Satan’s power over man

 

 

(Elder Ezra Taft Benson, May 10, 1966, BYU Speeches of the Year, 1966 11.)

 

(Moses 4:4.)

 

4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.

 

When Satan "was cast out of heaven, his objective was (and still is) 'to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will.' This he effectively does to as many as will not hearken unto the voice of God. His main attack is still on free agency. When he can get men to yield their agency, he has them well on the way to captivity.

 

 

 

(Elder Ezra Taft Benson, May 10, 1966, BYU Speeches of the Year, 1966 11.)

 

What a pity it would be if we were led by one man to utter destruction! Are you afraid of this? I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by Him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken that influence they could give to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the revelations of Jesus, that they are being led in the right way. (Journal of Discourses 9:149-150.)

 

 

 

(Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957-1966], 3: 73.)

 

Answer: In the beginning our Eternal Father gave to man his agency. This great gift permits every soul to act on his own judgment or desire. He may be obedient to law and order, righteousness and truth, or he may take the opposite course without interference from our Father in heaven. Because of this agency, and the activity of Satan, (Moses 5:13.) wickedness has prevailed in the world from the beginning. Contrary to the commandments of the Lord that men should live in peace and righteousness and respect the rights of others, they have used this agency to rebel against God and commit all manner of sin. The mission of Lucifer, as we all should know, is to fight truth and destroy the works of the Lord and the salvation of mankind if he can.

 

 

 

(Moral Free Agency Fn by Daniel H. Ludlow Fn, BYU Studies, vol. 15 (1974-1975), Number 3 - Spring 1975 319.)

 

(3) Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Gal. 5:1)

 

(4) Men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

 

For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward (D&C 58:27-28)

 

(5) And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet. (D&C 29:39. Italics added)

 

(6) 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 which is evil restored unto you (Hel. 14:30-31. Italics added)

 

 

 

 

Originally published as part of the Commissioner's Lecture Series, reprinted by permission of Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Commissioner of Church Education, and by permission of the New Era.

 

Allen E. Bergin is professor of psychology at Brigham Young University.

 

 

Determiners of Behavior at a Choice Point

 

All human acts are determined by multiple influences. We may identify six broad classes of influence as: (1) cultural, social or environmental controls; (2) biological factors; (3) habits of response that have been conditioned, especially by childhood experiences; (4) feelings or emotions; (5) thoughts, ideas, or beliefs; and (6) spiritual inspiration.

 

. If you have extreme claustrophobia, you have no choice. A closet is such a threatening stimulus that you cannot enter. If you do not have claustrophobia, you may choose to enter or not, as reason and circumstances require. Your range of available alternatives at a choice point is greater, and in that sense you are freer; you have more self-control, or a greater degree of agency.

 

 (3) Transgression. Willful or conscious disobedience to moral laws is a misuse of agency; for each such act a measure of agency is lost, and one gradually succumbs to the power of habitual sin. The scriptural reference is "being in the bondage of Satan."

 

 

Brigham Young asserted his views on wilful disobedience to God's laws:

 

A man can dispose of his agency or of his birthright, as did Esau of old, but when disposed of he cannot again obtain it--those who despise the proffered mercies of the Lord . . . have their agency abridged immediately and bounds and limits are set upon their operations . . . evil, when listened to, begins to rule and overule the spirit God has placed within man. (Cited in Widtsoe, 1954, pp. 63, 65).

 

 

In reply to the question of why God has caused civilizations to be destroyed, it may be asserted that the Lord's actions were acts of mercy in that these nations or peoples had become so wicked that the children growing up among them had no possibility of developing true agency. Their only opportunity was to choose evil and perpetuate it; therefore, they were destroyed. In support of this Joseph Fielding Smith (1960, p.55) cites the following comment by John Taylor in his book, The Government of God (p.53):

 

Hence it was better to destroy a few individuals, than to entail misery on many. And hence the inhabitants of the old world and of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, because it was better for them to die, and thus be deprived of their agency, which they abused, than entail so much misery on their posterity, and bring ruin upon millions of unborn persons.

 

Further evidence that agency can theoretically be entirely lost is that Satan's plan was a real possibility. This must mean that under the right conditions it is possible to totally control human behavior. We know that men can come under the bondage of sin if they choose evil. To the extent that they do they are under Satan's power, and his plan is implemented to that degree, albeit in the opposite direction of his original proposal. It should be noted here that when we speak of Satan's control we do not necessarily mean that he or his assistants are personally present or directly involved, for he must operate through lawful processes just as the Lord himself does. The loss of one's agency may thus mean that Satan has obtained control over a person by the management of natural processes which the person willfully permitted himself to get hooked into, or which he was conditioned into during childhood.

 

One of the more interesting is Deut. 5:9: ". . . for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." Joseph Fielding Smith interpreted this as follows: "The real meaning of this visiting of the iniquity is that when a man transgresses he teaches his children to transgress, and they follow his teachings. It is natural for children to follow in the practices of their fathers and by doing so suffer from the parents' iniquity. . . . (1957, p.83) The term natural in the foregoing sentence probably can be interpreted as natural psychological processes, such as imitative learning, conditioning, and repression.

 

It appears that active resistance to the undesirable response to a stimulus tends to break the stimulus-response chain and the stimuli lose their power to compel or control the individual's behavior. It also appears that the feelings and fantasies formerly associated with this range of stimuli actually disappeared as responses to them.

 

Another way to describe the results of the self-control method is nicely exemplified by President McKay's advice: "Resist temptation and Satan will flee from you." He declared that this is ecactly what happened during the Savior's three great temptations. According to President McKay, because of the Savior's resistance Satan's power had been broken by the time of the final temptation, and he was merely pleading. Then the Savior turned his back on Satan with finality and commanded him to get hence.

 

Such insight led the Prophet to declare eloquently: "The greatest battles of life are fought within the silent clambers of our own souls." This is the battle for self-control, and there is nothing more majestic than the quiet confidence of one who has achieved it.

 

 

Our thesis is that when a person consciously selects a behavioral goal and then finds his pathway to that goal obstructed by habits, impulses, or feelings over which he has little control, he can overcome these obstacles by the exercise of self-effort. Technically it may be stated thus: The power of a consciously perceived stimulus to evoke an undesired response is directly proportional to the frequency with which the undesired response occurs. Decline in the power of such a stimulus complex is a direct function of the frequency with which the individual consciously and effectively resists acting out the usual response. A corollary hypothesis is that stimuli early in the chain of behavior will evoke a weaker response and that responses of that order will be more readily inhibited than those of a higher order. If inhibition occurs more frequently at that level, breaking of the main, over-arching stimulus-response connection will be more frequent and more successful.

 

 

The aspect of self-control next in importance is the role of beliefs or convictions. Terry has said that "character is the ability to inhibit instinctive impulses in accordance with a regulative principle." That is, there is a time and place for expressiveness, but it must be regulated in terms of internal guides such as goals and ideas. Convictions imply a concept of something beyond self, beyond individual need which regulates processes of goal direction, achievement, and management of a positive life style. Convictions differentiate those who will behave in the "natural" way from those who aspire to the higher planes of civilization and righteousness.

 

A large number of research studies permits us to outline additional specific dimensions of self-control and self-regulation. These include:

 

(1) The ability to delay gratification, to resist the temptation of immediate rewards or pleasures in favor of more distant and often higher satisfactions, in accordance with abstract principles of right and wrong. This includes the ability to tolerate tension, discomfort, and frustration.

 

(2) The ability to discern clearly the connections between means and ends, between behaviors and their immediate and ultimate consequences. It is the inability to maintain awareness of means-ends sequences, that is, to anticipate consequences, that commonly characterizes the impulsive behavior of delinquents and criminals.

 

(3) The ability to frame one's life and behavior within a future time perspective. The briefer one's time span, the greater is the difficulty with self-control. The more one is capable of long-range planning, the better is his control.

 

(4) An internal locus of control. Self-regulatory deficiencies often arise in persons who feel that they are the passive subjects of the forces surrounding them. Their external locus of control leads them to behave in ways that only reinforce their belief in fate.

 

(5) A sensitive guilt response. Guilt is a signal to us that something is wrong and, in that sense, it is friendly. Guilt aids us in preserving the integrity of our controls just as pain assists us in preserving the integrity of our bodies. If pain did not alert us to physical dangers and diseases, we would soon die. If our guilt mechanisms are not alert to moral dangers, we die just as certainly in a spiritual sense. While it is possible to overdo guilt and become neurotically obsessed with seeming misdeeds, this is not usually the case. Cultivating a positive guilt response is therefore adaptively in the service of effective self-regulation.

 

 

Moral Agency is:

 

It is the ability, first, to make a choice, to evaluate the consequences of that chosen course of action, and to prize the outcomes, and then it is the capacity to marshal one's energy in effective pursuit of the consequences or goals subtended by that choice.

 

It is the ability to reflect when the impulse is to act, especially when the impulse to act runs counter to valued habits or when it presents a new course of behavior. It is the ability to act effectively when the course is clear, the ability to force upon oneself consciousness of consequences and the facing of reality when the inclination is to submerge awareness and give the self immediate gratification, that is, the ability to widen perception when the tendency is to narrow it. It is to resist persuasion and to judge for oneself in the sense of Emerson's "Self Reliance."

 

It is the ability to modulate, to rule feeling, passion, habit, and inclination, not with an iron hand, but rather with a sense of timing and regulation which maximized outcomes for oneself and others. It is the ability to submerge oneself in feeling when it is useful, appropriate, or right, thus to enrich one's existence. It is thus the ability to delay gratification, but not to avoid it entirely. Like the steam regulator, it permits expression, but only in useful or safe channels.

 

In general, it is the ability to increase one's freedom in terms of the valued alternatives available, and it merges into the subjective experience of feeling free and self-determined.

 

 

Second, some personal advice. The ideal of self-control is supreme. This life is test--is a test--is a test. You have not passed until you have endured to the end and are dead. You will be tried every day of your life, whether you know it or not.

