The Gift and Power of Agency

Elder David A. Bednar has said that the principle of agency is one of the least understood among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Seeing that “all have not faith,” we should therefore “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118) that we may be “edified and rejoice together” (D&C 50:22).

I.                Background

Before we can begin to understand the gift and power of agency, we must first remember that each of us lived with God before we were born (Job 38:4-7; Jer. 1:4-5; D&C 93:29). He is our father and, as children of God, we are his royal offspring.

In the premortal realm, we had free will according to eternal law. It may seem obvious that a righteous and loving father would allow his children to make personal choices without compulsion, but it is important to understand that doing so is both natural to our Heavenly Father and essential to his divine role. God was not simply granted unfathomable power, nor did he obtain it by conquest or by birthright alone; rather, he progressed to it as he learned over time to understand and obey absolute, eternal laws including principles of love, sacrifice, humility, meekness, consecration, and the priesthood requirement to exercise no unrighteous dominion.

At some point in our premortal development, God presented a plan for our continued progress and salvation with moral agency at its core. By our own free will, we would fall. We would experience opposition. We would be separated from Him and unable to return on our own. Our Heavenly Father promised that if we would follow His plan, He would also provide a Savior whose infinite and eternal sacrifice would redeem and exalt us. In other words, He would gift to us the power to choose to return to Him, and even become like Him, even and especially when that goal was and is well beyond our reach. This is the gift of agency.

Lucifer “sought to destroy the agency of man” (Moses 4:3). When God presented His perfect plan, the question wasn’t “which plan shall it be?” That is, Lucifer didn’t present an alternate plan and he didn’t simply lose an election. The question instead was, “whom shall I send?” Jesus Christ, known premortally as Jehovah, was both willing and able to execute the plan as presented for the salvation and exaltation of the children of God.

Lucifer also volunteered, but his apparent volunteerism was a scheme to “exalt [his own] throne above the stars of God” (Isaiah 14:12-15). He asked for God’s power and promised that, with that power, he would “surely” save all of the children of God (Moses 4:1, D&C 29:36). God knew the intents of Lucifer’s heart and that his mutinous scheme was contrary to eternal law and, therefore, void of the power necessary to save and exalt us. In other words, Lucifer was not able to provide for the agency of mankind but was nonetheless willing to damn the progress of all of God’s children and lie in the presence of God to satisfy his own ambitious lust for power.

Because the children of God enjoy free will, Lucifer’s unfeeling arrogance threatened to undermine God’s plan for the exaltation of His children. He wanted the rewards without the work and power without principle. He was willing, without loyalty, to convince others to break the commandments of God and, in effect, sacrifice their eternal progress so he could get what he wanted for himself.

The scriptures say that one-third of the children of God, each loved perfectly by their eternal parents, knowingly rebelled against God and, through the violation of eternal law, were cast out of His presence to both prevent their complete destruction (D&C 67:12) and preserve the opportunity for you and I to have the gift of agency. In Hebrew symbolism, one-third is often used as a fraction of any proportion—it could as easily be one-tenth or three quarters as one third—but if we take it literally we must understand that incomprehensible billions of our brothers and sisters lost their first estate in premortal rebellion.

As promised in the plan, a world was created for us. Physical bodies for Adam and Eve were created in the Garden of Eden. Now in the flesh, Adam and Eve maintained the free will they enjoyed premortally.

Lucifer, still engaged in a personal war for power, deceived Adam and Eve and led them to transgress the laws of God as he had done to so many others before them. Unlike those Lucifer had previously led astray however, Adam and Eve remained loyal to God. Their transgression was not a rebellion, but a consequence of their imperfect effort to keep the commandments according to the knowledge they had. Eternal law mandated that Adam and Eve be separated from God for their transgression just as those who rebelled in the premortal world were separated from God for theirs; but the humility of Adam and Eve allowed for this experience to benefit their progress rather than damning it (D&C 29:39-41).

As Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, they were taught and given several instructions. They were given more commandments so the Lord could bless them for their obedience and sacrifice. Most of all, they were promised that God would provide a Savior for them, as had been presented in premortal council, so that they could have the agency to return to the presence of God.

II.             Agency is a Principle of Power

The prophet Lehi taught his sons: “Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself… And because [the children of men] are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law… according to the commandments which God hath given.”

“Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh… And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:16, 26-27).

