Free to Choose

Yes, I just quoted Harry Potter, hopefully that doesn't distract you from the rest of this post. I have been thinking about this topic for years. It's something I feel really strongly about. I hope that Heavenly Father will help me put the words down the way I feel them in my heart.

In 2 Nephi we are taught:

"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." 

One of the greatest gifts we have been given from our Father in Heaven is our agency. Mistakenly, the phrase "free agency" has become popular today. Nowhere in the scriptures is the term free agency used. Agency is either used alone or in conjunction with the descriptive word moral. Moral agency is the gift we have been given. Which, stated simply, is the power to choose between right and wrong, not to decide for ourselves what is right or wrong.

Let's look at this scripture a little closer. "Men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man." Because we have chosen to come to this earth and receive a body, we retain our agency to choose right from wrong and to strive to become more like our Father in Heaven. This earth has been furnished with all things needed or "expedient" for God's children to return and live with Him again, this includes opposition, for without it we couldn't learn, experience and grow.

"And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men". Our agency is made possible through the Atoning sacrifice of our Savior. Without His saving grace, we would be unable to overcome the effects of our sins and we would be forever subjected to "the captivity and power of the devil", for he truly "seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."  President Uchtdorf said,

"You have agency, and you are free to choose. But there is actually no free agency. Agency has its price. You have to pay the consequences of your choices. Human agency was purchased with the price of Christ’s suffering. The power of Christ’s Atonement overcomes the effect of sin on the condition of wholehearted repentance. Through and by the Savior’s universal and infinite Atonement, all have been redeemed from the Fall and have become free forever to act for themselves

Agency is a spiritual matter. Without awareness of alternatives, you could not choose. Agency is so important in your lives that you not only can choose obedience or rebellion, but you must. During this life you cannot remain on neutral ground; you cannot abstain from either receiving or rejecting the light from God."

Let me emphasize again, moral agency (which is what we have been given) is the freedom to choose between good and evil. Not to decide for ourselves what is right or wrong. Good and evil, right and wrong have been established long before this earth began and yet we mistakenly assume we have the right to choose the choices. Elder Maxwell stated this perfectly,

"Strange, isn’t it—we who wear wristwatches seek to counsel Him who oversees cosmic clocks and calendars."

This life is the time given to us to prepare to meet God, truly we are being tried to see if we will do all things, whatsoever we are commanded. But constantly we are seeking to make it easier for ourselves. We vote on moral laws as if we have the right or authority to change God's mind. Or even to suggest to Him that He should change. Morality and virtue are considered old fashioned and mocked in society today. Young girls and boys are ridiculed in school for choosing to remain clean. The world is telling men and women, boys and girls who they should be and what is important.  The world is seeking to tell us and decide what should be acceptable, as if the direction we have received from our perfect omniscient Father in Heaven is not enough. As President Uchtdorf stated above, our agency was bought with the price of our Savior's life. Because He and our Father in Heaven loved us enough to allow us to choose to return to live with them, or not. Yes, we are free to choose, but no matter what the world says, we cannot escape the eternal consequences established for choosing to go contrary to God's laws and commandments. Moral agency is not free agency. For truly, no greater price has ever been paid for any right given to the children of men. 

Choosing to submit our will to Heavenly Father truly makes us free. This truth is one of the more viciously attacked by the adversary. They would have us believe that obedience is bondage. That following the commandments stifles our independence. The truth is that is exactly the opposite. Obeying the word of wisdom keeps you free from addiction and poor health as a result of poor eating habits or drug abuse. We could go through every law or commandment and list how obedience to that law keeps us free.  Elder Christofferson said,

"As our understanding of gospel doctrine and principles grows, our agency expands. First, we have more choices and can achieve more and receive greater blessings because we have more laws that we can obey. Think of a ladder—each new law or commandment we learn is like one more rung on the ladder that enables us to climb higher. Second, with added understanding we can make more intelligent choices because we see more clearly not only the alternatives but also their potential outcomes. As Professor Daniel H. Ludlow once expressed it, 'The extent of our individual … agency … is in direct proportion to the number and kind of laws we know and keep.'"

Satan would have us believe that we can choose the choices. We can't, no matter how much the world pretends to have authority to do so. The laws and truth's of heaven are "irrevocably decreed" they will not change and every law and commandment must be fulfilled. Instead of fighting against the commandments and believing we are exercising independence by choosing what we want, let us remember that satan is seeking to claim us too. May we exercise our agency to choose to return to our Father in Heaven. Choose your consequences, good or bad, (for a consequence is just the outcome of a choice) and then all your other choices will be made for you. I testify no greater peace can come into your life than to know that you have sought with an honest heart to submit your will to your Father in Heaven. For truly, our agency is the only thing we really have to offer back to Him. In the name of Him who made agency possible for us, Jesus Christ, amen.

All my love, 

~Taryn