Choice
and Accountability: CA
2
Nephi 2:27
Choose
Today: Moses 6:33, Joshua 24:15
Every
Man chose for himself: D&C 37:4
Created
to Act 2
Nephi 2:14
Need
opposition for true agency Moses
6:56; 2 Nephi 2:16
Reason
to rejoice 2
Nephi 10:23
Allows
us to prove ourselves Abraham
3:25
Cannot serve two
masters Matthew 6:24
Principle of Agency is Eternal:
Satan
Sought to Destroy Moses 4:3
Lost
3rd Part of hosts of heaven D&C
29:36
In Garden of Eden Moses 7:32
When
we came into this world, we brought with us from our heavenly home this
God-given gift and privilege which we call our agency. It gives us the right
and power to make decisions and to choose. Agency is an eternal law. President
Brigham Young, speaking of our agency, taught: “This is a law which has always
existed from all eternity, and will continue to exist throughout all the
eternities to come. Every intelligent being must have the power of choice.”
Wolfgang H. Paul, April 2006, General Conference
Perfect Example of use of Agency;
Jesus Christ:
Christ chose to follow
Father’s will: Matthew 26:39
Throughout
His life our Savior showed us how to use our agency. As a boy in Jerusalem, He
deliberately chose to “be about [His] Father’s business.” (Luke 2:49) In His
ministry, He obediently chose “to do the will of [His] Father.”(3 Nephi 27:13)
In Gethsemane, He chose to suffer all things, saying, “Not my will, but thine,
be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”(Luke
22:42-43) On the cross, He chose to love
His enemies, praying, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they
do.”(Luke 23:34) And then, so that He could finally demonstrate that He was
choosing for Himself, He was left alone. “[Father,] why hast thou forsaken me?”
He asked. (Mark 15:34) At last, He exercised His agency to act, enduring to the
end, until He could say, “It is finished.”(John 19:30)
Robert D. Hales; October 2010, General Conference
Accountability essential part of
Agency:
Accountability
at Judgement Day D&C 101:78
Bring
upon us own condemnation Alma
3:19; Helaman 14:30
Anxiously engaged in
good D&C
58:27-29
By His perfect live, [Christ] taught us that when we
choose to do the will of our Heavenly Father, our agency is preserved, our
opportunities increase, and we progress . . . it is helpful to remember that
the opposite is also true: when we don’t keep the commandments or follow the
promptings of the Holy Ghost, our opportunities are reduced; our abilities to act
and progress are diminished. Robert D.
Hales; October 2010, General Conf.
What are we doing with our agency? Are we drawing
close to God, or away from him? Are we satisfied and happy in what we are doing
with this God-given endowment? Can we improve in the use of it?
Think carefully about the promises and benefits
available to us by using our free agency in obeying and keeping God’s laws, as
against failure to do so. May God bless
us all that we will have the desire and courage to exercise our free agency in
righteousness and in truth. Delbert L. Stapley; April 1975
General Conf.