We are not victims of the fall to be pulled in every direction by the things that happen to us. As a college football coach said recently, “none of us are born winners and none of us are born losers. We’re all born choosers” (Nick Saban on ESPN.com, August 25, 2022). Elder Klebingat taught in our most recent General Conference that “God won’t force us to do good, and the devil can’t force us to do evil. Though some may think that mortality is a contest between God and the adversary, a word from the Savior ‘and Satan is silenced and banished. … It is [our] strength that is being tested—not God’s’” (April 2022).

Agency is the power to act for ourselves, but it “is not simply the right to choose; it is the opportunity to choose the right” (Elder Randy Funk, April 2022). God explained to Enoch that he “gave unto [the children of men] their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency; And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father” (Moses 7:32-33).

As we choose to trust in God and keep His commandments, we are given power to take those actions that will lead us to “liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men”. We need no such power to choose “captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil” (2 Nephi 2:27, emphasis added). Though we maintain free will to choose life or death, Elder Bednar has taught that “the gift that comes to us through the Savior’s Atonement is agency. … It is the capacity to act and learn from our own experiences. That is the very essence and purpose of being here in mortality.”

The need for this power shows up in everyday situations. It takes no strength of will to stay in bed on a Sunday morning; only to get up and go to church. It takes no willpower to indulge, only to have virtue. We need no power beyond our own to criticize or be sarcastic or cynical. We are completely capable of discouragement, negativity, doubt and despair. We need the power of the Savior’s Atonement to be patient, grateful, kind, and full of faith and hope. This is the power of agency. This is the power to choose Him by choosing to be like Him.

When we consistently use our agency to choose God, our confidence increases until, as Elder Bednar has taught, “we can ultimately navigate the most difficult circumstances in life knowing that we will never be alone and we will always have his help.” This is the power to overcome all things.

III.           The Role and Meaning of Opposition

Of course, the power to overcome all things is only relevant if there are things to overcome. The Lord taught that, “it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet” (D&C 29:39).

Lehi likewise taught:

And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents… it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other” (2 Nephi 2:15-16).

Some modern researchers believe that human behavior is entirely the result of our genetics, environmental conditioning, birth order, socioeconomic status, early childhood trauma, and countless other “puppet strings” that pull us in one direction or another. The philosophy that all events are determined by some external pulling of the strings is known as determinism.

We give in to a determinist view when we surrender our agency with comments like, “I just couldn’t help myself,” “I was just having a bad day,” or “I just had to do it.” Determinism implies that we are not in control, that we are merely objects being acted upon, absent any spiritual self-reliance, and therefore we cannot be held morally responsible for our actions. We must join the Dark Side—it is our destiny—so resistance to the opposition we face is futile.

Through the gospel lens, we can see an alternative perspective. We can see, as Drs. Jeffrey Thayne and Edwin Gantt have argued, that “meaning is found in the superposition [or comparison] of things as they are against things as they could be. Sweet is only meaningful in contrast with bitter. Life is only meaningful in contrast with death. And love is meaningful only when set against indifference or hate.”

Opposition, in this view, is not a force pushing us toward our inevitable destiny, a string pulling us in some direction, or even a meaningless obstacle to what we really want, but rather an opportunity to be enticed by good or evil and exercise or practice using our agency. With each repetition of this resistance training—each time we exercise our agency by choosing Him—we invite the strength of the Atonement of Jesus Christ into our lives.

Yes, genes and birth order and socioeconomic status do have an impact on our lives; but rather than causing particular choices or outcomes these characteristics “simply serve to tie all the events of our lives together in a meaningful and coherent story.” With God, all things are possible; and with agency, possibility is preserved.

Ironically, in seeking to destroy the agency of man, Lucifer has provided the necessary opposition to make that agency, and our lives, meaningful. 

IV.           Representative Agency

One of the ways we exercise our agency is by choosing to follow our Savior into the waters of baptism. There are three conditions of the baptismal covenant: we must choose to begin to take the name of Christ upon ourselves (something we will do more fully in the temple later on), to always remember Him, and keep the commandments He has given us. We exercise our agency when we accept those conditions. We are then promised that, if we honor the terms of the covenant, we will always have His spirit to be with us.

When we enter into the baptismal covenant and begin to have the name of Christ come upon us, our agency is enlarged. It is no longer individual agency; it is enlarged to become representative agency as the call to represent Christ and his name at all times, in all places, and in all things becomes more important that what you or I may want in a given moment.

I think of this very much in the same way that I think of my responsibility to my employer. In everything I do, I am an agent representing the organization that pays my salary. I have some autonomy to make decisions and to do good, so long as those decisions and actions are consistent with the direction and purpose established by the organization. My work is not about me; it is about doing those things that contribute most to the mission of the organization.