 

Today we are all bombarded by stimuli toward the loosening of moral controls. The provocation is enormous. You must practice self-control and have a strong repertoire of such abilities so that when stress comes, you can cope. Mercifully, the Lord permits us small doses of evil to practice our control on before we are hit with real temptation, but then it comes. We must all be tried, and led me assure you that means a real trial, before we are fit for his Kingdom.

 

If you are to err, do it on the side of overcontrol--that can be redeemed--but the excesses of undercontrol can have fatal, irredeemable consequences. Therefore, stay close to the Church, follow its leaders, and seek the guidance of the spirit.

 

 

(The Necessity of a Sinless Messiah by Ronald A. Heiner Fn, BYU Studies, vol. 22 (1982), Number 1 - Fall 1982 .)

 

Obviously, Satan must somehow deceive persons about his ultimate objective in order to get them to sin voluntarily (see 2 Corinthians 11: 3; James 4:17; Moses 4:16; and Moro. 7:12).

 

Nevertheless, because every responsible individual has not only the ability to discern good from evil (Moro. 7:16) but also the agency (Hel. 14:30-31) to make his own free choice, choosing to sin implies that one is voluntarily rejecting God's will in favor of subjecting himself to Satan's authority (see 2 Ne. 2:27; Mosiah 16:3-4; and Alma 5:18-20).

 

 

 

 

 

(Book Reviews, BYU Studies, vol. 23 (1983), Number 1 - Winter 1983 .)

 

You ask, Can a man do any wrong without first being tempted of Satan? All men have their agency, the spirit of Satan leads to error and darkness and wrong doing. If a man does wrong, it is because he yields to the spirit of evil, thereby exercising his agency. If he does good, it is in accordance with the spirit that is of God, and he uses his agency in that as well. (P. 70)

 

 

 

(James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1981], 56.)

 

The right of free agency, maintained and vindicated by the war in heaven, prevents the possibility of compulsion being employed in this fiendish work of degradation; but the powers of these malignant spirits to tempt and persuade are used to the utmost.

 

he seeks to molest and hinder mankind in good efforts, by tempting to sin; or it may be by imposing sickness, fn or possibly death. Yet in all these malignant doings, he can go no farther than the transgressions of the victim may enable him

 

 

 

 

(Thomas S. Monson, Be Your Best Self [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979], 119.)

 

We have been provided the God-given blessing of free agency. The pathway is marked. The blessings and penalties are shown clearly. But the choice is up to us. Of course there will be opposition. There always has been and always will be. That evil one, even Satan, desires that we become his followers, rather than leaders in our own right. He has evil and designing men as his agents. Together they conspire to make evil appear to be good. In a most enticing manner he cunningly invites: "This is the way to happiness—come." Yet, that still, small voice within us cautions: "Not so. This doesn't seem right."

 

A choice has to be made. There are no minor or insignificant decisions in our lives. Decisions determine destiny. Whether we like it or not, we are engaged in the race of our lives. At stake is eternal life—yours and mine. What will be the outcome? Will we be servants of God? Or will we be servants of sin?

 

 

(The Reflections of Brigham Young on the Nature of Man and the State by J. Keith Melville, BYU Studies, vol. 4 (1961-1962), Num. 3 and 4 - Spring and Summer 1962 258.)

 

Brigham Young held some determinist views in that he acknowledged that man is conditioned by his environment, traditions, teachings, and laws which circumscribe and limit, to a degree, his free agency. fn He also felt that man can dispose of his agency through iniquity; when man arrives at a position of total subjection to Satan, he cannot regain his independence. fn Complete independence of action is an attribute of diety, and only those most valiant during their probation on earth who will be crowned as gods in the Celestial Kingdom will be unfettered. Fn

 

 

 

(John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks, eds., By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday, 27 March 1990, 2 vols. [Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990], 2: 141.)

 

Moses points out to Satan that because the Lord's "spirit hath not altogether withdrawn" from him he can distinguish between God and Satan (Moses 1:15). The Book of Mormon writers frequently used this same language when warning people not to sin lest the Lord's Spirit be withdrawn from them, too. Alma specifically cites this explanation to show why the devil has successfully gained power over certain people (Alma 34:35). Mormon borrows Alma's language several times to explain the weakness of the Nephites, saying that "the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples" (Helaman 5:24). fn Here we see a string of passages in which the Book of Mormon writers follow one another in a particular application of a phrase from Moses' account, using it to explain a withdrawal of the Lord's Spirit and a corresponding expansion of Satan's power (which Moses had successfully resisted).

 

 

Delivered by President George Q. Cannon, at the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, March 26th, 1893.

 

 (Brian H. Stuy, ed., Collected Discourses, 5 vols. [Burbank, Calif., and Woodland Hills, Ut.: B.H.S. Publishing, 1987-1992], 3: .)

 

They forget the lessons that God has taught and is teaching, and they yield themselves to the spirit of the world, from which we have been gathered. I suppose this will continue to be the case until Satan is bound. God will not take away our agency. He has given you and me our agency to do as we please. I will not say that He cannot take away our agency; that would be irreverent; but it is not consistent with His plan to take away anybody's agency. Every human being has his agency. We can serve God or we can serve the devil. We can listen to the voice of the Spirit of God and the entreaties that we hear from it, or we can reject them and listen to evil blandishments and allurements.

 

 

Delivered by President George Q. Cannon, at Salt Lake City, Utah, February 27, 1898.

 

 (Brian H. Stuy, ed., Collected Discourses, 5 vols. [Burbank, Calif., and Woodland Hills, Ut.: B.H.S. Publishing, 1987-1992], 5: .)

 

We have been sent here with our agency, for the express purpose of being tested and proved. We have had this second estate granted unto us that it may be ascertained whether we shall keep it or not

 

We are left to exercise our agency, just as we did in our first estate at the time of our trial, to see whether we will be faithful to God in this second estate. We are shut out, as I have said, but God points out to us the way in which we should walk. He tells us what to do, and entreats us to be obedient to Him. He asks us to cultivate His Spirit, to seek

 

 

 

(The Influence of Lehi's Admonitions on the Teachings of His Son Jacob John A. Tvedtnes, FARMS Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, vol. 3, no. 2 (Fall 1994), 45.)

 

Captivity and Liberty

 

Lehi taught Jacob that there are "both things to act and things to be acted upon" (2 Ne. 2:14). "God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other" (2 Ne. 2:16). The atonement ensures that mankind retains its free agency:

 

And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good and evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day. (2 Ne. 2:26)

 

 Jacob spoke of "the foolishness of men," which makes them think "they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God" (2 Ne. 9:28). Those who misuse their free agency, after being exposed to the truth, will have an eternal state that is "awful" (2 Ne. 9:27). His reference to the captivity of hell (2 Ne. 9:12) apparently derives from some of Lehi's comments to the rest of the family (2 Ne. 1:13,  18,  21;3:5).

 

Lehi noted that "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 . . . or to choose captivity and death" (2 Ne. 2:27). "Eternal death . . . giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom" (2 Ne. 2:29; cf. 2:18, 21).

 

 Jacob instructed, "Remember that ye are free to act for yourselves-free to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life" (2 Ne. 10:23). He evidently had his father's teachings in mind when he wrote, "Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal" (2 Ne. 9:39). Like his father, he spoke of the captivity that comes from surrendering one's agency to Satan:

 

 

 

 

elder Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1951, First Day—Morning Meeting 25.)

 

the opportunity was given to us to come to this earth and partake of the blessings through obedience, made possible to us through exercising free agency. For man to exercise free agency he must have both sides to choose from. In every decision made there must be both a good and an evil influence; for if we had all of the good or all of the evil we would be right in the same path which Satan tried to establish in the first place, that of predestination. And so there must be both sides to choose from in every case.

 

And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet. (D. & C. 29:39.)

 

 

 

elder Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1955, Afternoon Meeting 47.)

 

I recognize that today Satan, the adversary, is still alert. He is not using the means of persecution towards this people which he once used, but he is still the enemy of truth, and he is using other methods today. He is probably using the method of encouraging complacency. He is probably making an effort to lull us away into a false security because things seem well in Zion. One of the Book of Mormon prophets said this would be the case in the last days. You remember Nephi's prediction when he said:

 

For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.

 

And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion, yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

 

Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!

 

Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well! (Ibid., 28:20-21,24-25.)

 

 

 

 

(President Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1964, Third Day—Morning Meeting 107 - 108.)

 

This mortal life is just an essential part of our eternal existence. We came here to be tested and proved by coming in contact with evil as well as the good. It is necessary that we be tempted and tried, but the Eternal Father did not leave us helpless in the midst of evil. From the very beginning the plan of salvation was presented to our first parents. They taught these principles to their children. It is necessary, however, that we have trials and temptations as well as the divine commandments. Therefore the Father has permitted Satan and his hosts to tempt us, but by the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord and the commandments given through revelation, we are prepared to make our choice. If we do evil, we have been promised that we will be punished, if we do good, we will receive the eternal reward of righteousness. Every soul has been given the gift of free agency. It is essential that we learn both good and evil and thus resist and overcome the evil. If we live righteously there will come eternal salvatin and exaltation in the kingdom of God.

 

 

 

 

elder Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1962, Third Day—Morning Meeting 94 - 95.)

 

Mortal man is a dual being, a spirit child of God tabernacled in a physical body. Endowed with agency, he is placed here in mortality between opposing forces. The influence of God on the one hand inspires, pleads, and urges him to follow the way of life. On the other hand is the power of Satan tempting him to disbelieve and disregard God's commandments. The consequences of his choices are of the all-or-nothing sort. There is no way for him to escape the influence of these opposing powers. Inevitably he is led by one or the other. His God-given free agency gives him the power and option to choose. But choose he must. Nor can he serve both of them at the same time, for, as Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters: . . . Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24.)

 

 

All men may, if they will, choose the way, the high way, for God endows every man that cometh into the world with agency and a sure guide—a guide which will lead him unerringly through the world if he will but hearken to it. Listen to this sublime assurance:

 

". . . the Spirit," meaning the Spirit of Christ, "giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.

