My Rant on Agency

The Essence of Agency

I have been pondering about "Agency" for some time. Of course, I reserve the right for my feelings and thoughts on this issue to evolve and change. But, I have given it time to "gel" and thought long and hard and think I'm close to a developed thesis. I welcome outside input and dialog.

This whole questioning and philosophizing came about because I got tired of hearing people say (especially in response to questions on abortion or homosexuality), "I'm against it. But, I don't think it is right for Society to impose that view on others through laws. That is Satan's plan." In my heart of hearts I felt this thinking was flawed and corrupt. But, I couldn't tell you why.

Before I go further let me say I think it can be misleading to say Satan had an alternative "plan." There is only one way, one plan. Satan had some erroneous proposals about how he would carry it out. That is why he is called the Father of Lies. But, in the end there is and was only one way to achieve God's purposes. It is obvious to any serious student of the Gospel that Satan could not achieve God's end with his own unrighteous means. However, the limits of language make it easiest to refer to it as Satan's plan.

It is apparent that we have a lot of misunderstanding about Agency. If we don't know what it is, how can we protect it or exercise it correctly? So let's talk about it.

Agency is an Eternal Principle. In essence, you cannot take it away. The only way you can "destroy" it is through wickedness. The only way you can destroy someone else's Agency is by enticing them to wickedness. What Satan seeks to do at all turns is to subvert our Agency.

Every choice we make leads us down one path or the other. Exercising our Agency for good is liberating. Choosing evil is damning. The end result of following Satan is total captivity. The end result of following Heavenly Father is "...all that my Father hath shall be given unto him." (D&C 84: 38) That sounds pretty much like complete freedom.

In our minds we equate Agency with Freedom. Perhaps it is better to equate it with Responsibility.

What do people usually think of when we speak of "taking away someone's Agency?" (That phrase is probably a misnomer.) I believe most often we think of making someone do something they don't want to do, or perhaps limiting their choices.

Let me ask some questions. Can you really make someone do something they don't want to do? Even when extreme pressure is brought to bear to overcome someone's resistance, is it really a free will choice? In this case, who is responsible for the act? Am I guilty of eating chocolate if someone ties me down, forcefully places a funnel in my mouth and crams it down my throat? These extreme measures will never be required for me to be persuaded to ingest chocolate. However, if someone went to such lengths and it was wrong to eat chocolate, would I be guilty of some crime? Of course not!

This idea has special relevance to raising children and shaping behavior. I expect I am not alone as a parent in wondering if I at times have infringed on the "Agency" of one of my daughters by bringing extreme pressure on them to do what I want them to do or by artificially limiting their choices or their ability to do something they wanted to do. All I can say is Heavenly Father is a loving and all-knowing parent. At all times he is trying to teach us and shape our behavior. If we pattern our parenting after his example we should stand the best chance of success.

Mortal life presents us with many choices, perhaps because of the physical body, more choices than we will have in the eternities. However, were we guaranteed that our choices would never be limited? Were we all guaranteed every choice imaginable? I don't think so. By that measure, all of our Agencies would be limited. In truth none of us has unlimited freedom. I was not given the opportunity to pursue an education in China. Well, in reality I didn't want to go to China. I wanted a Chinese education in the U.S. Yes, I'm being a little absurd. But, it is apparent that each choice leads to a new set of choices and away from an old set of choices. Perhaps in choosing to take on mortality each of our paths inherently excluded some choices and each smorgasbord of choices is unique to each individual. Is this an injustice? It must not be. It is a circumstance of our mortal existence. So I'm no longer so sure that limiting someone's choices qualifies as "taking away their Agency" and thereby part of "Satan's plan."

The one area that never comes up in a discussion of Satan's plan and foiling Agency is the idea of preventing the natural consequence of sin. After some considerable pondering, I believe this is at least as important as the "force" and "limiting" facets of Agency interference. It may even be the only way you can really thwart the concept of Agency. If you look at the workings of "Secret Combinations" this is their central evil and their main attraction, that by banding together for evil, members of the group can avoid the consequences of their actions. However, Wrong will always be Wrong. The Laws of God and Nature will one day require restitution for evil, even if Society in the short term does not.

The plan of Agency requires certain conditions: Opposites have to exist. "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, ...righteousness could not be brought to pass" (2 Ne. 2: 11);

At least until the Natural man is burned out of our character by consistently choosing Good and applying the Atoning Blood of Christ, we have to be tempted. "Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other." (2 Ne. 2:16);

There has to be a Law. Have you ever noticed that in successive chapters of the book of Romans, roughly in the middle verse of each chapter, Paul emphasized this thought?

Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Romans 5:13 For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law;

We have to be taught. "And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men." (2 Ne. 2:5); and

The demands of the Law (punishment) must be satisfied. The Young Women value is Choice AND Accountability.

Even when Man has not established proper laws, there are Eternal Laws and Eternal consequences to Sin.

So Satan through the World and throughout the World teaches that there is no Good and Bad, that things are more complicated and nuanced than that. He teaches that Evil is Good and Good Evil. He teaches that it is wrong for Society to control Man and "take away" his Agency by establishing laws. He teaches that Mercy should be applied when Repentance has not taken place. He teaches us that Man cannot escape his nature and is unchangeable, repentance is impossible, we cannot be forgiven. And he does not hold Man responsible for his misdeeds.

When I consider this, it makes it much more important not to protect my children from the natural consequences of their actions, to allow them the proper God-prescribed environment in which to learn. This was born out briefly in the recent World-Wide Leadership Training Broadcast when Sister Bonnie Parkin said, "We must teach our children to make wise choices, but we can't remove the consequences of their actions. Remember, the basis of our Heavenly Father's plan is agency." We learn a very bad lesson and develop bad habits when we sin and seemingly get away with it. It is a pernicious lie to learn and reinforce.

In the role of parenting, we must teach our children sufficiently to recognize the difference between Good and Evil. We must also teach them and encourage them to choose Good, to find in Good their Happiness, because that is the only place to find Happiness. We must establish rules or laws. We must punish offenses against those laws. We must teach repentance and forgiveness and returning to the encircling arms of Mercy.

The scriptures have the power to contain the natural appetites of man, away from the nothing and out toward the Light. The scriptures give us the power of self determination. They will give us the power to adhere to the moral absolutes they teach. Reading the scriptures daily is the best way to combat, on an individual basis, the lies of the adversary, that are taught every day by Society, and strengthen our knowledge that there are very real and Eternal consequences of all of our actions.

Satan cannot alleviate or protect us from the eternal consequences of our actions. He makes it seem that we have avoided the results of sin by lying to us (or enticing others to lie to us, or ignore our wrongs.) But, it is a temporary and temporal comfort. "And the serpent said unto the woman: Ye shall not surely die;..." (Moses 4:10) Adam and Eve did not face immediate physical death. But, the natural consequence of partaking of the fruit was that they surely would one day die. It seems Satan chooses to be temporally or carnally minded at every turn. The test or burden of this mortal life is to keep in mind what it is worth, what is at stake. The world forces us to live in the moment. The gospel invites us to live in eternity.

Now, let me add a bit of a wishy washy caveat. I believe especially within the family setting that we can be too strict as well as too lenient. Neither is ideal for raising children.

Making abortion illegal and assigning a punishment for its practice is no more limiting someone's choices or forcing them to do something than has already been explained. If it is an eternal law (and a very important one at that) we are dreadfully wrong not to ban it and punish for its transgression.

Many people speak of abortion and same sex marriage as "private actions" that do not hurt anyone. In the case of abortion, that is obviously not true. There really is no such thing as a private action.

Quoting from Orson Scott Card in his article on "Homosexual "Marriage" and Civilization" - "Civilization depends on people deliberately choosing not to do many things that feel good at the time, in order to accomplish more important, larger purposes. Having an affair; breaking up a marriage; oh, those can feel completely justified and the reasons very important at the time.

But society has a vital stake in child-rearing; and children have a vital stake in society."

Another thought from the World-Wide Training: Quoting Elder David Bednar, "The eternal nature and importance of marriage (and I would add gender and gender roles) can be fully understood only within the overarching context of the Father's plan for His children." This concept, which seems so obviously true, makes it that much more important to spread the Gospel.

Does it make sense to micromanage life and write laws that proscribe everything that is "wrong?" I'm not even sure it is good or right to do that. Perhaps, an appropriate rule of thumb is, if one of the Ten Commandments is involved maybe Society is within its rights, even has the duty to proscribe behavior. The Church leadership has seldom, but occasionally, taken a public stand on issues that are moral in nature and have political relevance and ramifications. The instances where this has happened seem to fit the above pattern. Should the Saints strive to keep Society in check on the important issues of abortion and same sex marriage? I think so. Even if there were no moral basis, Society needs to be protected from its self-destructive tendencies.