As covenant Christians, we are agents of the Lord. We represent Him and are enlisted in His work to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

He wants us to use our agency to act as He would act, or in other words, to become spiritually self-reliant. “For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward. But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned” (D&C 58:26-29).

Our baptismal covenant includes the keys to having confidence that our actions represent Him. Most of our employers have established policies to give us direction and ensure we act in a manner that represents them well. Similarly, we have covenanted to keep the commandments both for our own benefit and to enhance our ability to represent the Lord as his agents.

Each of us have covenanted to always remember Him. This is essential to our ability to effectively represent Him. Likewise, while all mankind has received the light of Christ, sometimes referred to as our conscience, to provide the knowledge about good and evil that is fundamental to our agency, the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost blesses us and helps us to know, as full-time agents of the Lord, how we should represent the Savior in our words and actions.

Representative agency means that we are dependent upon God and devoted to representing Him at all times and in all places. It also means that we can’t just choose to do whatever we want.

For example, you or I, once we are baptized, no longer have the option to sleep in instead of going to church. We might say, “but I have my agency!” Sleeping in isn’t an exercise of agency because agency is the power to choose God and the duty and responsibility to represent Him—and sleeping in does neither of these.

If we have entered the baptismal covenant, we do not have the option of not paying our tithing. Our agency has been enlarged, we have become agents of the Lord, and what He wants for us has become more important than what we want for ourselves. Choosing to do otherwise isn’t an exercise of agency—we need no power from the Lord to make this choice—but it is a violation of our covenant that, if not corrected, will lead us down the path of selfish enticements, captivity, and spiritual death “according to the captivity and power of the devil” (2 Nephi 2:27).

Taken a step further, we might consider that if we are agents called to represent the Lord, then the priesthood is the authority to do the same. We use the priesthood when we are in the service of others; it is the power to act in His name for the salvation of His children. If we are keeping our covenants to be agents unto the Lord, the priesthood attends all of us in our service to our families, in magnifying the callings for which we have been set apart, and in ministering to one another.

V.              Accountability

Just as determinists argue for the absence of spiritual self-reliance, moral relativism is a popular philosophy that advocates for the absence of absolute truth. Truth, under moral relativism, is merely a social construct and therefore one person’s truth or belief cannot be any better or worse than the so-called “truth” accepted by another person.

What moral relativists are really saying is that there is no sin and that “whatsoever a man [or woman] does is no crime.” They want the rewards without the work and power without principle, so they “[use] their intellectual reservations to cover their [own] behavioral lapses.”

God’s plan for our salvation requires us to put our faith and trust in the Lord and assume accountability for the conditions of our hearts (see Sister Amy Wright, April 2022). It promises that we will reap what we sow.

The prophet Helaman taught: “And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free. He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you” (Helaman 14:30-31).

VI.           Conclusion

Eternal law establishes and requires that each of us have free will to choose life or death. Because we, as imperfect and impure as we are, do not have the right or ability to choose life on our own, our perfect and loving Heavenly Father has provided a Savior, Jesus Christ. Through the power of His Atonement, we can receive the gift of agency, which is the power to overcome all things and choose to return to live with God again.

The power of agency grows by degrees as we exercise it. When we enter sacred covenants to follow Him, we commit ourselves to choosing what he would have us do over some of the things we might want to do. That is, we covenant to discipline ourselves and choose God more often so that He can bless us more abundantly as we continue to strive to return to His presence.

King Benjamin warned his people that “if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not” (Mosiah 4:30).

Ultimately, we will also be accountable for our free will: our thoughts, our words, and our deeds. The Savior taught that “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

If we have done the will of the Father, if we have kept our covenants to be His agents, we can lift up our hearts and be glad, for the Lord will be in our midst and He will be our advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom as He counseled in the beginning (D&C 29:5).

Prospering by Degrees

After being captured by the Lamanites, the people of Limhi sought for deliverance. Three times they lashed out in armed conflict against their oppressors; and three times they were soundly defeated and suffered great losses. Finally, they turned to the Lord, but their prayers were answered in a way they perhaps did not expect.

The scriptures record that the people of Limhi "did humble themselves even in the depths of humility; and they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions" (Mosiah 21:14). Perhaps their prayers were like many of ours, hoping for the Lord to grant a quick and complete relief from the burdens and afflictions they were forced to bear. Perhaps some of them were disappointed or began to waver when they woke up, day after day, with Lamanite guards still surrounding their city.

