Impressions
Agency, simply defined, is our ability to choose. So in this light, we use agency in our study of the gospel when we choose to study. We make that choice every day, every time we open the scriptures or read a conference talk or attend a meeting or act on a prompting of the Spirit to minister to someone or kneel to pray.Every proper exercise of agency increases our capacity to choose correctly again. Making good choices expands our opportunities. When we choose to learn a principle of righteousness, we then have the opportunity to practice that principle and incorporate it into our character. If we choose not to study in the first place, then we lack the capacity to choose to live a principle that we have not learned.
Effective study requires that we be agents who act and not objects to be acted upon. We cannot just sit dormant and wait for knowledge to be poured into us. We must seek learning by study and also by faith. We choose what to study, we create a plan of action to acquire the knowledge and skills that we seek, and then we work to learn and practice skills.
The Holy Ghost can change us, but only if we take the appropriate actions to approach the characteristics that we want. God will enable us to do what we cannot do on our own, but he will not enable us to do something that we do not want to do.
Scriptures
And I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Moses 3:16-17)Adam and Eve were given the opportunity to eat of every tree of the Garden. They were forbidden, however, to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Nevertheless, they were not physically restrained from eating the fruit. They were allowed to "choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee." They were taught, though, that there are consequences to their choices.
In today's world, we can choose what to study. Many of us choose to sample the various fruits from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We try to be discriminating in filling our baskets with mostly good fruit, but it is hard to resist the temptation to try some of the evil fruit just to see what it is like. Many fill their baskets with fruit that is innocuous, that is, neither good nor evil. It may not poison them, but neither does it nourish. It just fills up space and wastes time.
The point of agency is to choose the good, and then to learn to trade up to better and then the best. The wisest use of agency is to avoid the tree of good and evil altogether and seek for the tree of life. We do not have to be so picky about which fruit we partake from the tree of life, for it is all good. As Lehi described it, "And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy. And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen. And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy" (1 Nephi 8:10-12).
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. He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you. (Helaman 14:30-31)We choose our fate when we choose our actions. When we pick up a stick, we pick up both ends. First, we are free to act, and then we are free to choose how we act. How and what we choose determine the outcome. First we choose to study rather than do something else, and then we choose what we study and how we study it. When evil or unwanted consequences beset us, they are generally the result of inappropriate choices in the first place.
Now, in God's economy of mortality, it is not exactly a one-for-one exchange. Bad things happen to good people simply because we live in a mortal world and we are in a probationary state that requires tests of patience and faith. In the eternal scheme of things, however, God's economy is perfect. Our reward for good works is assured. And because of the infinite grace of the Atonement, our less-than-perfect works will not be held against us if we repent. God's economy is loaded in our favor. The key to his blessings is good choices - the righteous use of agency. The end result is that when we chose to study righteousness, righteousness is our fate.
That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment. (D&C 101:78)We have "moral agency", which is the right and the ability to choose righteousness. The ability to choose between forms of evil is a degraded agency and serves no useful purpose. It is only when we exercise moral agency to choose good over evil - indeed to choose the best over the better and the good - that we remove ourselves from bondage and are truly free.
Agency carries with it accountability. The Lord holds us accountable for how we use the gift of moral agency. Our righteous acts will be weighed in the balance - offset and counter-balanced, of course, by the infinite righteousness of the Atonement. In reality, we cannot possibly perform enough righteous works to satisfy the scales of justice. We can only qualify to receive of the mercy of the Atonement to balance the scale for us.
Nevertheless, our choices count. A critical choice we make is how we spend our time. If we choose to spend it studying and practicing righteousness and godly attributes, however imperfect we may be in the implementation, we qualify for the Lord's mercy. If we choose to study and practice other things, justice will be our lot, and we will be found wanting.
Examples
Korihor is an example of one who chose to study and practice evil. He knew better, yet he exercised his agency to turn away from righteousness and study the vain things of the world because they were pleasing to the carnal mind. When caught in his lies and struck dumb by a prophet of God, he confessed, "I always knew that there was a God. But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God. And he said unto me: There is no God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say. And I have taught his words; and I taught them because they were pleasing unto the carnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch that I verily believed that they were true; and for this cause I withstood the truth" (Alma 30:52-53).Amulek is an example of a man who resisted the Lord and the promptings of the Spirit at first, but he finally repented and exercised his agency to learn righteousness. He said of his experience, "I am... a man of no small reputation among all those who know me; yea, and behold, I have many kindreds and friends, and I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry. Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his mysteries and marvelous power. I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation of the lives of this people. Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges.
"As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a chosen man of God; for he has fasted many days because of the sins of this people, and he is an hungered, and thou shalt receive him into thy house and feed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the blessing of the Lord shall rest upon thee and thy house. And it came to pass that I obeyed the voice of the angel, and returned towards my house. And as I was going thither I found the man whom the angel said unto me: Thou shalt receive into thy house—and behold it was this same man who has been speaking unto you concerning the things of God.
"And the angel said unto me he is a holy man; wherefore I know he is a holy man because it was said by an angel of God. And again, I know that the things whereof he hath testified are true; for behold I say unto you, that as the Lord liveth, even so has he sent his angel to make these things manifest unto me; and this he has done while this Alma hath dwelt at my house" (Alma 10:4-10).
Amulek had felt the stirrings of the Holy Ghost in his heart many times, yet he chose to ignore the Spirit and follow the ways of the world. Once he chose to follow the Spirit, however, great knowledge was poured out upon him. Angels visited him not only to call him to repentance but to confirm and strengthen his growing testimony as he sat at the feet of the Prophet Alma for many days prior to beginning his mission.
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