Agency

From MormonWikia

Agency is simply described as the ability to choose freely between options. For Mormons, agency is a wonderful and great gift from God. Agency is necessary for the growth and progression of humankind. To have agency, a person must know of his or her different options. To allow everyone to know of their options, God has allowed Satan to tempt us, so we can choose either good or bad, knowing what good and bad are. God also gives us scriptures, prophets, parents, and other helpers to teach us about the consequences of our choices, and to help us choose good things.

[edit] Complete Agency

In Mormon belief, our agency to choose our own fate is complete because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. We always have the choice to do what God wants or to disobey God. When we disobey God, we become unworthy to be with him, but because Jesus Christ atoned for everyone’s sins, each of us has a choice to repent, and we still have the option to return to God by making good choices. Mormons know that God will never force any woman or man to do or not do anything. One of the Hymns in the LDS Hymnal, “Know This, That Every Soul is Free,” asserts Mormon beliefs on agency thus:

Know this, that ev’ry soul is free

To choose his life and what he’ll be;

For this eternal truth is giv’n:

That God will force no man to heav’n.

He’ll call, persuade, direct aright,

And bless with wisdom, love, and light,

In nameless ways be good and kind,

But never force the human mind.

God has the power to do everything, including force man, but he, in all his wisdom, will not force anyone. Satan, who desires only our misery, would do anything to take control of the will of humans, but he does not have that power. Satan cannot make anyone do anything, and God will not. Thus, every person will be able to see the choices he or she can make and hear the influences of both sides, but only that person can make a choice in either direction.

[edit] The Consequences of Agency

Because every human being has agency, and God will not take it away, every person is free to do good or bad things, and the people around them may benefit or suffer accordingly. On the other hand, it says in the Book of Mormon that “because that they [all men and women] 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.” That means that we choose how to react to everything that happens in our lives. It also means that we are free to choose our actions, but we can’t choose the consequences of our actions—we can’t avoid punishments if we choose evil and never repent.

Many people say that God can’t exist because if he did, he wouldn’t allow all of the bad things that happen in the world. It is true that God loves all of us infinitely, but the agency of the individual is so crucial he won’t violate it. What God can do is help each of us learn and grow toward him as a result of our experiences—the good ones and the bad ones. He knows that others can hurt us with their agency, but he has the power (and uses it) to let our hurts teach us and help us, and our trials can allow us to help others better than we would have if we had never had them. We do receive justice in the end, and enduring our trials well (even those inflicted by others) will bring good rewards.