AGENCY
1.
"Agency is defined in the scriptures as “moral agency,” which means that we can choose between good and evil. The adversary seeks to tempt us to misuse our moral agency."
President Boyd K. Packer- General Conference April 2013 "These Things I Know" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/these-things-i-know?lang=eng
2.
"You and I were among those who used their agency to accept Heavenly Father’s plan to come to earth, to have a mortal life, to progress... Now we are here on earth, where opportunities to use our agency abound; for here “there is an opposition in all things.” This opposition is essential to the purpose of our lives. As Lehi explained, “To bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, … the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.”"
Elder Robert D. Hales- General Conference April 2006 "To Act for Ourselves: The Gift and Blessings of Agency" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/to-act-for-ourselves-the-gift-and-blessings-of-agency?lang=eng&query=agency
3.
The thoughts we think, the deeds we do, the lives we live not only influence the success of our earthly journey, they also mark the way to our eternal goals.
President Thomas S. Monson- Ensign June 2006 "Heavenly Homes, Forever Families" https://www.lds.org/ensign/2006/06/heavenly-homes-forever-families?lang=eng
4.
“Don’t make the kinds of mistakes that will bring regret. You can be wise and happy or stupid and miserable. The choice is yours.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley- Ensign March 2007 "News of the Church" https://www.lds.org/ensign/2007/03/news-of-the-church?lang=eng
5.
We seek His grace to complement and reward our most diligent efforts. Perhaps as much as praying for mercy, we should pray for time and opportunity to work and strive and overcome. Surely the Lord smiles upon one who desires to come to judgment worthily, who resolutely labors day by day to replace weakness with strength. ...Real change may require repeated attempts, but there is something refining and holy in such striving. Divine forgiveness and healing flow quite naturally to such a soul, for indeed “virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; [and] mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own”
Elder D. Todd Christofferson, General Conference October 2011 “The Divine Gift of Repentance” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/the-divine-gift-of-repentance?lang=eng&query=
6.
“Using our agency to obey means choosing to “do what is right [and letting] the consequence follow.” It requires self-mastery and brings confidence, eternal happiness, and a sense of fulfillment to us and, by example, to those around us.”
Elder Robert D. Hales, General Conference April 2014 “If Ye Love Me, Keep My Commandments” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/if-ye-love-me-keep-my-commandments?lang=eng
7.
"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."
President Boyd K. Packer- Conference April 2013 "These Things I Know" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/these-things-i-know?lang=eng
8.
"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... Sometimes we forget that our Heavenly Father desires that each of us have this joy. Only by yielding to temptation and sin can we be kept from that joy...
Today I ask... are we following on the strait and narrow path that leads to God and eternal life? Are we holding onto the iron rod, or are we going another way? I testify that how we choose to feel and think and act every day is the way we get on the path, and stay on it, until we reach our eternal destination.
Now, none of us are on the narrow path all of the time. All of us make mistakes. That is why Lehi, who understood the Savior’s role in preserving and reclaiming our agency, taught Jacob—and us: “The Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon.” That is the key—“to act for themselves and not to be acted upon.”
Elder Robert D. Hales- General Conference April 2006 "To Act for Ourselves: The Gift and Blessings of Agency" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/to-act-for-ourselves-the-gift-and-blessings-of-agency?lang=eng&query=agency
9.
The Lord has placed currents of divine influence in your life that will lead you along the individual plan He would have you fulfill here on earth. Seek through the Spirit to identify it and carefully follow that direction that the Lord has put in your life. Align yourself with it. Choose, willingly, to exercise your agency to follow it... What you decide to do now will affect how well you fulfill that divine, personal plan He has for you. I do not fully understand how it is done, but this divine current does not take away your moral agency. You can make the decisions you choose to make."
Elder Richard G. Scott- General Conference October 1999 "He Lives" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1999/10/he-lives?lang=eng
10.
"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. That path leads to glorious joy and happiness."
Elder Richard G. Scott- General Conference April 1996 "Finding Joy In Life" https://www.lds.org/ensign/1996/05/finding-joy-in-life
Bonus:
"Agency is defined in the scriptures as “moral agency,” which means that we can choose between good and evil. The adversary seeks to tempt us to misuse our moral agency."
President Boyd K. Packer- General Conference April 2013 "These Things I Know" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/these-things-i-know?lang=eng
2.
"You and I were among those who used their agency to accept Heavenly Father’s plan to come to earth, to have a mortal life, to progress... Now we are here on earth, where opportunities to use our agency abound; for here “there is an opposition in all things.” This opposition is essential to the purpose of our lives. As Lehi explained, “To bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, … the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.”"
Elder Robert D. Hales- General Conference April 2006 "To Act for Ourselves: The Gift and Blessings of Agency" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/to-act-for-ourselves-the-gift-and-blessings-of-agency?lang=eng&query=agency
3.
The thoughts we think, the deeds we do, the lives we live not only influence the success of our earthly journey, they also mark the way to our eternal goals.