 

"And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.

 

"And the Father teacheth him of the covenant, . . ." (See D&C 84:46-48) that is, of the gospel of Jesus Christ which he has restored to the earth in these last days for the salvation of the whole world.

 

You see, my beloved brethren and sisters, whoever you are, wherever you are, into whatever circumstances you are born, the Spirit of Christ attends us and, until we reject it, prompts us and encourages us to noble and high endeavor.

 

 

 

elder Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1968, Afternoon Meeting 65.)

 

Latter-day Saints not only believe that freedom to make one's own choices is an inalienable divine right; they also know that the exercise of it is essential to man's growth and development. Deprived of it, men would be but puppets in the hands of fate.

 

The preservation of free agency is more important than the preservation of life itself. As a matter of fact, without it, there would be no existence.

 

"All truth [says the Lord] is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.

 

"Behold, here is the agency of man. . . ." (D&C 93:30-31.)

 

Only Satan and wicked men seek to abridge men's agency. The Lord never does. Neither do his servants. The divine gift of free agency, however, is not a self-perpetuating endowment.

 

Men abridge own agency

 

Men themselves can, and most of them do, abridge their own agency by the decisions they themselves voluntarily make.

 

Every choice one makes either expands or contracts the area in which he can make and implement future decisions. When one makes a choice, he irrevocably binds himself to accept the consequences of that choice.

 

Jesus, in his Prodigal Son parable, gives a classic illustration of this truth. You will remember that in it a young man, exercising his inherent right of choice, makes a decision to take his portion of his father's estate and go and see the world. This he does, whereupon nature follows its uniform course. When the prodigal's substance is squandered, he makes another choice, which takes him back home where he meets "the ring, and the robe, and the fatted calf." His felicitous father gives him a welcome. But the consequence of his earlier decision "is following him up, for the farm is gone. The `father' himself cannot undo the effect of the foregone choice." (Collins, Such Is Life, pp. 85-88.)

 

Freedom to choose

 

From the very beginning God has, through his prophets, made it clear that expanded freedom follows wise choices, and that freedom is restricted by unwise decisions.

 

"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse," said Moses to the children of Israel. "A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, . . . And a curse, if ye will not obey [them]. . . ." (Deut. 11:26-28.)

 

Lehi said that "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 . . . or to choose captivity and death." (2 Ne. 2:27.)

 

 

 

(Harold B. Lee, Decisions for Successful Living [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1973], 95.)

 

Right to Choose

 

But, you ask, Why does God, if he truly loves his children, permit Satan to tempt us and thereby jeopardize our chances to gain the experiences of mortality and return back to enjoy eternal life in his presence? The answer is given by a great prophet-teacher: "Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one (which is evil) or the other (which is good)." (II Nephi 2:16.) You think about that for a moment. If there were no opposition to good, would there be any chance to exercise your agency or right to choose? To deny you that privilege would be to deny you the opportunity to grow in knowledge, experience and power. God has given laws with penalties affixed so that man might be made afraid of sin and guided into paths of truth and duty. (Alma 42:20.)

 

When you see a person so overpowered by evil habits that his passion is the master, there you are beholding one over whom Satan has dominion, who thus seeks to destroy in him his individual agency. Satan's forces are most powerful. I fancy as I grow in experience that I can see his methods in his relentless warfare, with the damnation of the human soul as his stake. He has effective secret agents organized and always at work behind our defenses, putting doubts into our minds by the medium of false philosophies; bringing discouragement when we lose the perspective of faith; and sowing seeds of gloom and despondency that give vent in the dangerous expression of youth, "Oh, what's the use!"

 

Besides these saboteurs Satan has a spy system that has discovered the weakest places in our defenses and has ports marked for invasion carefully charted in each one of us. The D-Day of your invasion is that day when you lower your defenses. Those ports, through which you are most likely to be "invaded," are declared by inspired men to be your virtue, your conduct, your ideals or objectives in life, and your thinking. Let the defenses of those ports be weakened by carelessness or negligence and the enemy has taken you into his captivity.

 

 

 

(Hyrum L. Andrus, Doctrinal Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 207.)

 

The Nature of Man in Mortality

 

It has been shown that because of Adam's transgression man became a fallen being, with the seeds of corruption and death planted within his physical body exerting their influence upon him in his fallen state. Although this is true, it should be remembered that man in mortality is a dual being, composed of an organized spirit tabernacled in a body of flesh and bones. To see man's true nature in mortality it is necessary to ask: (1) What is the nature of man's spirit as it enters mortality? (2) What is the nature of his flesh in mortality? (3) What influence can the Adversary have over man in mortality? (4) What influence can the atonement and power of God have upon man in mortality? These points will be considered below in this order.

 

Question one: What is the nature of man's spirit as it enters mortality? The Lord has said that every spirit was innocent in the beginning (that is, when it was first organized in its pre-earth state) and because "God redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God." fn From this statement it is apparent that the atonement acts to make man innocent before God as he enters mortality. As man comes to earth, his basic desire is also to do good. Otherwise he would not have kept his first estate against the opposing influence of Lucifer and his hosts. It is because man, as he enters mortality, is innocent and desires to do good that Brigham Young said: "When the spirit enters the body, it is pure and holy from the heavens; and could it reign predominantly in the tabernacle, ruling, dictating, and directing its actions without an opposing force, man never would commit a sin."

 

 

Question Two: . . .But as a result of the fall, corrupt elements have become associated with the flesh in its mortal organization; and unless checked, mortal corruption tends to alter and divert the pure and innocent expressions of the flesh into vain and unlawful paths. As was indicated earlier in this chapter, this is the meaning of man being conceived in sin in his mortal state. For this reason the Lord declared to Adam that when children "begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good." fn Because of the influence of corruption in the flesh, sin conceives in the hearts of men as they begin to grow up; and if they yield to its suggestive influence, sin establishes its power within them. Thus it is by the nature of man's mortal organization that he is brought to learn the difference between good and evil; and by direct contact with the corruption within his physical body and as a result of its adverse influence upon him, man may learn to prize that which is good.

 

Question three: What influence can the Adversary have over man in mortality? Though the spirits of all men who come to mortality overcame the enticements of Satan and his followers when they resided in the presence of God in their first estate, they are required also to meet the opposition of the Adversary in a fallen state, away from the direct truth and power of God's presence, where corruption and the seeds of death are associated with the endowments of the flesh. This is necessary in order that they might overcome all things and triumph over evil in the physical as well as in the pre-earth spirit realm of life. Little wonder that many in the pre-earth state wavered and sought for security in coming to this mortal state at the expense of free agency. Those who kept their first estate and overcame evil and its opposition as spirits are now approached by Satan through the flesh and the corruption that is part of man's physical body in mortality. The patriarch Lehi thus warned his sons against yielding to the "will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, and bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom."

 

Question four: What influence can the atonement and power of God have upon men in mortality? To counterbalance the influence of the corruption within the flesh, the enticements of Satan, and adverse influences in the world, certain factors operate in behalf of man. As has been indicated above, the atonement acts to make man innocent in his infant state, and children are therefore alive in Christ until they reach the time when they are made accountable before God. fn Until then, the scriptures state that "power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children." fn Even though they become fallen creatures as they come to earth and acquire a physical body in which elements of mortal corruption exist, by the power of the atonement they are made innocent before God and His law, the tempting powers of the Adversary are curtailed until they begin to be accountable before God, and they are absolved from responsibility to the law of God until they are capable of learning the difference between good and evil. Furthermore, the Light of Christ is given to influence all men who are born into this world, to guide them back into the presence of God

 

Here is the real issue of human agency in mortality—the basis upon which all other forms of freedom are founded. Because the Messiah came and fulfilled His atoning mission, Lehi taught that men "have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments of God." fn Continuing, he said:

 

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 meditation 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.

 

Of the moral and spiritual agency of man in mortality, Joseph Smith also said: "There are three independent principles; the Spirit of God, the spirit of man, and the spirit of the devil. All men have power to resist the devil." fn This means that though God casts His vote for man and the devil casts his vote against him, man is the one who casts the deciding vote. It is man who determines which way he will go.

 

An important point for man to consider is that he must choose to do that which is right. He cannot be negative or nonchalant in his attitude. Though he is given certain benefits of the atonement of Christ as he enters mortality, the corruption within his flesh and the influences he encounters in the world are such that the spirit of man alone, unaided by divine mercy and power, cannot cope with the fallen condition of mortality and the enticing influence of the Adversary. And though the spirit of man may desire to do good while clothed in its mortal tabernacle, it must receive assistance from God in order to meet successfully the challenge of the flesh and the world. Here is the basis of man's mortal dilemma. And here is its solution. Man alone cannot achieve all the good that he may desire to achieve. And unless he expresses the kind of faith required to obtain the grace of Christ and the blessings of the Holy Spirit in his life, he must sink rather than rise in his efforts to achieve righteousness. Dependence upon Christ is therefore an absolute necessity. Consequently an angel admonished King Benjamin to teach his people the all-important fact that "men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent." fn

 

 

 

(Sperry Symposium Doctrines of the Book of Mormon: 1991 Sperry Symposium on the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1992], 253.)

 

6. In overcoming the adversary we must remember that we are free to choose our own course of life. Samuel the Lamanite declared: "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" (Hel. 14:30-31).

 

The old ideas that "the devil made me do it" or "I couldn't help myself" are simply false notions. "The devil has no power over us only as we permit him," the Prophet Joseph Smith taught. "The moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power."fn

 

7. Finally, it is possible to bind Satan in our lives now. Many have thought that Satan could be bound only by chains or by being cast into outer darkness; however, in the Book of Mormon Nephi teaches that Satan will be bound in a different way during the Millennium. "And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth" (1 Ne. 22:26). "What does it mean to bind Satan? How is he bound?" asked Elder Bruce R. McConkie. "Our revelation says: `And in that day Satan shall not have power to tempt any man' (D&C 101:28). Does this mean that power is withdrawn from Satan so that he can no longer entice men to do evil? Or does it mean that men no longer succumb to his enticements because their hearts are so set on righteousness that they refuse to forsake that which is good to follow him who is evil?

