Agency: A Governing Principle

"Critical to our knowledge of the plan of happiness is an understanding of the great governing principle of agency. A person does not have to spend much time in the schoolroom of mortality to realize that Heavenly Father’s plan does not provide for blissful happiness at every step along our mortal journey. Life is filled with harsh realities that tug at the heart and tear away at the soul.

… We tend to think of agency as a personal matter. If we ask someone to define “moral agency,” the answer will probably be something like this: “Moral agency means I am free to make choices for myself.” Often overlooked is the fact that choices have consequences; we forget also that agency offers the same privilege of choice to others. At times we will be affected adversely by the way other people choose to exercise their agency. Our Heavenly Father feels so strongly about protecting our agency that he allows his children to exercise it, either for good or for evil."

Elder M. Russell Ballard, “Answers to Life’s Questions”, April 1995 General Conference

Read full talk here, or watch below. 

Education: Of Ecclesiastical & Secular Matters

“The Lord has decreed in revelation:

‘Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;

‘Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—

‘That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you’ (D&C 88:78–80).

It is apparent that we are obligated not only to learn of ecclesiastical matters but also of secular matters.”

President Gordon B. Hinkley, “Why We Do Some of The Things We Do”, October 1999 General Conference

Read full address here, or watch below. 

Agency: Parenting, Children, and Agency

I have heard a few parents state that they don’t want to impose the gospel on their children but want them to make up their own minds about what they will believe and follow. They think that in this way they are allowing children to exercise their agency. What they forget is that the intelligent use of agency requires knowledge of the truth, of things as they really are (see D&C 93:24). Without that, young people can hardly be expected to understand and evaluate the alternatives that come before them. Parents should consider how the adversary approaches their children. He and his followers are not promoting objectivity but are vigorous, multimedia advocates of sin and selfishness.

Seeking to be neutral about the gospel is, in reality, to reject the existence of God and His authority. We must, rather, acknowledge Him and His omniscience if we want our children to see life’s choices clearly and be able to think for themselves. They should not have to learn by sad experience that “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10).

Elder D. Todd Christofferson, “Moral Discipline”, October 2009 General Conference

Read full address here, or watch below. 

Finances: Living The Church Welfare Principles

“By living welfare principles, we can develop self-reliance. The welfare program requires that we develop self-reliance and live providently. Provident living requires us to develop proper attitudes—a willingness to forego luxuries, to avoid excess, and to fully use what we have—learning to live within our means.

…Financial need is an important part of welfare, but there are other equally important essential elements that, through love and compassion, build self-reliance—emotionally and physically—helping one to be useful and productive and to be a help.”

Robert D. Hales, “Eternal Plan for the Welfare of Men’s Souls” April 1986 General Conference

Access full talk here.  

Agency: "The Devil Made Me Do It"

"Although the devil laughs, his power is limited. Some may remember the old adage: 'The devil made me do it.' Today I want to convey, in absolutely certain terms, that the adversary cannot make us do anything. He does lie at our door, as the scriptures say, and he follows us each day.  Every time we go out, every decision we make, we are either choosing to move in his direction or in the direction of our Savior. But the adversary must depart if we tell him to depart. He cannot influence us unless we allow him to do so, and he knows that! The only time he can affect our minds and bodies—our very spirits—is when we allow him to do so. In other words, we do not have to succumb to his enticements!

We have been given agency, we have been given the blessings of the priesthood, and we have been given the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost for a reason. That reason is our growth and happiness in this world and eternal life in the world to come."

Elder Robert D. Hales, “To Act For Ourselves: The Gift and Blessing of Agency”, April 2006 General Conference

Read full address here.