Although the desired outcome was not immediate, "the Lord did hear their cries, and began to soften the hearts of the Lamanites that they began to ease their burdens... [and] they began to prosper by degrees in the land, and began to raise grain more abundantly, and flocks, and herds, that they did not suffer with hunger" (Mosiah 21:15-16).

Relative prosperity allowed Limhi to send a group of men to find the Nephites. They were unsuccessful in their mission, but on their journey they discovered a record of a people who had become extinct. Thinking they had returned empty handed, the hearts of the people turned to the Lord and began to desire that they could be baptized and serve Him with all of their hearts.

Finally, Ammon and his men found the people of Limhi and helped them devise a plan to escape from their Lamanite captors. Mosiah, the Nephite king and a seer, translated the record and found it to be an insightful account and scripture in its own right. Though their prayers were not answered as quickly or in the way the people of Limhi had perhaps hoped, they were delivered from oppression in their bondage, strengthened in their faith, and then delivered from bondage as different people than they were when they were lashing out with wars against the Lamanites.

While we are promised that the Lord's grace is sufficient for us, sometimes we miss the blessings He grants in our lives because we are looking for grand and spectacular splashes of divine intervention. We want singing angels and the division of the Red Sea. While those things happen, we must learn that they are the exception rather than the rule. The Lord is usually more subtle.

Behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls" (Alma 37:6-7).

When we feel like lashing out against our oppressors, or that our faithful prayers are not being answered, we will often find that our faithful actions are being prospered by degrees. Maybe our clothes or our car or our employment is lasting longer or providing better than they otherwise should. Sometimes we will feel peace or patience or joy when others are panicked and distraught. Maybe we're learning foundational principles or building our relationship with God in ways that will enrich the rest of our lives.

However the Lord chooses to bless us, we can find confidence in his unbreakable promises:

The Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith. Nevertheless-- whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day (Mosiah 23:21-22).

"But behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me-- but he will show that he hath not. For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. They children shall make haste against thy destroyers; and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee" (1 Nephi 21:14-17).

Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day (Alma 37:37).

Magic Mirrors and the Perfect Law of Liberty

About an hour east of Frankfurt, Germany, is the small city of Lohr. Like hundreds of other European cities, the highlight of Lohr is the spectacular castle that was once the center of a bustling fiefdom. Inside, visitors find thousands of evidences of the wealth and luxury of its former occupants, but none more striking than the iconic Lohr Mirror.

The Lohr Mirror Manufacture of the eighteenth century was truly ahead of its time. After thousands of years of using pools of water or polished copper to produce faint and distorted reflections, the Lohr Manufacture had developed an elaborate production process that resulted in more reflected light and much clearer images.

By the 1720s, Lohr mirrors had gained a reputation for "always speaking the truth" and became a favorite gift of the European crown and aristocratic courts. Like Narcissus of Greek mythology, who fell in love with his own reflection and would rather die than part with it, it was during the heyday of the Lohr Mirror Manufacture that people began to be accused of spending excessive amounts of time "looking into the glass," almost always in self-admiration.

It was also during this period that Phillipp Christoph von Erthal gave an elegant full-length Lohr mirror to his second wife, the Countess Claudia Elisabeth von Venningen, to display in the Lohr Castle where they lived. When Phillipp died in the 1740s, local legend says the "talking mirror" became the center of Claudia's life. Increasingly obsessed with her own image, Claudia soon began to be insanely jealous of her step-daughter, the Baroness Maria Sophia von Erthal, whom the people of Lohr adored as an "angel of mercy and kindness" and the ideal princess.

Before long, Maria, who is better known today as the Grimm Brothers’ "Snow White", was forced to flee 22 miles through the mountains to escape her stepmother's murderous plots. She found sanctuary for a time in the mining community of Bieber, which was primarily staffed by children at the time, until her stepmother found and poisoned her there.

The fairy tale gets a little strange at this point, but in the story of the Countess von Venningen, we find a troubling obsession with self-image that, like Narcissus, leads to physical and spiritual death. We can expect a similar consequence if we hold our own self-interest like a mirror between us and the rest of the world, for it will severely inhibit our ability to make connections, build relationships and see and enjoy all that is good about life. In selfish and narrow-minded seeking for whatever life we've conjured up for ourselves, the Lord has promised that we will lose our lives (Luke 17:33).

The tragedies of Narcissus, the Countess and others like them are made worse by the realization that the images that have so captivated their subjects are nothing more than distorted reflections of physical light, void of substance and incapable of showing the viewer a complete picture of the reality within or around them. The Lord told Samuel that he, "seeth not as a man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). Though our physical appearance may deceive ourselves and others for a time, the Lord knows the reality of who we are and our inner thoughts, desires and emotions.

