanding. "The Adversary's desire was that we as learners would only be acted upon." (Act in Doctrine, 39). God gave us all Choice. He gave us all Agency. Satan made his Choice, and God, in His infinite wisdom, granted it:
"Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me,
and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him....
I caused that he should be cast down; And he became Satan, yea,
even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men,
and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice"
(Moses 4:3-4, emphasis added)
and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him....
I caused that he should be cast down; And he became Satan, yea,
even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men,
and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice"
(Moses 4:3-4, emphasis added)
Satan chose to rebel. And every choice comes with a consequence. Lucifer became Satan, the Devil. Ironically, Satan was a part of the Father's plan. Imagine how frustrating that must be for him now. No wonder he "seeks to make all men miserable like unto himself."
Sometimes, Satan would be successful in making men miserable. So God, once again in His infinite wisdom, sent The First whose "willingness to submit to God's will and offer Himself as the infinite and eternal atoning Sacrifice preserved moral agency in Mortality for Heavenly Father's spirit children. Thus, as sons and daughters of God we are agents with the inherent capacity to act and to learn, and not objects primarily are acted upon," (Act In Doctrine, 38)
When we sin, we give up choice. But the Savior and His atonement provide opportunity to for us to repent, and choose God, once again.The Adversary may try to make us miserable, and think that we cannot choose to change or become better, but all we need now is to remember that...misery is a choice.
"Everything can be taken from a man,
but one thing:
The last of all Human Freedoms--to choose one's Attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
(Man's Search for Meaning, 65-67)
We may not get to choose what happens to us, what type of tests or trials or temptations are thrown our way. We don't even get to choose how other people react to us. But one thing we can choose, is how We react.
Let's RECAP here:
- We are here on Earth! We Chose God! Our first true choice, our First Estate, is built on the Foundation of Agency. We Choose Choice!
- We didn't choose Satan and therefore get to Continue choosing!
- Earth life is Hard! Satan, the tool of trials and temptations, is working to make men miserable, and sometimes he's successful... :(
- God provided us a better option than misery!
- The Savior and His Atonement!
- We can Choose to repent!!
- It's called The Plan of Happiness for a reason...
- We can Choose to be Happy!!
- As we choose to listen, learn, and do these things, We are Choosing God--Again!
xoxoxo
Hermanita Holly Howell
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