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Gramps,

Thanks for all the knowledge you share in your answers. I am wondering how effective can we consider our agency was in premortal life. I mean, how effective is our agency if we just needed to elect to choose or not the Father’s plan ? Did we hold any other options ? I am just guessing what would happen if someone did not want to choose the Father’s plan or Satan’s option? Were we allowed to do so?

Vic

 

Answer

 

Vic,

Thank you for your kind thought; I truly hope the knowledge shared provides individuals with comfort and hope. As we (you and I) consider our moral agency we will discover more understanding as we contemplate specific doctrines encompassing our moral agency, or our ability to choose between opposites. In order for our agency to be effective, complete, we only need the opportunity to be enticed opposites (2 Nephi 2:16). The amount of choices provided is not requisite for agency to be effective, or honored. We only need to be provided with an opportunity.

The Garden of Eden provides an excellent exemplum in order to contemplate this thought further. When Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden, with Eve, two commandments were provided, one being sweet and the other bitter. Let’s note in scripture also, why we have moral agency? In relation to the Garden of Eden Lehi speaks to Jacob explaining one of the main reasons our agency exists is so that righteousness or wickedness could be brought to pass (2 Nephi 2:11-13). In light of this verse, we can ask ourselves an additional question, “Was righteousness able to be brought to pass in our pre-mortal life when the Father presented his plan and Satan attempted a coupe d’etat? This answer would be in the affirmative.

When God provided his plan, there were two options. Either accept and become more like God (keeping our freedom in tact), or reject his plan. There were no other options, our choice either lead us to accept or to reject his plan. Each choice had a consequence. Even if we didn’t accept Satan’s plan, we were still rejecting the Father’s plan which would leave us in the same position as Satan — the rejection of God’s plan.

Gramps

 

 

 

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