We can now and someday all will have a perfect knowledge of who we really are. Paul wrote that "for now we see through a glass, darkly," but that one day, "when that which is perfect is come," we will see these realities "face to face" (1 Corinthians 13:12). This includes the glorious truths of our divine heritage. The Family: A Proclamation to the World declares that "all human beings--male and female--are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny."

James, the brother of Jesus, taught us how we can see ourselves as we really are. "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer," he said, "he [or she] is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what matter of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed" (James 1:23-25). 

The particular language here provides us the insights we need. Both Paul and James speak of perfection in contrast to our present vision, and more particularly, in contrast to what we see in the mirror. Paul tells us that we will see clearly “when that which is perfect is come”. James suggests that looking into the perfect law of liberty is in direct competition with looking forgetfully at our reflection. But how do we look into a law? And how does that really contrast with the man who looked into the mirror-- like Narcissus and the Countess-- yet forgot who he really was?

In a 1981 General Conference address, President Marion G. Romney reminded us that many of those with the greatest political and economic freedom never experience true freedom of the soul. "Free agency," he cautioned, "precious as it is, is not of itself the perfect liberty we seek, nor does it necessarily lead thereto. As a matter of fact, through the exercise of their agency more people have come to political, economic, and personal bondage than to liberty."

Yet, "notwithstanding the fact that through its misuse, political, economic and personal liberty are lost, free agency will always endure because it is an eternal principle. However, the free agency possessed by any one person is increased or diminished by the use to which he puts it" ("The Perfect Law of Liberty", October 1981, emphasis added).

In other words, we "are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil" (2 Nephi 2:27). This is not done all at once, but each choice we make either adds to our freedom or to our bondage. The Countess von Venningen had nearly unlimited political and economic freedom. She could have won the affection of her people by throwing wonderful parties or planting elaborate gardens or easing their burdens. Instead, she allowed each glance at the mirror to narrow her vision and replace potential for joy with enraged jealousy until she became a slave to her obsession and sealed her own fate to an eternal bondage.

Contrast the Countess' experience with the Apostle Paul, who was often persecuted and penniless. He wrote to the Corinthians:

Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness" (2 Corinthians 11:24-27).

Despite all of this, Paul wrote to Timothy shortly before his death: "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Paul, who forfeited economic and political freedom to become a disciple of Christ, and who was writing from a prison cell in Rome, expresses here the perfect freedom of the soul he enjoyed despite earthly tribulations.

Christ taught that "whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth forever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:34-36). And again, "they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom. For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory" (D&C 86:21-22). And again, "Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven" (D&C121:45).

This, then, is the perfect law of liberty: that as we choose obedience to the laws of Christ, we will find liberty of the soul in direct proportion to our obedience until our obedience and our liberty become perfect. If we look into the perfect law of liberty, that is, if we lay aside our filthiness and become doers of the word as James directs, the light that is reflected back at us will not be imperfect physical rays but the perfect light of Christ, of the gospel, and of things as they really are (D&C 93:28, Jacob 4:13). 

"That which is of God is light," the Lord taught the Prophet Joseph Smith, "and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day" (D&C 50:24). When we follow President Monson's counsel to defy the consensus and choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, we are choosing liberty and eternal life rather than captivity and death and we will receive more spiritual light as a result-- but there are really two processes going on at once.

First, through our faithful action upon the words of God we receive more light and truth from the Lord. We will be capable of even greater faith and obedience. But second, and of equal or greater importance, is that as we continually repent and improve in our obedience we are refined, not unlike a Lohr Mirror, until we become mirrors of spiritual light that "always speak the truth". That is, we undergo a process of learning and refining until we perfectly reflect his image in our countenances (Alma 5:14).

"Ye are the light of the world," the Lord taught, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16). Our goal in striving to obey the words of scripture, of modern prophets, and of the Holy Ghost, is not to become our own dim light in the world but rather that through our good works our brothers and sisters will see the Light of the World, our Savior and theirs, and come into his fold.

To be able to reflect that light, James again directs: "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27). "And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world," the Lord has taught us in modern times, "thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day" (D&C 59:9).

As we strive to live the gospel, we are both receivers and reflectors of the light that gives liberty to us all. If we choose, our light and liberty can grow until the Lord's image is reflected in our countenance and, thus endowed with light and truth, we will stand confidently in the presence of God as one of his fold, not as rulers of a small fiefdom but as heirs to the supreme celestial light and glory of the King of Kings and the Creator of the Universe (John 10:14, Matthew 7:31, D&C 93:36, John 3:21).

