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Freedom of Choice, an Eternal Principle
“Agency has been given to all of us to make important decisions that will have bearing on our salvation. Those decisions affect our happiness in eternity.” Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra learned as a child that hard intelligent work is the key to happiness and success.
Scripture A
“Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7)
Agency
Agency is the freedom to choose the course you will follow. It is making important decisions that will have bearing on our salvation. We must act on our own without waiting to be commanded in all things.
The Plan of Salvation
- God wants all of us to return to Him and experience everlasting happiness.
- Jesus Christ is the Captain of our salvation. He offered freedom and right of choice.
- Lucifer tried to destroy our agency and still does.
We can accept the gospel or reject it. Once we accept it we can choose to live it fully, partially, or refuse to live it.
Scripture B
Abraham 3:25 “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” (Abraham 3:25.)
Quote #1
Life is a testing time in man’s eternal existence, during which he is given … the right to choose between right and wrong. … On those choices hang great consequences, not only in this life, but, even more important, in the life to come. There are boundaries beyond which Satan cannot go. Within those bounds, he is presently being permitted to offer an unrighteous alternative to God’s righteous principles, thus allowing men to choose between good and evil and thereby determine the station they shall occupy in the next life.
Quote #2
Your Father in heaven is mindful of you. He has given you commandments to guide you, to discipline you. He has also given you your agency—freedom of choice—“to see if [you] will do all things whatsoever [He] shall command.” (Abr. 3:25.)
A circle has an infinite number of symmetrical lines. Starting at the middle, depending on the angle of your ruler, a new course will be drawn with a slight variance in degree.
“Concentrate your energies and work hard. Launch out in new experiments. Never be afraid to have the courage of your opinions. Fix the lines you want to travel along and keep them. That’s all” –A.C.W. Harmsworth
Quote #3
The biggest business of any life is making decisions. While one of the greatest gifts of God to man is … the right of choice, he has also given man responsibility for these choices. … We put our own lives in the direction of success or failure. We may not only choose our ultimate goals, but we may also determine and decide for ourselves, in many cases, the means by which we will arrive at those goals, and by our industry or lack of it determine the speed by which they may be reached. This takes individual effort and energy and will not be without opposition or conflict.
Quote #4
Wise decisions are usually arrived at following work, struggle, and prayerful effort. The Lord’s response to Oliver Cowdery’s ineffective effort makes this clear: “But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.” (D&C 9:8.)
Doctrine and Covenants 59:5 Wherefore, I give unto them a commandment, saying thus: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him.
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