Agency

I loved how President Kimball stated that agency is our greatest gift next to the Atonement. I am grateful to have learned more about this gift I have. Especially with my children, I have a tendency to make all of their choices for them. They have been given the gift of agency also, and while I should obviously protect them from any serious harm, I need to teach them to use their agency in righteous ways. I also liked learning about the gift of the light of Christ. Even before children are 8, they are given the Light of Christ to help them make good decisions. It's also hard to talk about Agency without also talking about the Holy Ghost. With promptings from the Holy Ghost, I am able to be directed in what the best decisions are. I still have my agency to use, but I'm not choosing blindly.

Here are the quotes about Agency:

"We have been given agency, we have been given the blessings of the priesthood, and we have been given the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost for a reason. That reason is our growth and happiness in this world and eternal life in the world to come. Today I ask, have we received that Spirit? Are we following on the strait and narrow path that leads to God and eternal life? Are we holding onto the iron rod, or are we going another way? I testify that how we choose to feel and think and act every day is the way we get on the path, and stay on it, until we reach our eternal destination." -Elder Hales "To Act for Ourselves" April 2006

"I once had an opportunity to accompany President Spencer W. Kimball to a distant land. We were given a tour of the various sites in the area, including underground catacombs—burial grounds for people who had been persecuted by Christian zealots. As we came up the dark, narrow stairs of that place, President Kimball taught me an unforgettable lesson. He pulled my coattail and said, “It has always troubled me what the adversary does using the name of our Savior.” He then said, “Robert, the adversary can never have joy unless you and I sin.”
As I contemplated this comment and studied the scriptures, I began to understand what President Kimball may have meant. I recalled the word of the Lord to all the inhabitants of the earth as recorded in the Book of Mormon: “Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people.” 19 It is our sins that make the devil laugh, our sorrow that brings him counterfeit joy." -Elder Robert D. Hales April 2006

"I mention first the right of choice. I am so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father for His gift of agency, or the right to choose. President David O. McKay, ninth President of the Church, said, “Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life is God’s greatest gift to man.”1
We know that we had our agency before this world was and that Lucifer attempted to take it from us. He had no confidence in the principle of agency or in us and argued for imposed salvation. He insisted that with his plan none would be lost, but he seemed not to recognize—or perhaps not to care—that in addition, none would be any wiser, any stronger, any more compassionate, or any more grateful if his plan were followed." -President Monson "The Three R's of Choice" October 2010


“Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
“And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father” (Moses 7:32–33; emphasis added).
As we learn in these scriptures, the fundamental purposes for the gift of agency were to love one another and to choose God. Thus we become God’s chosen and invite His tender mercies as we use our agency to choose God. -Elder Bednar "The Tender Mercies of the Lord" February 2012

"Some challenges result from the agency of others. Agency is essential for individual spiritual growth and development. Evil conduct is an element of agency. Captain Moroni explained this very important doctrine: “The Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked.” He made it clear that the righteous are not lost but “enter into the rest of the Lord their God.”22 The wicked will be held accountable for the atrocities they perpetrate." -Elder Cook, "The Songs They Could Not Sing" -October 2011


"The faith of our Father in Heaven has been consistent since the beginning of time, even from before the foundation of this world. John the Revelator described a great war in heaven. 5 The issue was moral agency, as it is today. All who have ever lived on this earth were among those who fought against Satan and stood with the Son and the Father. Therefore, do we not owe our allegiance to God, our Heavenly Father?" -President Uchdorf "Faith of our Fathers" April 2008

President Packer said, "Many temptations, the most serious ones, relate to your body. You not only have power to create bodies for a new generation, but you also have agency."

"President Packer also said, "You will not make a major mistake without first being warned by the promptings of the spirit."

Elder Christofferson (Oct 2009) said, "By “moral discipline,” I mean self-discipline based on moral standards. Moral discipline is the consistent exercise of agency to choose the right because it is right, even when it is hard. It rejects the self-absorbed life in favor of developing character worthy of respect and true greatness through Christlike service (see Mark 10:42–45). The root of the word discipline is shared by the word disciple, suggesting to the mind the fact that conformity to the example and teachings of Jesus Christ is the ideal discipline that, coupled with His grace, forms a virtuous and morally excellent person."

President Eyring (2008), "You make choices every day and almost every hour that keep you walking in the light or moving away toward darkness."