Agency

Agency is our ability to choose and act for ourselves - whether it is right or wrong.  We are free to choose what we want to do but don’t have choice over what consequences we come after we have chosen our path.  I know as I have chosen certain things in my life, some choices have not been very good and I have ended in the wrong place.  These choices we make will create unhappiness and we will continue in that direction unless we choose differently.  There have been good choices I have made that have brought me to a happier state in life.  This is what our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want for us; they want us to be happy and receive the blessings which they have for us. 

"We are free to choose what we will and to pick and choose our acts, but we are not free to choose the consequences. They come as they will come." Elder Boyd K. Packer,  April 2013 General Conference,  "The Things I Know"


  "It is one thing to know how to heal your damaged life. It is quite another to do it. You will change only when you recognize that it will bring lasting personal benefit. Deep down you know that breaking commandments does not bring anything productive and does cause a lot of grief for yourself and others. Don’t wait to hit bottom. That is painful and could leave physical scars that can’t be healed.

You can fool others who want to believe you, but you cannot deceive the Lord. Because of His justice, He will one day have to confront you with the consequences of your unrepented acts. No one wants that to happen. Some transgressions are so powerful that it is unlikely that you will begin to overcome them without another’s help. Seek that help. In time, with the strength that comes from continued use of agency to live truth, you will be healed through the Savior." Richard G. Scott, October 1992 General Conference, "Healing Your Damaged Life"



"Using our agency to obey means choosing to “do what is right [and letting] the consequence follow.” Robert D. Hales, April 2014 General Conference, "If Ye Love Me, Keep My Commandments"


 "We are agents blessed with moral agency and are defined by our divine heritage as children of God—and not by sexual behaviors, contemporary attitudes, or secular philosophies."  David A. Bednar, April 2012 General Conference, "We Believe in Being Chaste"


 "My dear brothers and sisters, each day is a day of decision. President Thomas S. Monson has taught us that “decisions determine destiny.” 1 The wise use of your freedom to make your own decisions is crucial to your spiritual growth, now and for eternity. You are never too young to learn, never too old to change. Your yearnings to learn and change come from a divinely instilled striving for eternal progression. 2 Each day brings opportunity for decisions for eternity." Russell M. Nelson, October 2013 General Conference, Decisions for Eternity


 "Your agency, the right to make choices, is not given so that you can get what you want. This divine gift is provided so that you will choose what your Father in Heaven wants for you. That way He can lead you to become all that He intends you to be." Richard G. Scott, April 1996 General Conference, "Finding Joy in Life"


 "Tests and trials are given to all of us. These mortal challenges allow us and our Heavenly Father to see whether we will exercise our agency to follow His Son." Robert D. Hales, October 2011 General Conference, "Waiting upon the Lord: Thy Will Be Done"


"Many choices are not inherently evil, but if they absorb all of our time and keep us from the best choices, then they become insidious." Elder Quentin L. Cook, October 2014 General Conference, "Choose Wisely"


"To be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan. No one can make us angry. It is our choice. If we desire to have a proper spirit with us at all times, we must choose to refrain from becoming angry. Thomas S. Monson, October 2009 General Conference, "School Thy Feelings, O My Brother"


"The phrase “free agency” does not appear in scripture. The only agency spoken of there is moral agency, “which,” the Lord said, “I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.” (D&C 101:78; italics added)." Boyd K. Packer, April 1992 General Conference, "Our Moral Environment"