Free Agency and Freedom

by Jason Park

In one of my groups, I developed a close friendship with a man who was a temple worker and had a beautiful family. Although he tried hard and made some good progress he eventually gave it up for a single, carefree life. He made a choice and ultimately chose cutoffs and the gym over the church and his family. I think part of the reason he made that choice was because he felt he had no choice. But, you do have a choice, there is a way out. There are many men and women who are making correct choices in difficult situations and as a result are making significant changes in their lives.

Our lives are made up of a series of small choices. Seldom do we make a large, consequential decision. It's the little things we do that shape our character and make us who we are. Our character is the composite, the net result, of all those small choices. Let's explore our power to choose and how those choices influence our eternal lives.
In the Doctrine and Covenants we read: "I prepared all things and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves." (D&C 104:17) What does it mean to be agents unto ourselves? It is important to understand the concepts of free agency and freedom.

Agency, free agency, and moral agency all refer to our power to exercise our will and make choices. Freedom refers to the power and privilege to carry out those choices. [Many of the ideas in the following paragraphs are taken from a talk titled "Free Agency and Freedom," by Dallin H. Oaks, Brigham Young University 1987-88 Devotional and Fireside Speeches, BYU Publications, Provo, UT, 1988, pp. 46-47. An edited version is also found in The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, Papers from the Third Annual Book of Mormon Symposium, edited by Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr., Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1989. pp. 1-17.]

Free agency

Before we came to earth, God gave each of us our free agency the power to choose see Alma13:3). In fact, one of the principal reasons we came to this earth was to be proven, to see if we would do everything we are commanded to do (see Abraham 3:25). In the council in heaven, Satan presented an alternative plan that denied free agency. When it was rejected, he rebelled, "and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him" (Moses 4:3-4).

Knowing that Satan is anxious to have us misuse the power of free agency, we need to be careful in the choices we make. "Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself" (2 Nephi 2:16). "Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life" (2 Nephi 10:23). God has given us our free agency, the power to choose, and no person or organization can take it away.

Freedom

What can be taken away or reduced in this life is our freedom, which is the power to act on our choices. Elder Dallin H. Oaks has explained that "free agency is absolute, but in the circumstances of mortality freedom is always qualified." ["Free Agency and Freedom," by Dallin H. Oaks, The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, Papers from the Third Annual Book of Mormon Symposium, edited by Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr., Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1989. p. 10.] He explains that freedom may be qualified or taken away in three ways:

1. By physical laws. For example, we are bound by the physical law of gravity and cannot choose to disobey it. There may also be some physical limitations with which we are born.
2. By the actions of others. We live under governments that impose laws and restrictions for the common good of society.
3. By our own actions. We may choose of ourselves to impose restrictions on our individual freedom, such as when we buckle our seat belt or sign a contract. In these instances, we use our free agency to choose to temporarily limit certain individual freedoms to help us achieve more important eternal freedoms. This is the concept of setting personal boundaries. For example, if we know we are susceptible to certain addictive behaviors, we can decide to limit our access to places or conditions that might make it easy for us to go astray.

A restriction of freedom in these ways "reduces the extent to which we can act upon our choices, but it does not deprive us of our God-given free agency." ["Free Agency and Freedom," by Dallin H. Oaks, The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, Papers from the Third Annual Book of Mormon Symposium, edited by Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr., Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1989. p. 11.]

Consequences

We tend to think of agency as a personal matter. Often overlooked, however, is the fact that choices have consequences. We are free to consider our options, to make choices and to act, but once an action has been taken we are not free from its consequences. An astronaut, for example, makes the choice to enter the rocket. He can withdraw any time before the rocket fuel is ignited, but once it is, he is bound by the consequences of his choice. There is an eternal principle of the Law of the Harvest (see Galatians 6:7-9). We reap what we sow. Actions have consequences.

Each of us has a choice between right and wrong. But with that choice there inevitably will follow consequences. Those who choose to violate the commandments of God put themselves at great spiritual and physical jeopardy. The Apostle Paul said, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Gordon B. Hinckley [Ensign, May 1987, p. 47]

 

Copyright © 1996 by Century Publishing, PO Box 11307, Salt Lake City, UT 84147. This document may be duplicated and shared electronically for personal use as long as it is copied in its entirety. This notice must appear on all copies. You may reach the author at jasonpark@centurypubl.com
 

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