"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." D&C 58:28
"And 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
"And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves, and I have given unto you another law and commandment." Moses 6:56
"For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves." D&C 104:17
The scriptures say that we are agents unto ourselves, with the freedom to choose good or evil. The most grammatically and doctrinally accurate term to describe the privilege that we have is not "free agency" (ungrammatical and misleading to some people) nor "moral agency" (doctrinally incomplete, omits to mention what kind of moral agency we have) but rather "freedom of agency."
We are *free* agents. We have the privilege of choosing with whom to align ourselves, whether God, man, or the devil. And if we choose God, our Father, and follow in the footsteps of His Son and strive to keep all of his commandments out of love for Him, we shall inherit His kingdom and one day become like Him, through the Atonement of Christ. And anyone who does not admire God or love His law can choose to do something else, and He will regretfully allow it.
That is what freedom of agency is about.
~B.C.
--
If I esteem mankind to be in error, shall I bear them down? No. I will lift them up, and in their own way too, if I cannot persuade them my way is better; and I will not seek to compel any man to believe as I do, only by the force of reasoning, for truth will cut its own way.
"Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else."
"And 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
"And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves, and I have given unto you another law and commandment." Moses 6:56
"For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves." D&C 104:17
The scriptures say that we are agents unto ourselves, with the freedom to choose good or evil. The most grammatically and doctrinally accurate term to describe the privilege that we have is not "free agency" (ungrammatical and misleading to some people) nor "moral agency" (doctrinally incomplete, omits to mention what kind of moral agency we have) but rather "freedom of agency."
We are *free* agents. We have the privilege of choosing with whom to align ourselves, whether God, man, or the devil. And if we choose God, our Father, and follow in the footsteps of His Son and strive to keep all of his commandments out of love for Him, we shall inherit His kingdom and one day become like Him, through the Atonement of Christ. And anyone who does not admire God or love His law can choose to do something else, and He will regretfully allow it.
That is what freedom of agency is about.
~B.C.
--
If I esteem mankind to be in error, shall I bear them down? No. I will lift them up, and in their own way too, if I cannot persuade them my way is better; and I will not seek to compel any man to believe as I do, only by the force of reasoning, for truth will cut its own way.
"Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else."
No comments:
Post a Comment