 

"How, then, will Satan be bound during the Millennium? It will be by the righteousness of the people . . . It is not that men cannot sin, for the power is in them to do so—they have their agency—but it is that they do not sin because Satan is subject to them, and they are not enticed by his evil whisperings."fn

 

It is a change of heart and a will to live righteously that can bind Satan. Thus, in the Book of Mormon we find accounts of those who had received a mighty change in their hearts and could say, "We have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually" (Mosiah 5:2; see also Alma 19:33).

 

The Book of Mormon provides a classic example of one who in large part bound Satan in his life. In Alma 48:11-13 we read:

 

"And Moroni was a [1] strong and a mighty man; he was a man of [2] a perfect understanding; yea, a man that [3] did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did [4] joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery; yea, a man whose [5] heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did [6] labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people. Yea, and he was a man who was [7] firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an [8] oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood."

 

The qualities of Captain Moroni, identified by number in the verses above, all contributed to his ability to bind Satan in his life. Mormon, who abridged this record, was so impressed he wrote: "Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men" (Alma 48:17).

 

This brief tribute to Captain Moroni seems to include all that we could hope for or desire in our quest to overcome Satan. Moroni obviously understood Satan, his characteristics, and his goals. He recognized the means by which Satan was gaining power over his people. Finally, and most important, he understood the things that he and his people must do to overcome the adversary in their lives, and he led out by example, binding Satan in his own life.

 

The Book of Mormon is here to help us overcome Satan as Moroni and others have done. The Book of Mormon stands as a witness to us that we can bind Satan in our lives. In the words of President Spencer W. Kimball, "When Satan is bound in a single home—when Satan is bound in a single life—the Millennium has already begun in that home, in that life."

 

 

(Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1-4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 26.)

 

Agency

 

"Agency" refers both to the capacity of beings "to act for themselves" (2 Ne. 2:26) and their accountability for those actions. Exercising agency is a spiritual matter (D&C 29:35); it consists in either receiving the enlightenment and commandments that come from God or resisting and rejecting them by yielding to the devil's temptations (D&C 93:31). Without awareness of alternatives an individual could not choose, and that is why being tempted by evil is as essential to agency as being enticed by the Spirit of God (D&C 29:39). Furthermore, no one is forced either to act virtuously or to sin. "The devil could not compel mankind to do evil; all was voluntary…. God would not exert any compulsory means, and the devil could not" (TPJS, p. 187).

 

Agency is such that men and women not only can choose obedience or rebellion but must (B. Young, JD 13:282). They cannot avoid being both free and responsible for their choices. Individuals capable of acting for themselves cannot remain on neutral ground, abstaining from both receiving and rejecting light from God. To be an agent means both being able to choose and having to choose either "liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator" or "captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil" (2 Ne. 2:27-29; 10:23). A being who is "an agent unto himself" is continually committing to be either an agent and servant of God or an agent and servant of Satan. If this consequence of choosing could be overridden or ignored, men and women would not determine their own destiny by their choices and agency would be void.

 

The captivity resulting from sin is also called "the bondage of sin" (D&C 84:49-51). Sin sets up dispositions in the sinner that empower Satan to control the sinner's thoughts and behavior by means of temptation. As this happens, the individual still possesses agency in name, but his capacity to exercise it is abridged. In this sense, to misuse one's agency is to lose that agency: "Evil, when listened to, begins to rule and overrule the spirit [that] God has placed within man" (B. Young, JD 6:332).

 

Thus, in the LDS concept of agency, obedience and agency are not antithetical. On the one hand, Church leaders consistently stand against all coercion of conscience ("We are not disposed, had we the power, to deprive anyone of exercising…free independence of mind" [TPJS, p. 49])

 

Church leaders consistently call agency a gift of God. Sin abridges the agency of sinners to the point that unless some power releases them from this bondage, they will be "lost and fallen" (Mosiah 16:4). That power is Christ's Atonement, which overcomes the effects of sin, not arbitrarily, but on condition of wholehearted repentance. "Because…they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever…to act for themselves" (2 Ne. 2:26).

 

Bibliography

 

Madsen, Truman G. Eternal Man, pp. 63-70. Salt Lake City, 1966.

McKay, David O. IE 53 (May 1950):366.

Packer, Boyd K. "Atonement, Agency, Accountability." Ensign 18 (May 1988):69-72.

Romney, Marion G. "Decisions and Free Agency." IE 71 (Dec. 1968):73-76.

Stapley, Delbert L. "Using Our Free Agency." Ensign 5 (May 1975):21-23.

C. TERRY WARNER

 

 

(Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1-4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 380.)

 

When Satan tempts a person to do evil, there are limits to what Satan can accomplish. He can put before a person any kind of evil opportunity, but that evil is enticing only if the person tempted already desires that thing. When people are tempted, it is actually by their own lusts (James 1:12-15).

 

Satan has power on earth only as individual persons give it to him by succumbing to his temptations (TPJS, p. 187). The agency of human beings is to choose righteousness through the Holy Spirit of God or to choose selfishness through the flesh by succumbing to Satan's temptations (2 Ne. 2:26-29). (Human flesh is not evil, but Satan may tempt humans through their flesh.)

 

All accountable mortals are tempted, even as our Savior was tempted. As mortals succumb, Satan gains power and earth life becomes a hell. Every person may resist temptation by choosing good over evil. But misinformation, evil cultural traditions (D&C 93:39), despair, and desperate human need all make the choosing of good difficult, even if the person does not particularly desire a given evil (cf. 2 Ne. 28 for an extensive description of the ploys of Satan).

 

Through Jesus Christ and the partaking of his new and everlasting covenant, mortals have the opportunity to gain power to choose good over evil unerringly and always. As they do so, they are able to establish the righteousness of God and thus heaven on earth (Moses 7:18; D&C 50:34-35; see also Zion).

 

Human beings resist Satan and evil by controlling their desires-that is, (1) by not desiring the evil that Satan proffers; (2) by gaining more knowledge so that they will be able to see that Satan's temptations are not what they really want; and (3) by having their hearts purified by Jesus Christ so that they will no longer desire any evil but desire instead to do the Father's will in all things (Moro. 7:48; cf. the Savior's answers in Matt. 4:1-10).

 

 

 

 

During the Millennium, Satan will be bound (Rev. 20:2). He will still be on earth, attempting to tempt every person, as he has since the Fall of Adam, but he will be bound because no one will hearken to his temptations (1 Ne. 22:26).

 

Bibliography

 

For a more complete treatment of the concept of the devil from an LDS point of view, see LaMar E. Garrard, "A Study of the Problem of a Personal Devil and Its Relationship to Latter-day Saint Beliefs" (Master's thesis, Brigham Young University, 1955). Especially valuable is his compilation of quotations from early General Authorities of the LDS Church concerning the topic. Jeffrey Burton Russell's four companion works The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity (Ithaca, N.Y., 1977), Satan: The Early Christian Tradition (Ithaca, N.Y., 1981), Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages (Ithaca, N.Y., 1984), and Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World (Ithaca, N.Y., 1986) constitute a comprehensive history of the concept of the devil traced through literature, art, and philosophy from ancient times to the modern day. The presentation is a thorough and scholarly treatment but does not derive from an LDS frame of thought.

CHAUNCEY C. RIDDLE

 

 

 

(Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1972], 175.)

 

Let him who has evil tendencies be honest and acknowledge his weakness. I tell you the Lord places no sin in our lives. He has made no man wicked. We are sons and daughters of God, possessing seeds of godhood. We are not limited by instinct as are the beasts. We have godly power to grow and to overcome and become perfect. Sin was permitted in the world, and Satan was permitted to tempt us, but we have our free agency. We may sin or live righteously, but we cannot escape responsibility. To blame our sins upon the Lord, saying they are inherent and cannot be controlled, is cheap and cowardly. To blame our sins upon our parents and our upbringing is the way of the escapist. One's parents may have failed; our own backgrounds may have been frustrating, but as sons and daughters of a living God we have within ourselves the power to rise above our circumstances, to change our lives. Man can change human nature. Man must transform his life. We will be punished for our sins. We must accept responsibility for our sins. We can overcome. We must control and master ourselves.

 

 

 

(Joseph F. Smith, From Prophet to Son: Advice of Joseph F. Smith to His Missionary Sons, compiled by Hyrum M. Smith III and Scott G. Kenney [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1981], 70.)

 

Satan and Human Weakness

 

As he observed human behavior, Joseph Fielding wondered about the nature of evil and its source. He asked his father whether Satan was the sole source of evil and to what extent Satan was restricted from sacred places, such as the temple. An avid student of Church history, even at this early age, Joseph Fielding knew that once, during the apostasy at Kirtland, a number of disgruntled members tried to take over the Church. In a meeting at the Kirtland Temple in late 1837, Brigham Young vigorously defended Joseph Smith. A scuffle ensued, during which some minor damage was done to the temple. Joseph Fielding cited the incident in his question regarding Satan's influence and human agency.

 

April 3, 1900

 

You ask, Can a man do any wrong without first being tempted of Satan? All men have their agency, the spirit of Satan leads to error and darkness and wrong doing. If a man does wrong, it is because he yields to the spirit of evil, thereby exercising his agency. If he does good, it is in accordance with the spirit that is of God, and he uses his agency in that as well. Those who overcome evil in this life will be beyond the power of Satan in the life to come. In other words, Satan's power ends in this world so far as the righteous are concerned, for they arise above him and above his influence; and power is not given to him to tempt them in the spirit world, they having overcome him in this. So far then as the righteous are concerned, Satan is effectually bound, whether it is in this life or in the life to come. But as mortality is never free from its own weaknesses there is no perfect safety in this sphere without the presence continually of the influence of the Holy Spirit. Satan can enter any place where he is invited or permitted to enter by man. If wicked men enter the house of God or have dominion in it, Satan will have access there, but where the righteous rule and the righteousness of God prevails, there Satan cannot come, at least with power.

