What is Agency?
Agency is the ability and freedom to choose good or evil.
This is an eternal principle. It has always existed throughout eternity with Heavenly Father and His children.
We are the sons and daughters of God the Father and have had our Free Agency to choose since we lived in the pre-existence or spirit world before coming here.
Jesus Christ and the Son of the Morning.
We had the choice in the spirit world to follow Jesus Christ, then known as Jehovah, and in Hebrew pronounced Yahweh, which refers to the God of Israel.
He was the first born Son of God the Father. (Since we are all sons and daughters of God, this makes Him our Elder Brother)
In the King James Version of the Bible, Jehovah has been translated as Lord. Today we know that Lord means Jesus Christ.
Another early born spirit son of God the Father was named the son of the Morning. He was later known as Lucifer or the Devil. (Unfortunately this also makes him our elder brother too.)
This title signifies son of light. This meant that he was important and had authority and power in the spirit world.
Modern Revelations speaks of him here:
Doctrine and Covenants 76: 25-27
25 And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son,
26 And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him for he was Lucifer, a son of the morning.
27 And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! Is fallen, even a son of the morning!
Among others, one place in the Bible also speaks of him here:
Isaiah 14: 12
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Freedom of Choice or Agency.
We had our Freedom of Choice in the spirit world.
We knew Heavenly Father’s Plan of Salvation there because it was explained to us.
But there was rebellion and Lucifer and his followers were cast down to the earth and are now being used to tempt and test us here.
Moses 4: 1-4
1 And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.
2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.
While here on earth, it is essential that we learn to exercise our Free Agency and make choices throughout our life.
This is our final test.
Four principles must be in place for us to use our Agency.
One, laws ordained by God must be in effect to be obeyed or disobeyed.
Two, there must be opposition in all things so we can choose from, like good and evil, right and wrong.
Three, by those who enjoy this Agency, knowledge of good and evil and the difference between the opposites must be known. We inherit this from Adam and Eve partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden.
Four, the unrestricted power of choice must exist.
Between 588-570 B.C., the Prophet Lehi, explaining to his children before he died, that they are free to choose between life and death.
See 2 Nephi 2: 26-30
The Prophet Helaman tells us that because we are free to choose, whatever happens to us is because of ourselves and the choices we have made in this life.
See Helaman 14: 30-31
Once men are damned because of their choices, (Damned means that you cannot progress on in the eternities) no power of choice can alter their course and gain salvation.
If they go into Hell, they still have their free agency but will not be able to use it to gain their lives back again.
The purpose of this life is to test men and see if they will take the bodies that are given them, and by choosing to use their agency to be righteous by following the word of God, and will make them fit abodes for the Spirit of God.
For further information, go to www.lds.org
Comment are welcome.
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