December 11, 2010

Tonight I read Robert D. Hales talk from Conference called Agency: Essential to the Plan of Life. It was a very good explanation of what agency is and how it relates to us, beginning with our premortal existence and how we used our agency in choosing to come to Earth and how we continue to use it by choosing to follow the Savior. At the beginning of this talk he shared that the meaning of the word agency was unfamiliar to a non-member friend of his, and that even after looking it up in a dictionary, none of the ten definitions defined agency in the way we use it: as the idea that we have the ability and privilege to choose and act for ourselves. I was really surprised by that, since I am so accustomed to this principle of agency and what it means related to my power to choose. 

Two quotes stood out from this talk to me. The first is that "when we choose to do the will of our Heavenly Father, our agency is preserved, our opportunities increase, and we progress." The second is that, "whenever we disobey, we spiritually paint ourselves into a corner and are captive to our choices." I am thankful for the gift of my agency. And I want to always use it to choose righteously, as the Savior chose to use His agency.