 

You ask the question, Can a man do wrong in the temple if Satan is not there to urge him on? In the case you cite with reference to the Kirtland Temple it would seem that Satan himself had taken possession of the minds of those men, and if not in the temple in person, his power was certainly manifested through his agents there, who were apostates. I repeat, Satan, by his presence or power, can go anywhere that man can go who invites him or yields to him and his influence.

 

As to the agency of man, it is by the light of Christ and the power of God that man by his agency can become exalted through obedience to the laws of God. It is by his agency that he becomes a son of perdition after having received the truth, by yielding again himself to the power of Satan. A man who by his agency conquers Satan, subdues the evil that is in him, and rises above the power of temptation and of all evil, is still as much a free agent as he was when he was subject to temptation, but then he is like God or Christ, beyond the power of evil.

 

 

(Ezra Taft Benson, God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 402.)

 

I know, as I know that I live, that there is a God in heaven; that he is perfect and all powerful; that we are his children; that he loves us; and that we are eternal beings. I also know that life is a testing time in man's eternal existence, during which he is given his free agency—the right to choose between right and wrong—and that on those choices hang great consequences, not only in this life, but, even more important, in the life to come. There are boundaries beyond which Satan cannot go. Within those bounds, he is presently being permitted to offer an unrighteous alternative to God's righteous principles, thus allowing men to choose between good and evil and thereby determine the station they shall occupy in the next life. Said the poet:

 

 

(Hyrum L. Andrus, God, Man, and the Universe [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968], 463.)

 

Man's Physical Body Corrupted by the Fall

 

Though the physical body is designed to increase man's power and ascendancy in the scale of life, by the fall of Adam and through the subsequent transgressions of men, corrupt elements have become identified with the flesh. The mortal body is therefore designated scripturally as a "corrupt body." fn Lehi spoke of "the evil" which is in the flesh; fn and his son, Jacob, warned his brethren against yielding to "the will of the devil and the flesh." fn By revelation, Joseph Smith corrected some important items in the Apostle Paul's noted statement on the condition of mortal flesh. But the revised statement still reports Paul as speaking of "that sin which dwelleth in me," and it has the Apostle explain: "For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing." fn

 

In the Book of Mormon, the Lord stated to Moroni that He had given "unto men weakness" in their mortal organization. fn The weak and corrupt elements that are associated with man's mortal body have a definite influence upon him in his temporal state,

 

Man Conceived on Earth in Sin

 

Man enters this fallen state through birth, through which mortal corruption and its attending seeds of weakness and death are transmitted to each new physical embryo at conception. Mortal corruption tends to alter and divert the pure and innocent expressions of the flesh into vain and unlawful paths so that, unless it is checked, selfishness, greed, vanity, hatred, animosity, lust and a multitude of like perversions begin to creep into man's life. Hence God explained to Adam: "Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good." fn This statement plainly indicates that because mortal man is conceived in sin, sin commences to conceive in his heart when his physical body begins to mature, and he tastes the bitter that he may know to prize that which is good. The bitterness of hell serves to teach man of the goodness of heaven and of the virtues that lead to the presence of God.

 

The point should be made that God said to Adam that his children were conceived in sin, not born in sin. For man to be born in sin implies that each new physical embryo partakes of mortal corruption as it enters this fallen state by birth. But the elements of mortal corruption are planted within the physical body and made part of its organization at conception, not at birth or after birth. It is also true that man is born into a sinful world, but it is in conception that mortal corruption is transmitted to each new physical embryo that is thereby formed.

 

 

(Hyrum L. Andrus, God, Man, and the Universe [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968], 469.)

 

The Natural Man not Inherently Depraved

 

The spirits that live in these tabernacles were as pure as the heavens, when they entered them. They came to tabernacles that are contaminated, pertaining to the flesh, by the Fall of man. The Psalmist says, "Behold, I was shapened in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." (Psalms 51:5.) We have to contend against evil passions, or the seeds of iniquity that are sown in the flesh through the fall

 

All Men Succumb in Some Degree to Mortal Corruption

 

Mortality is a probationary state. In receiving a physical body, man is designed to be proven in his new endowments of life by opposing forces of mortal corruption that are associated with the flesh in this fallen state. Of the effect of the fall of Adam upon man, Brigham Young said: "The fall of man . . . has particularly affected the body but not the spirit." fn In this way, opposition and challenge are made to confront man. Continuing, President Young observed: "The tabernacle has to suffer the effects of the fall, of that sin which Satan has introduced into the world, and hence the spirit does not bear rule all the time." fn

 

The promise is made that during the millennium children will "grow up without sin unto salvation." fn But this promise will be realized only after "every corruptible thing" has been consumed by the manifestation of Christ's glory, when He comes to cleanse and renew the earth. fn Until then, the forces of mortal corruption will no doubt be manifest in the lives of men, so that even those who genuinely desire to do good may, by the influence of the fallen nature of man, fail to comply with the law of God in every detail. Joseph Smith observed:

 

All are subject to vanity while they travel through the crooked paths and difficulties which surround them [in this mortal state]. Where is the man that is free from vanity? fn

 

Brigham Young also said:

 

There are no persons without evil passions to embitter their lives. Mankind are revengeful, passionate, hateful, and devilish in their dispositions. This we inherit through the fall, and the grace of God is designated to enable us to overcome it. fn

 

When mortal man is measured by pure standards of virtue and innocence, it appears that the baneful effects of earth's fallen state have had a significant influence upon him. Alma referred to man in general as having "become carnal, sensual, and devilish, by nature." fn And Amulek declared in positive terms: "All are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made." fn

 

Carnal, Sensual, And Devilish Man

 

The natural man is not necessarily carnal, sensual, or devilish in his desires. A carnal man places emphasis upon fleshly or bodily appetites and excludes the influence of true spiritual values and powers in his life. He is worldly, and very often sexually perverse. Likewise, a sensual man is unduly indulgent to bodily appetites and sexual pleasures, and he exhibits a predominance of the animal nature, being lewd and brutish in his actions. To be devilish is to possess the characteristics of Satan—to become diabolical and malicious in nature. To be devilish is also to be miserable and to be critically devoid even of those enlightening and quickening powers of life that are given initially to man in his natural mortal state. fn

 

The same principle applies to all men; man's original innocence is destroyed only by his wilful transgression of the laws of God. It is only when men embrace the ways of the world that they become "carnal, sensual, and devilish, knowing evil from good, subjecting themselves to the devil." fn In a revelation, Joseph Smith wrote that by the transgression of God's holy "laws [not merely the law of Eden] man became sensual and devilish, and became fallen man." fn More than one broken law has contributed to the nature of those who are carnal and sensual.

 

Carnality and sensuality having been manifest in the world are perpetuated by the darkening influences of spiritual death and by false traditions and practices. Of opposition to righteousness and the means by which it is perpetuated, a revelation said: "That wicked one [i.e., Satan] cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the traditions of their fathers." fn Thus perverse and darkening influences are passed on to each new generation, making mortality a carnal state where man is challenged to rise above the influence of soul destroying forces within him and about him. In speaking of those who fail to meet this challenge, Abinadi warned: "Remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him." fn

 

 

(David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals: Selections from the Discourses of David O. McKay [Salt Lake City: Improvement Era, 1953], 302.)

 

RESPONSIBILITY ATTACHES TO FREE AGENCY. With free agency there comes responsibility. If a man is to be rewarded for righteousness and punished for evil, then common justice demands that he be given the power of independent action. A knowledge of good and evil is essential to man's progress on earth. If he were coerced to do right at all times or were helplessly enticed to commit sin, he would merit neither a blessing for the first nor punishment for the second.

 

Thus we see that man's responsibility is correspondingly operative with his free agency.—CR, April 1950, p. 33.

 

 

(George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth: Discourses and Writings of President George Q. Cannon, selected, arranged, and edited by Jerreld L. Newquist [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1987], 68.)

 

Man's agency to bind Satan. Satan only gains power over man through man's exercise of his own agency; and when Satan shall be bound, as the Lord says he will be for a thousand years, one of the great powers that will help bring this to pass will be man's agency. The Lord has never forced men against their will to obey Him. He never will do so. If Satan, therefore, has power with man, it is because man yields to his influence.

 

Children can resist Satan. They can obey the Lord. They can be righteous. They can take a course which will give them power over Satan. And every child which takes this course helps bring to pass the fulfillment of the words of the Lord concerning the binding of Satan.

 

Satan loosed at end of Millennium. . . .Why will he be loosed again? Because a generation will arise, some of which in the exercise of their agency will listen and yield to him. Thus he will have power over them. They will become his willing servants. In this way wickedness and all the evils under which the earth now groans will be introduced among men; for whenever men will listen to Satan and exercise their agency in that direction, wickedness flourishes and righteousness lessens.

 

 

 

 

 

(James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ: A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to Holy Scriptures Both Ancient and Modern [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983], 602.)

 

It would be contrary to both the letter and spirit of the revealed word to say that the wretched Iscariot was in the least degree deprived of freedom or agency in the course he followed to so execrable an end. His was the opportunity and privilege common to the Twelve, to live in the light of the Lord's immediate presence, and to receive from the source divine the revelation of God's purposes. Judas Iscariot was no victim of circumstances, no insensate tool guided by a superhuman power, except as he by personal volition gave himself up to Satan, and accepted a wage in the devil's employ.

 

 

(Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. [London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot, 1854-1886], 8: 292.)

 

It all depends upon us, brethren, whether Satan shall gain dominion over us in this kingdom God has set up, or whether he shall not. . . . But, in consequence of the agency that is given to the intelligent children of our Father and God, it is contrary to his laws, government, and character for him to dictate us in our actions any further than we prefer. If we cleave to him and enjoy the light of his Spirit, he will lead us day by day; but it is left to our agency—is in our option, whether we seek the counsel that comes from heaven, or take the counsel suggested to us by our common foe. This is an act of our own responsibility, independent of God or the Devil.

 

 

(Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969], .)

