Quote1:
“The principle of agency, he said, ‘runs like a golden thread throughout the
gospel plan of the Lord for the blessing of his children.’”
Quote2:
The central issue in that premortal council was: Shall the children of God have
untrammeled agency to choose the course they should follow, whether good or
evil, or shall they be coerced and forced to be obedient? Christ and all who
followed Him stood for the former proposition – freedom of choice; Satan stood
for the latter –coercion and force.
Quote 3:
The scriptures make clear that there was a great war in heaven, a struggle over
the principle of freedom, the right of choice.
Question: Why was agency so important? Why was it worth
fighting for? – It’s not just about getting the right answers, it’s about
learning the material. We didn’t just come here to be tested, we came here to
learn and grow and to return to our father a little more like him. PROGRESSION
Thought: Agency
is more than just choosing between right and wrong, sometimes we think about it
too narrowly in general discussions. We tend to minimize it to just right vs
wrong, but it is the ability to choose at all. To be masters of our fate, to
determine the path our life will take. What will we make of our time here?
Quote 4:
His teachings about the principle of agency included more than just a reminder
to “choose between right and wrong”. He spoke of agency as the ability to “make
important decisions that will have bearing on our salvation” and that will
“affect our happiness in eternity.
Quote 5:
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.
Question: Do we
consider often enough what we are doing with our lives? Are we living
deliberate lives? We learn in 2 Nephi that God created things to act and things
to be acted upon. Do we find ourselves being acted upon more often than taking
control of our lives and doing the acting.
2 Nephi 2:14 And now,
my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there
is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and
all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon.
Thought: Are we
utilizing our agency to the fullest? Agency is not fixed, it can grow and expand,
it can go underutilized and it can diminish. When we learn a new skill, such as
playing the piano, we open our agency to choose whether or not we answer the
call to play. If we have not learned to play then there is no choice for us to
make, we have not earned that agency.
Question: We
fought for it in the pre-existence, we know to fight for it as toddlers, have
we forgotten how precious this gift is, are we using it, are we fighting for
it?
Quote 6:
DC 58:27-28 27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause,
and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much
righteousness; 28 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.
Momentum: Good vs Bad vs Transfers
We have momentum in our lives, it is interesting to consider
some of the principles of momentum in the context of this discussion.
1.
Momentum
a.
Objects in motion, stay in motion, unless acted on by another force
b.
Function of mass and velocity
c.
Has directionality
d.
On earth there are resistances that prevent
perpetual motion, drag, friction, deplete energy. The more momentum you have
the longer you can overcome those
e.
It is easier to maintain motion, than to
initiate motion
2.
Good Momentum
a.
Mass: amassing spiritual experiences throughout
our lives
b.
Velocity: anxioiusly engaged…in a good cause,
acting instead of being acted upon
c.
Spiritual momentum can carry us through
spiritual draughts and hard times.
d.
But we must continue to put the energy in so that
we can preserve our spiritual momentum, to ensure that it doesn’t fizzle.
i.
What big spiritual
experiences have we amassed that ground our testimonies (important to remember
them, if we have them and forget, throw out the window, then they don’t help as
if we hold them close to us and retain them)?
ii.
What small recent
experiences have we had?
iii.
What habits do we
already have in place that help us stoke our spiritual flames, that help us
maintain that momentum?
iv.
What new habits or
changes could we make to?
v.
Momentum carries us through hard times, but if
left unfed it will fizzle out. We must constantly be feeding the good momentum
in our lives, whether small inputs during hard times are large inputs during
good times.
3.
Bad Momentum
a.
We have ruts, bad habits in our lives. How can
we overcome these? What energy can we apply to overcome these?
b.
What are tools that
you use to help yourself get out of these ruts (favorite talk, exercise, do
service, get together with someone)
c.
Grace in Bible Dictionary: enabling power to do
more than we can do on our own and to maintain
4.
Momentum transfers
a.
We can influence others for good or bad. We are
in this together.
Thought: We are
often told that our will is the only gift that is truly ours to give.
Thought:
Will indicates impending action. “This will happen, I will go, I will be”. The
word will is a force, a power, energy, desire, something that you are going to
do. When the word “will” is used in a sentence like that, it is evidence of our
wills. And Will power is having control over one’s impulses and actions. It is
self-control. It is having control over what we are going to do in the future.
Quote 6:
Our decisions have made us what we are. Our eternal destiny will be determined
by the decisions we WILL yet make.
AGENCY IS ALL ABOUT BEING EMPOWERED AND ENABLED. I hope that
we can remember this and take control of our lives. That we can maintain the
good momentum in our lives, break out of the bad and be an influence for good
to those around us. That we can be agents unto ourselves. That we can choose to
act instead of merely being acted upon. I hope that we can all live more
deliberate and thoughtful lives of action.
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