Then, perhaps, you'll also have a chance to meet the real Snow White. If you do, perhaps you can also ask her what that business with the prince was really all about.

The Parable of the Town Drunk

There's a story of a town drunk that had two sons. One of the sons was very successful in business and in life; the other was a no-good drunk like his father. When people inquired why the second son had become a drunk, he'd say, 'What else would I be? Look who my father is!' Tellingly, when those same people would ask the first son why he was so successful, he'd answer, 'What else would I be? Look who my father is!'

Each of us have different circumstances in life. Some have had a difficult past, others face hard situations today, and most of us will find ourselves in difficult circumstances at some point in the future. The Lord has taught us through the prophet Lehi that it isn't our circumstances, but our choices that matter: 'There is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon... Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself' (2 Nephi 2:14, 16).

Lehi continued:

And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given. Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself (2 Nephi 2:26-27).

In a way, we face the same choice as the sons of the town drunk. We can make an excuse of our circumstance and allow ourselves to be acted upon, or we can  "gird up our loins" and use the redeeming power of the Atonement to act for ourselves. We can allow the passions of our flesh to determine our destiny, or we can have the strength through Christ to be anxiously engaged in good causes and a disciplined life.

This is the choice we face every morning when we get out of bed. What will you choose today?

Freedom is Work

Truth Shall Make Us Free

Determined Resolutions

At the beginning of the year, it is common for those interested in self-improvement to establish or reaffirm their resolve to do better. We set goals and make plans to reach those goals based on our feelings and impressions of how we're doing and where we'd like to be in the coming weeks, months and years.

The past several weeks we have put our plans into action. Some of us may have already reached a resolution or two, others may be well on their way, and still others of us may be struggling in our resolve to continue. The road to self-improvement is indeed hard, and it can be so easy to give up on our goals and "go with the flow".

The Book of Alma teaches us how we can be successful in our resolutions by contrasting two different groups and their approach to a similar challenge. That challenge was power-hungry Amalickiah, who sought to become king of the Lamanites and conquerer of the Nephites.

Both of the groups that faced Amalickiah had similar goals. They wanted to protect their families and their freedoms without shedding blood.

The first group was a group of Lamanites lead by a man named Lehonti. This group was "fixed in their minds with a determined resolution" that they would not go to war with the Nephites. This goal was in defiance of the king, but was borne of a desire to leave in peace with their families.

Despite their powerful resolutions, over time Lehonti began to compromise with Amalickiah until he gave in to a proposal to come down from the place of safety where his men had gathered. Through rationalization and compromise, Lehonti's resolve was washed away. He was conquered by his challenge, slowly poisoned to death, and his men were forced into the battle they were once determined not to enter (see Alma 47).

Another group faced the same challenge a short time later. This group was a Nephite group led by Captain Moroni. With the same objective, Moroni's approach aimed to help his men act rather than to be acted upon. Helaman records:

While Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.

Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land.

And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites.

And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of the Christians (Alma 48:7-10).

Lehonti and his men approached the challenge from Amalickiah by retreating to a safe place, trusting in their resolve to preserve them. Thus, over time, difficult decisions led to their rationalization and eventual demise.

Moroni was actively preparing to meet Amalickiah and his armies spiritually, physically and, in later verses, mentally as well. In their preparations, they constructed barriers that would keep them safe and prevent Amalickiah from getting the best of them. Rather than allowing the event of Amalickiah's challenge to simply happen to them, the victim approach, they were ready to happen to Amalickiah, a much more assertive approach. Though the resulting war was long and very difficult for Moroni's men, because they were prepared they were ultimately triumphant.

As we approach the challenges in our own lives, we can choose to act, like Moroni, or to be acted upon, like Lehonti. Choosing to act means supplication for the help of heaven, diligent study to guide our decisions and consistent analysis of how we are doing to ensure our strategy is aligned with our strengths and weaknesses.

We will struggle to find success losing weight, for example, if we have no strategy to get back on track if our resolve softens in the presence of chocolate cake. We will find little success in coming closer to Christ without the guidance of His spirit. We will fail in our goals to be better parents, spouses and siblings if we have no knowledge of how to improve.