 

So it is with human sin-self-control, self-mastery, can be substituted for the dominion of sin, and the sinner can move by his own agency toward God rather than under the control of sin toward Satan.

 

The term may not be popular in this age of license and lack of restraint, but what is needed is self-discipline. Can we imagine the angels or the gods not being in control of themselves in any particular? The question is of course ludicrous. Equally ridiculous is the idea that any of us can rise to the eternal heights without disciplining ourselves and being disciplined by the circumstances of life. The purity and perfection we seek is unattainable without this subjection of unworthy, ungodlike urges and the corresponding encouragement of their opposites. We certainly cannot expect the rules to be easier for us than for the Son of God, of whom it is recorded:

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. (Heb. 5:8-9.)

 

"Unto all them that obey him"-these are the operative words for us. And obedience always involves self-discipline. So does repentance, which is the way to annul the effects of a previous lack of obedience in one's life. The dividends from both obedience and repentance amply repay the effort.

 

 

(Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966], 153.)

 

Compulsion

 

See AGENCY, FREEDOM, INALIENABLE RIGHTS, SALVATION. Compulsion involves the use of coercion or force. It is the opposite of free agency. Neither salvation, the attainment of godly virtues, nor eternal progression can be forced upon an individual. In the pre-existent counsels, Lucifer sought to deny men their agency and compel them to be saved, a proposal that would not and could not work. God deals in agency, Lucifer in compulsion. To the extent that men are not free to choose their own governments, beliefs, faiths, associates, employment, and the like, the will of Satan is overruling the will of Deity in the world.

 

 

(Robert L. Millet, The Mormon Faith: Understanding Restored Christianity [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1998], 33.)

 

2. Latter-day Saints do not believe in the depravity of men and women. They believe men and women have the power to choose good. But they do believe in the effects of the Fall. That is, though they do not believe children are "born in sin"—that sin entails upon children because of what Adam and Eve did or what the children's parents did—LDS scripture does suggest that children are "conceived in sin." (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 6:55.) First, we are conceived into a world of sin. Second, conception becomes the vehicle, the means whereby a fallen nature—mortality, "the flesh," as described by the Apostle Paul—is transmitted to the descendants of Adam and Eve. To say this another way, Latter-day Saint scripture teaches that the seeds of death and sin are present in conception. A child is neither sinful nor dead when born, but the seeds of both are present. Just as one moves toward death each day he or she lives, so also the capacity to sin is present from the time one arrives at the age of accountability. One aspect of the atonement of Jesus is thus redemption from a nature that longs to sin, a nature that tends toward spiritual dissolution.

 

3. Men and women have the choice, the moral agency, to yield either to the persuasions of the world or to the enticings of the Holy Spirit. Those who choose the former enter the realm of sin and, without repentance, in time surrender their will to that of Satan. Those who choose the latter, who decide to put off the "natural man" (see 1 Cor. 2:11-14) and put on Christ through the Atonement, open themselves to change and renewal. Through repentance—through turning away from their old ways and surrendering to the mind of God through the Holy Spirit—these become "new creatures in Christ," men and women who die to the old ways of sin and are born again to the ways of righteousness. This is a prominent teaching in the Book of Mormon: "The Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon. . . . 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." (Book of Mormon, 2 Ne. 2:26-27.) Or, as another passage explains: "And now remember, remember, . . . 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." (Book of Mormon, Hel. 14:30.)

 

 

 

(Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr., eds., Mosiah: Salvation Only through Christ [Provo: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1991], 247.)

 

The Natural Man

 

Some believe the natural man is identical to the physical body and thus falsely condemn our earthly tabernacles. It is important to distinguish between the two. At the end of the Creation, God declared, "All things which I had made were very good" (Moses 2:31). Our physical body was included in that declaration. The Lord has also taught that "the elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; and when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy" (D&C 93:33-34). Since we cannot obtain this fulness of joy without the physical element, that element is not evil. It is the carnal, untamed desires of the natural man that bring evil.

 

King Benjamin stated that "the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam" (Mosiah 3:19). Because the Fall introduced good and evil into the world, we are able to exercise free agency in partaking of either good or evil (Mosiah 16:3). Recognizing this fact, the Lord explained to Adam, "Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good. And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves" (Moses 6:55-56). The Pearl of Great Price teaches that after the Fall some of Adam and Eve's children did indeed "[love] Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish" (Moses 5:13).

 

If the natural man continually yields to worldly enticings, he will continually be an enemy to God. As already indicated, we are all conceived in sin, and, therefore, as we grow up, sin is conceived in our hearts (Moses 6:55). From this we learn that the natural man is partially centered in the heart. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul states that humanity fulfills "the desires of the flesh and of the mind" (2:2-3), thereby indicating that the natural man is also closely associated with the mind. In truth, the heart and mind are in all probability the real seat of the natural man. Do not the scriptures testify that "as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Prov 23:7)?

 

If we do not "put off" the natural man, we become "carnal, sensual, and devilish, by nature" (Alma 42:10). Alma taught that "all men that are in a state of nature . . . are in the gall of bitterness, . . . [and are] contrary to the nature of God" (Alma 41:11; see also Hel 13:38). Those who remain in a natural or carnal state degenerate until they reach a state called the "fulness of iniquity" (Ether 2:10) and consequently suffer final captivity by the devil. It was this thought that caused Lehi to exhort Laman and Lemuel to choose righteousness and its resulting liberty, rather than choose evil with its resulting captivity. He pleaded with his sons "not [to] choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom" (2 Nephi 2:29). Abinadi spoke to the wicked priests of king Noah and warned them of their own "carnal and devilish" nature (Mosiah 16:3). He then warned the priests of the consequences of having a carnal nature: "Remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him. Therefore he is as though there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God; and also is the devil an enemy to God" (Mosiah 16:5).

 

A few illustrations will give us insight into the natural man. Many people do not perceive the beginnings of a carnal nature. Almost any action which is rationalized by the phrase, "Oh, that's natural," will find its true source in the natural man. If a novel or a movie portrays a suggestive scene, is it not the natural reaction to dwell on it and feed the lust? If one person has more material possessions than another, is it not natural for one to be proud and the other envious? When one is injured by another, is it not the natural reaction to seek revenge? Illustrations could be given of anger, sloth, gluttony, violence, selfishness, profanity, and other natural behavior. Even the Lord warns men who hold the priesthood that it is "the nature of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, . . . to exercise unrighteous dominion" (D&C 121:39).

 

We often personify our natures as entities which are separate from ourselves. "It's not my nature to be patient." We say, "I naturally tend to fly off the handle at times," or, "I'm overly aggressive by nature." We cannot justify these statements; our goal is not to maintain our own carnal nature. It is the Savior's nature the Book of Mormon prophets declare all must seek. King Benjamin states that if one "yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit," one will be able to "[put] off the natural man and [become] a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord." He then defines a saint as someone who is "submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father" (Mosiah 3:19).

 

Through the Holy Spirit we can develop the qualities of a saint. Paul taught the Galatians to "walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other" (5:16-17). Through the Spirit, we must seek to conform our natures to the Savior's nature. This requires us to experience a mighty change, a spiritual rebirth (Alma 5:14).

 

 

 

 

(Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1985], 91.)

 

Agency—An Eternal Principle

 

Agency is an eternal principle and has existed with God from eternity to eternity. When the Father presented the plan of salvation in the councils of eternity; when all his spirit children had been taught that through a mortal probation they could gain immortality and eternal life; when they all knew that to gain salvation they must choose good rather than evil while in mortality—then the Lord asked whom he should send to earth to be his Son and to put all the terms and conditions of his plan into operation. Lucifer, who is Satan, offered his services, but he did so on his own terms. "Behold, here am I, send me," he said. "I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor." As we have seen, this would have been a philosophical impossibility. Opposites must exist in every department of creation and in all phases of life. There could be no salvation unless there was also damnation.

 

And thus it is that the Lord God "gave unto" Adam "that he should be an agent unto himself," while he yet dwelt in the garden of Eden. Thus it is that the devil and his angels came out in opposition to all righteousness and were cast out of heaven. "And it must needs be," the Lord says, "that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet—wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation. Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he should be cast out from the Garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became spiritually dead." Thus was the scene set for repentance, for choosing good rather than evil while in mortality, and for all of the trials and tests needed to qualify a human soul for eternal life.

 

 

 

 

(Neal A. Maxwell, One More Strain of Praise [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1999], 77.)

 

Among the especially powerful, restored doctrines of the kingdom, and one worthy of much more of our pondering and praise, is God's deep commitment to our moral agency.

 

The verse to follow bears upon many fundamental things: "All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligencealso; otherwise there is no existence" (D&C 93:30; emphasis added). Furthermore, the scriptures declare without elaboration: "here is the agency of man" (verse 31).

 

 Elder Steven L Richards declared of this glorious truth of the Restoration:

 

I set forth as the first aspect of this new interpretation the doctrine of the dominance of intelligence. I believe I am correct in the assertion that in all Christian literature prior to the advent of our Church there were to be found no such concepts of the origin, function, and place of intelligence in the universe as come from our modern scripture. Here are some excerpts:

 

Intelligence or the light of truth was not created or made, neither indeed can be.

 

All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also. Otherwise, there is no existence. (D&C 93:29,  30.)

 

The glory of God is intelligence—or in other words, light and truth.

 

Light and truth forsake that evil one. (D&C 93:36,  37.)

 

Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.

 

And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come. (D&C 130:18,  19.)

 

 Now, since intelligence is co-eternal with God and is the very glory of God, it follows logically that it is the chief investiture of man. Indeed, it is man, for it is that part of his constituency that persists, that is eternal. This knowing, conceiving, illuminating principle of existence lies at the base of all our powers and potentialities. Without it there would be no virtue and no sin. It alone gives to man his free agency, the power to choose, to will, and to act, conscious of the effects of his decisions and his deeds. (In Conference Report, April 1938, p. 22.)

