Agency

“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. Today I ask, have we received that Spirit? 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.”
-              Elder Robert D. Hales, April 2006 General Conference, “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

“How supernally precious freedom is; how consummately valuable is the agency of man.”
-              Boyd K. Packer, April 1988 General Conference, “Atonement, Agency, Accountability” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1988/04/atonement-agency-accountability?lang=eng&query=agency

“God reveals to His prophets that there are moral absolutes. Sin will always be sin. Disobedience to the Lord’s commandments will always deprive us of His blessings. The world changes constantly and dramatically, but God, His commandments, and promised blessings do not change. They are immutable and unchanging. Men and women receive their agency as a gift from God, but their liberty and, in turn, their eternal happiness come from obedience to His laws. As Alma counseled his errant son Corianton, “Wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10).”
-              Elder L. Tom Perry, April 2013 General Conference, “Obedience to Law Is Liberty” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/obedience-to-law-is-liberty?lang=eng&query=agency

“You may be tired of others trying to run your life—always telling you what to do. After all, you have the right to make your own choices. That is correct. You have that right. It is your agency. The secret to solve problems in your life will be found in understanding and using the eternally beneficial interaction of your agency and His truth.”
-              Richard G. Scott, October 1992 General Conference, “Healing Your Damaged Life” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1992/10/healing-your-damaged-life?lang=eng&query=agency

“Through Christ and his valiant defense of our Father’s plan, the course of agency and eternal aspirations prevailed. In that crucial, premortal setting, a major milestone was passed, a monumental victory was won. As a result, we would be allowed to continue to pursue what President David O. McKay once described as the “eternal principle of progress.” Later Christ himself would come to earth, President McKay noted, “to perfect society by perfecting the individual, and only by the exercising of Free Agency can the individual even approach perfection.” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1940, p. 118.)”
-              Howard W. Hunter, October 1989 General Conference, “The Golden Thread of Choice” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1989/10/the-golden-thread-of-choice?lang=eng&query=agency

“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.

“The plan of happiness is available to all of his children. If the world would embrace and live it, peace, joy, and plenty would abound on the earth. Much of the suffering we know today would be eliminated if people throughout the world would understand and live the gospel.”
-              M. Russell Ballard, April 1995 General Conference, “Answers to Life’s Questions” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1995/04/answers-to-lifes-questions?lang=eng&query=agency

“Agency is a divine gift to you. You are free to choose what you will be and what you will do. And you are not without help. Counsel with your parents is a privilege at any age. Prayer provides communication with your Heavenly Father and invites the promptings of personal revelation. And in certain circumstances, consultation with professional advisers and with your local leaders in the Church may be highly advisable, especially when very difficult decisions must be made.”
-              Russell M. Nelson, October 1990 General Conference, “Choices” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1990/10/choices?lang=eng&query=agency

“Life is meant to be a test to see if we will keep the commandments of God. (See 2 Ne. 2:5.) We are free to obey or to ignore the spirit and the letter of the law. But the agency granted to man is a moral agency. (See D&C 101:78.) We are not free to break our covenants and escape the consequences.”
--Boyd K. Packer, October 1990 General Conference, “Covenants” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1990/10/covenants?lang=eng&query=agency

“As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of moral agency, the capacity for independent action and choice. Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation.”
-              David A. Bednar, October 2006 General Conference, “And Nothing Shall Offend Them” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/10/and-nothing-shall-offend-them?lang=eng&query=agency

“I knew what agency was and knew how important it was to be individual and to be independent, to be free. I somehow knew there was one thing the Lord would never take from me, and that was my free agency. I would not surrender my agency to any being but to Him! I determined that I would give Him the one thing that He would never take—my agency. I decided, by myself, that from that time on I would do things His way.

“That was a great trial for me, for I thought I was giving away the most precious thing I possessed. I was not wise enough in my youth to know that because I exercised my agency and decided myself, I was not losing it. It was strengthened!”
-              Boyd K. Packer, April 1976 General Conference, “Spiritual Crocodiles” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1976/04/spiritual-crocodiles?lang=eng&query=agency

Position Statement:

Agency is one of the most precious gifts we have been given.  And not only were we given agency, we fought for it in our premortal lives.  We continue to “fight” for our freedom and agency when we choose the right and stay out of Satan’s grasp.  When we make choices that lead to addictions or other forms of slavery, we surrender our agency to outside forces.  We should never take our agency for granted.  We should protect it and use it for good.  We were given agency to prove ourselves and we must make this life a testament of who we are.