On the other hand, as we prepare our hearts and minds to act diligently toward the pursuit of forward progress, there is nothing on Earth that can stop us from achieving our righteous goals. Now is the time to evaluate our resolutions, prepare to be successful in them, and take the steps necessary to keep those promises to ourselves. As we do so, we can say with Moroni that,

This is [our] faith, that by so doing God would prosper [us] in the land... yea, warn [us] to flee, or to prepare for war, according to [our] danger; And also that God would make it known unto [us] whither [we] should go to defend [ourselves] against [our] enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver [us] (Alma 48:15-16).

The Patience to be Free

Prophets have long counseled against incurring debt. President N. Eldon Tanner explained:

Those who structure their standard of living to allow a little surplus, control their circumstances. Those who spend a little more than they earn are controlled by their circumstances. They are in bondage. (Ensign, Nov 1979).

Financial debt occurs when we spend more than the constraint of our budget. Other kinds of debt might include physical debt if we intake more calories than our physical constraint allows or spiritual debt if we act outside of the constraint of the commandments. Though these kinds of debt are usually not referred to as debts, prophets have warned us to care for our bodies and avoid sin, which keeps us free of physical, spiritual and other kinds of debt.

For many of us, the opposite of debt is patience. We go into debt because we want things now, so we borrow from our future earnings to be instantly gratified. That desire for instant satisfaction often contradicts the laws of God as it becomes lustful or covetous. Reaping what we sew, low-effort, instant returns often bring more problems than solutions. For example, not waiting for sexual intimacy can lead to broken families or disease. Not waiting until you could afford to buy your dream home may lead to foreclosure. Not waiting for food to cook properly, or too frequent use of the microwave, has been linked in some studies to disease and cancer. Similarly, not waiting to buy the things we want or even things we think we need can lead to financial illness, marital stress, depression and bankruptcy.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf explained:

Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.

Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace.

... Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!

Impatience, on the other hand, is a symptom of selfishness. It is a trait of the self-absorbed. It arises from the all-too-prevalent condition called “center of the universe” syndrome, which leads people to believe that the world revolves around them and that all others are just supporting cast in the grand theater of mortality in which only they have the starring role.

... Patience is a godly attribute that can heal souls, unlock treasures of knowledge and understanding, and transform ordinary men and women into saints and angels. Patience is truly a fruit of the Spirit.

Patience means staying with something until the end. It means delaying immediate gratification for future blessings. It means reining in anger and holding back the unkind word. It means resisting evil, even when it appears to be making others rich.

Patience means accepting that which cannot be changed and facing it with courage, grace, and faith. It means being “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father.” ¹ Ultimately, patience means being “firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord” ² every hour of every day, even when it is hard to do so. In the words of John the Revelator, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and … faith [in] Jesus.” ³

... The lessons we learn from patience will cultivate our character, lift our lives, and heighten our happiness.

When we are patient, we are better able to avoid debt. We will find that we are more successful and more prosperous. President Ezra Taft Benson said:

In the long run, it is easier to live within our income and resist borrowing from future reserves except in cases of necessity.

Patience is the ability to live within a budget. It is an attribute of discipline and obedience. In matters of finance, we are encouraged not only to live within our means, but also to save for a rainy day. President Gordon B. Hinckley gave this counsel in a 1998 conference address:


I urge you... to look to the condition of your finances. I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage.

... If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts. That's all I have to say about it, but I wish to say it with all the emphasis of which I am capable.

It is clear what is expected of us. We must be patient, actively pursuing worthy goals without overextending ourselves. As we live within the constraints given to us, be they financial, physical, spiritual or otherwise, we will have peace. For more on constraints, click here.

Is Not This The Fast That I Have Chosen?

When we dig deep, most of us want the same things. We want to feel peace, freedom and the love of God. We want to be healthy, happy, making progress and to know God is listening and approves of us. Deep down, these are the kinds of things we really want more than anything else. The Lord taught Isaiah how obeying the law of the fast brings us the things we want most:

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be they rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. 

If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out they soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not (Isaiah 58:6-11).

We can become the celestial person described in these verses if we follow the examples of Moses, Elijah and Jesus Christ in obeying the law of the fast. These three prophets, including Christ who is the son of God, also represent three different causes for which we may fast.

Under Mosaic law, the children of Israel would fast each year for their own welfare. On this day, known as the day of Atonement, special sacrifices were made by the high priest, in combination with the fast, to bring forgiveness and strength to the people (see Lev. 16:30, Heb. 9:24). As Moses, we may also fast for our own welfare or help in our daily lives.