 

Writing on this same, vital subject, President Joseph Fielding Smith, then of the Twelve, added:

 

Some of our writers have endeavored to explain what an intelligence is, but to do so is futile, for we have never been given any insight into this matter beyond what the Lord has fragmentarily revealed. We know, however, that there is something called intelligence which always existed. It is the real eternal part of man, which was not created or made. This intelligence combined with the spirit constitutes a spiritual identity or individual. (The Progress of Man [Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1936], p. 11.)

 

Therefore, since some things are yet unrevealed, we do not know with any precision exactly what was "brought with us" as, later on, we become spirit sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven. It is clear, however, that God did not fashion us ex nihilo, out of nothing. Our intrinsic makeup is not somehow all His responsibility; there is no "easy out" as to our individual accountability in the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

 President Marion G. Romney, then in the Twelve, said of our freedom to choose, "Abridge man's agency, and the whole purpose of his mortality is thwarted. Without it, the Lord says, there is no existence." (In Conference Report, April 1966, p. 99.)

 

Indeed, without the existence of choices, without our freedom to choose and without opposition, there would be no real existence. This is so much like Lehi's metaphor of how, in the absence of agency and opposites, things would have resulted in a meaningless, undifferentiated "compound in one" (2 Ne. 2:11). In such a situation the earth would actually have "no purpose in the end of its creation" (2 Ne. 2:12). It is a fact that we can neither grow spiritually nor thereby be truly happy unless and until we make wise use of our moral agency. Yet God will not "force the human mind" even in order to cause us to serve and worship Him. (See D&C 29:36.)

 

Instead, as between good or evil (even with all of their profound and attendant consequences), the scriptures emphasize: "Nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself" (JST, Gen. 2:21; Moses 3:17). Of this fundamental reality the Lord has said, "Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light" (D&C 93:31). Father Lehi gave further expression, saying: "Because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon" (2 Ne. 2:26). Clearly, Jesus' declaration about how the truth can make us free is part of this spiritual equation (see John 8:32).

 

 As with other key, doctrinal scriptures, those verses associated with moral agency are densely packed with meaning at several different levels. Such is surely the case with Lehi's great sermon on agency. Therein he speaks of man's need to choose amid the reality that "there must needs be an opposition in all things" (2 Ne. 2:11). Lehi tells us that this principle operated "even [in] the forbidden fruit" (2 Ne. 2:15). Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has described life's ongoing "opposition" as presenting us with "contending enticements" (Christ and the New Covenant [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997], p. 202).

 

This "competition" is real, but without such alternatives our agency would be meaningless. In fact, without agency there could be no felicity or happiness. Hence, man really remains "free to choose liberty and eternal life . . . or . . . captivity and death" (2 Ne. 2:27). Thus the availability of "contending enticements" is necessary in order that man can truly act for himself, while being "enticed by the one or the other" (2 Ne. 2:16).

 

Granted, we usually think of enticements as being associated with evil, but there can be enticing desires for righteousness, too. Therefore, King Benjamin pleads for us to follow "the enticings of the Holy Spirit" (Mosiah 3:19). Of course, the adversary has totally different motives when he entices us, striving to have us become "miserable like unto himself." (2 Ne. 2:27).

 

Without any real choices and without the capacity for differentiation along with "opposition," things would form, just as Lehi said, an undifferentiated "compound in one" (2 Ne. 2:11). If this had been the result, the earth would have "no purpose in the end of its creation" (2 Ne. 2:12) there would be no real existence (see D&C 93:30).

 

 Perhaps the imagery of a "compound in one" is intended to connote a hypothetical blending that loses any distinctiveness. In any case, the scriptural phrase "compound in one," with its litany of opposites, makes clear all that would thereby be lost; we would get nothing! In effect, things would "remain as dead" (2 Ne. 2:11).

 

So there is a clear friction between agency and opposition, but it is a necessary friction, if we are to progress. Hence knowing the truth about divine standards and then choosing aright is essential to our growth and happiness and freedom, but we will feel the friction! Moreover, if things were in a "compound in one," we could not learn from our mortal experiences, because we would not experience the opposites. Furthermore, we could not be held accountable either, because no real and clear choices would be before us, given the "compound" circumstance. Individuality would be inert!

 

In the family tree of doctrines pertaining to the plan of salvation, therefore, moral agency is root and branch. If things had formed a "compound in one," as Lehi further declared, we could not really "act for [ourselves]" but we would inertly be "acted upon."

 

It is ironic that those who wrongly choose to celebrate their capacity to feel grossly—slavish sensation seekers—eventually become "past feeling" anyway, producing an outcome of insensibility; the very outcome so much to be avoided in Father's plan (1 Ne. 17:45; Moro. 9:20; 2 Ne. 2:11). Yet some end up doing indirectly what the Lord's plan forbade directly!

 

 Without the plan's saving arrangement there could be no righteousness, no wickedness, no holiness, no misery, no good, and no bad. Indeed, there could be no plan of happiness, because full happiness depends upon our deliberate choosing of individual righteousness. This primacy of agency in the plan["answer[s] the ends of the atonement," which mercifully permits us to choose to repent (2 Ne. 2:10). In God's plan, formed before the world was, the terms of specific punishment are "affixed," and likewise are the conditions of happiness (2 Ne. 2:10; Alma 42:18;  22).

 

Since it is only out of righteous choices that character and happiness come, Samuel, the Lamanite, speaks of the futility of happiness being sought by "doing iniquity." He declares such an approach is not only spiritually wrong but also intellectually naive, being "contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head." (Helaman. 13:38.) Therefore, happiness is actually not obtainable in doing iniquity any more than it is obtainable without agency. In fact, the "carnal state" is one in which some individuals live "without God in the world"; they have, alas, gone "contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness" (Alma 41:11).

 

 The "nature of happiness" requires us to know about "things as they really are, and . . . things as they really will be" (Jacob 4:13). To be ignorant of the soaring realities of God's plan is, in one degree or another, to "live without God in the world," which lifestyle is so desensitizing and depriving (Eph. 2:12; Mosiah 27:31). No wonder the scriptures, instead, speak of our need to become "alive in Christ" (2 Ne. 25:25).

 

 Even so, we are not only to possess the capacity to discern and distinguish thusly; we are also to use our agency so that we come to prefer, and even strongly desire, the taste of gospel goodness, sweetness, and joy. This is part of educating the tastebuds of the soul. And we happily note that what is discernible by one individual is also verifiable in the very same ways by another, as is well described in Alma chapter 32.

 

Thus the correct use of agency empowers as well as enlivens us spiritually! In contrast, how does one "taste" or draw nourishment from a tasteless "compound in one"?

 

 So it is that the wise use of agency is linked not only with accountability but also with beauty and felicity. Without developing that distinguishing capacity that goes with wisely used agency, we would be like the undiscerning who anciently heard "the voice of God," but thought it was merely thunder (John 12:29). How sad not to even recognize His voice, let alone not to hear what God had to say! Clearly those who "know not the mind of God" have not only failed to develop the "mind of Christ" but they also lack the ears to hear! (See 1 Cor. 2:16.)

 

In the mortal process of choosing, we ourselves determine what our own prevailing desires are. No wonder, therefore, President Joseph F. Smith spoke about the need for us to engage in "the education of our desires" (see Gospel Doctrine [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1939], p.297). In the use of our agency we are fundamentally sovereign. Given the constant and basic role of our desires, a significant portion of real discipleship consists of the "education of our desires." If we are meek, our capacity to learn from our experiences will reflect how we educate our desires, even in the hard experiences. After all, it is we, individually, who shape our desires and determine to which of the "contending enticements" we will finally respond and from which we will experience happiness.

 

 Thus, given God's plan and agency's vital role in it, we must ever be on guard against today's trends and patterns, however carefully they are camouflaged, in which operative agency is severely diminished, such as when some seek to avoid or to deny personal accountability or to say there are really no fixed values. Ethical relativism can thereby lead to a type of a "compound in one" by an undifferentiated life or simply by ruling out moral absolutes and thereby encouraging every man to walk in his own way (D&C 1:16; see also Judg. 21:25;  2:10).

 

 

Once again, the wisdom of President Joseph F. Smith comes to the fore. He observed of human suffering that nevertheless God "permits" choices to be made by humans of which He clearly doesn't approve (see Improvement Era 20 [July 1917]: 821).

 

No wonder that for a host of reasons Satan seeks to "destroy the agency of man"! (Moses 4:3.)

 

 Meanwhile, therefore, we are left to "do according to [our] own will" (Mosiah 2:21), so "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).

 

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has observed insightfully that "the word probation is found only ten times in the Standard Works, and nine of those references are in the Book of Mormon" (Christ and the New Covenant, p. 209). We can't get very far in understanding life and God's purposes without our understanding this "probation" portion of God's plan of happiness. Advocacy and judging by Jesus are thus implicit! Probation is clearly linked to our using mortal time well by becoming wisely experienced in the use of our agency. Clearly these immense truths about agency are among the "plain and precious things" restored (see 1 Ne. 13:26-29).

 

Each mortal, at least initially, has "the light of Christ" to guide (Alma 29:14; Moro. 7:19; D&C 88:7). This light can prompt us, if we will, in the wise use of our agency. If, however, it is extinguished or severely diminished, we are at risk. Thus, to help us with our agency, God gives us our consciences and, for some, the great gift of the Holy Ghost. Furthermore, God is long-suffering and redemptive as He works with us. But we are personally and finally accountable for our wrong choices, which, alas, bring misery not only to ourselves, but to others as well.

 

Of course our individual patterns of genes, circumstances, and environments matter very much, for these do impinge upon us and do shape us and our choices significantly. Yet there remains an inner zone in which we are accountably sovereign. In this zone lies the essence of our individuality.

 

Joseph Fielding Smith declared:

If the Lord declares that intelligence, something which we do not fully understand, was co-eternal with him and always existed, there is no argument that we can or should present to contradict it. Why he cannot create intelligence is simply because intelligence, like time and space, always existed. (Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co. 1957-66], 3:125.)

