Follow-up to Soup

I've been thinking more, and I think I may have come off just a little too harsh in my last post. This isn't to say that I disagree with anything I said. I still think there are people who need to be woken up about their lives and the control they have in them. But there are probably also other people who don't find room for the hand of God.

Sometimes, things DO "happen for a reason." We know that sometimes, God prevents certain things from happening to us - He may protect us without us even knowing. But other times, He may deliberately choose to allow something to happen instead of preventing it. And depending on how we choose to act in relation to what happens, those events can put us on a completely different path than the one we were headed down. This of course doesn't take away our agency, though.

My friend Kim added to my thoughts on her blog, and said it much better than I did. I also loved the talks in General Conference this weekend about agency. There were no less than four. You'll be able to read them on lds.org by Thursday.

General Conference - Agency

In General Conference, none of the speakers is given a topic upon which to speak. They instead seek revelation from God to know what to say. To me, the most interesting thing about General Conference is that there still seems to be a common thread across the several talks, despite having no man-made, pre-planned theme.

By the second talk in the Sunday Morning Session, we'd already heard three talks on listening to and following what the prophets and apostles tell us, and three talks about agency. Since the arguments about Prop 8, I have seen many LDS friends talk (usually on Facebook) about how they support same-sex marriage, and disagree with the Church on what they have taught about it. I don't know if they believe that at some point, the Church will change their position and say that same-sex marriage is now morally okay. But if so, I think this weekend dispelled that belief. President Boyd K. Packer didn't speak about it specifically, but I think it was clear - he said that even if you put morality to a vote, it won't change anything in the eyes of God.

Pres. Packer also spoke extensively on our own agency. The arguments for any kind of wickedness rely heavily on the idea that there is no agency - we are all victims of circumstance, and should not be expected to act against our basic instincts. We were born this way, and we can't help it.

Many think we have limited or no ability to control our own actions, nor should we have to. But isn't that the purpose of our civilization? Of our laws? Trying to show that we're better than the animals? That we CAN choose? That we have agency? That we can actually have humanity?

Those who believe there is no agency have been lied to:

"And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none - and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance." 2 Ne. 28:22

I declare with the prophets that there IS a God. He loves us and wants us to return home to Him. He has blessed us with agency, and we are free to choose whatever path we will.

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." -2 Ne. 2:27