In 1 Kings 19, Elijah laments the iniquity and hardness of the people. He feels like no one has heard him, that his efforts have been in vain, and he is discouraged enough to wish he could die. The Lord had Elijah fast for forty days and directed him to Mount Horeb. Then, fasting and in a temple-like setting, the Lord taught Elijah through wind, an earthquake and a still, small voice. Elijah was told of faithful thousands and directed to the home of Elisha, his new missionary companion. Like Elijah, we may see miracles as we fast for others.

Finally, Christ fasted at the beginning of his ministry. Victor Ludlow taught, "Jesus' atoning sacrifice symbolizes the potential value of a fulfilling fast. His fast was a valuable preparation for his mortal ministry, culminating in his atoning sacrifice. When we fast, we symbolically reenact the sacrifice of Christ in our own flesh: we deny ourselves the things that sustain our physical being so as to bring our spirits into communion with God, and this makes us better Saints... In fasting we reconcile ourselves spiritually to God and sacrifice our physical means for our fellowman in a truly Christlike manner" (Principles, 316).

A fast for our own welfare, the welfare of others or to bring our spirits into communion with God will be most effective when we remember the two great commandments: to love the Lord thy God and to love thy neighbor as thyself (Matthew 22:37-40). We add power to our fast when we show our love to God through frequent prayer; similar power is added when we show our love to our neighbor through generous fast offerings.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said, "We observe that in the scriptures, fasting almost always is linked with prayer. Without prayer, fasting is not complete fasting; it's simply going hungry. If we want our fasting to be more than just going without eating, we must lift our hearts, our minds, and our voices in communion with our Heavenly Father. Fasting, coupled with mighty prayer, is powerful. It can fill our minds with the revelations of the Spirit. It can strengthen us against times of temptation" (The Law of the Fast, May 2001).

Of our offerings, Elder Wirthlin reminds us that "our offering to bless the poor is a measure of our gratitude to our Heavenly Father." President Spencer W. Kimball counseled, "Each member should contribute a generous fast offering to care for the poor and the needy. This offering should be at least the value of the two meals not eaten while fasting. Sometimes we have been a bit penurious and figured that we had for breakfast one egg and that cost so many cents and then we give that to the Lord... We ought to be very, very generous. I think that we should give... perhaps much, much more-- ten times more when we are in a position to do it... If we give a generous fast offering, we shall increase our own prosperity both spiritually and temporally" (And the Lord Called His People Zion, December 1984).

Through the law of the fast we may develop the discipline, the confidence, the gratitude, the spiritual gifts, the freedom from sin, the soft, unselfish heart and the eye single to the glory of God to become the glorious people described by Isaiah. In fasting for ourselves, for others and for communion with God, and combined with prayer and generous offerings, we can obtain the important things we want most in life and thereafter.

Is this the fast that you have chosen?

(See also: Exodus 34:28, 1 Samuel 31:13, 2 Samuel 1:12, Judges 20:26, 2 Chronicles 20:3, Matthew 4:2-11, D&C 59:13-14, D&C 88:76, 119, D&C 109:8, 16, Luke 10:30-34)

Moral Agency

Truth

Truth is a knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come (D&C 93:24). Truth is eternal and "abideth forever" (D&C 1:39). Truth does not change with public perception nor is it relative or different for each individual. We learn of truth through the Holy Ghost (John 15:26).

There are at least three different categories of truth: physical truth, moral truth and spiritual truth. Physical truths rely on proven facts. These truths are found through a search for data and raw knowledge. These kinds of truths, often scientific in nature, carry no guarantee to benefit society. Knowledge of the structure of atoms, for example, can be used for good or for evil.

Moral truth follows intuition and conscience. It is governed by what is just and carries an honorable, enlightened desire to improve society. With the help of moral truth, logic directs human behavior and knowledge of physical truths is complemented by learning.

Spiritual truths are those which come by personal revelation. A society guided by spiritual truth is permeated by love and righteousness and faith in God. To knowledge of physical truth and the learning of moral truths spiritual truth adds the organized, clear vision of wisdom.

Truth, in all instances, makes us free (John 8:32). Victor Ludlow has stated: "Truth does not just free us from damning bondages of ignorance, fear, and sin, but it also frees us toward favorable liberties of health, opportunity, and service" (22). When we live according to truth, we are happier; or, in other words, when we obey the commandments of God we are blessed (D&C 130:20-21). As we live a higher law-- or follow a greater truth-- we are more blessed, more liberated and more enlightened.

See also:

"Principles and Practices of the Restored Gospel" by Victor Ludlow

Truth: The Foundation of Correct Decisions by Elder Richard G. Scott

Doctrine and Covenants Section 93