 

We cannot say that [God] would like to help but cannot: God is omnipotent. We cannot say that he would help if he only knew: God is omniscient. We cannot say that he is not responsible for the wickedness of others: God creates those others. Indeed an omnipotent, omniscient God [who creates all things absolutely—i.e., out of nothing] must be an accessory before (and during) the fact to every human misdeed; as well as being responsible for every non-moral defect in the universe. (Antony Flew, "Theology and Falsification," in New Essays in Philosophical Theology, ed. Antony Flew and Alasdair MacIntyre [New York: Macmillan, 1955], p. 107.)

 

In fact, while God has given us so many enabling gifts in addition to the gift of life, the only real gift we can actually give Him is to submit our will to His (Mosiah 15:7; Mosiah 3:19). Therefore, if a plan opposite to the Lord's plan had prevailed, it would not only have abrogated our agency; it would also have prevented us from giving God the one precious gift, our wills! It is the only one we can really give to Him that is not already His!

 

In the final judgment we will receive what we deserve; but meanwhile, God will not "force the human mind" in order for us to receive what could have been otherwise.

 

Hence one's misused agency can inexorably create a pattern of choices pointed towards misery instead of felicity. Even the first tiny droplets of decision suggest a direction. Then the little inflecting rivulets come, merging into small brooks, and soon into larger streams; finally one is swept along by a vast river which finally flows into the "gulf of misery and endless wo" (Hel. 5:12).

 

The choice of outcome is always up to us. Therein lies life's greatest and most persistent challenge: as to our pattern of choices, in which direction do we face?

 

Brigham Young spoke emphatically about how all of life's daily moments are to be wisely used, however ordinary these moments may seem to be:

 

 It is the aggregate of the acts which I perform through life that makes up the conduct that will be exhibited in the day of judgment, and when the books are opened, there will be the life which I have lived for me to look upon, and there also will be the acts of your lives for you to look upon. Do you not know that the building up of the kingdom of God, the gathering of Israel, is to be done by little acts? You breathe one breath at a time; each moment is set apart to its act, and each act to its moment. It is the moments and the little acts that make the sum of the life of man. Let every second, minute, hour, and day we live be spent in doing that which we know to be right. (In Journal of Discourses, 3:342.)

 

Hence for serious disciples who would act "in a pleasing way," there are no ordinary people, but likewise there are really no ordinary moments! Moment by moment we are shaped by our choices—large and small. The daily quizzes matter along with the major exams.

 

Indeed, as to the daily use of our agency, we should daily plead, "Father, help us now to serve Thee in a pleasing way"—especially in the face of our "unnumbered blessings."

 

 

(Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah: The First Coming of Christ [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1978], 218.)

 

Agency means freedom of choice. With God and his goodness pulling in one direction and Satan and his evil forces pulling in the other, man is in a position to choose. Thus it is written: "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 mediation 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.)

 

 

 

(Harold B. Lee, Stand Ye in Holy Places [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 12.)

 

When we see one devoid of respect for himself, as indicated by his conduct, his outward appearance, his speech, and his utter disregard of the basic measures of decency, then certainly we are witnessing the frightening aspect of one over whom Satan has achieved a victory, as the Lord declared he would try to do "to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will . . . to destroy the agency of man." (Moses 4:14.) This is the fate of "even as many as would not hearken unto my voice" (Moses 4:4), so declared the Lord to Moses.

 

(Harold B. Lee, The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, edited by Clyde J. Williams [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1996], 224.)

 

You apparently have forgotten the Master's great Sermon on the Mount concerning this matter. There He said this: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery" (and when He uses the word adultery, if you will read carefully His statement, He is talking about all unlicensed sexual relations), "but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28). What He is trying to make plain to His hearers is that an evil act is preceded by an evil thought. One doesn't kill unless he becomes angry. One doesn't steal unless he covets. Just so, one doesn't commit sexual sin unless he has a filthy, adulterous, immoral thought.

 

When you tell me that you have practiced an unclean habit and you find yourself powerless to refrain therefrom, you are but bearing testimony that your mind is not clean and that you have found yourself powerless to control your own habits. Could it possibly be that you are shackled as Satan set out to shackle men after he was cast out of heaven for rebellion against the plan of free agency? Read again what the scriptures declared with regard to the mission of Satan: "And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice" (Moses 4:4).

 

 

 

(Howard W. Hunter, That We Might Have Joy [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1994], 36.)

 

It is important to remember that Jesus was capable of sinning, that he could have succumbed, that the plan of life and salvation could have been foiled, but that he remained true. Had there been no possibility of his yielding to the enticement of Satan, there would have been no real test, no genuine victory in the result. If he had been stripped of the faculty to sin, he would have been stripped of his very agency. It was he who had come to safeguard and ensure the agency of man. He had to retain the capacity and ability to sin had he willed so to do. As Paul wrote, "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" (Heb. 5:8); and he "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). He was perfect and sinless, not because he had to be, but because he clearly and determinedly wanted to be. As the Doctrine and Covenants records, "He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them." (D&C 20:22.)

 

What about us? We live in a world of temptation—temptation that seems more real and oppressively rampant than any since the days of Noah. Are we remaining faithful in such a world? Every individual in the Church should ask, "Am I living so that I am keeping unspotted from the evils of the world?"

 

In speaking of the three temptations that came to Jesus, Elder David O. McKay made this statement concerning them: "Classify them, and you will find that under one of those three nearly every given temptation that makes you and me spotted, ever so little maybe, comes to us as (1) a temptation of the appetite; (2) a yielding to the pride and fashion and vanity of those alienated from the things of God; or (3) a gratifying of the passion, or a desire for the riches of the world, or power among men.

 

"Now, when do temptations come? Why, they come to us in our social gatherings, they come to us at our weddings, they come to us in our politics, they come to us in our business relations, on the farm, in the mercantile establishment, in our dealings in all the affairs of life, we find these insidious influences working, and it is when they manifest themselves to the consciousness of each individual that the defense of truth ought to exert itself." (Conference Report, October 1911, 59.)

 

Is it just for an individual, or can a body of people withstand the temptations of Satan? Surely the Lord would be pleased with the Saints if they stood before the world as a light that cannot be hidden because they are willing to live the principles of the gospel and keep the commandments of the Lord.

 

 

 

(Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, 4 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979-1981], 1: 406.)

 

This mortal life is a probationary estate; one in which every accountable soul must be tried and tested; one in which every man must be subject to the wiles and enticements of Lucifer; one in which all men must choose to worship the Lord, by keeping his commandments, or to follow Satan, by living after the manner of the world. Worship God or submit to Satan—succinctly stated, that is all that life is about. The Lord is worshipped when men adhere to his standards and emulate his way of life. "Be holy, for I am holy," saith the Lord. (Lev. 11:45.) The devil is worshipped when men adhere to his standards and emulate his way of life; when they are carnal, sensual, and devilish; when they forget the Lord and live after the manner of the world; "for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." (2 Ne. 2:27.)

 

Men must have a choice; they must be able to choose; there must be opposites; they must have agency; they must be free to worship the Lord or to follow Satan. All this is imperative. It is inherent in the whole plan of salvation. And unless men have the agency to choose to do good and work righteousness—and, in fact, do so—they cannot be saved. There is no other way.

 

If there is a God, there is also a devil. It is the Lord who invites and entices men, by his Spirit—the light of Christ—to choose the right; it is the devil who invites and entices men to choose evil works rather than good. The enticements of the devil are temptation, and temptation is, and "must needs be," an essential part of the plan of salvation. Through it are provided the allurements and worldly things that men must overcome in order to progress and gain that eternal life which is the opposite of eternal damnation.

 

 

 

 

(Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1972], 175.)

(Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1-4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 380.)

(Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1-4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 26.)

(Sperry Symposium Doctrines of the Book of Mormon: 1991 Sperry Symposium on the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1992], 253.)

(Hyrum L. Andrus, Doctrinal Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 207.)

(Harold B. Lee, Decisions for Successful Living [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1973], 95.)

(11446elder Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1968, Afternoon Meeting 65.)

elder Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1962, Third Day—Morning Meeting 94 - 95.)

(President Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1964, Third Day—Morning Meeting 107 - 108.) elder Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1955, Afternoon Meeting 47.)

 

elder Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1951, First Day—Morning Meeting 25.)

(The Influence of Lehi's Admonitions on the Teachings of His Son Jacob John A. Tvedtnes, FARMS Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, vol. 3, no. 2 (Fall 1994), 45.)

Delivered by President George Q. Cannon, at Salt Lake City, Utah, February 27, 1898.

 

 (Brian H. Stuy, ed., Collected Discourses, 5 vols. [Burbank, Calif., and Woodland Hills, Ut.: B.H.S. Publishing, 1987-1992], 5: .)

Delivered by President George Q. Cannon, at the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, March 26th, 1893.

 

 (Brian H. Stuy, ed., Collected Discourses, 5 vols. [Burbank, Calif., and Woodland Hills, Ut.: B.H.S. Publishing, 1987-1992], 3: .)

(John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks, eds., By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday, 27 March 1990, 2 vols. [Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990], 2: 141.)

(The Reflections of Brigham Young on the Nature of Man and the State by J. Keith Melville, BYU Studies, vol. 4 (1961-1962), Num. 3 and 4 - Spring and Summer 1962 258.)

(Thomas S. Monson, Be Your Best Self [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979], 119.)

 

(James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1981], 56.)

(Book Reviews, BYU Studies, vol. 23 (1983), Number 1 - Winter 1983 .)

(The Necessity of a Sinless Messiah by Ronald A. Heiner Fn, BYU Studies, vol. 22 (1982), Number 1 - Fall 1982 .)

Originally published as part of the Commissioner's Lecture Series, reprinted by permission of Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Commissioner of Church Education, and by permission of the New Era.

 

Allen E. Bergin is professor of psychology at Brigham Young University.

 

(Moral Free Agency Fn by Daniel H. Ludlow Fn, BYU Studies, vol. 15 (1974-1975), Number 3 - Spring 1975 319.)

 

(Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957-1966], 3: 73.)

(Elder Ezra Taft Benson, May 10, 1966, BYU Speeches of the Year, 1966 11.)