President Thomas S. Monson- Ensign June 2006 "Heavenly Homes, Forever Families" https://www.lds.org/ensign/2006/06/heavenly-homes-forever-families?lang=eng
4.
“Don’t make the kinds of mistakes that will bring regret. You can be wise and happy or stupid and miserable. The choice is yours.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley- Ensign March 2007 "News of the Church" https://www.lds.org/ensign/2007/03/news-of-the-church?lang=eng
5.
We seek His grace to complement and reward our most diligent efforts. Perhaps as much as praying for mercy, we should pray for time and opportunity to work and strive and overcome. Surely the Lord smiles upon one who desires to come to judgment worthily, who resolutely labors day by day to replace weakness with strength. ...Real change may require repeated attempts, but there is something refining and holy in such striving. Divine forgiveness and healing flow quite naturally to such a soul, for indeed “virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; [and] mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own”
Elder D. Todd Christofferson, General Conference October 2011 “The Divine Gift of Repentance” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/the-divine-gift-of-repentance?lang=eng&query=
6.
“Using our agency to obey means choosing to “do what is right [and letting] the consequence follow.” It requires self-mastery and brings confidence, eternal happiness, and a sense of fulfillment to us and, by example, to those around us.”
Elder Robert D. Hales, General Conference April 2014 “If Ye Love Me, Keep My Commandments” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/if-ye-love-me-keep-my-commandments?lang=eng
7.
"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."
President Boyd K. Packer- Conference April 2013 "These Things I Know" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/these-things-i-know?lang=eng
"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... Sometimes we forget that our Heavenly Father desires that each of us have this joy. Only by yielding to temptation and sin can we be kept from that joy...
Today I ask... are we following on the strait and narrow path that leads to God and eternal life? Are we holding onto the iron rod, or are we going another way? I testify that how we choose to feel and think and act every day is the way we get on the path, and stay on it, until we reach our eternal destination.
Now, none of us are on the narrow path all of the time. All of us make mistakes. That is why Lehi, who understood the Savior’s role in preserving and reclaiming our agency, taught Jacob—and us: “The Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon.” That is the key—“to act for themselves and not to be acted upon.”
Elder Robert D. Hales- General Conference April 2006 "To Act for Ourselves: The Gift and Blessings of Agency" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/to-act-for-ourselves-the-gift-and-blessings-of-agency?lang=eng&query=agency
9.
The Lord has placed currents of divine influence in your life that will lead you along the individual plan He would have you fulfill here on earth. Seek through the Spirit to identify it and carefully follow that direction that the Lord has put in your life. Align yourself with it. Choose, willingly, to exercise your agency to follow it... What you decide to do now will affect how well you fulfill that divine, personal plan He has for you. I do not fully understand how it is done, but this divine current does not take away your moral agency. You can make the decisions you choose to make."
Elder Richard G. Scott- General Conference October 1999 "He Lives" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1999/10/he-lives?lang=eng
10.
"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. That path leads to glorious joy and happiness."
Elder Richard G. Scott- General Conference April 1996 "Finding Joy In Life" https://www.lds.org/ensign/1996/05/finding-joy-in-life
Bonus:
"Agency was manifested in the Council in Heaven as we chose to follow our Heavenly Father’s plan and come to mortality for this probationary period.
Agency allows us to be tested and tried to see whether or not we will endure to the end and return to our Heavenly Father with honor.
Agency is the catalyst that leads us to express our inward spiritual desires in outward Christlike behavior.
Agency permits us to make faithful, obedient choices that strengthen us so that we can lift and strengthen others.
Agency used righteously allows light to dispel the darkness and enables us to live with joy and happiness in the present, look with faith to the future, even into the eternities, and not dwell on the things of the past.
Our use of agency determines who we are and what we will be.
To all who desire to enjoy the supernal blessings of agency, I testify that agency is strengthened by our faith and obedience.
Agency leads us to act: to seek that we may find, to ask that we may receive guidance from the Spirit, to knock on that door that leads to spiritual light and ultimately salvation. I bear special witness that our Savior Jesus Christ is the source of that light, even the Light and Life of the World.
As we use our agency to follow Him, His light will grow within us brighter and brighter until that perfect day when we are welcomed into the presence of our Father in Heaven for all eternity."
Elder Robert D. Hales- General Conference April 2006 "To Act for Ourselves: The Gift and Blessings of Agency" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/to-act-for-ourselves-the-gift-and-blessings-of-agency?lang=eng&query=agencyMY THOUGHTS
Agency is integral to the plan of happiness and to our purpose here. We are here to exercise our agency and show what we will choose. We are blessed when we choose to follow the commandments. We can choose our actions, but not the consequences of those actions. The Lord has a plan for us and he knows what is coming on our path, but that does not change or take away our agency. When we allow his plan to guide us, we can have peace, joy, and safety. When we use our agency to stray from that path, we can still return by using the Atonement. I am grateful for the gift of agency, and I know I have a responsibility to use it righteously, and to "act and not be acted upon."
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