I have always been impressed with the Lord’s powerful counsel to us in Doctrine and Covenants 121. The choice is entirely yours.” Thus we will find that the telestial kingdom is populated entirely by people who have chosen it. If you insist on having evil and what evil brings, you may have it. We can say unto God, as the Savior did, “Thy will be done,” or we can wait until our chances for repentance are past and the Lord reluctantly says to us, “Very well then, thy will be done. There are really only two choices open to us. “The agency of man” (Moses 4:3) is an eternal principle that God continues to cherish and protect, placing it even above His own desires for us. “That’s when it was decided we would have agency here on the earth.” In truth, Satan has never stopped trying to steal our agency from us, and so, in a sense, the war in heaven is still going on-the battleground has just moved to earth.Īt the same time, however, the Father and Jesus have never stopped respecting and honoring our agency. I think we sometimes underestimate the significance of the so-called “war in heaven.” We think of it as an historical event. How could we learn to properly use our agency if we never experienced the consequences of misusing it? God respects our desires, our wills that’s why He doesn’t step in and prevent us from making mistakes. I began to realize that addiction was one of Satan’s greatest tools against humanity, against me.Īgency is such an important principle in the grand scheme of things that our Father in Heaven allows it to be the ultimate deciding factor in our lives. The plan of the Father, in fact, the very path to Godhood, requires the correct use of agency, not the destruction of it. But, then I was reminded that Satan is the one who seeks to take control of our souls and destroy the agency of man. In light of the mess the world was in, including especially the mess my own life had become, I was sorely tempted at times to wonder whether Heavenly Father’s plan to allow us our own agency was such a good idea. Is it any wonder-in the face of all I had to worry about and stay busy trying to control-I didn’t even notice when my own private, personal indulgences became an addiction that began controlling me. And what about the weather, and the wars, and all the suffering that goes on in the world? He always has an opinion about how I should perform my job, and it’s not always the same as mine. Imagine my frustration when they became teenagers and developed opinions of their own! And my wife-how often I have decided she shouldn’t feel the way she does! Then there’s my boss at work. Never mind the mismanagement of my own agency-as a father I was supposed to manage theirs. When I was a young father, for example, I was sure I would be able to raise wonderfully obedient children, despite the fact that I was secretly disobeying God. I’ve come to realize this obsession with control has been one of the roots of my addiction, one of the excuses I used to justify my acting out. I know I should surrender, but my stubborn will resists, just to prove I am in control of my own life. And now, Step Three asks me to surrender this hard-won agency to the Lord?įrom another perspective, it’s been quite a struggle to admit to myself that if I don’t give my agency to the Lord, I’ll be automatically giving it to Satan. It’s easy for me to believe I fought hard for my agency during the war in heaven, considering how stubbornly I have insisted on doing things my way since I’ve come to earth. I am amazed at what a willful soul I can be. I am finally willing to begin this process and to “give away all my sins” ( Alma 22:18 ). Taking Step Three will not be accomplished instantly, but I have become convinced I have no other option if I am to get well. This surrender of my will and life to Him must begin with surrendering my addiction. He longs for me to allow Him to do what only He can do-change my heart to conform with the principles of happiness and eternal life. I am asked to realize that the Savior not only will save me, but actually patiently waits for me to take this step so He can save me. In working Step Three, I am asked to make the decision to turn my life over to my Father in Heaven and to my Savior, Jesus Christ.
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