May 1991
Like freedom, agency isn’t free; it is preserved and enhanced only by very intelligent use. He who takes if for granted soon finds himself in narrow straits.
Agency is power to choose how to act, then to carry out the chosen act. The more power we have, the more agency we have. The more choices for action we have, the more agency we have. Knowledge is what makes choice possible.
To have a lot of knowledge does not mean that one should do all of the things one knows to do. A good person probably does less than 1% of the things he could choose to do.
Our Father in Heaven gives each of us our agency. He stimulates our minds to understand our environment and gives us power to act. His purpose is to see how well we use this agency. For He has also given us a knowledge of good and evil, and He wants to see which of His offspring will only do good with their agency.
Our heritage as children of a kind and powerful Father in Heaven is to be heirs all of the knowledge and power which Father enjoys. But he can share with us only as we very carefully use the little bit of agency we now have for good: to bless the lives of others through sacrifice. But we are also free to use our agency selfishly, to feather our own nest at the expense of others. The scriptures testify that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man the greatness of the blessings Father purposes to share with us if we will use our present bit of agency for good. (D&C 133:45)
One of the false notions about our agency is the idea that even God can’t take it away. While it is true that Father will ultimately let us choose our own destiny, that does not mean He will tolerate whatever we choose. As we choose evil, he shortens our agency; that is why he drowned the world in a flood and will yet burn it with fire. As any individual sins, he or she limits his or her future access to knowledge and power. Were it not for repentance, most of us would not be very free.
Though we have sinned, our eternal agency is vouchsafed to us through the atoning blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Only in Him can we qualify for more knowledge and power, and only through His forgiveness can we have any hope of inheriting all that the Father has.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored in these latter days so that you and I, and all others whom our Father calls may enjoy a mind and heart expanded through spiritual gifts and power beyond that of natural man to do the good works of godliness. As our minds are filled with the truths of eternity through prayer, study of the scriptures, and meditation in the Lord, our understanding begins to grasp eternity and the purposes and the goodness of our God. As we use the natural power we have as mortals to guide our actions in light of those eternal spiritual gifts, Father sees that we are responsible children and gives us more power, specifically in receiving the Holy Priesthood. If we use both the knowledge and the priesthood power well, He will eventually give us the key to the greatest freedom and agency possible: the gift of a new heart, which never again will choose evil.
With the new, pure heart, there is no limit to the knowledge and power Father can bestow upon us. He will remake us, in combination with our own efforts, until we have attained the measure of the stature of the fullness of His son, Jesus Christ. Then we are free indeed.
If we are intelligent, we will seek to know good from evil unerringly, then to apply all of the knowledge and power, all of the agency we have, in the doing of good. This is the price we must pay to gain an increase of that precious agency which is Father’s gift.
May we say with Joshua: “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth: …And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14–15)