Contributed by: Ann Scriptures
Hel.
14:30
30 And now remember,
remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever
doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act
for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free.
Abr. 3:24-28
24 And there stood
one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will
go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make
an earth whereon these may dwell;
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do
all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon;
and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with
those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory
added upon their heads for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered
like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I,
send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate;
and, at that day, many followed after him.
Moses 4:3
3 Wherefore, because
that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord
God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of
mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
D&C 6:33
33 Fear not to do
good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good
ye shall also reap good for your reward.
Quotations
Quote 1
President Joseph
Fielding Smith explained why agency is so important: "What would man amount to
without this free agency? He would be no better than a mechanical contrivance. He could
not have acted for himself, but in all things would have been acted upon, and hence unable
to have received a reward for meritorious conduct. He would have been an automaton; could
have had no happiness nor misery, ‘neither sense nor insensibility,’ and such
could hardly be called existence" (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation,
comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954-56], 1:64).
Quote 2
President David O.
McKay explained: "Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life
is God’s greatest gift to man. … Freedom of choice is more to be treasured than
any possession earth can give" ("Free Agency … the Gift Divine,"
Improvement Era, Feb. 1962, p. 86).
Quote 3
President N. Eldon
Tanner said: "You are free to choose exactly what you want to do, as long as it does
not restrict or impose on the rights or liberties of others, but you must be responsible
for your acts and prepared to take the consequences" (in Conference Report, Apr.
1970, p. 61; or Improvement Era, June 1970, p. 30).
Quote 4
"All the laws of
God and the laws of nature and the laws of the land are made for the benefit of man, for
his comfort, enjoyment, safety, and well-being; and it is up to the individual to learn
these laws and to determine whether or not he will enjoy these benefits by obeying the law
and by keeping the commandments" (N. Eldon Tanner, in Conference Report, Apr. 1970,
p. 62; or Improvement Era, June 1970, p. 31).
Quote 5
"Next to life
itself, free agency is God’s greatest gift to mankind, providing thereby the greatest
opportunity for the children of God to advance in this second estate of mortality"
(Harold B. Lee, Stand Ye in Holy Places [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1975], p. 235).
Story
"Dear Sue:
"I’m sorry that you got upset yesterday. Your
friendship has been very important to me. But I had to do what I did. I hope you can
understand. When you dared me to take that bracelet from the jewelry counter, you told me
it would be easy. No one was watching or even working near the area. Your argument that
you have never been caught made it seem less frightening. But I knew if I took that
bracelet, whether I was caught or not, I would never be able to forget that I had been
dishonest. I would never be able to wear the bracelet. It would always be a sad reminder
of a poor decision.
"When you walked away from me and said you didn’t
want to waste your time with someone who wasn’t any fun, I was hurt. I still am. But
I guess I will just have to live with that hurt. It will be easier to live with that
feeling than with never being free to walk into the department store without guilt
feelings, or not being able to face my parents and bishop, or not being happy with myself
for what I had done."
M2L28
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