Free? Agency

I've been working on an idea recently that I think we may teach or have discussed soon in our Relief Society and Priesthood lessons, and that has to do with Agency.

I think I've finally distilled partially what I've been thinking about. When we talk of taking away someone's agency, what is it we think of? We usually think of making them do something they don't want to do. But, in reality can you really force someone to do something they don't want to do? And when you do, who is accountable for it then? Certainly not the person who was forced.

So in reality I think the only way you can "take away someone's Agency" is by removing from them, or protecting them from, the consequences of their actions. That may be one of the main reasons it is a good thing for society to impose and enforce rules and laws on itself. I am especially talking about abortion and same sex marriage.

And I think this really can only be done on a temporary (or temporal) basis. In the eternal scheme of things you cannot ultimately protect someone from the consequences of their actions, except in the way that Christ did, through an atonement.

Taken in this light it makes it seems much more important or correct to school your children, establish rules and punish for infractions and teach Society to be the same way. Most of Society is completely upside down this idea.

I just discussed this with a co-worker and she brought up the facet of restricting someone's choices. I'm going to have to ponder about that and report back.

I think it is also true that "Satan's Plan" was a great big lie because he couldn't carry it out and save us from eternal consequences, only temporal ones.